Page 60 of Glass Wings
“Wait,” Reign said, “what does that mean? Does that mean that Allienna’s child . . .” Reign trailed off, pushing the thought out of her mind. No, the life inside Allienna’s belly was healthy and thriving. There could be no risk there.
“If you came here worried for Reign’s life, why not eliminate her so we can move on with our days?” A young boy’s voice sounded behind her, followed by the splashing of water.
Reign whipped her head around to see Tristan, looking as gaunt and irritated as an overworked middle-aged man in a child’s body.
“Is it you again?” Reign reached out her hands towards the boyand gasped when her hand landed on his shoulder. “It is you,” she cried out and pulled him into her, hugging him deeply.
“You can’t see the boy's face, but I assure you that he takes no delight in that hug,” Djoser smirked. Reign let go and squatted down to get on the same level as him.
“You visited me in my vision,” she stammered.
Tristan simply nodded back at her. “I prefer to exist and travel through visions or dreams. The physical world is not to my taste.”
Reign shook her head and laughed, overjoyed and saddened both simultaneously. This was real. He was here. Tristan wasn’t dead.
The mass of blackness and smoke had expanded, darkening the sky. Ayurveda stepped forward, the translucent blue of her form starting to solidify and turn into a fully opaque red. Both light and dark emanated from her form as the scene turned into a hellish landscape between the two deities.
Karmakara stood there, smiling, a vision of peace and beauty highlighting the horror and threat of annihilation that stood near.
“What’s wrong?” Tristan asked, seeing the worry on Reign’s face. She stared upward, immobile, where the black mass was now double its size. Reign had a nagging feeling that it worked like a black hole—once you were enveloped, you were forever gone.
“Is it the Life Gifter? Don’t worry about him, he’s just a big softy,” Tristan continued, slugging Reign in the shoulder, having to jump to reach.
Reign watched as Precession and Roksana lifted their wings and flew back up the mountain peak to the temple door. They were leaving just like she had wanted to do. This was it then, the moment she would cease to exist. The twins must have sensed the change in energy to be that of demise. There could be no other reason to flee after they all had endured this far.
“Can you please just kill me so this can be over with?” Reign turned up to the Life Gifter, begging.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Reign heard Djoser yell at her.
“Reign, no,” Arryn’s hushed voice sounded mournful, teary.
Reign jumped into the air, her wings carrying her as she flew closer to the mass growing above them in the sky.
Karmakara rose in the air to follow, flashes of light and stardust illuminating patches of temporal distortions. Explosions of different realities and times were held within them, and Reign could feel each one pulse into her; different outcomes, different futures, that all were possible.
Distortions surrounded her like ripples in a cosmic pond. As she soared higher, the boundaries between realities blurred, and Reign found herself suspended in a celestial ballet of potential. The glimpses of alternate timelines unfolded like pages of a cosmic book, revealing moments both poignant and harrowing.
In one vision, she cradled a beautiful blonde baby in her arms, a joyous testament to her best friend's enduring happiness. The warmth of that future wrapped around her, a promise of love and connection. Yet, even as she reveled in this vision, other possibilities tugged at the fringes of her awareness.
A human figure emerged, a love interest whose adoration for Reign was palpable. The request to be handcuffed to a bed echoed in her mind, a whisper of desire entwined with vulnerability. Her heart quickened at the intensity, a choice between passion and the mundane.
Then the tapestry of fate took a darker turn. Arryn, once vibrant and alive, lay cold and lifeless on the temple floor. Tristan and Amis, figures she had trusted, stood callously above him, laughter echoing.
The most haunting vision seized her with a visceral grip. In this alternate reality, she felt herself come to a halt, her wings frozen mid-flap. The atmosphere shifted, and a sense of dread washed over her. A devastated Earth stretched out before her—red eyes gleaming in the shadows, towering over mountains of lifeless bodies. The moon, once a comforting presence, severed from its earthly bond. Darkness enveloped everything.
Reign's breath caught in her throat as the gravity of this apocalyptic vision pulled her back down. Ayurveda awaited below, ready to unleash hatred and heat upon her descent. But the impendingconfrontation seemed inconsequential in the face of the last alternative reality—a realm swallowed by darkness, where hope had been extinguished.
“This is not our enemy,” Reign said, realizing, whispering to herself. Her feet touched the ground, and she locked eyes with Tristan, who seemed to know and be able to see the things she had seen.
Ayurveda stood fifteen feet from Reign, the heat molting off her and burning Reign’s exposed skin. The goddess stepped towards her, only malice and anxiety swirling around her despite Reign’s open and pleading eyes.
“You are not my enemy,” she repeated towards Ayurveda. “You are protecting what’s here, what you made. So am I. You can’t want me erased, gone from the creation of this realm. You need me here. You need all of us here.”
Ayurveda paused her expressionless face, that of an ice statue, but something still resonated. Reign had struck a chord in this song, in this battle of wills.
“It is our first family reunion,” Karamakara’s melodic voice sang through the peak.
“I don’t think a family reunion is supposed to be this dramatic,” Amis said, running his hand through his hair. Djoser and Tristan both laughed while Arryn smirked, shaking his head.
