In Pursuit of Kronos' Scythe (Completed)

Epilogue - Part II

Piotr Mikolaj

When The Symphony landed on a garden, they were transformed back into human forms. Piotr glanced around. The soil they were stepping on was white in colour, but it wasn't snow. Piotr light-stepped on it and the soil shuffled like the moving clouds in the sky. He gasped and was answered by the lilting of robins. The birds twittered around him before flying to perch on a thicket of trees. Clouds swirled around the sycamores, giving Piotr the impression that the trees were wearing long-sleeved white cloths. A backdrop of white mountains ringed them, giving Piotr a sense of protection. Sunray glazed over the sharp pinnacles, creating a halo above them. 

"Are-- Are we in Heaven?" Tharalea asked, still not daring to move an inch, scared that the soil made of clouds would betray her and cause her to fall.

"Oh, look at this."

Cytherea ran to a marble water fountain built against a stone wall of about ten acres wide. It was connected by small channels that were descending to a stream. The lowest basin of the fountain was decorated with carved reliefs of two bulls resting under two oak trees. Eagles perched on the branches, looking down at the quest seekers. If it wasn't for the brown tone of the sculptures, Piotr would have believed they were real. Sculpted elephants were carved along the stone wall, where clear water emerged from the nuzzles and flowed to the basin.

A sculpture of gazebo could be seen in the center of the stone wall, where a man stood tall before it, holding a thunderbolt. Gods and goddesses of all shapes knelt before the man. Heavier shaded storm clouds were carved above Aegis, the thunderbolt. Piotr knew at once they were being sent to the sky, Zeus' Palace. Aegis was given to Zeus by the Cyclopes, as a token of gratitude for saving them from Tartarus, where they were trapped by Kronos.

Next to Zeus, a woman stood almost as tall as him. The carved peacocks surrounding her were painted in rainbow hues, unlike the other animals, signaling the pride and priority of the woman. She held a bowl of juice in her right hand, which was painted in bright red. That must be the pomegranate juice, the emblem of fertility for Hera. Piotr could even see Hera's frown from the sculpture. The Queen of all Olympians was known for her jealousy and tetchy temper. Immediately he disliked her; she sent a negative aura that was stronger than Ares'.

"I wonder how a water fountain could entice rookies like you for fifteen minutes."

A voice rang from behind the quest seekers, and they turned around at a speed that could have sprained their necks. An old janitor, bald head, and in a grey toga, gestured them to follow him without giving them any name. He swept the clouds away, opening paths for them.

They walked past gardens that were teeming with colourful flowers. White daisies peeped through a fence of bluebells. The wind blew past them and the bluebells danced in the air; Piotr could even hear the clear jingling of the flowers. The wind also brought along a potpourri of scents which Piotr registered as a mixture of jasmine, roses, and apple syrup. Snipping of shears could be heard from a background of harp's music, as the gardeners trimmed a wall of hedges that were festoons by pink honeysuckles. Grasshoppers bounced off the caps of the gardeners as if they were playing on trampolines in a music concert.

Piotr couldn't say more than "Whoa." He was in Heaven. His nose gave a tickling sensation, and he could feel his tears lingering at his windpipe. Those were the tears of wholeness. The tears of having triumphed life. He stopped to inhale the fragrance from a cluster of lipstick-pink peonies. The flowers looked like roses but they had more layers. He was thinking about buying Tharalea a bouquet of peonies in the future when the herald yelled at him.

"What do you think you're doing? Quick, the King of the Sky does not wait."

The Symphony hurried after him and walked along an aisle flanked by creeks. Cobwebs were formed among the bushes by the banks, glistening in the littoral light that the water reflected. Fishes torpedoed up the water, and kingfishers flashed by in a flurry of blue and gold, using the creek as a highway. After snatching their meals, they flew to a mahogany door.