Chapter 690 - The Agony of Anticipation

Zeke felt the Waymaster’s attention settle onto him, though he ignored it as he left the site of the battle behind.  If the powerful figure wished to hold him accountable, then there wasn’t much he could do about it.  Fortunately, that didn’t seem to be the goal, and it wasn’t long before the Waymaster turned away. 

Still, Zeke knew that he hadn’t escaped the god’s attention.  All he’d done was avoid his focus – for now, at least.  Eventually, it would return. 

Zeke wanted nothing more than to be gone by then. 

So, he headed through the Nexus, eventually passing into a more populated region of the city.  The pedestrians clogging the streets looked at him no differently than before, but Zeke felt more secure than ever.  He’d proven that he could deal with whatever came his way, which came with a degree of comfort. 

And a little disappointment, if he was honest.  A short fight wasn’t enough to sate his lust for battle, and he knew he would soon need more. 

But in the meantime, he wanted something much more ardently.

“I want to go home,” he said. 

“Me too,” Eveline agreed, floating beside him as a glowing ball of light.  He very much preferred that version of her – at least opposed to the succubus form she’d often taken during the first part of their relationship.  At that thought, she said, “Glad I could meet your preferences.”

“Don’t be like that.”

“I’m just saying – I live to please your sense of aesthetics.  Clearly.”

Zeke rolled his eyes at her sarcasm, but he didn’t argue.  If there was one thing he’d learned over the years, it was that he couldn’t compete with her when it came to words.  It was better to accept defeat and embrace the things he did well.

“Like bashing things with your hammer,” Eveline remarked.

“Yeah.  Like that,” he agreed.  He glanced at the other pedestrians. “Can they see you?”

“Of course.”

“But they’re not freaking out.”

“Why would they?  This is a realm of magic.  Everyone here has seen much more interesting things than a wisp.”

“You’re a mind spirit, though.”

“They don’t know that,” she pointed out.

Indeed, Zeke wasn’t the only one who’d advanced during the descent through the circles of Hell.  Eveline had too, and she’d become powerful enough that, had she wished it, she could have caused quite a few problems for the residents of the Nexus.  If he had to guess, Zeke would have put her in the realm of lesser godhood, and not toward the bottom of that classification. 

She was a friend, but she was also an incredibly valuable and powerful ally. 

“Never knew you cared so much.”

“Of course I do,” Zeke said.  “You’re my oldest friend.”

“I…I don’t know what to say to that.”

Neither did Zeke.  He’d known others for longer.  In fact, he’d met most of his friends well before he’d ever encountered Eveline.  However, the weight of a subjective thousand years – and a literal century – together was too much to ignore.  Their relationship felt simultaneously stronger and more solid than anything he’d cultivated with the other people in his life.

Perhaps that was just because it had been so long since he’d seen them.  Or maybe he was terrified of what he’d find when they were reunited.  After all, he’d changed during that time, so it made sense that they would have as well. 

As he strode through the Nexus, eventually reaching the other side of the city, he considered simply summoning his tower, then and there.  The Waymaster would probably allow it, so long as he didn’t hurt any innocent people. 

But ultimately, he chose to forego that reunion – for now, at least.  It would come in time, and sooner than he wanted to realize, and he could wait.

Finally, he arrived at his destination – Oberon’s embassy.  It was a massive oak tree amidst the odd cityscape of the Nexus, and it looked just as out of place as that description implied.  The tree was at least a thousand feet tall and wide enough to cast miles of city into shadow. 

What’s more, it was guarded by a bunch of tiny creatures armed with bows.  Each one was a lesser god, and not weak in their own right.  They looked a bit like tiny elves, though with wings resembling a butterfly’s.  Multi-colored and sparkling, those wings were incredibly beautiful. 

Zeke strode toward the boundary of their territory.  He’d felt it long before he arrived, but upon visual inspection, he saw that it was delineated by a hedgerow.  The winged guards nestled within those branches, clearly ready to bring violence to anyone who threatened their security.

At any other time, Zeke might have considered it a bit ridiculous.  However, with the power he felt from them, he knew they made for a formidable force.  Not enough to threaten him, perhaps, but a cut above most others he’d encountered within the Nexus. 

He stepped closer, aiming for a slim opening in the hedgerow.  It was marked by a vine-covered stone arch, and a pair of the most powerful guards he’d yet seen stood sentry on either side. 

The first chirped, “State your business, outsider.”

“My name is Ezekiel Blackwood.  I intend to go to Oberon’s domain.”

That got their attention.  Clearly, Zeke’s arrival was expected, and the guards quickly ushered him into the embassy.  As it turned out, the creatures referred to themselves as fairies, and they weren’t quite as uniform as Zeke’s initial inspection indicated.  They ranged in size from six inches tall to more than a foot, and their skin came in a wide variety of hues.  Reds and blues were common, as were more human complexions, and usually, their skin color matched their wings.  Their genders were also varied, mimicking humans and elves. 

In any case, Zeke only had a little while to marvel at the creatures before he was escorted into the compound, which as it turned out, was the tree itself.  Hollowed out via some magic Zeke couldn’t even begin to understand, the thing was a living structure populated mostly by fairies. 

