The Captive Titan [ManxMan]

Epilogue

~Epilogue~

"You're early," Gwyn says, and though he does not actually ask, it is clear that he is wondering why, probably because Atlas and I are more often late. After all, since we only ever have dinner with my uncle alone, it is not as though we need to arrive on time; Gwyn does not care about our punctuality and never hesitates to start eating if we do not show up by the time the food has been served, even if he always does wait even after eating just to make sure we do make it back each night and have enough to eat.

Atlas seems to catch onto the question my uncle is not asking, too, as the Titan shakes his head. "No luck today," he says. "We just ran out of land and decided to call it a day."

We had been travelling some of the islands today, and when we finished the most recent one a short while ago, it was just easier to stop early than to start on another one, which would take at least a few more hours, making us miss dinner entirely.

It's all very frustrating.

Spending time with Atlas each and every day, from waking to sleeping - on the occasion that I actually do sleep, though I am getting better about that as Hypnos' lessons teach me more about mental defense against the few Oneiroi who escaped with Zeus - will undoubtedly always be an amazing thing, but having to go out every day to look for something that cannot be tracked and does not necessarily want to be found gets tiring. That still fails to take away from the joy that comes from being able to hold Atlas' hand again, but each day brings with it a new challenge to my will to see this quest through. Three months is a long time to go without seeing even the smallest of successes, after all.

And we do not even know how close we are to finding a realm, which is probably the worst part.

"You're making good progress," Gwyn says, after a thoughtful moment, just as the smells of dinner begin to waft into the room from the corridor connecting the dining hall to the kitchen, signalling that dinner will be arriving soon. "I am confident you'll find it."

One day, goes left unsaid, though I am sure we all hear it. And as disheartening as it can be to think about how long it might take to find a fresh, untouched realm, my uncle is not wrong, and his trust never ceases to be encouraging. Besides, if Atlas, who is not even part of my pantheon, has not given up on finding a realm that does not even remotely benefit his own, then I will not be giving up either since this is for my pantheon.

I just have to focus on the Now.

The clack of a glass being set down too heavily on the table draws me from my thoughts, making me look up from the empty plate before me to eye my uncle, but Gwyn is not looking at me. Instead, he is staring out the nearest window, but his attention does not seem to actually be on the view outside; his gaze is distant as he grips the glass, which appears to be slowly cracking further between his fingers without actually shattering.

"He's alive?" Gwyn all but whispers with such uncertainty that, had I not seen his mouth form the words, I would not have assumed it was my uncle who spoke, and between one breath and the next, he vanishes. 

[AN: That's a wrap! The prologue of the next and final book of this series - The Reincarnated King - will be posted September 27th (PST). I hope you all have an amazing rest of your summer/winter, and I hope to see you in the next book!]

[UPDATE: The prologue of the Reincarnated King has been posted.]