Under the oak tree, the breeze stirred the leaves overhead but no one disturbed the silence. Eldrigan, Peroncerea and Qalis stayed back and said nothing. They only listened because this was not their conversation. This belonged to two people who had crossed eight thousand years to meet again. Sirithiele rested against one of the roots with her gaze fixed on the lake. When she finally spoke, they listened.
"After you left and returned to the First Epoch Cycle, I never thought I would see you again. I escaped Mopheria after our last conversation. I left Spheraphase and wandered longer than I can even measure. The First Krepsuna War had ended millennia before, but its wounds existed everywhere. Even realms untouched by battle carried its aftermath."
Her fingers brushed the grass beside her.
"That wandering brought me to the Hidden Citadel and eventually to the Gardens of Asphodelia. This place was not what you see now. It was gloomy. That is where I met Master Vasreveilder."
At that, Veneri finally spoke.
"You really met him?"
"Oh yes. He looked at me one day and said something ridiculous."
She mimicked the man's tone.
"'You were not born merely to rule a lake. I want you to rule a realm.' I thought he was insane but he knew things he should not have known."
She looked down at the lake.
"He knew my Destiny was limited to a lake. He knew if I stayed bound to that, my life would never become more than what was written. So I accepted and became Reniatsus of Asphodelia. I was paired with a ruler so weak he was barely stronger than a mortal."
That made Veneri let out a faint breath that was almost a laugh.
"He was that bad?"
Sirithiele gave him a sharp look.
"He could barely move pebbles."
That earned an actual smile from him. She seemed pleased by it.
"The rulers of that age held titles, not strength. He was kind but terribly weak. So I pitied him and made him immortal."
That made Veneri actually stare.
"You what?"
"I made him immortal. I trained him too and after years passed, we ruled together. He fell in love with me first."
"And you?"
"It took him a long time to make me accept but he was persistent. I loved him too. After he won me over, we got married and had children. They used to swim in this lake from sunrise until moonrise. But Destiny meant that I always meant to rule a lake, not a realm. And so, my Destiny began rejecting me."
She continued before he could speak.
"It attacked me from within. A law older than life was tearing me apart because I had stepped beyond what was written. I resisted for millennia. Since I was already a Major Deity. I endured it. Eventually, it became too much. I almost died. And my husband… sacrificed everything."
"..."
"He used his soul, his power and even his body to create this lake to counter my Destiny. This sanctuary exists because he gave himself for me. I don't even remember his face or his name. For thousands of years I have used this lake to survive like what you saw earlier. But I'm tired. I've lived and seen enough."
A faint smile touched her lips.
"For someone whose Destiny was tied to a single lake, I lived far beyond what was written."
Veneri finally spoke.
"You do not want to live anymore."
She shook her head slowly.
"I kept fighting only because Vasreveilder once told me I would see you again. Turns out he wasn't lying. And now that I have, I no longer need to keep fighting."
Veneri looked like he wanted to answer but nothing came. Sirithiele studied him and bumped him by her shoulder.
"You want to tell me there is more life left. I know you want to ask me to survive for your sake but you can't because you know you have no right to ask that of me. Right?"
Sirithiele leaned back against the tree when she saw his expression.
"You can't change my mind. I die at midnight tomorrow. Who knew my countdown would end so soon? Destiny told me that, by the way."
Veneri looked stricken and she reached out, touching his arm.
"Do not be sad, my Prince. I've lived long enough. I only want to rest now."
A breeze moved through the oak. Veneri asked, very quietly with a somber voice:
"Is there anything you want before you…"
He couldn't finish. Sirithiele stared at him and without warning, she opened her inventory, pulled out a scroll. It was a very long scroll that rolled halfway into the grass.
She looked very pleased when she saw it.
"I have a lot."
"What is that?"
"A list."
"A list of what?"
She proudly lifted the scroll.
"Things I have wanted to do with you for years."
The list kept rolling and didn't seem to end.
Veneri slowly looked from the scroll to her.
"You planned this?"
"For centuries, yes. I organized it by categories."
"There are categories?"
"Several."
She tapped the first section.
"We have much to do before midnight tomorrow."
Veneri stared at the scroll for a long moment as it continued to unroll over the roots, stretching further than it reasonably should have. His expression shifted from shock to focus, and then something steadier settled in his eyes. He placed his hand over the scroll and looked at Sirithiele.
"We start now."
She let out a small laugh, clearly trying to process his seriousness.
"Veneri, there is no way we can finish all of this. There are over a hundred things on this list."
"We will if we don't sleep."
"You're being serious."
"I am serious. We have a day and a half before midnight tomorrow."
"We can skip some of them. It is not necessary to do everything."
"No. We are not skipping anything."
Her expression changed to a gentle one as she watched him. He stepped closer to her and lowered his voice.
"Please let me do this for you. I was not there for you when you needed it, when you were wandering, when you were building this life or when your Destiny started tearing you apart. But I'm here now and I have a day and a half. If you want to die without regrets, then I will make sure that happens. I am not going to let the person who changed my life leave without a proper goodbye."
Sirithiele went quiet for a moment. Then she smiled in disbelief.
"If only we had met earlier. I think I would have been the luckiest woman in all the realms."
Veneri turned slightly toward the others beneath the tree.
"You'll have to excuse me. I have a bucket list to complete."
Before anyone could respond, he reached down and gently lifted Sirithiele into his arms as if the decision had already been made. She did not resist. Instead, she looked up at him with a small smile.
"What is the first category?"
Sirithiele glanced at the scroll and tapped the first section.
"Adventure. I wanted to fight and kill a few Krepsunas with you. There are forty-seven entries in that section alone."
From the side, Qalis looked toward the horizon and spoke for the first time in a while.
"There's a Krepsuna horde in the northern region. If you two are starting anywhere, that is the most efficient location."
Sirithiele nodded immediately.
"Then we fly there. I also have sixteen activities related to flying on the way, so we can combine them."
Veneri did not question it. He simply adjusted his grip slightly and prepared to move.
"Then we go now."
Sirithiele lifted her hand lightly and the space around them shifted as Divine energy gathered beneath them. The air bent and all of them rose into the sky. As they ascended, Sirithiele looked down briefly at the others and gave a small wave. The three left behind watched them rise into the sky. The scroll still floating and waving from the wind. Eldrigan eventually broke the silence first.
"So… what do we do now?"
Peroncerea exhaled slowly while watching them disappear into the distance.
"Apparently, we wait for them to finish an almost two-day bucket list involving genocide and romance."