The Veil had been acting strangely the past few days—and so had the lanterns. They would flicker randomly with the tremors that had become more frequent and stronger. By now, they were small earthquakes already.
And the Veil... it called for Vaur'Kou'n. It called him by his name. It called him to come closer, to again enter it; to again look within it, and to finally see the truth. To witness wherein lies the truth.
But Vaur'Kou'n knew better. He knew not to listen to its lies, and not let it beckon him... The rest, on the other hand. They were stronger than he had anticipated. More accustomed to the voices. Less scared of its touch, yet kept to themselves, and never made contact with it, not like that.
But because of the lanterns, how they flickered and suddenly lost their light... There had been some close calls, though nothing that procedure couldn't handle. At this point, everyone knew to walk around with an extra crystal in hand as they went around relighting the lanterns. And thanks to the resources allocated, everyone worked in pairs now. And because of this, it was actually quite nice. Vaur'Kou'n had made B'ou'r his work partner, much to her displeasure, but she couldn't really go against it, now could she? After all, Vaur'Kou'n's name had much weight to it, not to mention the extra given to it by his loveless marriage.
Lovely indeed, to, in a way, exploit his authority in such a harmless manner. He did enjoy B'ou'r's company, her somewhat tactless behavior, and her bluntness, and he sure as hell enjoyed annoying her with questions all too plenty. Not too fun for someone who was surely far more used to doing her thing all alone, and just, maybe, sometimes saying a word or two in passing to her peers.
All in all, things were just fine in the City of Creation. Just some abnormalities regarding the lanterns and the Veil, not to mention some strange rumors about "the end of the world," or whatever the hell.
So, nothing new in this world of theirs. It was about time for some false prophet to go around town and preach about things that would never happen, mainly for the sake of the so-called prophet, for how else are they to be rid of their own insanity?
Veil-touched loonies. Interesting people, but surely in need of medical care. Or perhaps there'd be a scholar interested enough to sit down with one, and to really look into the mind of someone like that, and build a pathology, a real understanding of what and how the hell one becomes like that. There would surely be an explanation good enough for all of that and more.
Perhaps Mu'u Tou't would study such minds—if he ever left the Sanctuary, which Vaur'Kou'n doubted. And why the hell would he?
Vaur'Kou'n scoffed to himself as he began the next check-up on his and B'ou'r's "office," the edge of the city, and the lanterns that stood their ground there, holding away the Veil and its touch. A slight tremor shook the ground, something everyone had to get used to. Whatever it was, it seemed that they were here to stay for the time being. But no harm had been done by them, so they were probably safe.
"Lately," Vaur'Kou'n said, "I've been having trouble sleeping."
"Yes, yes. We all have," B'ou'r sighed, "The tremors and such. We talked about it yesterday... sir."
"Did we?"
B'ou'r nodded. She said nothing; she didn't want to, and surely she hoped that the conversation would end there, and they would just do their duties without another useless word to fill the dead air.
But Vaur'Kou'n knew this. A smile sprang to his lips, "Say, I've been wondering about something the last few days…"
Another sigh escaped B'ou'r's lips. "And what have you been wondering about, sir?"
"You, of course! I've come to realize that I don't know much about you."
"Good. I would hope that we could keep it that way, sir," she rolled her eyes.
Vaur'Kou'n hid away his grin. He hadn't had this much fun for months. "Now, now, dear friend of mine. I, as the Master of Lanterns and the brother-in-law of the Lord of the City of Creation, ought to get to know my peers, as well as the denizens of this city, which, in part, is ruled by yours truly."
B'ou'r went mute for a while. Perhaps she was hoping that if they reached the Veil, then she could dodge this conversation altogether, but...
She let out a long sigh, "What do you want to know, sir…"
How lucky was he? This one was much more fun than Kanrel could ever be! Vaur'Kou'n could barely contain his grin, but managed to hide it away, again, with a chuckle this time, "Everything, of course."
"Everything?" she muttered, "Where should I start? The moment of birth? My first day at school? My first love? Kiss? My first time? The death of my parents? Where should I begin, sir?" she listed, her voice gaining volume after each question.
Vaur'Kou'n's grin had faded, and a soft smile took its place. Being mean was great fun and all, but sometimes, some people need a little bit of sweetness to feel that they can trust another. "First, drop the 'sir,'" he said, "Call me friend. Or Vaur'Kou'n. It is so awkward to be sir'd around."
B'ou'r scoffed. She went to say something, and the faintest 'friend' departed her lips...
The final chain broke. A final scream ran through existence. There is nothing more sinful than to forget.
