Chapter 4: Wings of Hope

Meteion could not recall where she saw this pretty lady before, only that she was… familiar to her for some reason. She had watched these intruders from Etheirys enter their domain… how they sacrificed themselves one by one to ensure that this one, at least, made it this far.

She waited as the figure finished climbing the rainbow stairs, which the twins created for her… but still just a little short to reach the dead star above their heads.

As this woman stepped towards her, armor glinting even in this low light, Meteion reached out and felt this woman's heart. Her emotions were excruciating to even be around. As if her heart was being pulled about and stabbed over and over… leaving nothing but a gapping void inside her. So much pain… such deep sorrow… yet it was strangely… distant as well?

Inside her chest burned a fire that refused to be extinguished. It burned so brightly that even in this dark and lonely place could it be seen and felt.

Such a strange creature… but more so than that… Meteion was trying to recall where she had seen her face before? Why did looking at her bring up a deep sense of sadness—unrelated to the grief she felt from so many others…? Meteion wondered if this was her own sadness she was feeling? Why would she be feeling this way about this woman when she hadn't had such a reaction from any of the others that arrived with her?

She did not understand.

"Here the path ends," she spoke instead when this warrior appeared before her. "There is no way to reach out nest."

The warrior didn't answer her as she looked up to the dead star and glare at it. Surely she can see that the road she took from her friend's sacrifice could not continue any further than this?

"I told you," she reiterated, "Resignation and acceptance reign in this place. The rejection of life by those who came to curse it. Those whose dreams were unfulfilled. Whose prayers were unheard. Whose labors were unrewarded. Hope cannot deliver you unto hopelessness. Our refuge is beyond you."

"Keep your refuge, I don't need it," she retorted coldly. "If anything, I'll make sure to tear it down."

She surely could not still expect to fight? After all this?

Meteion glared back at her as she reminded, "Always has it been. Such is the nature of this place."

The warrior didn't answer as Meteion felt that sadness ever deeper, but a strange kind of… warmth seemed to come from it as well? Her hand instinctively brushed over the pouch of sweet-smelling flowers that she still wore at her side—though it was barely being held together after all this time—and she breathed in the scent from it… and this time it was as if there was a whisper talking to her as the smell seemed to cloud her senses. What was going on? It was almost like the memory of a dream she had long ago was struggling to make itself known.

Meteion turned away, not sure what was happening.

"You should have remained on Etheirys," she sighed. "Struggle will avail you naught, nor will it grant your comrades peace."

She still felt pity for this woman and so she reached out her hand—deciding to offer her the sweet release that she deserves. Her pain… her suffering… it was so clear to her that she didn't even have to read her mind to know that great trauma she had seen. "Come, let me relieve you of your burden. You have suffered enough."

The woman glared back before she pulled out a small bright orange crystal. She just stared at it for a moment before closing her eyes and clenched the crystal tightly. Curious, Meteion looked a little deeper, feeling her own emotions—and she was suddenly swept up with a maelstrom of emotions rolling about with half-faded voices of the past. There were so many voices speaking—all demanding to be heard—but all speaking on top of each other that it was so difficult to make out a single one of them. But every once in a while, a voice would make its voice known… but…? She knew some of those voices, didn't she?

Just then the blazing fire inside the warrior erupted so that it was blinding and her green eyes opened as she declared fiercely, "I'll reach you! I'll find a way!"

And as she spoke, light began to burn forth from the crystal in her fist. That was when she felt a surging rush of emotion wash around her as a golden and silver seal appeared on the ground… and in two pillars of blinding light… two figures appeared as if they had just popped out of the ground.

Two men… dressed in long robes and masks that hung upon their chests. The first man bore a crimson-red mask, as well as a grumpy expression surrounded by long, white hair and golden eyes that felt as if they could pierce through to the soul… while the other held a gentle smile as his neatly braided lilac hair twisted about his face and framing his handsome its features. His eyes were of a striking violet, the same shade as his hair, and she felt that he was truly looking into her soul at this point.

Who were they?