However, it featured a few rooms meant to accommodate larger folks like Zeke.  He was led to one such chamber, where he found a portal waiting on him.  In its inactive state, it looked more like a wreath of garlands than anything else, but he quickly felt the power within it.  That bloomed into being after only a few moments, shimmering with white light before stabilizing. 

“You may proceed.  Lord Oberon is waiting for you on the other side,” said the fairy with a bow. 

Zeke took a deep breath, but he didn’t immediately step through.  Instead, he just stared at the portal, his heart beating out of his chest. 

“Why are you waiting?” asked Eveline.

“You know why.  You’re in my head.”

“I want you to stay it.”

“Why?” he asked.  “Do you get off on humiliating me?”

“Maybe.  Just say it.”

“Fine.  You want me to say it?  I’m terrified, okay?  I can fight gods and monsters for a thousand years, but the idea of going back and facing my friends and family…I’m scared.  Not just of how they might react.  They probably hate me.  I’m prepared for that.  I left them behind, and without a second thought.  I lied to Pudge. That’s part of it, sure,” he admitted.  “But there’s more.  There’s worse.”

“Say it.”

“I’m scared of what they might see when they look at me.  I’m scared of getting hurt.  I’m scared of trying to slot back into their lives and finding out that I won’t fit!” he shouted in his own mind.  “I am terrified, Eveline.  And of so many things.”

“It’s okay,” she stated.  “You’ll be okay.”

“You know that?”

She gave a mental shake of her head.  “Not really.  There’s a chance you’ll go off the deep end.  You might break into a thousand pieces and never be the same,” she said.  “But you might not, too.”

“Might.”

“There are no certainties in this world, Ezekiel.  Not here.  Not in the worlds we left behind.  Maybe not in the entire universe,” she responded.  “That’s because we’ve all got free will.  None of us are predictable.  Not in the long run.  But if you want my reassurance, just know that your family and friends love you.  They might be angry.  They probably will be.  But in the end, you are family, and so long as you do your best to make amends, they will forgive you.”

“And if not?”

“I don’t know, Ezekiel.  I don’t have all the answers. No one does.”

“I don’t think I’ll make it if…I don’t know…if the worst happens.”

“You will.”

“How do you know that?” he asked, the thought carrying with it a mountain of insecurity.

“Because I know you,” she said.  “And you’re the most stubborn person I’ve ever seen.  You will keep going, if only out of spite.  Of that, I’m certain.  If nothing else about you is true, that is.”

Zeke closed his eyes, centering himself with a deep breath.  There were some things he couldn’t fight.  Some things he couldn’t simply smash his way through.  And those scared him, even if it was like pulling teeth for him to admit as much. 

“Just do it,” Eveline advised.  “Get it over with.  Maybe you’ll be surprised at what you find on the other side.”

Zeke’s eyes flicked open.  He set his jaw, then without a second’s more hesitation, he stepped through the portal.  Upon doing so, he felt the divine energy swirl around him, and for a moment, he resisted it.  In that moment, he hung suspended in the center of a void, surrounded by gargantuan monsters that defied his limited perception.  Just as one reached for him, he allowed the divine energy to do its job and whisk him away.

A second later, he appeared upon the surface of a new world.

The first thing he noticed was the pleasant chirp of a bird’s call.  It was answered by another’s, and the gentle buzz of an insect joined the chorus.  A breeze rustled nearby leaves, and the tinkling of a nearby brook completed nature’s song. 

Zeke blinked.

Then, he looked around, finding himself in an idyllic forest.  Massive and ancient trees surrounded him, while various forms of wildlife – like the birds and insects, but in no way limited to those examples – took notice of him. 

Nearby ran a clear stream, sunlight glinting across fast-moving surface.

“Welcome, Zeke,” came a familiar – if slightly different – voice Zeke recognized as belonging to Oberon.  He turned to see the owner, but he was surprised at what he beheld.  “Not what you expected, eh?”

He wasn’t.

Oberon looked similar to the various projections he’d shown to Zeke through the years.  His stature was nearly identical, and he still had the same beard of leaves and vines.  But he looked old.  Very, very old.  More ancient even than the oldest tree Zeke had ever seen.  If he’d claimed to have been older than Earth itself – a distinct possibility – Zeke would have believed him. 

He also looked tired.  Almost frail.  Though in Zeke’s other senses, Oberon was clearly the most powerful being he’d ever met, save for the Waymaster.  Though the gap between those two entities was narrower than the one between Mak’tar and Oberon. 

“You look different.”

Oberon chuckled.  Then, he said, “I made those projections when I was much, much younger. I just never got around to updating them.  You’ll forgive an old god his vanity, eh?”

“I guess.”

“Come, come.  Let me show you around.  Then, we can get down to why you’re here,” Oberon said. 

“Do you usually greet everyone who comes to your domain?”

“These days?  Sure.  I don’t get many visitors.  The politics of the Ethereal Real have passed me by, I’m afraid,” Oberon revealed.  “If someone visits, it’s because I personally invited them.  In any case, I’m certain you’re not interested in my little world.  You wish to reunite with you friends, do you not?  Let me show you where to find them.”

As Oberon set off without waiting for an answer, Zeke followed.  However, his mind roiled in anticipation of what he might find when he saw his friends for the first time in  more than a century.