Epilogue

Decimus' eyes snapped open with a start.

He didn't know where he was, but this was obviously a dream. Or something like one, at least. He didn't recognize his surroundings; that said, there wasn't much to recognize. There was nothing but white, he was essentially standing on nothing and was surrounded by nothing but an endless, opaque white haze.

Am I dead? They always said it would look different…

Recollection of what had happened flooded back into the turian's mind. He had done it; Karden was dead, and he had averted galactic war. Although that came at a price; he would have to take the blame for the organization that started this mess. The last thing he remembered was Saren Arterius knocking him out cold.

Breathing hard, he ran his hand down his face, but recoiled slightly. He still had both his eyes, and all the scars that riddled his face were gone. He felt…young, fresh, not like someone who had gone through two weeks of stress. A feeling of rejuvenation filled the charcoal-hued turian. That was until his surroundings changed, and he was standing in a more familiar spot; the middle of nowhere in the Periculosum Desert. He had gotten lost here once when he was young; the brash and foolish child he was wandered off into the wastes out of anger, and hadn't returned for two days. This was the exact spot where he had collapsed from the heat, next to a shimmering reflection he had mistaken for a puddle. Luckily, the mirage hadn't been the end of him that day, but he was wondering if it would be now.

The revitalized feeling was gone as he ambled up a small dune, squinting slightly from Trebia's harsh glare, which would soon be gone, as the sun was setting behind the distant mountains. The desert was absolutely dead silent; he could see a few Jargumsun scavenger birds watching on a single, gnarled tree, their bald, cartilage covered heads bobbing slightly as they eyed the turian, anxious for a meal before they huddled together for the freezing cold night. The tree looked unusual; it didn't belong in this environment. The setting sun made it nothing but an eerie, black silhouette, almost like a moving painting.

This was obviously the same spot in the Periculosum where he had collapsed all those years ago, left as food for the Jargumsun until a band of nomads found him and brought him back to Secidar. He could see a band of them out in the distance; they had pitched up a small settlement under the shade of a dune, clambering inside to escape the cold. Some of the Secidar region's native people had decided to stay away from civilization; the nomads of Secidar were one of the few examples of how the turians had lived before the industrial age. One of the cloaked, dark skinned turians noticed the man on top of the hill; he began to walk forward, moving slowly from the thick sand. Decimus stayed in place, watching as the nomad approached. Finally, he crested the hill and stood next to him, and that was when he realized the cloaked man hadn't noticed him. What had caught his eye was the small turian child lying still in the sand under Decimus' feet. The native took no notice of Decimus, just reached down, lifting the child up by the hand and guiding him towards their camp.

Decimus stood still for a second, watching the scene unfold. He was watching himself being rescued in third person; and it shocked him. Why would a man desperate to get indoors before the night time chill go out of his way to rescue a young city boy?

"Beautiful thing, isn't it?" A voice chimed in. "Gives one hope. There are good people out there, if you know where to look."

Decimus' gaze snapped to the side, and he saw Glasius sauntering towards him through the sand, taking his place next to him.

"Am…am I dead, Glasius?" Decimus asked, watching as his old mentor gazed out at the setting sun.

"Do you think you're dead?"

Decimus looked around. His surroundings looked real, although they had the slight tint that was common in the dreams that had plagued him over the past week.

"No…"

"Then you're not." Glasius chuckled, patting Decimus on the shoulder. "Your mind is only seeing what it wants to see. You're not feeling very motivated right now, so maybe a good show of kindness would help. Your mind recognizes that."

Decimus looked sideways at his mentor, a quizzical look on his face. "Where am I right now? I mean, in the real world."

"This isn't the real world?"

"You know what I mean."

Glasius smiled. "You're lying unconscious not far from here, in a high security prison located in Sarcanus."

"So I'm alive."

"Quite alive, actually."

"Then why are you here? You're dead. I'm just dreaming."

"I'm not here, Decimus. You're just seeing what you want to see."

Decimus tilted his head to the side, still not wrapping his head around this.

"You might be angry at me, kid, but I taught you a lot. Don't you think it would be fitting that I teach you one last lesson?"

Decimus nodded slowly, before looking back at the nomad man as he started a fire, heating up the young Decimus as the nighttime chill swept over the desert.

"You never learned that man's name. Nor did anyone else. He just did the right thing, and didn't bother taking credit for it. Sometimes the best deeds are the ones that go unnoticed."

"How…how is this…?"

"Nobody will know what you did, Decimus. But your soul will rest easy knowing you saved millions of lives with one simple action. That action may seem like a massive hurdle at the time, but remember this; no hurdle is too large for a titan."

"What do you…?" Decimus rose to his feet, intent on looking sideways in anger at his mentor's cryptic words, before he realized Glasius was gone, not even a pair of footprints where he used to be.

Sarcanus, Palaven

January 15th, 2166

Silphina tugged her jacket on tighter as the desert cold began to sweep over.

