Humanity would be lost without the Gods' guidance.

- The Canon

[Ophelia]

Cyril kneeled beside his mother, rolling her onto her back, caressing a cheek. I held my breath as he turned his eyes back to me, a slow shake of his head and a single rolling tear confirmed my fear. Tiny dark strands rose from her stilled body, swirling slowly as if in mournful procession. Her body dissolved into a black mist, the essence of Nyx's Chaos. Lifting high above us, it dispersed into the air, disappearing like steam from a quenched fire. She was gone.

Losing Nyx pierced my heart. But it must be much so worse for Cyril. He remained on his knees, trembling, with head bowed. I kneeled at his side and wrapped my arm around him to offer what little condolence I could.

Cyril jumped up, throwing off my arm. He drew out his obsidian knife, the one given to him by his mother, gripping it with white knuckles. Seething, he yelled at the God, "You monster! That was my mother!"

Ares raised a crystalline eyebrow while lowering his long sword. "So, that is why the Chaos lives within you. Disgusting that Nyx would mate with such filthy creatures." Cyril held his knife out, pointing it at the God, to which Ares chuckled. "Do you think you have a chance? Your mother fell to me, and that shall be your destiny as well."

Cyril spit his reply. "I have killed one Goddess, perhaps another, and I will kill you. That is destiny!" He stepped forward, the knife shifting in his hand, then turned his head to me and whispered, "Stay behind me."

"No," I replied, stepping beside him and pulling forth my crystal knife. I would not let him sacrifice himself to protect me. "We do this together, like we did with Nemesis. That is our only chance." After a moment, he nodded, accepting the truth of it.

"And is this the treasonous Moirai?" Ares pointed his sword at me, grinning. "I shall make your death particularly painful."

"The rule of Gods is over, Ares," I shouted. "The loom was destroyed. This fight is meaningless."

"It has meaning to me, Moirai!" Ares replied. "Coming here was a bold move, but did you not realize that when the loom powers the Gateway? And now you are trapped like animals in a cage waiting for slaughter. Once free of the Chaos, we will eventually rebuild, and the humans will feel our wrath."

With a nod, I converted to Moirai form and moved to the left, drifting and circling around the God. A swirling dark cloud, turbulent with rage, enveloped Cyril as he changed to Chaos form. He moved to the right. Lifting his sword, Ares glanced to Cyril, and then to me.

When Ares' eyes came to me, I charged, leading with my glass knife. Blue-white bolts burst from his blade, streaking my way. I dodged one, then another, but the third struck me in the chest. The pain shot through me like a flash fire, a burning agony that blinded me from all other sensations or thought. Falling. Then a thud that ripped away my breath. As my wits returned, I found myself lying on the floor, my cheek against the coolness of the flat stones.

Cyril launched talons of black Chaos, raking across Ares' crystal body. Jumping back closer to me, the God yelled out an angry cry. Slashing with a glowing sword, Ares sliced through the talons, shattering them into harmless wisps.

Drifting in his Chaos form, Cyril drove tight spirals of darkness at the God, punching forward. Ares blocked with his sword, deflecting away the attack. Laughing, Ares fired bright bolts from his sword. The same that sent me to the floor. Again and again, they hit Cyril, bursting and wrenching the Chaos from him. His pain-filled cries stabbed at my heart. He collapsed to the floor in human form, shuddering.

"All too easy," Ares said with a hateful grin.

In desperation, I rolled, grabbing my knife from the floor. Once and again, I hacked at Ares' leg, cutting deep. The God howled and jumped back. Snarling, he advanced on me, thrusting his sword forward. I crawled backwards across the stone floor, but I could not escape. As I collapsed to my back, Ares held the crystal sword to my neck, the sharp tip drawing a drop of blood.

"I have had enough of you," the God snarled.

I said a silent prayer to an unknown God to accept my life and spare Cyril, and awaited the last sword thrust.

It did not come.

Instead, Ares wailed as a crystal sword tip burst out from his chest, then withdrew. Behind him a Goddess stood resolute, gripping her sword. Demeter. Ares staggered back with eyes widened, turning to see who wounded him.

Seizing the opportunity, Cyril snatched his obsidian knife from the floor and leaped forward, plunging it into Ares' torso. Black tendrils erupted from the blade and streaked through the God's body like jagged lightning. Ares stiffened, turning his head back. He opened his mouth as if to scream, but no sound came out. Ares' crystal body disintegrated, crumbling into a pile of white sand beside me.

