Epilogue
Her head lay to one side, still against his chest where it had fallen a week ago. His arms were still wrapped around her waist, gently holding her against him as he rocked both himself and Callo back and forth, weeping quietly to himself. This is what it had come to; there had been no choice in the matter for him. And now it was to come to an end, to finally put the story to rest and to close the book on this minor event in the history of the world. No one would know of it in years to come when the world had changed and time had gone by, the seconds and minutes they talked, the hours and days he wept, the weeks and months she had let creep by her, the years and decades the worlds population had grown, the centuries and millennia the world had evolved... It didn't matter, not one single iota and he didn't care for that much. But if that was how it was to be, then so be it. Like it or lump it he remembered saying to Marco when he'd kicked up a fuss over some vegetables at the dinner table. He couldn't even remember what the vegetables in question had been and that saddened, but not nearly as much as the fact that it may not have ever happened at all. And that was pain more than enough for an entire universe, let alone for one single man to carry upon his shoulders...
Gently he eased himself out from beneath her; she didn't move at all but he didn't expect her to. She was in no state to do so anyway...
He leant over her still form and left a gentle kiss upon her brow before turning to look up at the sky. It was daylight, but then, it had been daylight for an entire week, a phenomenon the people of the world hadn't failed to notice, especially when they saw two suns in the sky instead of the usual one. If he'd been in the mood for it, he might have laughed at what he imagined people must be thinking about it, but he wasn't. This was it, the end. To finish where it had truly began; he had once thought that Duke Bardorba's manor had been the locus of all that had happened, but that wasn't true. Yet, it couldn't be said that it had been the death of God in the dying stages of the war between heaven and hell, or his passing of his power unto Christ, or even when Müllenkamp gave her prophecy of Ashley's coming. No, it began here, in this field of grass where he had gone with his family to have a picnic, where he had slaughtered two innocents he didn't know. Whether either was the truth or not, it didn't matter, not really. Regardless of physical fact, the mental and psychological truth was that it began at the top of this hill. It was the turning point in one Ashley Riot's life.
And so he took off into the sky, soaring through the atmosphere before leaving it completely behind. Further and further he flew, passing the planets he had once seen with his father when they had been up late one night, passing galaxies and nebulae he had never known existed, flying so fast he distorted the rules of physics and nature, until he finally reached his destination.
He rotated slowly upon an axis and cast his gaze upon the nothingness before him. Not even a single dust particle existed; it couldn't be said to be empty for there was nothing that could have filled it. One cannot exist without the other, but yet... there was something there that could fill it.
And so he did, exploding into a supernova, creating something from nothing, matter and anti-matter clashing together and sparks flying, planets evolving, galaxies forming, stars burning...
Let it all begin again...
Hands lying idly upon the ground. Birdsong in the air. Rays of light drifting through heavy eyelids. Cool air brushing over fair skin, rustling long brown locks of hair.
She opened her eyes and inhaled, the sweet air filling her lungs, bringing rapture to her soul. She knew he was gone, but he had left something behind, a present from him to her, a parting gift to remember him by, to remember that nothing is ever set in stone.
Callo brought her hand to rest upon her waist, to try and feel the life that she knew was now growing inside of her. She smiled, something she hadn't done in a very long time, not since she had played tag with a young little boy who had unfortunately died.
Awareness flooded into her and she realised that she could feel the world around her breathing, its serenity with its part in existence, in knowing that all was well and right with everything it need be concerned with. And she felt the same way; she could hear Ashley, Sydney and Müllenkamp whispering to her gently, among many others, telling her that everything would be alright. Gentle hands helped her to her feet as she kept her hand upon her waist, hesitant to detach herself from the child that she now carried. But then, nothing ever would...
A voice was asking her questions, but she realised it wasn't one of those voices, but one in the physical world. Turning her head, she looked right at him.
"--ou alright Callo?" asked Regnak, worry painted across his face.
"There's nothing to be afraid of Regnak, everything is as it should be..."
She looked around her and saw that she was still where Ashley had left her, but she realised that she had no actual clue where it was. And then it clicked within her, she knew...
"Golgotha..."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing Regnak, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter at all..."
Casting a sidelong glance at her as he pulled her left arm over his shoulders, wrapping his right around her waist, he merely nodded.
"I think it's high time we took you home, don't you Callo?"
"Yes, yes I think it is..."
And so they left the hill of Golgotha and made their way back where they belonged...
