"Oh." Wren said.

"Now then." Eii said, walking forward. "No need to spend any more time on this dying planet, is there?"

She swiped her hand twice, first seizing the humans with some otherworldly force, and second to change the environment in an instant. They were in a new, steel sort of environment so fast their eyes stung from attempting to readjust.

Aster didn't let go of her friends' hands until she was sure the ground was real. Slowly, sensory details came to her, delayed by a soft hum of popped ears. This was probably some space craft. Judging by the searing lights and square halls, Aster would assume it to be Artemis'- but maybe all spaceships looked the same. Even with semi-godly powers of omnipotence, she still lacked a frame of reference.

Aster opted not to say anything to Eii. It felt like she had been through this too many times already, the waiting and asking if things were over. Eii would probably start talking if left for a while in silence anyway- probably even if no one else was around.

Wren and Senya, the lately rather useless boys that they were, began to wildly look about their new environment, peering at the odd architecture and lights. At one point, Wren motioned for Senya to look at a small niche he found and the particularly odd electronics inside. Every so often, they looked back at the girls. Waiting, distracted, for one of them to speak.

Eii was smiling. It was a small and light smile, one perhaps expected to go alongside a phrase like 'good morning' or 'have a nice day'. Her eyes, a pink to match her skin, were wide and bright. She tilted her head with good manner.

Aster stared Eii down until she was forced to grin harshly- but then she swallowed that. She fell to a simpler tone. Gave in to the silence.

"What was all that about then?"

Immediately, Senya joined in, gripping Aster by her shoulder but speaking cautiously from behind her back. "Is- Are they dead? Like really dead? How can you do that?"

"You can't do that." Wren added with a confused emphasis.

"They died a death. Everything dies like everything is born." Eii stepped forward, her shoes making a distinctive clacking sound as she did so. "Remember this, perhaps, as a guide for life: We are all going to die one day, and it's not going to be in order." She paused. "I'm afraid I don't quite get your question. Were you asking why death occurs?"

"Ikina was a god. They shouldn't have been able to just- fall down like that. And die." Aster said.

Eii waved off her words. "See my previous point! Everything dies."

"Can you die?"

"You sound like you're challenging me, but I do hope you recognize how useless an idea that is. I can die and I can't die, and it really isn't worth an attempt to determine if I'm telling the truth." Eii's smile had fallen slightly, but she propped it up again, practiced. "Ioro is dead. We still have business to condu-"

"No." Aster said.

"We had a deal."

"No."

"You didn't shake on it." Wren added, trying to be helpful in a situation that didn't need his presence.

"Why would a verbal agreement rely on the clutch of a physical signing?" Eii gritted her teeth between smiles. "Aster. Ioro is dead. I didn't kill him. He was simply dying, and then he was dead. Without him, your world is going to collapse."

"No."

"'No?' What are you protesting anyways? You think a world can support itself without a patron god?"

"I'm saying no to your next question."

Eii shook her head. "It was never going to be a question. The world is ending. You can save it. There's no question if you can."

"The world's already over!" Aster snapped. "Aera and Aelen destroyed the entire north. Probably the south has suffered as well. And even if I haven't- Well, it's not my home. I don't want to protect it. I don't want to protect anything! And I can't stand to be one hundred percent sure of anything either. I don't want to know that I can do anything- that'll only make it worse when I fail."

"You can't fail."

"Well, I'd like to be able to! I don't want commitment. I want something to be capable of going wrong so I can get out of it when it does. And I don't want to be a god. I really, really, don't want to live this kind of life any longer."

Eii threw her hands up. "Fine. I can change things. Make you human and leave you on that collapsing planet. Place in a southern country you know nothing about and see how long it takes for you to mourn your parents. But Aster, please, stop picturing me as your villain. I'm not here to shoot down your hopes and dreams- it's more like your aspirations were simply misguided to begin with. You were never meant for less than godhood."

"Human in misery sounds better than god in... whatever emotions you're capable of feeling."

"I can feel everything a human can. Maybe more." Eii looked somewhat abashed, and gave a shy and sly smile. "It's only your half-state that is limiting your moods and feelings. If you were to be a proper god, you could be anything you wanted to be. You could revive the dead. You could remake the world."

"I've heard enough stories to know reviving the dead is a terrible idea."