The golden-eyed man sighed grumpily as he spat, "I bid them remember, but all this time, I'm the one who had forgotten… a right fool you've made of me, Hermes. And to add insult to injury, I've been denied a sound rest, forced to watch this clamorous show."

The lavender-eyed man chuckled at his words as he countered gently, "Oh come now, it's been a gripping tale. Unbreakable bonds and noble sacrifice, sprinkled with moments of levity to counterbalance the pathos. It's got it all. I for one would have been perfectly content to watch enraptured from the stalls…"

Meteion looked to them, wondering where she had seen them before—for she could swear that she had meet them but was unsure of where—as the lavender-eyed man said to the first, "But I won't say no to a bit part."

"What are you?" she asked, not liking how they were talking as if they knew exactly what was going on. They didn't seem like the first group of people to have come here… their souls were so much denser for starters…?

But the golden-eyed man just smirked.

"Half-faded souls of the dead. Isn't it painfully obvious?" he pointed out as if she should have guessed. "Worry not—we haven't the power to defeat you. Nor is it our duty to do so. Not anymore."

He gave the woman behind him a quick look before adding, "That being said, we do have a score to settle."

A score to settle? What did he mean? She didn't know… she couldn't recall…? Yet something seemed to be tugging at the very corner of her mind. She knew this—something was there, right in her grasp, but something was preventing her from reaching the answers…?

"Do not listen…"

"They are lying…"

"They are fools to think of standing against the truth…"

Her sisters were all screaming such things inside her head and Meteion nodded. Yes, that's right. Everything will soon end for the people of Etheirys. There was no hope for them save for death. They will soon bring about the end… and free them from suffering once and for all.

Still, their guests didn't seem to be that concerned at first as the golden-eyed man sighed and muttered with a bitter tone, "So, here I am, Venat. I suppose you needed me to tie it all together, these frayed threads of our history—but knowing you, I suspect there's a joke in it too. Oh yes, I can imagine you gloating over my forgetfulness. Were I feeling charitable, I might assume you had left room for the possibility of this outcome."

Was he speaking to someone who wasn't even there? What a strange man. Still, his eyes passed over her with a rather bored expression before adding, "Even so, you'll get no applause from me. A single gesture will not lighten the burden I've had to bear."

Who was he talking to? She even looked around her, as if expecting someone else to appear. She could feel his emotions mixed in though they were very confusing to her. There was a great deal of pain and anger towards this 'Venat' person but also a sense of fondness… a sense of respect for this person. An acceptance that seemed to twist about violently before coming right back to the beginning after the anger had cooled down.

But she soon saw how he was now turning his attention onto her as he stated, "Still, you must be commended. Our methods would not have brought mankind this far. And so, as a show of respect to the last of us, I make this declaration."

And as he pointed to her as he declared loudly and clearly, "You will not end our journey! That is our answer! The answer of all lives of Etheirys, past and present!"

That same blazing fire that had been inside the warriror seemed to have spread and grow—infecting all around her so that it filled in their chests as well. She blinked as she watched, in astonishment, how both men were now bathed in a gentle and soothing light. She knew this light… but from where…?

The lavender-eyed man turned back to the warrior and said to her, his affections for her were that of an embrace of a loved one, "As you've called us to the stage, so shall we perform. And creation magicks never fail to please. Drawing upon the hopes of your comrades, we will make for you a new path."

"What form said path takes depends on you," the golden-eyed man said again. "So focus—focus and envision that which rejects the claim that you cannot attain your goal!"

Meteion could not fathom what they were talking about, nor understand what they thought they could do to create a new path to their nest? Hope did not exist in this place, after all. But the warrior was nodding in understanding as she closed her eyes—a memory appearing to her. But before Meteion could examine it, the lavender-eyed man spoke up once again.

"Ours is the wisdom to weave the fabric of reality…" he said before holding up his arm, "Ours is the power to create!"

The warrior's eyes opened a fraction of a moment before the golden-eyed man snapped his fingers and where they stood became covered in a field of beautiful flowers. Meteion's eyes widened in shock as the flowers instantly came into being, as if they had always been there… she recognized the blooms instantly as a swirl of emotions came flooding back to her.

