twelve centuries

[crexmii]

wip for stars #3200
Username: crexmii
Cat Name: sirius
Gender: female
Rank: god of death
Clan: softclan
Age: eleven centuries (at the time this story was set in)
Myth Edit Chosen: chimera yumyumyum

[crexmii]

a kitten with a pelt as pure as the clouds of the ether appears behind an unusual figure.
you squint at her intensely. "what happened to your pelt? it's such a weird colour."

whipping her head around, the mysterious cat stares at you in shock and horror.

"what—how did you get here?!"
you open your mouth to speak, but she stops you.
"...never mind, i don’t want to know."

"in fact, the question i want to ask is;
why are you here? why would you decide to accompany an old god?"
i've got only a few decades left anyway
"i’m very old, young one. don’t you have better things to do than stay in
the presence of death?"

the kitten bounces around, frowning impatiently.
sirius wishes she had that energy nowadays.

"can i hear your story?"
"oh, you..want to hear a story?"

"no! i want to hear your story. about your whole life and all the fun things you did when you were a kit!"
the chimera takes a step back and winces. clearly there is more to this kit than it seems.

"oh. i..see. that’s a rather…odd request.
you want to hear my story?
nobody i know has ever asked me that."
a tinge of loneliness in her voice.

she pauses, as if reminiscing.

"well, since you’re already here, why not I show you
instead of simply telling?"

and now you find yourself drifting through memories of
the past, the present and the future, lost in a world of
your own.


“well, shall we begin?”

you nod. images start appearing, and you reach out a snow-furred paw to attempt and touch them.


memories start appearing faster, stronger than ever.
you don't understand what's going on, but they find it entertaining.

"pretty!"

you watch, a spectator, as sirius’s life plays out in front of you.

[crexmii]

coat description: midnight [genetically black] marbled tabby x beige [genetically cream] mackerel tabby chimera with low white

potential edits: [nr] expression, accessories (will add a separate ref later), [c] eye shape, pupil, ear tufts, possibly pupil shape too, [uc] unnatural eye colour, heterochromia, [r] unnatural fur colour, max fur, curled tail, polydactyl, tall ears, [m] chimera

[crexmii]

concept doodles !! [ hi arch u don’t need to include all of these these are opt :’))) ]

[crexmii]

“why isn’t old moribunde back yet?”
the kitten looked up curiously with her mismatched eyes at the dark green figure in front of her.
“it’s…it’s complicated. he’s gone out to fight the voidlurkers. and then after that he’s going to check on the sands of time. don’t worry, he should be back soon. he’s death, and death can’t die, after all.” alora, the current goddess of life, smiled at her, letting a small daisy grow with her paws.

“wow! how can you do that, alora? i wanna grow flowers too!” sirius exclaimed excitedly, running in circles around alora’s green paws. she was either too young to understand or didn’t pay attention to the worried and uncertain look alora gave sirius. the dark green molly wrapped her fluffy, striped tail around the little beige kit, flowers growing and surrounding her. sirius’s eyes widened in wonder and joy as she proceeded to smell the different multi-coloured flowers, taking in each one’s unique smell.

“hey! what are you doing? i want to smell flowers too!” another young voice called indignantly. “unfair! alora, can i pleaseeeee have flowers to smell too?” sirius’s twin and littermate, fae had come bounding over to them. she eyed sirius enviously and raised an eyebrow at her littermate when alora turned away for a moment and widened her eyes innocently when she looked back at the small sage-green kitten in front of her.

alora sighed in exasperation. however, there was affection in her eyes. the fluffy molly grew a beautiful daffodil and gave it to fae. her eyes lit up upon receiving the delicate yellow bloom, and she snuggled into alora’s fur happily. it seemed that she was content that now sirius wasn’t the only one with a flower.

the trio were resting in the endless verdant meadows filled with flowers of all kinds, while the pantheon for the assemblage of gods was in the distance overlooking them.

