“Do you really believe that?”
“Of course.”
“I know I haven’t lived as long as you, but if there’s one thing my life has taught me, it’s that you can’t go back. You can’t undo the damage that’s been done. The horrible mistakes we make haunt us forever. The only way the Almighty could fix all these mistakes would be to eliminate His creations and wipe the memory of them from His consciousness.”
“And He may do just that,” Veylo said.
“And you’d be fine? Being destroyed… for His sake?”
“I was born for His sake, and if I need to, I’ll die for it.”
Maggie was disturbed by his line of thinking. How willing he was to be controlled by this being that seemed so childish, so arrogant.
As Veylo rocked to the side, she felt another burst of pain and bowed over.
“Ow!” she cried.
“Are you alright?”
“I think I need to go back to my room.”
“Just a moment. I don’t want you to miss the best part.”
He guided her to the orchestra, to a cushioned chair, which he sat her in.
As she felt her forehead, her palm covered with sweat, and upon inspection, she realized her hair was drenched.
She struggled to fill her lungs with oxygen. What little dancing they’d done seemed to have exhausted her.
Veylo took a glass of champagne from a nearby waiter and ascended a set of steps on a platform beside the orchestra. He signaled to the conductor, and the orchestra promptly ceased.
The guests stopped dancing and turned to him.
“Everyone, make sure to get a glass,” he urged.
The guests looked around for waiters who were scattered around the room, providing them with champagne.
“No rush, no rush,” Veylo said, his eyes alight with excitement, like a child who was about to get a new toy.
Though Maggie was curious what was about to happen, she felt the severe pain returning. Relief had been so fleeting.
As the guests settled with their glasses, Veylo smiled broadly.
“Ah, my friends… my brothers… my sisters. Thank you all for everything you have done for us. Thank you for the magic you have helped us work so we can destroy this terrible place—this place that corrupted our great heights and scattered us between realms. It is this nightmare that must come to an end, and it will. Thanks to all that you have done for the Raze, we can now contribute to the Almighty’s next phase, a phase that will restore us all to the rightful paradise that we once lived in so lavishly.
“My friends, do you remember the days when we danced in the streets of Heaven? When we would bathe in the most majestic baths and swim in the most serene rivers? Remember the times when laughter and storytelling were our greatest worries? And let’s not forget those delicious orgies we so delighted in, when we could pleasure and be pleasured for centuries. This is what we are fighting for. This is what we are bringing back to the immortal realms. And for that to happen, we must offer up a sacrifice. We must destroy the very thing that took from us the magnificence we once reveled in. So, I ask you now, are you with this vision? Is this what you want? For Heaven to be restored as it once was?”
Guests screamed out their agreement, broadening Veylo’s smile even further.
“Yes, yes. Then I ask you all, join me in this sacrifice as well.”
The immortals raised their glasses with him, and they drank.
Veylo seemed to be enjoying his drink like it were the most delicious champagne he’d ever had. He finished it and tossed it over his shoulder. As the glass shattered behind him, the doors around the room opened and several men, dressed in black, wielding swords, stood in the doorway.
The guests quieted.
Veylo chuckled. “This great sacrifice must be made to ensure the security of our plans.”
