Page 76 of Crimson Skies

The air is breathable, even for a human. And it isn’t as cold as I thought it would be.

The Eater of Souls wasn’t at all what he’d expected. Then again, no one had ever come back from the place to relate what it was like. He frowned.

Why did Chaos take Atropos and Loki?

He could only presume the thing that had pulled them inside the void had been part of the God of Creation. The question dominated his mind as he started across the vast emptiness, Heaven’s Light his only illumination.

He hoped it would draw Atropos and Loki’s attention wherever they were.

Cassius soon came to realize that time in the Abyss was hard to gauge. Apprehension formed a leaden pit in his stomach as he covered mile upon mile of emptiness. Though his soul bond with Morgan thumped steadily inside his core, he knew he had left him and the others to face Elios.

The God of Darkness was even more of a threat now that Chaos had rejected his attempt to draw him out of the Abyss.

Cassius’s hand clenched on his sword. He looked around uneasily.Does the God of Creation know the truth that Hyperion told me?Is that why he did not leave his prison?

He was starting to think he would never find the Moira and the imp when a distant flash caught his eye. His pulse stuttered. Cassius closed his wings and dove toward where he’d seen it.

The spark came again. It grew as he closed the gap at a dizzying speed, the lack of friction from any wind aiding his passage.

A familiar resonance danced through his soul a moment later.Atropos!

He found the Moira standing on some kind of ledge. Unease churned his insides as he searched the space around her. Loki was nowhere to be seen.

Atropos whirled around when he alighted a short distance from her. Her eyes rounded, the gold in her pupils ever bright in the gloom.

“Icarus?!”

She bolted into his arms with a soft cry. Cassius embraced her tightly. The Moira was trembling.

Atropos pulled back and roamed his features with a confused stare. “How are you here?!”

“I followed you into the Abyss.”

Atropos stiffened. Her brow furrowed. “What were you trying to do, Icarus?”

Anger tightened her face as she stepped out of his hold. She glared at him, her hands fisting at her sides.

Cassius sighed. He couldn’t avoid the question. And, truth be told, the Moira deserved an answer.

“I was intending to drive Chaos into the Abyss before he could emerge. I was going to close the Void from the inside.”

Atropos blinked. Disbelief slackened her jaw.

“How?!” she spluttered. “I know you’re strong, Icarus, but surely even you—!”

“My soul contains a seed of power from every God who attempted to defeat Chaos the first time round.”

Now that he’d had some time to digest the secret Hyperion had revealed to him two days ago, Cassius no longer felt bitter about his fate. After all, he would give his life to protect Morgan and everyone else a hundred times over.

Atropos recoiled. “What?!”

“Hyperion told me before he left for the Nether. The Gods of Old used shards of their divine essence when they created the soul of the first Awakener. That gift was passed on to every Awakener that followed, since that’s how a new Awakener inherits the mantle of the old one.By absorbing the soul fragment bequeathed by the one who held that role before them.” Cassius met the Moira’s stunned stare without flinching. “I am a weapon, Atropos. The last and the strongest ever created to save the realms.”

Tears filled the Moira’s eyes. They spilled over, leaving silver trails upon her pale cheeks. A low mumble left her.

“—cruel.” She inhaled raggedly, her voice gaining strength. “How unbelievably cruel!” Her face crunched up. “That is the most wicked thing I have ever heard!”

Cassius’s chest loosened a little. He took her in his arms. She clung to him, her tears soaking into his neck, her long, silver hair warming his fingers.