sirius had been there once. the young she-kit had briefly remembered the marble that made up the walls and floor while the pillars were carved out of unblemished ivory white stone. she remembered the huge size of it and how it towered over her, and the gold engraved thrones embedded with each god or goddess’s signature precious gemstone or crystal, while the fabric itself was the most comfortable velvet sirius had ever felt.

little did this young kit know that she would come back here many, many times in the future. and she would see it many, many times. sirius had glimpsed a certain scene. was it the future? she wasn’t sure yet. she would be on her own golden throne, now older, tall and majestic, putting a paw over her head in frustration while a violet she-cat she didn’t know talked to her anxiously.

sirius was starting to drift off, comforted by the warmth of alora’s fur and the presence of fae. her eyes were struggling to stay awake. it wouldn’t hurt any cat to have a nap.

that was when the news came.



———

a cerulean tabby rushed towards them, their curly fur flowing behind them like waves as they ran.
“alora! wake up! it’s bad.” her deep ice-blue eyes looked haunted and horrified. “no, actually, it’s terrible.”

alora’s eyes fluttered open immediately, and she moved away from fae and sirius, ears pricked, fur bristling and tail bushed out. “what is it, aeqouré?! what’s wrong?” due to the life goddess’s tension, a thorny vine grew out of the grass, its sharp thorns glittering dangerously. sirius backed away, bushing out her beige fur as if she were trying to scare the vine back into the soil. fae jerked aside, delicately stepping away from the menacing plant, glancing down at the grass every so often until she was at sirius’s side.

“it’s moribunde— the void claimed him.” the braided tabby choked on her words, tears that she was clearly trying to hold in falling down her cheeks uncontrollably. the droplets seeped into the meadow grass. alora’s eyes widened in horror and grief. she rushed over to aeqouré to comfort them, putting her tail around their shoulder. the nature goddess looked down in sorrow and disbelief, azure forget-me-not flowers blooming at her paws.

“tell me what happened. is there still a chance to save him?” alora asked determinedly. however, sirius caught the slight tremor in her voice. aeqouré didn’t look hopeful as she shook her head. “no. i think he’s beyond saving now. they…they…dragged poor moribunde into the void. i tried to save him but the void was too strong and he—”

the she-cat couldn’t continue anymore. she continued to sob harder into her fellow goddess’s long fur, tails twining. sirius watched the ordeal, trying to understand what was going on. you see, some things a kitten is unable to comprehend or understand. so she padded up to the duo and asked, “what’s wrong? why are you all so scared? what is the void-thingy going to do to moribunde? surely he’ll come back normal and fine. you did say death can’t die, right, alora??”

alora glanced down at her uncertainly, then turned her gaze back to aeqouré. she sighed and nudged the beige she-kit, mewing sternly, “not now, sirius. we’ll talk about this another time. you’re too young to know this. right now, me and aeqouré here have to go talk to the other gods. you and fae can’t come, understand? now stay here and be good. see you later.”

and so sirius was left sitting in the meadow with fae, uncertain and scared about what would happening next as the two mollies ran towards the pantheon to summon the assemblage.

———

“what now?” asked fae, nudging her littermate gently. sirius shrugged, continuing to stare at the pantheon. “when are they coming baaack?!” she groaned, violet and orange eyes fixed on the looming building in the distance, waiting for alora and aeqouré to reappear. behind her, fae was examining her paws and crushing the meadow grass with them.

it seemed as though they waited for many hours. and it might as well have been, for time passes differently in the realms of the divine. the ether had already started to show signs of night as nycthys, goddess of the moon and the night, started raising the moon

and despite the fact that the sunne was setting and the ether was shifting and changing shape fast, a young beige kitten could still see the two— no, one shape running towards them. “why were you gone for so long, alora?” fae complained, a pensive expression on the goddess-to-be’s face.

a shadow flickered over alora's face for a moment but cleared as soon as it appeared. "mo- things have come up. things for grown-ups. very serious, secret and important things. unfortunately, you two are too young for these things, you won't understand. now, go to bed, it's sleepytime. be good, okay?" she gently nudged fae and sirius in the direction of their cozy bedhouses, tucked them in and shut the door. once out of their sight, the molly was running towards aequoré, ready to go and search for the death god.

