Pit tucked his wings in and rolled, pain shooting through his body as he came to a stop. He sat up and scanned his surroundings quickly as Mastema appeared behind him. A low, mechanical droning sounded constantly and a soft light from an unseen source illuminated all sorts of objects all around the rather plain platform they found themselves on. Pit recognized a sundial, some hourglasses of varying sizes, and a few candles that marked time in Ylisse, but there were plenty of other objects and gadgets, gears and pendulums, that he could not for the life of him identify. They appeared to be on a staircase landing of some kind, with floating steps leading both up and down from their current position.
Mastema actually offered his hand, and Pit stared at him for a moment before he took it. Mastema pulled him back to his feet and he brushed himself off. It was certainly warmer here than it had been amongst the snow they had been in moments earlier.
"I'm sure you know that Chaos and Calamity go quite well together," Mastema remarked as he eyed the god of light. "Your brother's power compliments my own, never mind the chaos of battle. Of course, the high tension was beneficial as well."
"I see…" Pit murmured. "Well, I'm glad it was useful for something."
"To be honest," Mastema chuckled. "I didn't know you had it in you to be that vicious. Even I was shocked by what you said." Pit dropped his gaze and turned away.
"No one knows Kuro better than I do. I know how to get to him. I just never thought I'd have to like that."
"You did what you had to do." He flinched as Mastema patted him on the shoulder. "It was quite reassuring, actually. It's proof that you'll do whatever it takes to accomplish your goal." Pit looked up at him with rather darkened eyes.
"I'll do whatever it takes to protect my family. Even if it means hurting them." He pondered his words for a moment. "No… No, that's the answer you'd like, right?" Mastema frowned, but looked at him thoughtfully. "That is true, my family was the original reason that I planned this. I was terrified of stepping out of line and losing Kuro or Lucina because of it. I worried about what would happen to my children. But beyond that…" He clenched his fists and his wings lifted slightly. "And maybe more importantly, this is not what will protect the Celestial Balance. I should lead Skyworld, not the entire world. Viridi may do things that anger me, but it's well within her right as goddess of Nature to make her own decisions on how to protect it without having to run it by me first. I shouldn't be telling Remiel how to rule the Underworld. Even you. You're the god of Space and Chaos. Aeon is the god of Time and Order. You're a part of that Balance too." He paused and took a breath to steady himself. "I know that deep down, Nemo thought all of that, too. And my hand was forced to kill him." Mastema smirked at the sharp determination on Pit's face. "I'm tired of being a puppet." The chaotic god chuckled and nodded.
"You've wisened up since our battle. And anyway, I may not have been aware of much while I was trapped down there in Tartarus, but I do know that Nemo was absurdly powerful, especially his will. That was nigh unbreakable. So it seems… odd that, after so many centuries, Hades was able to wholly and completely overpower him." Pit's gaze lost focus. "Ah," Mastema scoffed. "But there's not much point to speculation when my dear old brother can give you answers."
"Brother?" Pit echoed, and Mastema simply started up the stairs and gestured for him to follow. Pit did so, and the two ascended for some time until they came to another ethereal platform simply bearing what at first looked like a portal of some kind, and what appeared to be an elderly man stood gazing into it. He was balding, dressed in a long, dark blue robe with a gold rope belt tied around his waist, and he gripped a staff in one hand, from which hung an hourglass with swirling golden sand inside both the upper and lower parts.
"It has indeed been a while, Brother," he said as he turned to his visitors. Despite his aged face, his eyes sparkled with the light of youth. Mastema smirked and crossed his arms.
"I'll never understand why you keep yourself in that decrepit old body," he said. The elderly god gave a bemused smile as he looked to his other visitor.
"Welcome, Master Pit. As I am sure you are aware, I am Aeon, god of Time and Order. It is good to meet you face to face." Pit dipped his head respectfully.
"You as well, Lord Aeon. I understand you're the one who convinced Lord Dyntos to help us back when…" He gestured to Mastema, who snorted.
"Indeed," Aeon nodded. "Mastema, I am sorry for your imprisonment, but it was necessary at that time." Something passed between the two that Pit couldn't understand, and he chewed his inner lip awkwardly.
"Well, I'm sure you're aware of why he's here," Mastema eventually said.
"Yes…" Aeon returned his gaze to Pit. "Master Pit, as you may imagine, my sanctum exists on the edge of time. I cannot foresee anything that will occur here, nor can the Fates. Therefore, they do not know of what I am about to tell you." He waved his staff forward, and Pit's injuries healed and his fatigue evaporated, but it felt different from usual. Time itself had rewound on his body. "The Fates have been weaving your thread since your birth as a human. They crafted your mind and soul in order to always follow what you believed to be right, to always act in the name of justice. And over the centuries, they have pulled the smallest strings to guide your path to where you are now." Pit's heart thudded as his fears were confirmed. "Now, not everything was specifically orchestrated by their hand, but they have taken advantage of events. They do not control all of time and existence, and neither they nor I can change it entirely. Otherwise, you would not be standing here now, defying the path they placed you on." Pit nodded slowly. "Nemo, for example, was never meant to dispatch Hades and usurp his place in the Underworld, but his actions provided the Fates with an opportunity. They pulled a thread in his consciousness that led him to force you into battle with Palutena the second time, ensuring her demise and your ascension."