"It's not technically necromancy." Eii said, frustrated. "Most of the bodies have been destroyed. But you remake the body, retrieve as much of the brain as possible, look through Ioro's old database- You can do it. Okay? Human lives are pretty simple to squander about with."

"I don't... want it though. Please stop."

"You could fix things. And then stop. Gods have the power to stop being gods. Like Ioro did. You could fix everything, and then be a human. You only suffer when you're in this half state."

"Then take away the bad half. The god half."

Eii groaned. "I can. I will. Just- I'd rather get this over with now as opposed to later. Time still matters to beings like me."

She lifted her hand and again the humans were caught by some other force, and with a small tilt she bought them to a bright beach on the outskirts of a city. She flicked her finger again and there was a feeling of movement, like their bodies were moving rabidly for barely a moment. Their eyes were still readjusting to the light, and when they could see properly a few seconds after arriving, Eii was gone.

Aster knew what was different immediately, and she almost fell into hyperventilation from the sudden senses of heat, hunger, thirst, fatigue, and age. She was overwhelmed with emotions as well, as though they perhaps had not been sealed in the same way her physical needs has been, they had certainly be limited in their own specific ways.

Senya noticed her shaking. "What's wrong?" She staggered, and he caught her against him. "Everything, evidently."

She fell to her knees from exhaustion, and nearly began to cry from the emptiness of her stomach and the sweat on her skin.

Wren frowned, and moved down behind her, hesitantly helping Senya lift her to her feet. "Are you-? I mean, Eii didn't-?"

It took a minute for Aster to calm. "I need water." She said, naturally in a very dry voice. But when Wren continued to fret, she did her best to indicate her wellness through a series of waves.

"We can die now." Wren emphasized.

Aster grinned for a short moment before retching over.

"Let's just- Here." Senya helped Ater stand again, and placed her arm around his shoulder. "With any luck she'll be okay."

They took Aster to the nearby city and found the first pleasant cafe they could to retrieve water from. Short on cash, it was all they could do, but it seemed to help immensely. Then they found a small park, and Aster slept for half an hour before the city's law enforcement started giving them second glances. So they moved to another park, and Aster slept for a good hour.

When it began to rain, they found themselves a small stone arch to stand under. Aster was groggy, but a lot better than she had been two hours ago. "What are we going to do now? Also, where are we?" She yawned. "I haven't really been paying attention."

"Still in Aeis." Senya said. This is a pretty big city, so I think we might be near the capital. Might even be the capital."

"I don't know what we're going to do." Wren sighed. "We should try and get out of this country, but with most of the north obliterated, I suppose we'll have to head down south. If we're near the capital of Aeis, then the nearest southern kingdom is probably..." He struggled to bring to mind an image of a map.

"I think Kren." Aster said.

"Ugh. Kren." Wren says. "That's not going to be fun."

Senya seemed to be patiently waiting for them to finish. "Kren's to the east." He said at last. "Iixo and Se-oh are likely the ones nearest to us. I know you two grew up with standardized schooling, which I have to say, continues to surprise and disappoint me."

"Iixo's your country though. If we head there, at least you'll be familiar." Aster said.

"They're not very friendly." Senya said. "Plus, as the last living member of my island, I really don't have much standing for me. People will either be mad I survived or doubtful I'm telling the truth."

"Okay. But still, you know about island life. Fishing, boating, and the like." Aster said.

"Do we have to leave the country at all?" Wren said. "I mean, we're not wanted here. We just don't have any money. It shouldn't be impossible to fix."

Aster was silent for a second. "Yeah. You're right. It's not really worth the hassle to leave, and I'm sure there's somewhere we can slip through the cracks. We'll flee if we have to, and I guess, we don't really have to right now. I'm so used to having some long term goal to travel towards that it feels odd to just not bother."

"It was either this or... eternal, limitless life." Wren said.

Aster frowned. "Please don't tell me you agreed with that demonic Eii."

"If it had been me making the decision, I would have done it." Wren said. "But it wasn't, it was you, so I'm not going to complain." After a pause he said. "I bet Eii is listening right now. She can probably hear you insult her."

"I hope so." Aster declared loudly, looking about. "Because I am really less than fond of her."

"...She hasn't been bad." Wren said, and he nearly shrugged.

Senya stepped between them, placing his hands heavily on their shoulders. "You know, the only work we're going to be able to get is probably farm work. And that's just awful." He clapped them on the shoulders once more, smiling.