[crexmii]

when morning came and the two kittens awoke, something felt different.
“fae?” sirius called softly to her awakening twin who was still opening her carnation-pink eyes.
“my face feels funny.” the beige kitten sighed, plopping back down on her bed and staring up at the ceiling. “do i have anything on my face, sis?” sirius called, awaiting a response from fae. fae stood up and peered closely at sirius’s face, squinting hard.

“wait, there’s a speck of…is that purple? it’s right here.” the sage kit gently poked a spot on sirius’s left side of her face. “can you get it off?” sirius asked, wrinkling her eyebrows in confusion. fae nodded and rubbed the spot. it tickled. “i think it’s gone.” fae meowed, staring at sirius for a short while more before bounding towards the bedhouse door. “come on, let’s go eat breakfast!”

sirius followed after her sister, but she couldn’t shake off the feeling that something wasn’t right.
the two kittens bounded towards the daycare, where the gods would serve them their breakfast and where they usually stayed for the rest of the day until bedtime. the smell of fresh ambrosia filled sirius’s nose as she gently pushed open the marble door. toys were still littered and strewn across the marble tiled floor from the previous day.

“huh. where’s alora? usually she’s here to talk to us and look after us.” remarked fae, looking around the daycare curiously. hanging plants drooped from the sides of the ceiling, and a small waterfall gushed down the central wall, flowing into a tiny structure carved out of silver that seemed to be a pond. the light of the sunne shone down through the small skylight, nourishing the plants. the dining table was in the middle, but the room was notably empty.

fae was right. where was alora?

sirius observed that two gold flasks filled with ambrosia sat lonelily on the table, waiting to be drunk by some god. two porcelain plates were next to the flasks with a piece of toast on each one. fae blinked in confusion, while sirius leaped onto a chair, prodding the toast carefully with a soft beige paw.

“she really isn’t here. but at least we’ve got food.” she called back to her sibling, who was prowling the daycare in search of their caretaker. “maybe she’s busy.” mumbled sirius, already biting into the toast. “yeah. maybe. but she should have told us!” fae squeaked indignantly, light green fur fluffing out in dissatisfaction.

sirius ignored fae’s comment and continued eating the toast.

“do you think this has something to moribunde from yesterday?” she blurted, turning to fae.
fae titled her head at an angle curiously, lost in thought, then mewed, “i think so. after all, alora did go to the pantheon the other day.” they had finished their breakfast, and fae was already staring out the window.

“wait. why not we go check outside? maybe there’s something going on there. just remember we can’t go into the pantheon, okay?”

fae’s eyes lit up. “that’s a great idea, sirius! let’s go!” the green molly marched towards the door, sirius right beside her. there now was a weird tingling sensation in the left side of her face. it felt weird. eh. maybe she had just slept wrongly.

yeah. it was definitely that. not anything else.

———

endlessly and eternally verdant greenfields lay ahead of the duo. empty. devoid of any cats. “oh…that means they must have all gone to the pantheon,” sirius meowed disappointedly. fae was stretching her neck as far as she could to see if she could spot any familiar faces. but the pantheon was too far away, and there was no way to get there anyway — the cloud serpent was not there to fly them.

