For the damned | ✓

40

CENTURIES LATER

"STOP, YOU CAN'T DO that! Get back here!"

Delilah chuckled as Helio ran past her, her usually serious husband only able to be stressed out by two people in this world and this time, it was not her. The cause of it all laughed uncontrollably as he was being chased in circles around the fountain, Helio's scythe in his hand. When the almighty Grim Reaper gestured at her to help, she simply shrugged, going back to her paperwork.

"There, I got you!"

Helio huffed as he held him up, shaking his head sternly at him.

"You can't be stealing my scythe," he said.

In response the boy looked at her, his eyes clouded with the same nebulae as Helio's, the stars glittering golden with him.

"Mom said I could," he pouted.

"Did I?" Delilah mused.

Their son grinned playfully at the both of them, hopping down back on the ground. Even though he had Helio's eyes, he had her brown skin and hair, his aura a gold so vibrant no one could look away from him. Ten, he was now. They hadn't figured out his powers quite yet, but they didn't need to. He'd find them when it was time.

"What if you cut yourself on it?" Helio scolded him, clearly full of worry.

"It'll be fine," their son promised him," I'm immortal, right?"

"So is your mother," Helio said," still, that didn't keep her from dying twice on me."

"Hey!" Delilah protested," I didn't actually die."

"You told that story too many times already, Dad," their son chuckled, jumping up and down at him," anyway, take me with you to work today! I'll promise to be good, really."

"You're always good, my sweet," Delilah smiled warmly at him.

"That you are," Helio said gently, lowering himself on his knees in front of his son," I'll leave in five minutes, go get dressed."

"I will!" the boy beamed happily," I'll be right back."

He was already off before Helio could say any more, her husband calling out after their son as he ran towards the house.

"Don't be late, Nico!"

When the doors slammed shut behind Nico, he looked back at Delilah, clearly concerned.

"Do you think I'm being too strict?" he said.

"You?" Delilah laughed," never. If any of those gods at Vox Dei see how soft you are with our Nico, they'd make fun of you for years."

"The gods only see me annoyed," he sighed," though to be fair, that's on them for making my job harder."

"It is," she chuckled, rising to her feet then as she placed a kiss on his forehead," there, that's for good luck." She hummed as she walked with him through the garden, gaze rising towards the sky. "Today will be a very good day, I can sense it."

"How do you know?" he asked.

"I just do," she smiled, resting her head against his arm as they stared at the house.

"Do you think he'll see the future as well?" Helio wondered," or will he have the power of life and death both at once?"

"There never has been a child of a Reaper and a Weaver before," she said," so I'm not sure what to expect."

"Either way, I want him to be free," Helio said," free to do whatever he wants without any burden on his shoulders."

"He will be," Delilah reassured him," he has us, my sun. More importantly, he has the whole world lying at his feet ready for him to discover everything he wants to."

Nico was back out of the house then, jumping in his father's arms as he beamed at her. "See you soon, Mom."

"Not soon enough, my stars," she smiled, kissing him on his cheek," I miss you already."

They were off then, leaving her to finish her paperwork. She glanced into the fountain absentmindedly, seeing the past in the ripples of the water for a moment. There were Theresa and Jonathan, who had found their way back to each other, even up to their graves, now forgotten, but still together. Then Roshan, old in a rocking chair, with no wings and a dying husband to care for. In his last days, he was happy.

Niccolo's funeral had been private, but that's exactly how he would have wanted it. He hated all the gods and his prophecies alike, he had always said. If he saw that their child was named after him, he'd probably laugh, but afterwards, he'd surely cry. His memory would never be forgotten.

Now everything was back to how it had been, though her human habits had seeped into her life. She still checked her zodiac, even when knowing she and Helio controlled the stars, still brewed tea with soothing herbs instead of sipping ambrosia. All that had changed was that she was all-powerful, which meant her astrology courses had turned into loads of paperwork she had to catch up on.

She made sure to finish earlier than usual today, the date not forgotten to her as she teleported herself away. Tomorrow. Tomorrow was the day everything had happened, but more importantly, it was the anniversary of his death. When she stepped foot in his temple, she could see it all happening again in front of her eyes, a nightmare she could never erase. It didn't matter. As long as he wasn't forgotten, he lived on, so it was fine if her heart broke time and time again in this temple. Even centuries later, she could feel her heart break.

She had made it a tradition to visit his temple the day before he died, something she did even without Helio by her side. The day of his death they came together, but this moment was for her alone. Niccolo had been more of a family to her than her own mother had been and he had given his life for her. It was a burden she didn't know how to carry.

The temple was empty these days. In the beginning, none of the believers had wanted to leave, unable to process Niccolo's death. Later, when it was confirmed multiple times, they finally left, the cracks in the walls proof of divinity which was no longer here. Only she and Helio kept everything up around here now, because without Niccolo and his power it was all breaking down.

A new oracle was to come sooner or later, the gods were saying, but it had taken centuries for Niccolo to appear, so she doubted it would be soon. She was thankful they were rare. No price was worth the prophecies they would get, not with how she had seen it destroy Niccolo.

Her footsteps resounded loudly throughout the vacant temple, the cracked marble underneath her feet leading her to the center, where four walls closed around a room shrouded in smoke and secrets. Niccolo always had liked that room, because it was the only place where his believers would leave him alone. It was where he had his prophecies. She never had set foot inside, not only because she wasn't allowed to, but also because it was his space. Even in death, she had to accept that.

Every year she paused in front of the door though, staring at the wood and wishing for his peace. This year too, she closed her eyes. Right when she did so however, she could feel the air shift, her head snapping towards the ceiling as magic started swirling around the temple again. The cracks in the walls glowed golden, the sky became vibrant, the smoke unfurled itself around her feet. With a hiss the engraved snakes on the floor became alive again, their voices eerily human when they crawled around.

"A new oracle," she heard someone whisper," they say he's finally come."

"New? Are we sure about that yet?"

"He won't like us."

"They never do."

She turned towards the door, eyes wide as she reached out her hand towards it. Could it be? Really?  What if it was someone else though, a completely new oracle with eyes like ice and a voice as cool? She could feel the fire burn from inside the room before she even opened it though, a familiar sensation beginning to fill her heart.

Then, she turned the doorknob, voice resounding through the room.

"Niccolo?"

last chapter!! i am SO sorryyyyyy for updating terribly, i literally love you if you finished this, you have my HEART🫶🏼❤️ fun fact: i dislike open endings when i read them, but i love them when i write them. also if anyone wants my opinion on what i imagine happening after this open ending lmk i'll write out an essay. thank you so so much for reading, i hope y'all have an amazing summer!! all my love xxx