End Times

“Time really hasn't been kind to you, has it?” I stood next to the old man as he laid on his deathbed. It took everything he had to shift his head slightly to look at me. “I screwed up the spell more than I thought, and now everything caught up with me all at once. It's been a while, Morta.” Don't hear that name often, at least not from anyone other than humans. They came up with it a long time ago and I just started using it at some point.

“Hello, Albert. How have you been the past 200 years?” He smiled slightly and said in his shaky voice “ Got to do most of the things I wanted, still didn't feel like I had enough time, but then again, you don't always realize just how much time you've wasted until it's too late.” Not having quite as much time as you thought you had is something I might strangely be able to relate too. Especially now, given the circumstances.

There was a knock on the door and a small child came in. She wore a long flowy blue dress and had two little pigtails. She shyly came closer to the bed while keeping her hands behind her back.“ Mom said I should wait till you were awake, Grampa, and since I heard you talking from the corridor, I thought it would be ok to give you this.” She brought a small biscuit towards him and smiled. “Mom always says that it's important to take your medicine when you feel sick, but you're always sick and medicine tastes bad, so I thought you might enjoy it more if it was a biscuit. Mom always gives me mine with one, so I thought it will help you too, and I'll work real hard,so that when I grow up I can make real medicine for you, so please be ok until then!” she said with a serious look on her face. Albert shifted slightly and ,with great difficulty, managed to pat her head and took the biscuit. “ You always want to look out for everyone, don't you? I’m sure you’ll grow up to be a wonderful healer in the future.” She smiled and quickly left the room.

“She seems like a sweet child.” I nodded towards the door. Albert kept looking at the biscuit. “Ginger has always been a sweet girl. Always looking out for others. It's one of the reasons why she wants to be a healer.” He put the biscuit on his nightstand and looked at me.” So it's true that only the one on their deathbed can see you?” I shrugged. “ It depends, I can make myself visible to anyone I want really, but when it comes to fulfilling my duties, I feel like doing it this way helps prevent any needles interruptions. Not gonna eat that? You still have time for a last meal.”

“ Would if I could, but I’m not sure my stomach is going to agree with any of it.” He said with a sad smile.

“ There is something that's been bothering me, and I'll understand if you don't want to give me an answer for whatever fate or destiny it might mess up, or whatever reason you gods use. But… One of our most famous fate seers, has said that the end is near. Some of the druids have said similar things, or at least that the world's life force is dimming, slowly, but dimming. So I wanted to ask you if it's true? Is the world truly dying?”. He looked at me, waiting for my answer. Of course one of Fate’s little mages just had to blab it out, but mortals deserve to know the truth, no matter how much chaos and extra work that will cause for me.

“Since the knowledge is out in the open already anyway it won't make much of a difference whether I tell you or not, but yes the heart of the world has started to dim and there's no stopping it. Fate herself confirmed it.”

He closed his eyes at that, his expression grim. “So…there is no future for Ginger…or anyone?” He said with a shaky voice.

“Yes, everyone who isn't meant to pass on earlier, will do so on the day the heart stops beating. But if it's any consolation, nothing bad will happen to any of the souls, you will simply reincarnate in a different realm, one that's hopefully more stable than this one.” I gave him a sad smile.

He sighed with what seemed to be relief. “So she'll have another chance elsewhere, I see… hopefully it's somewhere nice like here.” He smiled slightly at me.

“Every soul has infinite possibilities in what its next life will be, whether it ends up as a human, a spirit or whatever other species exist in that realm, it's always up to them to make the most of it.” You never know where they'll be reborn, or who they'll be. I’ve encountered some that were only reborn as spirits, and others that went from human to something else. Some only appeared once in this realm entirely.

“I’ve been wondering, but what will happen to you? If you have no more souls to look after, won't you be out of a job?” Thought he might ask that at some point. No real point in sugarcoating it. “ I’ll pass on, together with the rest of the gods. We are tied to this world and cannot exist without it.”

His eyes spread wide. “But…you're gods. You're immortal, aren't you? How can you possibly…die?” I suppose this reaction is to be expected. Mortals have always seen us this way, and so have we until now(well, maybe not Fate), our mortality puzzles them. “The Primordials are the only immortal ones. We were only made to last as long as the heart. It was always going to stop beating at some point.”

He kept staring at me for a while. “So…you're the only ones who will remain till the end? I won't be seeing you at the end of my next life?” I shook my head. “ No, you'll see whoever is responsible for collecting the souls in that realm. Or no one if the Primordials found a different way to do it in that world. Either way, this will be the last time we'll ever see each other.”

“I hope whoever it is, will be as nice as you.” He smiled at me. I don't know if I should truly be described as kind. I always hope to see a soul, who has managed to enjoy their life to the fullest, but that doesn't mean that I don't bear any ill will against some of them. One should think that Death should be impartial to all and never bear any ill will, but it's nice to hear someone say it nonetheless.

I took out my bone beads and my spell book from my pouch, and came closer. “It's time to begin.”