Page 63 of Bright Blinding Ruin

Maybe he’s right. Maybe our downfall has begun. Maybe it began when I first saw that flash of light in the alley across the street. Maybe, after eons, Invictis’s time is finally up now that he’s bound to me.

Invictis likes to repeat himself—sometimes I wonder if he just likes to hear himself talk—so when I don’t hear him say a word more, I open my eyes, but when I do, I find I’m not in that hut anymore, trapped between the wall and his body.

I stand in a world of twilight, my feet hovering just above glimmering water. The sky above is a brownish hue, twinged with golden flecks. Everywhere I look, all I can see is the same unobstructed sky, no sun, and the water beneath my feet seems to go on for eternity.

Where am I? What is this?

I do a full spin, and in the distance, I spot something. It’s too far away for me to see what it is. Curiosity gets the better of me, so I head towards it. It’s farther away than it looks, but I make it, and once I do I see it’s a statue.

A statue made of gold.

Invictis in his ascended form, with his six wings outstretched behind him, his arms open, his palms upward, as if he’s here to deliver us all. His golden body glows with an internal, infernal light that’s strong enough to blind those who aren’t careful.

I don’t know how long I stand there, staring up at the statue, but it must be a minute or two. I can’t take my eyes off it. He is… he’s beautiful, even in this form. Destruction brought to life. More than a havoc-wreaking angel.

He’s a god.

The very second that thought crosses my mind, something changes. The light inside him dies, like a candle that’s unceremoniously blown out. His golden body changes, the shining metallic color replaced by the opposite.

What’s the absence of light? It’s not darkness. It’s worse than that, more intense, more pure. It’s that same blackness that takes over Invictis’s body until I stand there, staring up not at a golden figure, but a black one, wings and all.

Something invisible steals the breath out of my lungs and makes me weak at the knees. I feel like falling over, like laying down and surrendering, and the more I look at the being of oblivion, I come to a startling realization.

The vision around me cracks and vanishes, and when I come to, I find I collapsed against Invictis. He caught me, his bare chest all I can see when I return to reality, his hands on me all I can feel. He’s warm. So warm. Warm enough that I now realize how cold that vision made me.

“You,” Invictis pauses, “fainted. Do you have a habit of losing consciousness? If so, I am deeply ashamed of myself for losing to you.”

I open my mouth and try to speak, but no words come out. It’s like the words were stolen out of my throat. The only thing I can do is look up at him, hold onto him while I try to steady myself after seeing that.

Invictis isn’t the only one. Somewhere, another ancient being capable of mass destruction has woken up, and I have the feeling he’s not going to be happy that I bound his brother to me.

I stupidly thought it was over, but it’s not. It’s just beginning.

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