How do we know you're a real god? Isn't this just a publicity stunt of some sort?

You can ask anybody who heard me. They'll attest to it.

But there's no verifiable proof! There's nothing concrete!

In the long run, it doesn't matter. I know what I am, and that's what's important. I just want other people to hear me.

Where's you're next gig?

I don't know, but I'm sure somebody will be calling me soon.

Rachel groaned as she came too. The nearby voices echoed around in her pounding head, and when she tried to open her eyes she flinched away from the brightness. She was lying on something soft, but it wasn't her bed. She blinked again, with less disastrous results, and slowly eased herself into a sitting position.

She was still at Callbacks. The soft surface turned out to be a gurney. The bar was swimming with three kinds of people - the paparazzi, the paramedics, and the witnesses. The last group was huddled to one side being tended to by the professionals, leaving the paparazzi to flock around Bragi in the centre of the room. The god held his interview as if nothing else going on in the bar was happening. Blaine scurried over to her as soon as he saw her get up. "Hey, take it easy," he said softly as she reeled again. He grabbed her hand to steady her.

Rachel motioned towards the many paramedics. "What are they all doing here?"

Blaine looked over, then back to her. "We were all kind of drained after that performance. I think you took it the hardest, but after we called them for you other people started to go down. I went out for a bit too." He chuckled. "They said we all sowed signs of extreme exhaustion, like we had just finished running a marathon without any training." He sat down beside her. "And then the press heard about that and swooped in, but Bragi stole our thunder after they found out he was the source of it all."

"Don't call him that."

Blaine turned to face Rachel, and saw that she looked mortified. "Why not?"

"Because none of this is real!" she snapped. "This is all just Kurt playing some kind of - of - it has to be a hoax!"

Blaine tried to take her hand, but she slapped him away. Still, he pressed on. "Rachel, I know it's bizarre - everything about this is. But you felt the same thing I did. What he sang back there wasn't human. It was..." he sighed like he was falling in love all over again. "It was heavenly."

And he was right. Rachel couldn't argue against that. When she saw Bragi enter the bar she felt instantly drawn to him. And when he sang, she was filled with so much emotion that she was scared that she would burst - and even if she had, she would be fine with that. Those feelings had faded from her by now, but Rachel still had the memory of them and couldn't think of any other way to explain it. Some deep, dark part of her soul new that Bragi was who he claimed to be. She felt like she was going to be sick.

She realized that Blaine hadn't stopped smiling since she woke up. "Blaine, how can you be so happy about this?"

He shrugged. "Well, it's amazing. I'm engaged to a god. Who else could say that?"

Rachel gaped. "So, what, you just think you and Bragi are gonna get married and that's it? That nothing else is going to change?"

Blaine turned back to Bragi and looked wistfully at him. "Well, of course a lot of things have changed. But he's still the man I love."

"For how long?" she replied, loud enough to get the attention of the local deity. Bragi glanced towards her, but it was enough to cause the cameras to turn towards her. She didn't notice. "Don't you remember the last part of what Kurt had told us?" Blaine shook his head. Rachel fumed and turned to Bragi. She saw the cameras but didn't care. If the press wanted his story they were getting the whole thing. "You said that with each Recurrence, within two years, the gods are all dead."

Bragi looked solemn for a brief moment. "I know." When he replied, it had none of the gravitas or majesty that his voice held moments before. It was Kurt again, however briefly. "That's the price of this."

Rachel's rage had subsided, and as it boiled off all that was left underneath was a feeling of hollow fear. "Why Kurt?" she pleaded. "Why would you do this?"

Bragi shook his head. "I didn't choose this. This -" he gestured to himself, then the whole room, "- this was always a part of me, just waiting to come out." He walked up to her and took her hands. "Rachel, I know it's scary, but this is amazing. I can spread joy and wisdom and inspiration across the world like this. I can perform miracles, I can give blessings. I know it's only two years, but I can make them last. They'll be a good two years."

Rachel shook her head. "I don't care. I already lost Finn. I don't want to lose you too."

Blaine had been silent during the altercation. He had so many emotions mixing within him that he couldn't bring himself to act on any of them. But Rachel's last word, that was what broke him. He stood up and walked to the press, standing between them and his friends. "This interview's over."

The crowd of paparazzi clamoured at him, trying to get past him, but he stood his ground. "I said get! out!" It was loud enough to turn them around, at least for now. Once they were gone he turned and looked at Bragi. The god looked back with mournful eyes.

"We could still get married," he offered.

Blaine just threw his arms around him and wept.

Around the world, people watched.

The first videos were just called "Amazing Song At Bar!" and "Gay guy has great voice". But as word spread (and his words spread), people began to realize. They compared notes. They hit up message once frequented only by anthropologists and mythologists suddenly burst to life with people seeking answers.

The top five google searches after his performance were: "Who is Bragi?", "What is the recurrence?", "1923 recurrence", "Who is Idunn?", and "Flights to New York".

Some people didn't watch. A single god wasn't enough to convince them that something amazing was happening. Understandable.

Kurt's friends watched too. His phone was soon blowing up with messages from his old glee club compatriots. They wanted to ask how he got so good at first, but then that shifted to demands about whether the two-year rule was real or not. Those who weren't in New York started planning ways to get there so they could be with him - some to support him, and some to be in his fandom.

One of Kurt's friends was just waking up as this all happened.

"You are of the Pantheon. You will be loved. You will be hated. You will be brilliant. Within two years, you will be dead.

"You are the maiden in the moon. Goddess of the sky. Of night. Of immortality.

"We meet again, Chang'e," said Ananke. "I've missed you."