About a week had passed since Decimus had killed Councilor Karden; the news of his assassination hit the media like a storm; usually, something like this would've been covered up, but due to the recent leak that Decimus was supposedly behind the enigmatic turian cult, they had to calm the panicking public by stating the mastermind had been apprehended. However, the strange thing was that the leaked story had convicted her as well. She couldn't be certain, but she had a feeling Decimus had something to do with the fact that she was proven innocent.

After a week of searching in fear that Decimus had been killed then and there, she had finally found him; a maximum security prison located in Sarcanus, a large town north of Secidar, Decimus' hometown. The prison had a very sleek, modern feel to it; constructed out of the same streamlined, silver material found in Cipritine. It was obvious why they would build a prison here; any convict escaping on foot would have ten miles of desert on either side of them. Essentially, there was nowhere they could run, unless they were seasoned desert travellers.

She stepped inside the sliding door, striding across the grey, tiled floor towards the receptionist, a turian woman with her nose buried in a record book. Silphina knocked on the glass, and the turian looked up.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm looking to see a prisoner." Silphina said.

"Ma'am, the prisoners here don't take visitors. Move along."

Silphina stayed where she was, crossing her arms. "I'm a Spectre."

The woman narrowed her eyes, opening her console to confirm her claim. When it beeped to indicate it was correct, she shrugged. "Alright, who?"

"Decimus Maxus."

The turian scratched the back of her neck, ruffling the plume of feathers female turians often wore in discomfort. "Decimus was due for execution two hours ago, miss."

Silphina's heart dropped. Not willing to believe he was dead, she stepped forward. "Is he…is he gone?"

The woman looked even more uncomfortable now. "Well…er, no. He escaped a few hours ago. We think it might have had something to do with the crippled salarian who showed up with a stockpile of Lysenthi fish. Disgusting, those things…"

"Do you know where he might have gone?" Silphina asked, her heart still pounding from thinking Decimus had already been executed.

"No idea. If you think you do, please let us know."

Silphina nodded, backing up and stepping out of the sliding door. As she pulled her coat on tighter to block out the cold, her omni-tool beeped, indicating there was a new message waiting for her. Intrigued, she lifted her arm, scrolling through her inbox until she found the one marked 'unread.'

From: {Sender blocked}

To: Silphina T'Vael

While the sun burns our backs, we ride ever strong,

Soon, their kingdom, will fall!

From the mists of the mountains, comes a deafening call,

That echoes across the plains,

In this alien land we may not be one at home,

But soon this home shalt be ours!

{End of message.}

Smiling slightly, Silphina half walked half jogged to her shuttle, knowing exactly what this meant.

Decimus sat with his head low, a cloak thrown over himself to block out the cold and to make sure nobody recognized him. The sun was beginning to rise again, but it was still freezing cold.

After about five hours of waiting, a shuttle landed down a few yards away from his hiding spot; a small bench located on the doorstep of one of Aunt Octavia's neighbours. The small overhang cloaked the seated turian in the shadows, assuring him that he wouldn't be seen by any passing pedestrians. He waited for another few minutes as Silphina stepped out of the small, blue skycar, looking around impatiently. Smiling to himself, he rose to his feet.

"Decimus!" Silphina shouted as soon as she saw him. She bolted forward, running straight into him and wrapping her arms around his midsection while she rested her head on his chest. Decimus stood frozen for a moment, before lowering his hand on the small of her back, leaning in close.

"Silph…"

"I thought you were dead, Decimus." Silphina sighed, relief in her voice. "Don't ever do that to me again."

Decimus' stomach twisted for a second at her words, knowing what he was going to have to tell her. "I'm…I'm offended, Silph. You know I'm harder to kill than that."

The asari smiled, closing her eyes as she enjoyed his embrace. "How's Kesh?"

"He's…" Decimus sighed, rubbing her on the back. "He's not all there…"

"I don't blame him." Silphina replied, looking up at him. "I'd be the same if I went through that."

Decimus nodded. "Yeah…"

Pulling away, Silphina looked him straight in the eye. "What are you going to do now? The galaxy still thinks you're a criminal, we could-"

"Silph…" Decimus sighed.

"We could hide, I know a few places…"

"Silph…"

"They'll never find us, no matter how hard they look…"

"Silph!" Decimus cried, putting his hands on her shoulders and shaking her slightly. "I can't!"

The asari looked up at him, a confused look in her icy blue eyes. "Wh-what?"

Decimus sighed, closing his single eye and hanging his head. "I'm…I'm going to turn myself back in. The only reason I escaped was…was to say goodbye to you…"

Silphina's eyes widened in surprise. "What? You can't! They were ordered to execute you!"

"I know. I'm counting on it." Decimus said, his voice quivering slightly.

Despite herself, Silphina felt a rogue tear cascade down her cheek when she realized what the tall turian was doing.

"Decimus…" She cried, letting a rare outburst of emotion past her usual demeanour as she lunged at Decimus again, pulling him close. "You…you can't do this!"