Grief punched Pit in the heart, and he felt like he couldn't breathe. He'd started to have his suspicions when Nemo told him that he hadn't originally planned that fight, but to hear it straight, that the Fates set him to all but kill the goddess he had sworn his life to… He swallowed down the lump in his throat.
"Please, go on," he managed to say as Aeon watched him with sympathy. Aeon cleared his throat.
"They then came to you and told you that they had a challenge for you to prove yourself as the god of Light. You thought your task was to find a peaceful resolution to the boy Yoshua's protests against the gods." Pit nodded slightly as dread made his stomach drop. "Elora was the catalyst of your challenge, yes, but Yoshua was not the conclusion. As you dealt with him, they pulled the threads to resurrect the goddess of Darkness." Pit's eyes blanked as his thoughts finally caught up to what he was being told.
"Now what kind of god of Light causes an angel to betray him? What would make her choose the goddess of Darkness over you?"
Somewhere in the back of his mind, he'd already known it, and his reflection from the Wellspring of Truth had tried to warn him.
"Elora…" He refocused on Aeon and tried to suppress the desperation he felt. "She was my challenge, not Yoshua. They wanted to know how far I'd go, even if it meant…" Aeon nodded thoughtfully. Pit slouched over and placed his head in his hands, his mind swirling to process everything and he felt like he was going to vomit.
"So they really were playing him the entire time," Mastema said. "I knew I hated them, but wow. I didn't think they'd go that far." He paused. "Let me guess: With Hades and Medusa gone and Nemo in power, that gave Pandora the perfect excuse to break me out of my wonderful little cell, and in turn, that led him to unite the three realms under his leadership." Pit looked back up between the two gods.
"Yes," Aeon replied. "Even I did not know at the time their intentions. Unfortunately, I cannot predict what threads they will weave. Honestly…" He looked from Mastema to Pit. "I thought you would perish in that battle, Master Pit. His final strike should have killed you, and it very nearly did. Yet, against all odds, you survived."
"You think they spared me," Pit said, and Aeon dipped his head. "They kept me alive so I'd be the hero who defeated the god of Chaos and proved his power so Nemo and Viridi would have to think twice about challenging me. To this day, Viridi knows she and her Forces wouldn't be able to repel me, but Nemo… He and I were allies, but he had the power and conviction to face me if needed. They brought Hades back, didn't they?"
"Indeed." Pit took another breath and went over all of this information, and he realized something else.
"Grima," he said. "I keep wondering how I never realized how bad the situation in the Overworld had gotten, but it was them, wasn't it? They pulled my strings so I would ignore it until…"
He slumped down, staring at nothing in particular for a while as he came to terms with everything.
"Lucina…" he choked out, and he looked back up at Aeon. "They… Did they make that happen, too?"
"Rest assured of this if nothing else, Master Pit," Aeon said. "They intended for you to aid her and the humans. They weaved your thread to once again see how you would handle the circumstances you found yourself in, and I believe they used the opportunity to sow doubt in Nemo regarding the mortal world. But your love for Lucina is your own, as is hers for you. The Fates cannot dictate love." He smiled slightly. "The lady Aphrodite would be none too pleased, I'm sure."
It was a small comfort, given everything else that Pit had learned, but it was a comfort nonetheless. He nodded and swallowed again as he got back to his feet.
"Lord Aeon, thank you for telling me all of this." He bowed briefly. "But… you know why I've come here. I can't let them use me like this any longer. I'm going to put an end to them."
"I know," Aeon replied. "I will not stand in your way. I believe the Fates have overstepped themselves and their original purpose." He lifted his staff to point down the stairs. "Go down from here and you will reach a corridor. You will find them on the other end. But know this, Master Pit." He paused and let out a soft, slow breath. "Even I do not know what will happen when you confront them. I can foresee nothing beyond this moment regarding your future."
"I guess there's only one way to find out," Pit said as he summoned his bow, and he looked between Aeon and Mastema. "Thank you, both of you, for your help. I hope we'll meet again."
"Watch yourself, little godling," Mastema said. "They're crafty. You're not getting out of this one easily. And if I can't kill you, you'd better not let them." Pit smiled weakly and offered his hand.
"I really do appreciate you getting me here, Mastema. Try not to cause any wars in the immortal world anytime soon." Mastema laughed and took his hand.
"No promises. I'm sure I'll end up doing something that makes someone angry before long. But you just worry about the Fates." Pit nodded and released his hand, then turned to the stairs. He glanced back over his shoulder. Mastema gave him a small wave and Aeon nodded encouragingly. Pit smiled as well as he could, then turned back to the stairs. He took a deep breath, then started his descent to his unknown future.