Page 50 of The Night Belongs To Lovers

And oncehetook Olympius’ body, he believed he would be that being again, finally made whole!

I win, Coeus smirked, staring directly into the vexed face of Fortuna. The fiend planned to enact his possession of Olympius directly.

“No, foul one! The Fates may be done with you, but I—am—not!” Olympius stood tall and resolute, his face a picture of unwavering determination.

With a confident gesture, he raised his arms to the night sky and called forth the darkness from the depths of his being. The environment, the very air around him, blackened and thickened in response to his command, and a palpable sense of power emanated from his very being. There was no hint of fear in his dark eyes or his heart, only rage and a steadfast resolve to see his will done.

“As I look upon you, my Maker, my enemy,” Olympius began in a deep, menacing tone, “I cast you intothe hidden placewithin the Shadow Lands. Did you wish to again be Lord of the Night—to be among the stars? No, you shall be Lord of Nothing and Nowhere. I command the cruelest, coldest aspect of the infinite darkness to claim you!”

The words echoed through the air as if carrying the weight of the god’s heartache, pain, and suffering. It was a moment of reckoning.

Suddenly, Olympius felt a strong hand slip into his and grasped it tightly. He turned in joy and happiness and looked up, already knowing who supported him.

“Wearen’t done,” Corey—Coriolanus—spoke as he stared down lovingly into his soulmate’s face. His heart was finally whole, healed by truth and trust, and from what he felt inside his Maker’s mind and what was in his heart. It was an undeniable, everlasting, true love.

In a fearsome display of power, the two gods united their strength, showing their absolute control over the darkness that swirled hypnotically, veritably dancing around their connected immortal bodies. They launched a ferocious attack on their enemy; hundreds of ink-black arms emerged from the shadows and savagely tore into Coeus’ partially corporeal form.

Though caught off guard by the onslaught and in excruciating pain, Coeus instinctively attempted to return to his spirit state; only the two gods were one step ahead. They countered his move by forcing the darkness ontoand intohis partially solidified form, as had been done to Apollo in ancient times.

As a result, everything that remained even slightly insubstantial about Coeus now congealed and quickly hardened, turning the fiend into a solid block of ebon marble.

Confident that Coeus could not escape his deserved fate, Olympius opened a portal into a place he would only send his worst enemy.

“You are forever banished, villain, to a realm where nothing escapes without my—ourconsent,” Olympius declared, a triumphant smile playing on his lips as he looked at Coriolanus.

“We exile you to a place where you will be eternally confined, as within a dark and suffocating coffin, devoid of sight, sound, or sensation beyond the chilling emptiness of your own hateful, wretched existence. A place far more bitter and barren than The Void you previously experienced. You now belong to the very pit of the Well of Eternal Darkness.

“You are less than nothing—a nameless, forgotten deity without power and agency. You have no ally in the darkness; it shall never submit to your will again. You are truly, utterly alone, and you shall go to this prison, knowing that from this day forth, my love for Coriolanus and his love for me will flourish eternally.We win!”

Without ceremony, unable to vocalize his immense fear and hatred or demonstrate resistance, Coeus was abruptly and mercilessly pulled into his new prison.

And the no longer star-crossed lovers closed the gateway.

“Good riddance,” Fortuna snickered. She gazed lovingly at Olympius and Coriolanus, noticing they still held hands, neither wanting to break their intimate contact. It filled her heart with peace and satisfaction. True love had finally prevailed.

“My place in this story is over, my friends, so I take my leave. But we shall meet again, and I look forward to your renewed love story, this beautiful, reignited passion! As long as you both remaindevoted, faithful, and without secrets, nothing shall ever have the power to sunder your love again.”

Olympius turned to thank Fortuna for her unwavering faith in them and for all she had done to keep their Eternal Flame lit. However, he was met with nothing but a shimmer of gold in his eyes. With a flicker of aureate light, the goddess had vanished, leaving behind only the lingering scent of lavender.

Feeling a deep sense of relief, knowing he was forever free from his Maker’s vendetta, Olympius gripped Coriolanus’ hand tighter. “It is truly over, beloved. We are free from the evil interference of that monster, forever disentangled from his web of lies and vicious games keeping us distracted and apart. We are free to live in truth, in our love.”

Olympius turned away from the spot where Fortuna disappeared, eager to again fix his gaze upon Coriolanus—the only one that would ever own his heart.

However, anguish quickly washed over him as he looked at his beloved companion. His warrior-god appeared crestfallen, filled with pain and sorrow. With a deep sense of concern, he asked, “Beloved, what is troubling you? What can I do to alleviate your distress?”

Coriolanus stood still, his handsome face contorted with misery as he cried a single tear that traced a path down his cheek, the drop of blood moving in slow motion.

“The shame I feel is crushing, the guilt unbearable!” he exclaimed, yanking his hand back. “I refused to listen, to believe. I’ve let youdown, Olympius, time and time again. I fear—I fear you chose your immortal companion poorly. How can I ever be forgiven for my endless contempt, my awful behaviour, all to drive you away? I was so foolish, so impossible, so damn stupid, so—”

His voice trailed off; Coriolanus hung his head in despair.

Without any hesitation, Olympius, once again hovering above the ground, gently lifted the head of his cherished warrior-god, tenderly cradling it in his hands. He leaned in and brought their faces together with a deep reverence, kissing him passionately and vigorously.

When he finally pulled away, Olympius softly declared, “Beloved, there is nothing for either of us to forgive. We were deceived, not just by Coeus, but by The Fates themselves. We are not to blame for their cruelty, their immoral pleasure in toying with our hearts. Terrible misunderstandings and the lies of others directed our actions.

“And remember, we are immortal. To such as us, two, even three thousand years is a drop in the ocean. We have forever. To survive eternity and flourish, we must embrace temperance and understanding, reject guilt, and be without regret. Let all past grievances fade away. Forget them. I have had to learn this lesson the hard way.

“So I say—to Tartarus with misguided pain and sorrow! They hold no significance when compared to the grandeur of our love. Now, I ask you, for I shall never again force you to do anything or go anywhere. Will you come into the night sky with me? Will you take my hand and be with me again among the stars?”

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