"Silph, if I don't, this would've all been for nothing." Decimus sighed into her ear. "The only way the Alliance is going to resign the peace treaties is if the perpetrator is dead. If they find out the most powerful man in the turian government was behind it…there'll be chaos. If I'm to truly finish my goal…I, I'll have to take the blame; and I'll have to die for it."

Silphina's fit of tears was now drenching Decimus' coat. After about four minutes, she pulled away, looking up at him through still-shining eyes. "That's not all, is it?"

Decimus tilted his head in curiosity.

"You think you'll be redeeming yourself, don't you?"

She knows you too well…

Decimus hung his head. "I've done a lot of bad things in my time, Silph. This…this is my chance to make up for that…"

Silphina sighed, leaning in again. She understood why this had to be done, but it didn't make her like it. "Are…are you afraid?"

"Of what?" Decimus asked as he closed his eye, resting his forehead on Silphina's as he ran his hand down her cheek.

"Well…to die, I guess…"

Decimus sighed. "I'm not afraid to die, Silph. I'm afraid of what comes after. If there really is an eternal spirit with a plan for us, what's his plan for me? Will that spirit really let me rejoin my mother, Octavia, Brennus…"

Your father…

"Or…or will I be doomed to suffer in purgatory for the rest of my days? Is that what I deserve?"

Silphina didn't know how to respond, so she squeezed his arm reassuringly. "You're a good man, Decimus. I think…I think you'll be able to see them again."

Decimus let out a bittersweet laugh. "I'm not a good man, Silph. I'm just a bad one that somehow developed that pain in the ass called feelings."

"But this will make up for it. You'll be dying so humans and turians you don't even know can live. Is there any greater redemption than that?"

"Maybe…"

Silphina linked his hands with hers, looking him straight in the eye. "There is one last thing we could do. Before you go…"

"What's that?"

Silphina lowered her gaze, focusing on their linked hands. "There's an asari way of saying farewell. It's a mental link, we can share memories with people we really care about…"

Decimus nodded. "Alright."

Smiling, Silphina leaned in close. "Close your eyes and relax…"

He obliged, shutting his eye and smiling slightly as Silphina leaned in close. He felt a sudden burst of rejuvenation shoot through him, as if every bit of stress and pain had just been filtered out of him. When he opened his eye and looked around, he saw Silphina, standing in the same place they were before, except with the Secidar sun setting rather than rising. She must have known he always loved watching Trebia set. Smiling as he watched the large, orange orb fall below the mountains, he felt Silphina rest her head on his shoulder.

"I…I love you, Silph." Decimus said firmly, pulling the asari in close. "If there really is something after this, I'll put in a good word for you."

"I love you too, Decimus." Silphina replied, looking up at him. They stood like that for almost half an hour, until the link ended, with them standing exactly where they were before, the sun beginning to crest the distant mountains.

The asari looked straight at him as she opened her eyes again, the icy orbs still clouded slightly by tears. "Goodbye, Decimus."

The turian pulled her in close one final time, before stepping away. "Goodbye, Silph. It's a big galaxy out there...may it be worthy of you."

Silphina watched, swiping a tear off her cheek as the turian turned slowly, his gaze locked to the ground as he sauntered away. Before he could make it past Octavia's home, however, he stopped.

"I always hoped I'd get to see one last Secidarian sunset…"

With that, the turian slung his bag over his shoulder, setting off to make the long trek across the desert on his way to Sarcanus. Silphina simply stood there, watching as he became nothing but a blur in the horizon, eventually disappearing as he stepped over a large dune.

Silphina returned to this very spot as often as she could over the course of her life; she and Kesh had remained in contact until the salarian mysteriously disappeared; some say he died of grief, others say one of his enemies got to him, but nobody really knew what happened to the eccentric information broker. That left Silphina; the only one who knew the truth about Decimus Maxus, who soon became known as one of the galaxies most notorious criminals. That never changed, and because of it, there was never a war.

Silphina lived the rest of her days as a Spectre, using her career to help deal with the empty feeling that constantly plagued her. She watched as people lived and died, alliances broke, she even survived the Reapers. After Saren went rogue and attacked the Citadel, Decimus faded out of the public's eye. He was a thing of the past, life went on, but Silphina never forgot. Eventually, at the age of seven hundred, she passed on, dying peacefully one night. Her death didn't cause much of a stir in the galactic community, but it was unlikely that Silphina would care. Before she died, her conscience was telling her that somewhere out there, Decimus was waiting for her. Her gut was telling her that her conscience was right; and over the years, Silphina had learned to trust its advice.

The End

Big thanks to everyone for reading, following along, and giving me feedback for this story. It has been an interesting thing to write, and I have to admit, I myself was upset to end the story of these characters I created. However, I believe in giving a story a conclusion that really feels final, so if I start another one, it'll have to be with another cast of OCs. I don't think I'd ever like a new character as much as I liked Decimus, but still...

Special thanks to my brother, (lambrawr) and my girlfriend for helping me proofread all this stuff. I love you guys, I don't know what I'd do without you.

Thanks everyone. :)

-Sven Vernersen