I stood and turned my eyes up to the Goddess who saved me. "Thank you. But why help us?"

Expressionless, Demeter sheathed her sword. "An atonement," she said in a solemn voice.

Cyril put an arm around my waist, and I leaned into him. He asked, "What happens now?"

Demeter answered, "Without the loom and the Ambrosia it provided, we Gods will eventually revert to our previous forms and this Realm will fade away. The Order we called ourselves when we lived in peace. I will see to that." She pointed to where Cyril's mother once laid. "And fear not for Nyx. Zeus thought he killed her once, but she returned. So she shall again."

I lowered my head. "We are still trapped in this Realm, and the other Gods may not be so kind."

Demeter smiled. "I shall help you with that. You do not belong here."

Stepping over to the Gateway, the Goddess placed her hand against the stone circle. Golden threads of Ambrosia flowed from her hand into the stones. The shimmer within the circle flickered, then held.

"Go quickly," Demeter said. "And tell all men of what happened here. It is well time that humanity plots their own destiny unbonded."

"Thank you," I said again with a bow. We entered the portal together, hand in hand.

Nyx's house appeared before us as if by magic, dark but for one window. The stars sparkled in a night sky, each one a spark of hope. Somewhere up there in the Cosmos, other people such as us lived. A chilled breeze swirled around us, invoking a shiver. I pressed myself against Cyril and allowed him to warm me in more than one way.

We were a mess, even by the dim light. Scrapes and bruises marred our arms and faces. Our tattered clothes carried blood splotches from my arm wound. Cyril pushed back the tangles of hair from my face.

He wrinkled his brow. "Nighttime already? Have we been gone that long?"

From behind, a loud bray made us jump. Out of the shadows trotted a burro.

"Dash!" Cyril exclaimed, scratching the animal behind the ears. "What are you doing here?"

The front door creaked, opening enough for Selene to poke her head out. A smile erupted on her face. "Finally, you have returned!" She turned back, motioning to someone inside, then came to wrap us both in a warm hug.

Kit sprinted out the open door and jumped on her older brother, wrapping her arms around his neck and nearly bowling him over. They exchanged words in sign language, and from the grins, apparently teasing each other. Cyril shook his head. "Kit thinks I got us lost."

Selene nodded. "A long time you were gone, twelve days now. We did fear you lost forever."

Both Cyril's and my jaws dropped. I said, "Only a few hours passed for us. Time must move slower in the Gods' Realm."

The smile faded from Selene's face as she glanced around, noticing the conspicuous absence. "Where is Nyx?"

After a deep breath, Cyril replied, signing to Kit at the same time. "We succeeded. The Gods are now cut off from the world. But--" The pause hung like smoke. "Nyx didn't make it."

Stunned, Selene stood motionless, then dropped her head into her hands, shuddering in a silent sob. Kit leaned against her brother.

I placed a hand on Selene's shoulder. "She sacrificed herself so that we would persevere. But I think Nyx is not truly dead." I pointed to the Cosmos. "Perhaps she watches us now, one day to return again."

Selene wiped her eyes. "You must be hungry. Clean up while we warm up a pot of stew. And then tell us everything." She pointed at the gash on my arm, which still dripped red. "I will tend to your wound."

Near the door, Cyril grasped my hand, stopping me. He turned to Selene, saying, "Give us a moment?" Selene nodded and went inside, but Kit remained at the open doorway.

Cyril took hold of my other hand, and we faced each other. I gazed into those impossibly deep green eyes, and my heart fluttered. Now that the Gods had no more reign over our world, what destiny would we share? The silence of the moment engulfed us.

He dipped his head. "Ophelia, thank you. If not for you, this new freedom would not have been possible. I am glad you found me."

"As am I." With a breath, I broke the subject that weighed on my mind. "What is our destiny now, Cyril?"

"Our destiny is what we would choose, unbonded. I say we have one together. What do you say?"

A warmth blossomed deep within my heart and spread to every part of me. In a whisper, I replied, "I say yes."

Kit popped out of the doorway, narrowing her eyes at her brother. She signed something to him with exaggerated motions. With one hand, he shooed her away while rolling his eyes, mumbling, "I was getting to that..."

"What did she say to you?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Well--" he hawed with a grin, "Kit thinks I should get on to kissing you."

I pulled him closer, so that hardly a breath separated our lips. "So, will you?"

And thus he did.