"aw...oh, well. i hope they're okay." sighed sirius, still squinting at the towering marble building in the distance. "i'm sure they'll be fine! after all, we're gods! nothing can defeat us!" fae chirped encouragingly, jumping around in front of her twin.
sirius smiled, comforted by the thought.

a stinging pain. in her face. again?
"ow..." the beige molly mumbled. "fae, are you sure you got it off? the thing on my face."
fae stared at her face curiously. shrugging, she meowed, "yeah, i'm pretty sure there's nothing there. maybe it's just the heat. or you slept on it wrongly."

sirius regarded her with a skeptical expression. "be right back. i'm going to go to the pond."
"which one?"
"the..the sacred one. in the center of the heart. you know? that one."
"huh?! but you need to get a caretaker's permission!" fae yowled in disbelief, staring at sirius incredulously.
"but..but all the caretakers are at the meeting. i can't go to the pantheon and ask them." the beige she-kit sighed, crumpling onto the grass and beginning to mope. her face started up again. itch, itch, sting. thunder gods, it hurt so, so much.

"forget it!" sirius squeaked indignantly. "i'm going myself. don't try to stop me, fae."
"but will you be able to find it?"
sirius scoffed, flicking her tail irritably at the question. "of course i can. we've been there enough times with alora. besides, it's not far from here." the goddess-to-be started to stand up. she was already getting ready to leave.
"sure, you do you! oh, and good luck, i guess, but i don't think you'll need it!" the green kitten called back, her fluffy sage tail curled behind her.

something was definitely not right.

[crexmii]

glancing back one last time at her twin's figure in the distance, sirius set off.
this was going to be a big journey. well, for a kit, at least.

the beige molly had decided to embark on a great quest. more specifically, a quest to find the cause of her itch. it had been nagging at her all day, and she was still no closer to the heart yet. passing by fields, fields and even more fields, it was clear this trip would take longer than intended. walking for a long while hurt her tiny kitten legs, so it was lucky that she had accidentally stumbled upon the staircase to the heart.

padding up the floating staircase, sirius sighed. the itch had begun to turn into a sting, and the poor kit didn't notice an unusual change happening to her face. continuing to climb the winding stairs, looking out at the clouds. she was so sleepy she almost fell off the balcony. wisps of cloud drifted past her as she climbed, yet she was too tired to marvel at them.

"just..a...little...further...

itch. itch. itch. sting- "ow!" sirius jumped, startled. she glanced up at the ether and noticed the sunne was almost fully gone. yet she did not stop to rest. she had to continue. after all, alora did say if something was bothering oneself, they should always try to fix it.

after climbing several more flights of great stairs, the beige kitten finally reached flat ground. stepping forward, a splash. waves lapped at her paws. surprisingly bright considering night was already falling, sirius could barely see anything other than the turquoise waves and the glare of the sunne...wait, was it even the sunne. she didn't know either.

in front....a silhouette. as sirius got closer, the unmistakeable outline of the fountain was visible. running over to it as fast as her little legs could carry her, not caring how wet she got, she collapsed in front of it. after several heartbeats, sirius forced herself to get up. touching the centerpiece with a front paw. responding to her touch, the fountain came to life and crystal clear water immediately spurting out of the centerpiece all of a sudden.



the moon had already risen. sirius had stayed by the sacred fountain, simply sitting in front of it, watching the water flow with a blank stare. her eyelids were heavy and she didn't think she was able to stay awake any longer. holding a paw up, she let the water fall onto it once. sirius was beginning to feel even more sleepy now, and so the young goddess collapsed onto the oddly soft floor of the gazebo.

she didn't even feel the itch anymore....that must be good, right?

little did the she-cat notice, that reflected in the water, midnight purple splotches were slowly forming on the left side of her face. wisps of black arose from out of nowhere, circling around the sleeping kitten. the pillars of the belvedere were suddenly covered in vines, growing out of seemingly nowhere. the dark green tendrils formed a barricade of thorns, and rose buds started to peek out of their hiding places.

sirius's sleeping form was surrounded by vines, meaning there was no escape. of course, the kitten wouldn't have known since she hadn't even heard a thing whilst in her slumber. the fountain was still spurting water, except it was slowly turning inkier, darker, murkier, and blacker.

black roses started to bloom as the inky water spilled around sirius. the moon reached its highest point in the ether, and then the roses wilted, vines shiveling up and crumbling into fading dust. the water seemed to magically evaporate, and soon there wasn't a trace that anything had happened. the kit was still deep in her slumbers, unknown to all that had happened.

but one thing remained that did not go away.
half her body had turned a deep purple, like the colour of midnight.
she would find out just how bad this was later.

