Epilogue

It was paradoxical – all could feel that the world was better than it'd been the day before.
There was an indefinable quality in the air, akin to a feeling of wilderness and freedom, as chaos and order were finally in balance once more.
But there were also thousands of people in mourning.
Adra's defeat of Voldemort/Nergal hadn't gone unnoticed, far from it.

Shell-shocked Death Eaters had appeared, barely coherent, but still able to give everyone an idea of what had happened – that the girl who lived had been a goddess who'd chosen to sacrifice herself to defeat the dark lord, and save the world.
Of course the Moon clan, and numerous others, knew that there was more to the story – but it didn't really matter, what was relayed by the government wasn't really wrong, merely a gross oversimplification of things.

¤.¤.¤

There had been tears, and laughter, as the last letters from Adra were found.

Remus had also been informed via the newly minted Moon Game – that he wasn't a werewolf anymore, the incarnate goddess having taken advantage of her brief stint as the supreme entity of the world to twist the curse into something different, something Pyxis hadn't been able to do as it had more to do with Magic than Death.
Remus was now a lycan – able to shift at will without losing his mind, and to change even werewolves with his bite.
Still, the former werewolf had taken hard the death of the girl he'd all but raised with Pyxis so close to the Black Head's own death. It took him years to work through the grief, that reappeared from time to time.
His wives, Bianca and Tonks, helped him tremendously.

The Lovegood had been preparing themselves mentally for what was about to happen – though it didn't really help, and maybe made things even harder, as they'd known months before it happened what was bound to happen.
The future may not be set – but there was never any doubt about Adra's own character.
Luna, especially, had been inconsolable, and Ron had been a great help and steadfast comfort for his girlfriend.

The Weasley as a whole, had grieved, Adra having grown close to each and every one of them in her own way.
But reminding themselves of all the changes she'd brought to the world – and to their life – helped them find their smile again.

Strangely enough, among the Kane, it was Ruby that had cried the more.
It wasn't to say that Carter wasn't sad, of course, but the incarnate god was also the one who knew the best his partner of several life-times.
His sadness was deeper – appearing in his wistful smile when Sirius and Hermione got married just before the end of the century, as he realized it was the first time he hadn't been able to give her a wedding ceremony in their lives together.
It was no accident – that, naturally, the people he took to spend the most time with were those Adra had been closer to.

Among the half-blood, realizing that the girl who'd had such an impact on their life was gone had been terrible. All of them had already lost people, but Adra had been the heart of the Moon clan, and a symbol of hope for her Chosen One, who could only love her for the way she'd helped each of them in their lives.
But they were also the ones beyond the gods who knew best – just how important and impressive all her achievements were.
The ones who understood best that sometimes – you could die for a cause.

A monument was raised.
Carter and Luna had laughed, and cried a bit, saying that Adra would have hated the idea of a statue raised to her sacrifice – they loved it.
Fudge, who was one more a peace-time minister but who'd never be the weak-willed idiot he'd been once upon a time, had been the one to push for the monument being raised in Hogwarts rather than in the ministry – earning the approval of the Moon clan.
His speech had been filled with emotions, the man having built a rather unexpected friendship with the Potter Head during the time the ministry had been in exile in the old castle.

¤.¤.¤

The years went by – and life went on.

Remus became a father several more times, as on top of Jason and Thalia, and the formerly Nott twins, Nymphadora gave birth to a little girl, Anastasia Lupin, barely a year after their wedding while Bianca birthed a powerful half-blood boy, who could control the shadows nearly from birth and was just as sweet and book-loving as his father.
He never managed to be completely rid of paperwork.

Percy Weasley's work with the Triumvirate Holdings was hard, but with Megan's help, and numerous other people along the way, they cleaned the organization. They ended up helping and somehow adopting about a dozen of half-blood children the emperors had kidnapped after getting rid of their mortal parents, and were grooming to hate the Olympians; they also ensured that those half-bloods that had ended up in the company because they were disillusioned about the gods were given a chance to see how things had changed and didn't lose their job as long as they showed no undue hostility to anyone.
In the years that followed, Triumvirate Holdings, was renamed Moon Consortium and became the default society for half-bloods to apply too, as well as a good source of income to help all the half-blood camps from different pantheons that were flourishing around the world.
It wasn't long before a solid partnership was established with Jade's own chain of stores.

