The Ascension

24: Drawn out

 Artemis looked cold, somehow, though Aster knew a god like him probably couldn't feel such things. But his cheeks were pink and he was squinting his eyes, and he was wearing a heavy black coat lined with fur.

He hadn't knocked, merely stepped inside and poured three glasses of water. Aster didn't realize his presence until he was standing before her, glass in hand and coat on the crook of his arm.

She downed the glass in less than a minute, and Artemis refilled it. Only three glasses in, on the eve of a stomach ache, did she stop. "What." She said to him.

"Thought I should stop you from dying. That's all. Where's the boys?"

"Up above." Aster said, gesturing with her head. Senya was already looking down on them from the loft, and began to climb down.

"I'm surprised you don't have frostbite." Artemis said. Something in his voice sounded stilted, like he had no idea what he was going to say next. Or he did, perhaps, but knew it was going to be a hard subject to discuss.

"I'm ok." Aster said, putting on the coat Artemis had brought with him. She drank another glass of water as Senya and Wren made their way down to join in the drinking.

"So we know why you're here, right?" Wren said, weak, tired, and pointing at Artemis. He turned to Aster. "You do know you're going to have to do this? We are legitimately going to die a slow death like this. You have to do whatever he says."

"He hasn't spoken one word on why he's here." Aster said. "'Cept the water bit. So we're dying- whatever. Haven't you been trying to die for months now? Weren't we just fondly missing what it was like to suffer not long ago?"

"Actually suffering about is far less fun." Senya said. "Though. Artemis. Aren't you some sort of alien? Can you just sneak us past Eii and out onto some other planet?"

Artemis was mostly waiting for the kids to figure themselves out. "I could."

"So we do that." Senya said. "Everyone's happy. The sky knows we'll manage to adapt."

"Yeah, but our planet dies." Wren complained. "Because that's where this is going. Everyone's all going to freeze, or drown, or maybe just burn to death at some point. Who knows. But it's our home."

"Uh. Your home got wrecked by a lava monster, remember? And mine was destroyed three years ago. We're in Aeis. And do you honestly care about Aeis? The war-mongering, technology-hoarding science freaks. Let's find some other planet."

"I do feel sort of bad about abandoning everything though." Aster said.

"Oh, your family's all dead!" Senya exclaimed. "Everyone that you know, sans me and Wren, is dead. Even our gods are dead! Let's move on."

"I guess." Aster said, and Wren made a noise of frustration. "This isn't much of a life. But are we really going to find anything better anywhere else?"

"Yeah!" Senya said. "We'll travel until we can settle, and then marry each other and have ten kids and thirty cows. You could train birds. Who knows. There is no limit. I don't know what alien planets are like. I don't know what aliens are like! But Artemis and Eii look fairly human, so I figure we'll find our way to blend."

"I want to stay where I know things." Wren said. "If there's a way to save this place, instead of letting millions die, why shouldn't we do that?"

"Because it's not a 'we'. It's an 'I'." Aster said. "But- I do sort of think- Ikina kept saying, the last few times we met, that I was meant for this. That, you know, destiny was a thing. That I didn't have a choice, even if I wasn't going to be forced. Maybe I should trust that things will be fine."

Artemis, on the verge of tapping his toes, decided to speak again. "Actually, that is nearly the reason I came." He reached into his coat and gave Aster a small envelope. It was wrapped with an orange ribbon, carefully, and had her name on the outside. As Artemis continued to speak, Aster began to open it. "They made me promise to deliver this to you. Said you knew why you were getting it. I didn't have to bring you anything else, but I couldn't stand to watch you die. Up-"

"Oh." Aster said, only half listening. Inside the envelope was a folded letter and a long, golden feather. One of Ikina's, like Wren used to own. It glimmered and sparkled like some sort of fake treasure. Instead of reading the letter, Aster place the envelope in her pocket and twirled the feather about. "Sorry. Continue."

"We watch you, you see. The other gods. Ikina was nearly our leader, but in their absence a man named Drasil has been- Oh, no need for you to hear this. We watch you. Eii is not in charge, or even on our counsel, but she visits. She kept you immortal, and I knew if you were to die, she would have further altered your form in your death sleep. Thought you should be awake and give consent on your own terms."

"What's with Eii? What is she, anyway?" Wren asked.

Artemis shrugged. "We don't know. She isn't evil, even if I can't stand her. I just figure you should be alive when it comes time for you to... change."

"She has to do it?" Senya said, surprised. "You sound more and more like it's inevitable. What about our planetary getaway?"

"I could do that." Artemis said. "But... Aster, you're going to be a god. We aren't psychic. We do not have time travel. But this fact is... known."

"What is it like?"

"A lot."

"Fine."

The boys watched her.

"I'll take you then. Only takes a day or two."

"Will I have to be called Ikina?" Aster asked.

"There's no need. You can go by any name you wish. In one hundred years or so, it'll be dogma."

Artemis began to walk out the door, Aster following. "Are they coming?" She asked, looking back.

"It only takes a day." Artemis said in response. He left his water with them.

Not long after they had left, Wren turned to Senya.

"That could have turned out better."

"No, I'm not very sure that's true."