Book 5

“Well then, listen up, Muse, and watch a foolish old man save the one he loves!”

Cata lets go of the golden thread connecting the rhapsode to the Muse. The golden glow disappears as he looks towards the ocean with his bright red eyes and a smile on his face. The tremors in the ground grow more intense moment after moment until at last all the people around have fled. Cata summons a spear to his hand and pierces the ground, and so the shaking comes to a stop, balanced by the equal force.

Something then breaches the water’s surface. It’s a strange creature, unlike any on Earth. First to emerge are two antlers, growing like the branches of a tree out of the sockets of the eyes, pulled back like horns. The body is smooth, entirely so, with a sheen like precious metals, interrupted only by a few black, leather-like markings that jut ever so slightly out. As it steps out of the water, it reveals cloven hooves, shaking the ground where it steps. Its legs are long and thin, far too slight to support the giant body above it. It towers over the city, even the ruins of skyscrapers, even if half broken, reach only to the point the legs connect to the body. It’s almost like a giant deer, if not for the fact that it’s so clearly unnatural, as if it were an automaton made of metal.

Cata runs towards it.

As if it were crushing an ant, the deer steps on Cata. However, he does not fall. He is not crushed. He holds the hoof up, carrying the whole weight of that step, keeping the creature from continuing onwards into the city.

“Reno!” he shouts. “Did you forget?! I’m the strongest in the world! If it’s a contest of strength, I haven’t lost once! And this isn’t your role! Sit around and wait for me to destroy the world like always, alright! I’ll finish it up quickly and come back to you!”

Cata tosses Reno, transformed into a beast, backwards. She falls to the ground with a giant crash, kicking up a cloud of dust. Cata runs to her head and begins to call her name once more, but before he can the ground begins to shift beneath his feet. The dirt undulates, propping Reno back up to standing. Cata leaps onto her snout in a single bound.

As he begins to walk closer to her face, she begins to roar. Despite being like a deer, she roars. It’s painful to listen to. It’s the sort of thing Cata had been so afraid of all along. It’s the sort of thing Cata had never heard from her before. She roars, shouting at him to get away from her. Were he still a fool, that would have been proof enough.

“Reno!!!” he shouts so much louder, loud enough that Heaven would take notice. “I don’t care if you say you want me to leave! I don’t care if you never forgive me! I’m stupid so I already made my peace with that! I love you! I’ll keep on loving you, Reno! So I won’t let you stay like this! I’ll bring you back home, where everyone is waiting for you!” The roars stop as Cata takes a few more steps towards the center of her skull. His voice softens to a whisper that only she can hear, if she can hear his voice at all. “So please, tell me that you still love me.”

Reno begins to bleat. Trapped in this form, she cannot speak. Even then, Cata thinks he understands. Even then, Cata knows what she’s said. It’s the sort of thing Cata had never heard from her before. She continues to bleat, begging only one thing: “Help me.”

That alone is more than he could ever ask for. He walks up and puts his palm gently against the cold surface of Reno’s head.

“We’re both fools, aren’t we? Even though we’re this old, we’re still so stupid! So let’s destroy it. Let’s destroy this world that never changes; this world that keeps us apart. Let’s bring an end to this era. There are still so many things for us to see together, after all.”

Cata, Cataclysmus, the God of Calamity. His domain is the end of the world. In his body is the power to destroy anything and the power to destroy everything. Even kings have no choice but to obey. Even the king of the gods. The metallic form of this giant deer begins to turn to shining dust floating on the wind. Soon enough he stands on the ground, still holding his hand out in front of him.

Reno, Renovo, the God of Regrowth. Her domain is the beginning of a new world. In her body is the power to renew anything and the power to renew everything. There isn’t a single thing that could destroy what she wishes to preserve. Even the God of Calamity. Soon enough, a slender woman with pale green hair and a gentle smile on her face appears, holding tight to Cata’s hand.

“I’m home.”

“Welcome home.”