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Ixa is the first to notice me. Deka? he says, rising, wonder in his eyes. A precious fluff of a thing, he bounds in my direction. Deka come back?
In a manner of speaking, I say, smiling, when he arrives.
His movement alerts Britta, who gasps, eyes widening as they gaze upon my new form. Where once I was flesh and bone, I am now darkness and sunlight intertwined. I am the fire of a thousand volcanoes, the sting of a thousand blades. I am the cry of dying soldiers, the wail of newborn babies. And I am the softness of a mother’s touch, the warmth of a parent’s love. All these things I am and more.
I am Otera itself, the wishes of a dying realm in the process of being slowly reborn.
“Deka?” Britta asks, stumbling up. “Deka, is it truly ye?”
The others follow her gaze, eyes wide, hands outstretched as if to touch me. And yet, if they were to do so, their hands would pass through me. Just as Ixa’s body does, though he keeps trying.
I nod, a human enough gesture, and the grass ripples in concert with my movement. “Yes,” I say. “And no. I am changed.” I repeat the same to Ixa with my thoughts, showing him what I am now, so he understands.
When he humphs and lies on the grass, I smile. He is not impressed, but that is his prerogative as my very first godsworn. I return my gaze to Britta, who still gapes as she circles me.
“Yer a god now,” she says in that funny mortal manner of turning questions into statements.
“Indeed.”
“So can you bring Asha back?” Adwapa asks, eyes red with tears as she hurries over, her sister’s corpse still in her hands. “Can you bring them all back?”
I shake my head. “I cannot.”
“Why?” Adwapa shrieks, striking me as if her hands can actually land. “You’re a god! Why can’t you bring my sister back?”
“It would go against the natural order.”
“Confound the natural order! We’re talking about Asha!”
“Indeed we are, which is why I have something to show you.” I point. “Look.”
There, in the distance, are Asha, Katya, Rian, and Kweku, standing in front of a golden field, spires rising in the distance. Adwapa’s eyes round. “The Afterlands?”
I nod.
“They’re real?”
“For those who wish them,” I explain. “We create our own Afterlands until we’re ready to be born again. Such is the nature of the Great Circle.”
“Adwapa!” Asha says happily, beckoning to her sister from the golden field. “Will you walk with me? I’m off to see our parents.”
“And mine,” Kweku adds cheerfully.
“We were thinking of finally getting married,” Katya says shyly, smiling down at Rian.
Even though she’s human now, she’s still taller than him. I do not recall if she was always that way, or if both she and Rian chose it. That is the effect of the Blissful Lands: you become most yourself there.
“So, are you coming?” Asha asks.
Adwapa nods as her eyes fill with tears. “For as long as you wish.”
“Me too,” Belcalis says solemnly. “I would like to see you off.”
“An’ me,” Britta adds, her eyes glistening with tears.
“And me,” Li and Acalan say together.
“Let’s go, then,” Asha beckons, walking into the field.
