What will I do now that I am here and can barely move? I have no idea. They take no notice of me, their attention solely on the combustible sun in front of them.
Now that I see them up close, I can see that they are such strange, otherworldly creatures. They’re huge, obviously, with eight bulbous sections to their long torsos, covered with filaments propelling them forward at incredible speeds through space.
Here, at what feels like the end of all things, it seems as ridiculous as anything else in my chaotic life to pause and take in the strange beauty of these luminescent creatures.
I never paused to notice beauty before Lo-Ren burst into my life.
The creatures aren’t filled with the spark of life fire that my father first stole from the Great Hall. Instead, they’ve turned one of Earth’s most destructive forces into nourishment, conquering without intent or greed. Just through the simple, honest need of hunger.
The line of them glows as bright as the stars in the distance. For another moment, right before the creature at the head of the line gets to the sun, all its filaments reaching toward the bursting fire that leaps forth from its surface, I feel completely calm.
Absent of rage.
Absent of want.
Absent of greed or jealousy or any other thing.
For one stretching, infinite-feeling moment, I think of Lo-Ren’s smiling face and I feel peace within myself.
This will have to suffice as my final victory. Being in control and stealing the last moment with Lo-Ren that was mine and mine alone, to play over and over in the echoing chamber of my mind
“So it’s fine for you to command me to tell you things, but I can’t ask about the elephant in the room?”
Her voice, sharp and unafraid, echoes in my head. That first day, when I’d tried to order her around and she’d called me on my bullshit.
I loved it. Loved her fire. Loved that she didn’t just roll over and take what I dished out.
“What, are you two big men gonna go and decide the fate of the little woman without any input from me? That’s bullshit.”
Standing up to both of us. Demanding her place in the conversation. In our lives.
Lo-Ren.
That’s when I blink and realize that the warmth of the sun has brought feeling back into my limbs and, with it, the memory of her.
The woman waiting for me back on Earth, and what will happen to her if I let these Devourers eat this star.
My eyes widen, uncrystallized and regenerating as memories and fire and fury rush back into my blood.
No. I will not let this happen. I have come all this way to stop it.
Suddenly, everything sparks at once. Thought and purpose connect. The witch told Kharon he could do much more than he ever thought. He only ever traveled to one other plane because it was all he thought he could do. Because our father told him it was his only purpose.
We saw it with our glamours. We can do so much more than we ever thought. We were limited only by our own beliefs about ourselves, holding us in manageable leashes for our father.
But I’m done with leashes and cages.
I’m not just War. I am Chaos and Destruction.
I amDivision.
In all things large and small.
So, with my wings warmed just enough to be able to use them again, I race to the front of the line, aim my body like an arrow, and fly straight at the lead creature’s head.
I pass straight through it, and at first, there’s a spike of panic. Can I still accomplish my purpose if the creature is not even corporeal?
But as I feel the warmth of its inner fire, all that remains murky becomes clear. I don’t just divide brother from brother in war.
