Sueño: The shape of the world ~ Present

“If I had to explain it in some way, the world is like two pieces of cloth, with one of them floating atop the other.”

Mors was walking on top of the water, and on his side, Ases was following her. As long as he held her hand, he would not sink.

“The world of humans is like your life used to be before meeting me, a boring mess, and completely devoid of magic or the beautiful graces we Gods bestow with our presence. Meanwhile, the other world does not really have shape, is like a space completely full of energy, and each ball of energy is the real body of what you would call a God. In my opinion, the superior way of existence for beings like us.”

They couldn’t open any of the doors, as the water impeded their movement. Instead, Mors found an enormous warehouse with big wooden doors and with simply nearing her hand to it, it rotted instantly. They both entered and went upstairs in it.

“Both worlds are one on top of the other, and while foolish peasants like you can only see your world, I can perceive both. We Gods can’t exactly enter your world through the big door and do our business, but with enough effort we can push the two worlds together, like getting the two pieces of cloth closer until they touch in a single point, joining the two with a needle. For me, that single, small point, is this girl whose body I’m possessing now.”

They reached the place Mors was coming from at the start. An improvised nursery that had two separate rows of improvised beds with people deeply asleep in them.

“If someone kills our avatars, we still live in the other world, they just sever our connection here temporarily. What the telchines are doing is far worse, they are blurring us. The God of the sea and the God of the earth were two completely different entities, but they started blurring the separations between their bodies in the other world, and as a result, the two have started combining into a single one.”

Ases didn’t need her to finish the explanation, as the implications became clear for him. When earth and sea finally combine and become a single being, there will be no dry land left in the world.

“But what does this have to do with these people? When I arrived I tried to wake one of them up, but they didn't respond to anything.” asked Ases, examining the tranquil faces of the people in the beds. Happy, but at the same time still concerned when he confirmed that none of them were Herm or Raz.

“The Gods that get blurred are those that are one next to the other, related as you know them from the mythos that you people are so fond of. If I recall, in your stupid stories you all say that I have a twin brother who is the God of sleep. So, can you guess who I am getting blurred with?”

Finally, the pieces started clicking together on Ases head. Although it would be better to ask, there were a couple of conclusions he was now sure of.

First, these people were never going to wake up. And second, they were never going to die.

“I didn’t want to believe it, even when I saw how things are going in the other world, but y’all are really getting messed up on this side. They certainly look like they are dead, but are missing all the important parts of actually dying and I don’t mean the rotting into the dirt part of it all.”

“But in a way, this may be better, isn’t it?” Asked Ases.

No, it wasn’t really a question. In a way, it was an affirmation of his beliefs. Mors turned around to look at him, letting the body she was examining until then fall back into the bed.

“I knew you were going to say something dumb like that. How do you manage to be so afraid of death even when I made you immortal? Are you trying to piss me off on purpose?”

“I am serious, instead of suffering a potentially painful death, they just fall into an eternal sleep. It’s peaceful, without fear. It’s far preferable than the alternative.”

“Death IS eternal sleep you buffoon. And besides that, how can you tell that they are truly alive without revising if their souls are still on their bodies. Want to give it a try?”

Ases looked at the person in front of him, and wondered if he should for a second. As the keres, his job was to take away the souls of violent death who refused to abandon the world; which meant that even if he shouldn’t take their souls away, he could see them if he tried.

He put his hand in the stomach of the man in front of him, closing his eyes and opening himself for a moment to the monstrous part of him he usually suppresses. From the dark of his eyelids, a light appeared, below his hand. He felt the sudden impulse to grab it and yank it away, but he contained himself and pulled away.

“So you see that their souls are still trapped here. Do you still think it is better for them to be like this?” Asked Mors, getting closer to Ases.

“I… yes, of course. Anything is better than death”

“Now you are doing it on purpose. How can you fear me so much, as to think that having your soul trapped eternally in an unmoving body could be better? You can only say that because you don’t and can’t understand what they are going through right now.”

Mors touched the man in the chest, at the same point that Ases had done before.

“And unlike you, I’m not a coward. I know what has to be done, and I do it”

From Mors a light came out and all the bodies of the sleeping people convulsed for a moment, before they all stopped at unison, dead. Ases could not believe what had happened, but even without revising the souls, he knew that they were the only two living people remaining in the town. No, maybe even farther than the town alone, the feeling of hundreds of souls being yanked from the world at the same time resonated through his own immortal soul.

“How could you?” Asked Ases, feeling anger boiling inside him, but knowing that he could not direct it towards Mors for his own sake.

For the first time since they arrived, Mors turned around and looked at Ases with an actual stern look. Even if he tried to avoid her gaze, she had to convey the seriousness of the situation.

“This is what I came here for. For now, I still can free the trapped souls, but once I become one with the God of sleep even I will be unable to change it. If I were you, I would make sure not to fall asleep if you can, even as a Keres, I can’t assure that you’ll see a new day if you do.”

Ases felt a chill going through the spine when he thought about it. As much as he said and believed that it was still preferable to death, he couldn’t quiet that small voice inside himself that told him that she was right. Even more, the idea that he may never wake up and never know what happened, or to never see his brother or his wife terrified him.

“Now, you want to know where your wife and brother are, don’t you? Consider this a grace from my part, but I think I can help you with this matter. Come with me.”

Mors’s voice returned to her usual chipper and nonchalant tone she always talked with. The nonchalance that could only be had by someone who had no fear of neither death nor consequences of any kind.

“You actually were kind of close to finding it out before you called me here. Let’s go talk to that old man in the cabin, I’ll teach you how you get someone like him to talk.”