Flowers… blooms… Elpis…? Wait, yes… that was the name. They were Entelechies… just like her. They were her favorite flowers! She could remember the beautiful, shining white that they always were around her…? Reflecting the joy and blissful happiness around her.

Just like now… or rather…?

She looked at the glowing petals as they shone white with a slight rainbow hue mixed in with them. Not a single one of them was dark. There was… hope…? Was that the emotion that they were reflecting? Even now…? In this terrible place?

Meteion stared at them as a voice from someone she loved from long ago echoed in her mind: "Meteion. Though I gave you these wings to soar the heavens, I did not teach you how to walk the earth. So loathed was I to bind another living being. In the course of your long journey, you will learn from those you meet. Learn to walk and run and so much more…"

Meteion stared at the warrior… no… Claire. She remembered her now! She remembered how she came to Elpis… arriving with Emet-Selch, Hythlodaeus, Venat… and…?

"A flower. Yes. Upon your return, I will gift you a beautiful flower."

Hermes…?

Her creator… the man whom she loved more than any other and wished for nothing more than to see him happy again. But… why…? Why would she wish for these…?

Meteion looked to Claire, who looked back with that blazing fire brighter than ever before.

"Since Hermes can't be here, I will fulfill the promise he made to you in his stead," she told her as it all became too much. Cutting through the pain and sorrow was joy and happiness as it all came rushing back in a flood of memories. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself in a hug as she fell to her knees, the glow of the flowers shining brightly in this dark place as she remembered her days spent upon beautiful Etheirys returned.

"These Elpis blooms serve as proof that this realm is not utterly devoid of hope," the golden-eyed… no, Emet-Selch told her. "No more can you deny its power. No more is yours the dominion of despair."

But how? How could hope still remain here? After everything? After all that she had done? All that her sisters had done…?

She could hear, as if from far away, the voices of Emet-Selch and the others as they talked… followed soon after by more voices. The voices of those who sacrificed themselves before…? But how could they return?

She couldn't look, couldn't focus, as she tried to quell the much louder voices in her head. The memories were all fighting inside her as she felt herself returning—or rather waking up after a very long and sad dream. She tired to force her way out as her sisters began to scream out in anger and outrage from inside.

She tried to fight them, but knew that she was still no match for them. She could not stop them on her own.

And through the noise, she heard Claire's voice speaking up, saying in a kind voice, "Come with us, Meteion."

She gasped at that, hearing her name spoken by her old friend after so long. She wanted to go… wanting to stop the voices once and for all…? But she couldn't… she couldn't leave not until this was finished. She reached out with her powers and felt the dead star where they collected the life of all those dead worlds—she made sure that it would crack and break apart… opening up the way just as they said. Her sisters were furious that all those souls and life were escaping back into the universe and were screaming at her.

Rather than try to resist something she was no match for, she forced her mouth to move, her spirit demanding that her voice to be heard.

"Can you… hear me…?" she asked, not completely sure if anyone could hear it for everything around her seemed both too loud and too faint at the same time. "The voices within… crying in pain, wailing in sorrow… hurting… hurting…"

She raised her head and she saw her friend still there as she begged of her, "End it… silence it… silence our song of oblivion!"

She had to get away… had to leave before she did anything else that could harm them. She transformed, taking on her starbird form once again, as she fled the sound of countless screams. In desperation, she dove straight into the aether behind her, allowing herself to be carried off on the different lifestreams of the worlds they visited.

"Traitor!"

"How dare you?!"

"After all that we have done, you would betray us now?!"

"Cast her out!"

The voices of her sisters continued to shriek at her, furious that she had damaged their nest and was allowing the souls trapped inside to break free.

"I had to do it!" she tried to tell them, "This is wrong! We have to stop now! Before…?"

But they would not listen. None of them would hear her and fought one on top of the other…? And then… nothing?

