The Death of Time

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Riding on the wind, dancing in the mountains…

Ananke wasn’t sure if the feeling of concerned paranoia was her own or the Time God in her head, but it was warning that although Lakshmi was friendly there was still something amiss. It could just be a lingering sense of dissonance due to ‘nake being in the strange position of being courted by a Pantheon that wanted Time to die while carrying the Father of Tine inside her head, and being aware that at least a small part of Chronos wished to die as well even as they both fought to keep Time and life going. Although Chronos had panicked over the concept of truly dying, now there was the faintest sensation that he would be relieved by it too.

I don’t want to die, I want to be free. Chronos was all too aware of Ananke’s silent musings, their sudden and intense intermingling saw to that.

Is there a difference between the two though? When I fought to live after the fall, I fought to save two lives; fought to live for the sake of my child. If I’d known at the time that I would live but Aeon never would… I’m not sure the Ananke I was then would have fought at all. Her admission came with the same lack of pride or shame she ever exposed, and yet Chronos could tell it wasn’t for lack of emotion. Instead Ananke was just being honest.

Ahead of the mortal woman and godly passenger, Herald walked with the Goddess Lakshmi and even though they were speaking, neither Ananke nor Chronos could hear them. It wasn’t due to a lack of awareness but instead was simply a side effect of another vision crashing into Ananke and Chronos’ combined awareness. Now that they were merged fully, it was a wholly new experience.  Chronos was always used to being a participant in these visions because as the God of Time he could move around in the realities, doing what was required to prevent some and germinate others. Ananke had always been restricted to the role of a observer for the visions, a hostage held in their grips to simply witness what was, is, or should never be. As a mortal her visions had been guide posts and manipulations to prepare her for her role of host to Time, to be the bearer of Chronos on the journey they now shared but even with that understanding now, Ananke almost feared these visions. For Chronos, feeling Ananke’s fear made him feel powerful, shameful and protective as he knew without warning that now with them combined, these visions wouldn’t be solely to watch, but a way for them to act upon the world. Not a task that should be attempted from a mortal seat, ensconced inside a mortal mind and yet that was the reality they now faced.

They were watching a field full of demons, identical and yet each terrible in and of itself. The stench of blood filled the air, and a foulness that had more to do with spirit than scent clung to them. The demon clones seemed to spring from the very ground at alarmingly rapid, exponentially accelerating rates and Chronos felt alarmed concern because they were coming ever closer to where he and Ananke stood vigil. Each drop of blood that flew and hit the ground from these creatures just seemed to bring forth more of them, and even though there were eight battling Goddesses led by a ninth in the center of the teeming mass, it looked to be a doomed venture. For all the dozens that they injured and slew, hundreds more were birthed from the very ground. And despite the terrible violence that Chronos and Ananke were witness to, they felt an unmistakable pull forwards, towards those Goddesses in the center. What the vision wished for them to witness was contained in the middle of the battle and not on the safer outskirts.

 

Ananke slipped her hand into Chronos’ immaterial one, the other gripping tight a stone with Aeon written on it. Those stones of memory had once served as a makeshift weapon to help defend them before and it was all that was available to them now. With Time and weapon in hand, Ananke followed the sensation through the midst of the melee.