The earth shook, and Vaur'Kou'n found himself kneeling on the ground. He grabbed B'ou'r and brought her closer instinctively. He had already begun weaving multiple complex spells: one to release light, one to scorch anything that came at them, and one to anchor them still, lest they be swept away by the next earthquake.
Silence, for a moment.
Vaur'Kou'n looked around, but nothing happened. The earth didn't crumble and swallow them. "Are you alright?" he turned his gaze toward his 'friend,' who knelt beside him. She looked at something, her eyes trembling. Fear. Slowly, she lifted her hand and pointed toward something. The lanterns flickered...
He followed her hand, her finger, and her gaze: The Veil. It... crawled on itself? It lunged against itself. It shivered to the tune of anticipation. It screamed his name; her name. It sang their sins.
And Vaur'Kou'n shivered with it. He could feel it. How wrong it was. Not just it, but everything. His whole body was ready to dart away, to protect itself from whatever might come. The blue lights flashed, coloring his gray face.
He disregarded all the spells he had readied, forming another one instead. One more powerful than the rest. One that he had learned over a decade ago via spying on Kanrel. He had seen with his own eyes what it could do, how it was able to scorch even the Veil itself.
B'ou'r tried to get up, but Vaur'Kou'n pulled her back down. "Do not move," he hissed.
She looked at him, still afraid. Surely she could feel it as well. Surely she knew that she could never outrun it...
His ears suddenly perked. He could hear something. Words, not just names, not just accusations... "you shall... bask in... my divinity…"
The Veil surged; it gushed over the wall of blue lights, the lanterns all flickered a final time, only to be swallowed by the darkness... it came right at them.
B'ou'r screamed and tried to run away. At the same time, she went for her pocket to bring out another crystal to push away the darkness, but Vaur'Kou'n was quicker; he released his magic, and from him bright light emerged, forming a small enclosure around them, parting the dark sea.
For some time, he could only see the light. There was nothing else in existence. Just the light that embraced them. The light that blessed them. The light that had surely saved them from insanity or worse. He could feel B'ou'r huddle closer, and he found himself accepting it, for he was scared as well.
He could hear it; the screams as they went by, as some of the Veil was scorched by the light. But it would not stop; it went around the rock that would not budge.
Within the light, time lost its meaning, and Vaur'Kou'n could feel the sweat form on his body. It wasn't just the light that was warm against his body, but the immense amount of magic that he had to use. How he pushed closer and closer to his own ceiling... it felt... so warm; it felt like the embrace of a lover; a deep kiss shared between two. It was euphoria, it was sex. It was excitement, it was awe. For this moment, and this moment only, he was a god. He was the closest thing to divinity that he and B'ou'r would surely ever come in contact with. Vaur'Kou'n shone as bright as did the great blue crystal above the City of Last Light...
Then it... became cold. Like a kiss that had suddenly come to an end. A moment where the two lovers part in heartbreak.
It was the cold silence after music.
He had lost his divinity; he had reached his ceiling. All he wanted to do now was to weep for this loss.
Yet he still shone, even when the sweat had become cold; he still shone, even when he shivered from the cold. He shone, even when he wished that he could shine brighter, to feel that moment of the divine once more; to steal another kiss from a lover.
Then... the stream of torment came to an end, a few more moments went by, and silence claimed the final moment. Vaur'Kou'n shivered in the light and let go of his magic, collapsing from his knees, panting from exhaustion. The only light they had now was the crystal in B'ou'r's hands. It colored them both blue.
From far away sounds emerged, cries. Surely, he should get up and look at what had happened; to see what had become of this world of theirs. But he found himself too empty to do so. He wished that he could at least cry, but no tears broke through. For that, too, he had become too empty.
Far from the east, faint but unmistakable, a voice echoed; a new choir, a chant, this one heroic and full of command: "We must make our way back... Reclaim the lands above!" Whatever that meant. It could all wait. It must.
He should just... close his eyes, and accept that nothing will ever be the same; that he had done the one thing he shouldn't have ever done... There was no more joy from magic; no more divine lover to hold him.
Then... he felt a touch. Hands placed on him, two that lifted him, he was forced to stand up; forced to lean against her.
"Come on, friend," she said softly, and began walking them toward the city.
He was forced to open his eyes and look toward the City of Creation and its ruins. Where a city had once proudly stood, where a hundred towers pierced toward the ceiling of the caverns, now only a few remained.
Where the Spire had dominated the skyline, it was now cut in half—its other half somewhere in the city, crushing gods-knew-how-many.
Rejoice, for nothing lasts forever.
Rejoice, for where there once was love, or at least the illusion of it, now stood terror and death.
Rejoice, for I have become so cold, and your touch can no longer give me the warmth I so desire.