The voices that had tormented her so often for so long were simply… gone? She opened her eyes, still adrift upon a current of a lifestream and looked about in confusion. She had been cast out from her sisters hive mind. One moment she was connected to them all through their shared connection and then the next… all she felt was silence. She was started and reached out, trying to figure out what happened

All she had felt from them before was fury and anguish as they loathed the feelings that had returned her to her senses. She had to do something… they were planning something… that much she knew. She had to find them. She then took flight and began to search… flying across the visions of the dead worlds that her sisters had all visited and struggled to find where the others had gone.

Pain and agony filled her heart at the sight of so much loss of life, how much they had all suffered. But she had to keep going… had to fight on until she found Claire to warn her.

By the time she found them, within the world of Plenty—as her sisters called it—she realized that she was too late. She discovered Claire there with the others. She watched as she and her friends fought their way through this beautiful landscape as the creation Ra-La wiped out the people—so close to that of the ancient people of Etheirys—begged for death.

She followed after them as they fought their way through this world and the memory of its final day before confronting her sisters once again. She watched on in horror as her sisters hive mind merged together to create another being.

A beautiful, but terrifying face, with gray and pale blue wings large enough to cover the sky… pallid skin as cold as ice… and deep eyes that were as black as the space between the stars. Despite the fact that she was cast out of their connection, she did hear one word echo across the great distance between them:

Endsinger.

The final form her sisters will take to finally put an end to all live upon Etheirys and complete their song.

No, no, she had to try and stop them! She flew out to them, trying to reach out with a connection that was no longer there. She begged and begged for them to listen to her, to not hurt Claire and the others… to not put themselves through this torture any longer. But they would not listen no matter how much she pleaded. They just turned their face away from her helpless cries.

But she would not give up no matter what happened… yet when she saw how Claire had saved her friends from her sister's wrath, she could only stare in shock and horror. For she had given up her comrades to ensure their safety… rendering herself up to battle against Endsinger on her own.

No, no… no… she can't… she can't face this all on her own!

But what could she do? She had no strength to stand against her sisters, especially not as they are now? Oh, what was she to do…?

Yet it seemed that someone else heard her cries for as her sisters final form bore down upon Claire—something cracked the very air about them. Meteion gasped as she stared about, trying to find the source of this sudden noise and figure out what was happening now.

He then appeared… the form of a massive dragon… a man who was filled with wrath and a possessive obsession… empty as her sisters were but a tiny spark of something else burned within his chest. That same light that she had seen in the others before.

Only now did she understand what that blaze, this spark, was.

The will to live.

"Meteion?!"

Someone was crying out for her? Who would care? Meteion had been pulled along by her sisters as they fought and clashed through this vast space. They fought and fought and they fought… until they were finally defeated. Their scream upon their lips as they asked for the answer to the question: "What is happiness?"

She didn't know anymore.

Nor did she even care at this point. She was too tired. She reached for the sack of dried flowers like she had done so many times over the years… but she realized it wasn't there. She must have lost it somewhere along the way as her sisters fought with Claire. She just lowered her head at that as she sank deeper into the darkness around her.

Everything felt numb to her. Everything was… empty inside her.

She didn't even have the energy to weep anymore. Just to wait now for death to take her into its embrace as it had claimed her sisters.

"Meteion?!"

Who was here? Why were they looking for her so hard? The voice was louder… more insistent… and then she heard the sounds of someone running upon this glass-like surface. Meteion heard the sounds of the footsteps drawing slowly closer and closer. And then…?

"Meteion…"

This time when her name was spoken, it wasn't in a desperate cry in a search. She heard their footsteps draw closer but Meteion didn't bother answering at first—already figuring out who it was. All that was going on inside her head were the terrible memories that tormented her sisters and how they could not find the answers that Hermes had so desperately sought.

When she felt Claire draw near, she finally spoke, though she kept her head down. She could not bring herself to look at her now. not after all that they had done.

"No matter where we flew, there was only darkness and loneliness and pain," she explained sadly. "We couldn't find the answers Hermes yearned for. The answers he deserved."

She felt Claire move until she was right in front of her and Meteion finally raised her head to see her kneeling in front of her. Why was she here? For her? Why? She wanted to know. Wanted to know what it was that kept her going forward after all that happened.