Hermione had gone on gaining multiple masteries, working for the department of mysteries for a few years before going back to Hogwarts to teach.
She wedded Sirius in their early twenties, the incarnate god taking care of the Black family, but giving some lectures at the Per Sesen occasionally - as for Sirius, he stayed by her side until the end, then entrusted the Black family to its Heiress, and went back to the Du'at.

Leanne Potter – had been one of the few to know something was going to happen to Adra – after all, why else would have the incarnate goddess, barely a couple of years older than her, formally name her Heiress Potter?
This was why when Adra offered it, she also accepted the blood adoption, that was done the same day she'd become Heiress Potter. She may be young to think about children – but she already had the feeling that the world could only be a better place with children from not only James and Lily Potter, but also Adra's she met Logan Hunter, during one of the annual parties organized by the Moon clan, that this year was in Vancouver– the two immediately fell in love.
They spent a few years in Vancouver, but Leanne insisted on having all her children sent to Hogwarts, so they eventually settled in an old Potter property in Scotland.
Her little brother – grew up just as adventurously as half-blood children did, with his childhood in the Moon clan. He never really settled down, thought he did work as an auror for a few years, before retiring to raise his half-blood child, a daughter of Morrígan that started to manifest magic nearly from birth.

Annabeth and Percy started dating a few months after Adra's death, to no one's surprise, but never did wed, both of them far too independent for it – thought they did have a child, who inherited his smarts from his mother, and the love of the ocean of his father.
Percy could disappear for months, sometime with his son, either simply traveling around with his family trireme or visiting his father in Atlantis.
Annabeth – had achieved her dream, and became an architect.
She'd been hired by the Celtic pantheon, who'd tasked her with building a camp for their own half-bloods – the Norse had been impressed enough with her work they'd hired her too.

Hazel and Frank ended together when they were in their twenties, a few years after leaving the legion – the few years gap between them not really relevant now that they were older.
They were married within the year.
They lived between New Rome and Vancouver, with Frank having become a trainer for the recruits of the legion, while Hazel found herself involved in the Roman Senate.

Piper and Ginny bonded over having adopted an Egyptian goddess, and their friendship slowly grew into more. It took them nearly three years to admit they were dating, and a decade more before having a bonding-ceremony in the stone circle of Hogwarts.
Ginny became a quidditch player, but also renowned on the wixen dueling circuit, while Piper, surprising everyone, walked in her father's footsteps and became an actress.

Luna and Ron's relationship had lasted through the years, and they'd wedded as soon as the witch had obtained her charm and runes mastery.
Ron had gotten a job in the twin's joke shop they managed with Leifr, and his caring nature made him a hit salesman – but what he loved above all was coming home early, thanks to his part-time, and care for his family, who quickly grew to a pair of girls and a boy, all three half-bloods having inherited their mother's affinity for Dreams.

Jason had spent years as a praetor, but when he retired, it was home to the clan that he headed, helping the children who were starting to pope left and right training, and eventually starting to date, then marry Zya.
As for his wife, she went on to work with the goblin, with whom the Per Sesen had developed a good relationship as they helped them learn to use their innate magic in new ways that didn't have to do with making weapons.

Leo, who'd realized that Blitzen was a genius crafter, took to pestering the dwarf regularly, all but moving out to his place as soon as he was eighteen, much to Andiron and Hearthstone's amusement. The dwarf, who was more interested in fashion, still managed to get dragged in all of the son of Hephaestus strange yet somehow working ideas – and Leo in return did start to get some idea about fashion.
They were nearly in their thirties by the time they wedded, and their suits were, of course, absolutely gorgeous.

Magnus and Alys ending up together had been an evidence, though it took until they were nearly sixteen for the two main concerned to get on with the program.
Neither really felt the need for a wedding, simply content in each other's presence.