[crexmii]

awakening, sirius stared around in confusion. the itch and the stinging pain were both gone.
huh?! wasn’t I at the fountain just last night? how am I in my bed again?
“fae? do you know how I got back here?”

fae opened one eye slowly, staring at sirius in confusion. “what’re you talking about? we’ve been asleep for the whole night, the others are still at the meeting. were you dreaming again, sis?” now, fae sat up and blinked at her several times, before her confused expression turned into one of utter horror.

“sirius! what’s wrong with your pelt? are you even the real sirius?!” she yelped, jumping backwards. “what-what do you mean?! of course i am!” sirius gasped in terror, staring at fae in hurt and shock. "am i that dirty?" she cried.
"n-no, it's not that!"



fae's eyes were filled with distress and wariness. "wait here. i'm gonna go get alora! look in this mirror if you don't know what i mean!" she flicked her tail towards the mirror with a golden frame in their bedroom.
and the sage-green kit burst out of the great door of their bedhouse. the door was still ajar, and sirius stared out the window in utter confusion. does she hate me for something? sirius thought, injured that fae had run away from her.

she shook her head in denial. no, she's just going to get alora. that's the smart move.
the beige she-kit decided to look in the small mirror and....what?!

the entire left side of her body was a deep blue — or purple, sirius didn't exactly know — apart from a beige spot from her former coat. and her face — it was no longer beige, but that same dark indigo. sirius barely had time to think when alora and fae burst back through the door. sirius turned around and met their gazes. alora frowned, eyes furrowing, and instantly grabbed sirius by the scruff before she could protest.

the trio of cats ran and ran. "where are we going?!" sirius wailed, paws batting at thin air. "to the pantheon." alora mumbled, her words muffled due to the fact that sirius's scruff was in her mouth. her eyes were narrowed in determination. fae was beside the older goddess, struggling to keep up with her tiny kitten legs. alora glanced at a panting fae, and masterfully scooped her up using her tail, letting fae ride on her back.



sirius couldn't help but admire this spectacle. alora's so cool....she cares so much for us! glancing in front, she noted they were almost at the pantheon. the building was towering over them, and the giant marble steps to the entrance were right up ahead.

pushing open the two giant marble doors, they raced up the stairs, running right into the assembly room. the other gods all turned around, staring at alora, sirius and fae in either confusion, concern or contempt.

the assembly room was huge, marble pillars and columns supporting the giant place. all the older gods sat on their own gold thrones, lined up in a neat arrangement. sirius craned her neck and saw all the gods staring at her. she shrunk away and decided to look past the thrones.

a..bookshelf? why? sirius had no time to stare anymore, as the god of the sun, phoebus, took his place on the throne in the center, blocking her view. there were twin thrones above on the second level, presumably for moribunde and alora to sit in.

abendro, next in line to be the sun god was sitting on the second smaller throne beside phoebus. the bright golden tom glared down at them, dark orange eyes glittering as bright as flames. sirius closed her eyes to escape the glare. fur bristling, he growled, "why did you run out and bring these two... younglings here?! this is a private meeting for us, the assemblage, only, godlings shouldn't be here!" fae slid off alora's back and shrunk behind her, trying not to shiver.

"don't you forget who's in charge here, phoebus." alora hissed, raising her tail for silence. "i need you all to look at sirius closely. LOOK AT HER FACE. she's been cursed by the void, and it's all because you convinced moribunde to go seal them off!" she yowled in anger, stomping a green paw.

wait...curse? of the void? no..it can't be real, alora said it was just an old myth!
sirius's back fur bristled as the other gods peered to get a closer look at her. phoebus’s annoyed expression immediately shifted to one of horror and worry, and sirius swore she could've seen a little bit of guilt in that strong gaze.