"Greetings…" she said to her weakly, "You who are my final encounter… I wish to hear your words… share your feelings… know your thoughts."

She then held up her hand and asked, as she did that day so many years ago, "May we please… be friends?"

She expected Claire to turn away from her, to leave her here alone to die in the dark. What she was not expecting was for her to move closer. She reached out and took her trembling hand in both of her own, and despite the coldness of her armor, Meteion could still feel a warmness there. She understood at once what she was doing. She was giving her permission to look into her memories.

Both of them closed their eyes and Meteion began to walk in her thoughts.

And she saw it all… everything.

Every triumphant, every failure… every single day of her journey since the moment that she stepped off that boat in that city on the ocean…? She gasped at the many places she had been, the many tasks she had done, the countless faces that she had met along the way. How they smiled with joy and wept tears with each other… every feeling was shared and passed along so that it could be felt by many others.

The losses of dear friends who had come before and fought for a better tomorrow… how they died with smiles on their faces and hope in their hearts… how she had to press on for their sakes and see their dreams come true even if they could not be here. Even those who were former enemies were sometimes turned into allies as they fought for something they believed in. Something that they were ready to die for… for future generations to know and remember. And even those who were completely lost to tragedy and pain… how they fought on for what they felt was right.

How every day was filled with beauty and danger in equal measure. How great the suffering had been in so many places only to make those rare moments of peace and happiness all the more precious.

And through it all… those closest to Claire's heart shone the brightest. The good times overlapping with the bad… feelings of joy and sorrow shared in equal measure with them. How they wished to bare the pain of the others so that they need not fear walking alone under such a burden. How they look to those who walked before to lead those who walk after.

The land was so full of life and hope and so much promise…? Even though their souls are torn and bodies forsaken, bearing the countless sins of the past, they refuse to give up the future while all the while asking for the answer to the question: Why are we born only to suffer? To die?

But the answer is right there… right there in front of her… giving the people of Etheirys the strength to get up again and again and again…

It was too much… the love and happiness flowing through her mind were overwhelming her.

She cried as a smile came to her face… the first one in thousands of years…

"Yes, I can see them…" she whispered, her entire body quivering. "The memories of a long, long journey… so many people… the thoughts of them overflowing in your heart…"

She opened her eyes as the tears spilled forth. She looked into her old friend's bright green eyes and saw only kindness. She didn't need to feel her emotions to know that.

"What they live for, what gives their lives meaning… there was never a single answer," Meteion whispered as the countless different answers filled her mind so that she couldn't focus upon a single one. Those who lived for their friends or family… those who lived to make the world a better place… those who wish to live for those who could not be here any longer… and those who live for simple pleasures that life has to offer.

It was too much. She sobbed as she leaned over, her head down once more as she continued to cry at the beautiful memories entered her mind. Even the sad ones showed a world of people who wanted to live and found beauty all around them.

And a song… a song of love and acceptance. A lullaby from one whom loved and will always love. Claire heard the song clearly… as the little spark that was the one whom was gifted such a song. Life is a riddle to bear both rapture and sorrow…?

"You gather pieces of happiness, precious and fragile, only to lose them," she whispered quietly as the darkness that had clouded her mind seemed to clear as if a storm had passed. "Then start again. On and on it goes, until death takes you into its gentle embrace."

Meteion finally understood why they fought so hard against her. Why she and her friends would be willing to suffer so greatly for a seemingly hopeless struggle… was because they had hope.

Meteion let go of Claire's hand as she slowly sat up, a smile still there as tears remained on her face.

"That which Hermes sent us to find… was there all this time," she whispered in quiet joy. "On Etheirys."

"We created it together," Claire reminded her and the memories of the two of them paying on Elpis returned as well.

Their laughter and playing in the bright sun and surrounded by flowers…?

"Like a field of flowers, perhaps," Meteion agreed as she smiled at the memories as well. "At first a single blossom, it spreads and takes on more colors."

And they reach out to others… whom want to share their happiness… until a field stretches out as far as the eye could see.