Samirah met a rather sweet boy at her grandparent's place, and though he didn't have an ounce of magic nor godly blood in his vein, he got used to the strange world he was now a part of, for love.
Though learning about the existence of all the pantheons had led to a bit of a faith crisis for the Muslim – he'd eventually settled on thinking that if all those gods existed, there wasn't any reason his own didn't, and decided on universal respect for all the gods, but kept on praying the one he'd been raised to believe in.

Sadie met the formerly cursed Walt Stone during a visit to the Brooklyn Per Sesen Nome – immediately fell for him, and spent the next year willfully courting him. He eventually accepted a date – then another, and the rest was history.

Andiron ended up never leaving Midgard, falling in love with a witch he met when he visited Ilvermorny, where Hardwin was giving a lecture on potion.
His brother on the contrary, went back to Álfheimr with Inge, once they were in their twenties, and the couple worked from there to free all the hulder and reform society – with Frey's blessing and the god actually dropping by sporadically, it worked surprisingly well.

Colborn had the adventurous adolescence of most half-bloods – though how the son of Leifr managed to end up on the island of a Greek sorceress and free her, none ever really understood.
Sufficed to say that he had, and Calypso and him we never seen apart afterward.

The Black twins grew to be little hellions, and powerful half-bloods, who called Sirius and Hermione their parents, but never forgot about the other two – the godly mother they did meet up with regularly, and the Old One they'd never met.
Altaïr was rather close to Carter, but also to Grover, learning Wild Magic from them and loving it. Nobody really knew what he did in life – he traveled around, often ending up meeting nature spirits and minor gods, regularly heading home to see his family. He was happy, and that was more than enough.
Nashira was the one who learned from Sirius, and formally took over the Heiress Black title when she was fifteen. She went on to work for the ministry, and became the youngest ministry for magic ever at thirty-two years old, taking the job from a Cornelius Fudge who was quite eager to retire, but remained a beloved mentor, and was always available for some advice.

Liam Kane and Helios Lovegood grew as close as brothers – and, maybe because they'd been born thanks to the Hunt, both had somehow inherited wix and holy magic alike.
Which meant they went to Hogwarts together, and also ended up learning druidism from Neville and Daphne Longbottom – then a few years later, dating and wedding their twin daughters, and happily leaving all four together.

¤.¤.¤

All in all – it was pretty close from a happily ever after, for a world who'd been so close to be given up on by the gods when Adra was born in it.
Not of course that it was perfect – nothing was in life, and there was still much work left to do when she died – work that her friends and family took over, and the changes that she and Pyxis had spear-headed didn't stop with their death, far from it.

¤.¤.¤

It was maybe among the gods that her death was taken the hardest.
Many, among them, couldn't help but wonder if she wouldn't have needed to sacrifice herself – if only they'd taken their duties a bit more seriously, instead of all but forsaking the mortals.
It took years, and even decades for some, to realize that it probably wouldn't have been enough – and that there was no changing the past.
All – vowed never to fail their world so badly ever again.

¤.¤.¤

Hades dived into work to distract himself from the hole Adra had left behind.
The Greek/Roman after life was completely overhauled, digging deeper in the dream realm as he and his team of architects and engineered, Daedalus leading them.
It was a project that would take centuries to complete, but that would successfully deal with the overflow of souls, each layer devoted to one kind of soul – the fields of punishment, then deeper, the fields of asphodel, and in the deepest layer, Elysium and the departure point for Death's islands in the immortal realms.
It took the god decades to realize that from one layer from another, they'd delved deep enough in the dream realms that they were closer from the immortal than the mortal realm.

Persephone had laughed, when she realized her husband hadn't even caught on to what he was doing.
"Oh husband, of course I realized that we were getting closer to immortal realm, but I want to see Pyxis and Adra again too. I thought you weren't talking about the real plan for fear of jinxing it!"
"It is incredibly dangerous to thread the path between realms!" Hades protested, a bit startled at what he'd accidentally engineered
"It is." Persephone agreed "But your engineers are geniuses, who have all the time in the world in their hands. They did things carefully." a smile "And waiting a few centuries isn't that hard for us gods."

