Sempiternity (COMPLETED)

XI

The city hosting the Thousand Eternal Ritual was simultaneously a microcosm of activity and a graveyard of existence. There seemed to be no movement or life in the gargantuan ruins, like a spur of movement in peripheral vision that refuses to budge when focused upon; but like said spur of consciousness, as soon as one looked away, the spot surged into motion once again.

Thus was the state that Arend and Klaytaza found themselves in when they arrived in the Thousand Eternal City, or simply the City as Arend mentally dubbed it. This location, as Klaytaza had confirmed, was the projected impact point of the falling red moon. The point of Arend’s journey to the city was twofold; to hijack the Ritual, and to watch the end of the world with his own two eyes.

After arriving in the city, even though he could not immediately discern if there was even anyone living within its gigantic limits, Arend felt deep within his soul that this would be the location he would die in.

Within his heart, although he had mostly dispelled all doubts thanks to his conversation with Klaytaza on the train and fully committed himself to his fate, there was still a curtain of anxiety and despair that dragged down his every breath. There was a very good chance that he would never truly shake this pain within his soul, but something about the City made his mental condition so much worse.

The entire metropolitan region seemed to radiate with an unspeakable, indescribable energy. It palpitated like an immense industrial heart, spilling over with life whilst drowning in death. The environment boggled the mind, refused to be understood; it was like nothing Arend had experienced before.

That was when he knew without a doubt that the rest of the Keys to Eternity resided in this City, and that the final Thousand Eternal Ritual would take place within its limits.

“I sense them,” Klaytaza stated as soon as they took their first steps off the train. In front of the two, the streets were quiet. So intensely quiet. “They are everywhere. They are watching. There are so many of them, Master.” She looked to Arend with a pleading look.

He did not return her gaze, but stepped forward as he crossed his arms over his chest. “There aren’t enough. They will fade.” Despite his bravado, the confirmation of his foes before him filled Arend with a crushing feeling of anxiety and fear like nothing before.

But now, more than ever, he found himself brave and able to function despite his fear. All of his existential worries were being channeled into action, thought, plans, and clear visions. Above all, he see the red moon in the sky, looming larger with each hour that passed. The fact that he could see his plans unfurling in front of him – his destruction inching ever closer – was giving him a newfound energy.

He couldn’t afford to be afraid, or to hesitate. Not when he had sacrificed so much just to come this far.

Arend started to walk forward into the labyrinth of the City, and Klaytaza followed him after a moment. “Why have they not attacked us yet,” Arend wondered aloud. “Do they not realize we have arrived?”

“Unlikely,” Klaytaza retorted. “Most of the Keys are concentrated in the very heart of the City. They are preparing the Ritual for its final stages. The Ark has already been summoned; now they must guide it.”

“The Ark…?” Arend looked up at the red moon. “So that’s what it’s called… You said most? So not all of the Keys are involved in the ritual?” 

“Correct. The Ritual requires the presence of several hundred Keys, but I can feel that there are others, scattered about for miles. There will be no escaping them.”

“Good,” Arend stated with a gulp. “I don’t want to escape.” His body was screaming the opposite, but it was Arend’s stubborn mind and heart that allowed him to persist in the face of what was certainly certain death. “So,” he stated with a somewhat nervous chuckle, “how soon until they show their cowardly faces?”