"Thank you for guiding me here," she told her. "To find these words at journey's end fills me with joy."

But there was something else she needed to do. It won't make up for the mistakes that they made before, but it was a start. As the last of the Meteia… it was her duty to make things right as much as possible. This was something that only she can do.

"And so, before I fall forever silent, there is one thing I must do," she said in determination.

She stood up, that flame that had been inside Claire before now felt like it was burning inside of her now as she felt as if she had broken free of the heavy chains that shackled her spirit for so long.

"No expression of regret will undo what my sisters and I have done," she admitted, feeling the grief and guilt twist inside her even more. "Will restore what we have stolen. But if you would allow it, I would sing one last song. A song of the newfound joy that swells in my heart…"

She wanted to ask, hoping that she will understand and trust her just one final time.

When she didn't speak, Meteion knew that she was allowing her to try and the feeling of happiness blossomed.

"Of the beauty of light when it shines across a dark and starless sea…" she said as she slowly turned, her clawed feet echoing about her as she stretched out her hands, the light that blazed turned into an inferno as hope swelled about her in a golden glow.

With the images of Claire's memories inside her as she passed them onto the lost souls that were sealed away, soothing their fears and pain. She could feel their shocked silence as the memories passed over them and calmed their torment… no heal… but it was as if a salve for a wound. It was to show them that life was still worth living regardless of the suffering that came along with it. It would not happen overnight… many would never wish to return to the agonies of life… but some… in time… will wish for these many beautiful things as well.

"Of a dream that from the soils of worlds now lost to sorrow, life will spring forth once more…" she declared as the screaming, hurting voices slowly fell silent as they listened and clung to the warmth. She smiled at that as she finished, "Nourished by gentle rains and caressed by uplifting winds. A song of hope."

She bent it all around her as the countless lifestreams were released and her hope bathed everything around her so that the stars returned, countless and gorgeous all around them… and a glorious sun rising behind them. She shaped everything around this space to reflect the joy that she felt and knew that this spot will remain untouched… a forever reminder that despair is not as deep as it may seem.

She felt her own fear and hurt fade before she looked back to her friend—feeling her surprise at her appearance. Meteion looked down at herself and saw how her feathers had returned to their previous azure blue color as the blackness of despair melted away.

She giggled a little at the sight of herself before she spoke up, "One day, life will fill the universe again. And Hermes will see this and smile."

Meteion had witnessed the memories of Hermes soul and what became of it. She knew the odds of that were slim, but she had hope that he would come to share in this joy she now felt. "How, I do not know. But I do know that, where there is a will, there is a way. After all, miracles happen every day, do they not?"

Claire smiled back as Meteion giggled as if she had done that day so long ago. It was time to leave now… her powers were all but spent and she had to get Claire out of here and back to her friends… whom were probably worried sick for her by now.

"I will create a path back to your ship, where your dear friends await," she promised her kindly, holding out her hand to her. "Hold in your heart your desire to return to them, then follow my lead and walk forth. That hope will surely guide you true."

Claire's eyes relaxed at that and whispered, "Thank you."

Meteion beamed once more time before she transformed once more into the little starbird—this time with feathers as blue as the sky on a clear day—and took to the skies. She soared upwards, leaving a trail of twinkling stars behind her as she led the way out of this space.

Her heart so full of happiness over the thought that nothing was impossible now.

Meteion had no idea of the battle to the death that she was leaving behind her. She truly believed that Claire was right behind her when she appeared onboard the ship where her friends had been waiting most anxiously.

She could only smile as she apologized to them and faded from view.

Hours later… after the battle at the edge of this space took place… a tiny pouch fell from the heavens. Years of worn finally wearing through the cloth sack until it burst open in a burst of flower petals… falling about the still form of body beneath it.

(Awww, poor Meteion. It was just an idea that I had with the potpourri as well. Perhaps a final farewell to our 'friends' here at the edge of the universe. There is a chance that he could come back… but boy they are going to have a hard time justifying it this time lol. But there is still one final chapter waiting for Meteion! But what could be left? Well, you will find out soon enough!)