¤.¤.¤

Leifr's own journey had been just as accidental, though more dangerous.
The god had always been able to thread the paths between worlds – but subconsciously, he tried to go further and further, somehow managing to find ways between all the dream worlds all around their home planet.
It took time for the god to realize he wasn't merely finding new paths – but making them, having awakened to a whole new godly domain, and now belonging to the gods of travel just like Hermes or Lug.

He'd been far more cautious, of course, once he realized he was the one making the path. But he didn't stop heading out further up and further in the depths of the dream realm – toward the immortal realm.

¤.¤.¤

Anubis' own efforts hadn't been accidental, not with a wife like Hermione.
She'd barely breathed her last breath, and entered the Egyptian afterword, that she'd already managed to learn things about the Du'at some gods never even got. She was the one who mused about making a new road toward the immortal realm – not a tear, that would be dangerous, but a proper road, with doors to keep their world's integrity, yet allow immortals to travel to and from the immortal realm.
After all, if the Old Ones could incarnate in the mortal realms – who was to say there wasn't a way from the local gods to visit the immortal realm?

The couple had got down to planning, and ended starting the creation of twelve new Houses, that took off where the Twelve House ended.
The Twelve Houses of the Day were logically echoing the travel of the moon in the sky, just like Ra and his siblings traveled through the Twelve House of Night.
Hermione ascending along the way, becoming a goddess of the moon, had been rather unexpected. Khonsou, the Egyptian god of the moon, had been rather put out – but Hermione had been claimed by the Moon pantheon, who paradoxically didn't have any moon goddess yet; and well, Khonsou wasn't the most pleasant god, so not many gave any attention to his complaints.

¤.¤.¤

Dionysus had had a plan too, strangely enough.
He'd even been the first with a plan, and who'd started to make his own way toward the immortal realm – but well, Dionysus embraced chaos, and chaos as a godly power, was one that could just as well destroy than create.
He'd discussed his plans with Grover, and while the Wild god didn't have the same irrepressible need to see Adra again as him, he was also a Wild god, and the idea sounded just chaotic and interesting enough for the satyr to get on board.

Between the two of them, a new cave was created, a bit deeper in the dream realm.
This cave was filled with ice, and snow, and all sort of creatures and plants that thrived in this environment.
A tropical paradise case followed, a bit deeper yet.
Then another cave – and another.

The satyrs, dryad and other Greeks and Romans nature spirits that had been nearly extinct in Grover's youth thrived, whole new species springing to life as the Wild Refuge grew and grew, soon getting even visitors and residents from the other pantheons – hulders seeking shelter from the elves first, some of them staying even once things became better from them in Álfheimr, but also all sorts of youkai coming from the Japanese pantheon, and so on.

From time to time, they asked Leifr to drop by, and open a few paths between their caves, and even the other pantheons – and as decades went by, the dream worlds of each pantheon became more and more interconnected.
Sure, gods being gods, there we numerous big egos, that meant that occasionally some clashed – but never were the borders closed off like they'd been for millennia.

¤.¤.¤

Hùndùn too, with Jade's help and Shàng Dì's authorization, had started to build toward the immortal realm, creating new islands, higher and higher above the imperial city, that were soon inhabited by his subjects, as the Imperial Bureaucracy started to find its balance between their two emperors.
And both chaos and order god were in perfect agreement – they'd adopted Adra, who was a princess of their pantheon.
It was only natural that they could visit, family was important after all.

Jade – just wanted to see his treasure faster, and though it was an interesting idea. He'd directly ascended as an Old One, after all, but hadn't spent much time in the immortal realm yet – he was rather curious to see if a path could be built safely.

¤.¤.¤

Carter was someone much different from Renato Sinclair.
While his love for his bambina had never faltered, quite the contrary, growing only deeper as time went by, he'd also learned that love and attachment were completely different. He knew – that his other half wouldn't want for him to cut short his current life only to join him a few decades or centuries faster in the immortal realm.
So, he'd lived as a mortal, enjoying watching the Moon clan continue to change the world.

He was seventeen when he met the seven Meliai, ash-tree dryads that had been raised by a daughter of Demeter who'd nearly been kidnapped by the triumvirate before Percy managed to infiltrate their corporation and consequentially overthrown them.
The seven dryads immediately latched on him – and never let go.

Each of them gave a powerful half-blood grandchild to an ecstatic Ruby Kane – the incarnate god earning much teasing from his sisters for it; his brother had tried too but Carter had quickly reminded him nobody really knew who were the parents of Helios, the Longbottom twins and his children, so he didn't have any room to talk.
Then, as the original Moon clan started to get old, and a new generation to take over, he'd started to retire slowly from the mortal realm, just like the Egyptian gods were doing, leaving once their mortal partner had die – to retire for a few years or decades in the Du'at, or for some, to immediately start to seek a new partner.

Of course, he hadn't completely left the Moon clan behind, but simply made his own home with the Meliai, in a grove deeper in the Moon Realm's forests, Luna joining him a few years later once her husband died.
It hadn't taken them long to realize what some of the gods were doing, and both found themselves rather amused about it – trust his bambina to find other suitors stubborn enough to try and find her even after death, the god of Life had pointed out.
While neither had any intention of doing the same – it gave them some ideas.
Going deeper toward the immortal realm was already done by half a dozen gods – but they…

Carter started to encourage the trees of the Moon realm to grow, extending it side-way, Luna making things only easier as a goddess of Dreams — and maybe adding a touch of strange and whimsical to the growing forest and the spirits and creatures that soon called it home.
If a path could be done toward the immortal realm, it stood to reason that one could be made, and probably far more easily, toward other worlds of the mortal realm – like Gaia, the world where they'd both ascended in a couple of thousands of years ago, or Adra's own Earth.

¤.¤.¤

"Well done," Death complimented her softly as the rift closed behind them, leaving Shadow once more in the immortal realm, another mortal life over
"Our little sister is all grown up!" Chaos was proclaiming in a far more rumbustious manner "I'm so moved!"
There was a discreet rush of power – and the young looking, golden eyed god, hit an invisible wall, falling on his behind and sending an accusing glare at the rest of the gods around them "Order!"

"Your sister just sacrificed herself, saved a world from being Lost, restored Balance, fully developed her own unique ability as a god. Let her breathe a bit!" the silver-eyed goddess pointed out severely at her counterpart, making him pout
Time&Eternity stood out among them, but gave her a small smile and respectful nod "You did it." he praised "Against all odds." he added, reminding her of all the attempts to save that world he'd made, all of them ending in failure

She really had done it, she suddenly realized, feeling the weight of her accomplishment fell on her shoulders like a warm blanket. No wonder, in a way, that Chaos was so delighted! She smiled, and suddenly, cutting short her own life felt like a very small price to pay, to change the destiny of a whole planet.

Hours – or maybe days, it was always a bit difficult to tell in the immortal realm – had gone by, all the First and Second Circle gods chatting happily.
With Time&Eternity around, seeing what was lying ahead for the world she'd just left wasn't that hard, and Love had been rather proud.
"Look at that! They went from an Edge World to starting of the path of a Transcendental one! All because of Love!"
There were impressed whispers all around.
"Transcendental world?" Shadow asked, not having heard the word before

"It's a world sufficiently old, powerful but also harmonious enough to manage to reach beyond." Knowledge explained "Thus making them able to create paths toward other worlds." a smirk "Or even to the immortal realm."
The youngest among them blushed – as she saw what Love was pointing toward.

She also smiled fondly, as she saw the ghostly reflection of dream worlds and pathways not yet built but already in the works, all of them headed toward them – and her smile only grew fonder as she realized just where the one lateral path was heading toward.

"It will be the first Transcendental world born from Dream," Magic said with a proud smile "It's no small achievement." a wink at Adra "I'm pretty sure your own world will become one too, once it's grown old enough to be entrusted to Time&Eternity. After all, it's already quite harmonious."

It was as things started to calm down, the gods getting back to their own duties and hobbies, that Death and Chaos had led her toward a familiar place.
She took a startled breath, then asked, somehow knowing but just wanting to be sure.
"I'm ready?"
"You're ready." Death and Chaos agreed
She turned toward the looming doors of Purgatory, and nodded decisively.
Time to save Lily Potter.