“wait…does this mean…moribunde..” he stammered, the words barely able to come out.
alora gave phoebus a sympathetic look and sighed. "yes, he's gone. it is most likely that the void claimed him. how sirius got cursed, i do not know. we shall investigate this starting from tommorow."

i'm..cursed? like, really cursed? is alora playing a prank on us? wait...moribunde...moribunde...
"alora, what does 'the void claimed him' mean?" phoebus stared at the beige kit with a look she didn't understand, and alora immediately stepped in, meowing quicky, "i'll tell you when you're older, okay? for now, we need to figure out how you ended up like this."

sirius squinted, trying to remember...she woke up....wait...she went to the fountain...

"i woke up like this." she blurted before she could even think. several pairs of eyes and ears all swiveled in her direction. alora stared down at her with an unreadable expression on her features. "did...did you have a dream about anything? darkness, voids, anything related to that kind of thing?"

sirius furrowed her eyebrows, trying hard to remember anything that happened. anything...anything...oh.
"i dreamed i went to the sacred fountain!" she squeaked, tilting her head. "but no..i don't remember any darkness or voids or anything."
"which fountain was this?"
"the one in the center of the heart. i was climbing and walking for a really long time in my dream, and then i think i got so sleepy i fell asleep and it turns out i was already sleeping."

"did you dream of anything before that? and did you feel anything that felt real in your dream?" alora asked with the precision and caution of an interrogator. all the other gods, including phoebus, were silent, watching the spectacle in front of them.
"yeah..i think i dreamed i woke up at first and it was a normal day. except you all were at the pantheon so the daycare was empty. and fae let me go off to look for the fountain."

fae's ears twitched and her eyes widened incredulously. "what?! i would never have let you go! you know i would've told alora immediately!"
"not now, fae. be quiet." alora flicked her tail and sirius's twin fell silent once more. the goddess of life was staring at sirius with her eyes narrowed. she seemed to be analysing and thinking of what to do next with the cursed child.

they all stood rigidly still for several moments.
“wait. there’s only one thing we can…try…to do. we’re going to ask moira. he could change fate. I heard rumours he did it once, but I’m not sure he’ll do it again. so, no guarantees, but we can try.”

alora tilted her head towards phoebus, who nodded.
then the sage molly grabbed sirius by her scruff once again, and ran out of the room to find moira.

———

running through many endless corridors and hallways, carpet padding underneath their paws, past rooms filled with clouds lazily drifting inside and up winding marble staircases, it was safe to say that the pantheon was gigantic. sirius wondered how any god could even find their way around this place.

all of a sudden, alora halted to a stop. in front, two spiral staircases, both leading to the same platform. upstairs, the same bookcase sirius had seen in the back of the pantheon. climbing up the stairs, sirius was extremely confused. "why are we going to visit a bookcase, alora?"

the vert green she-cat flicked her tail to silence the kit, then stepped forward, directly in front of the bookcase, and rapped on the door exactly three times. the bookcase responded to her touch, swiveling around and revealing a passageway in the wall behind it.
"WOAH." sirius gasped in awe, attempting to crane her neck but failing. as alora entered the dark passageway, something flew towards them and lit up.

sirius's night vision kicked in, and she saw the faint shape of a paper lantern floating in front of them. alora hurriedly followed it when it moved along the passage. at the end, yet another bookcase.
"..huh?"
rapping on the old wooden shelf three times, alora heaved a sigh of exasperation and relief once it opened.

inside, a figure sat at a great table, surrounded by shelves of books and scrolls. the table itself was cluttered with many ancient tomes and the cat sitting there was examining and writing in a long, worn scroll. next to it, a quill, dipped in a bottle of black ink. she didn't know why, but the ink made sirius feel all weird and shivery inside. it wasn't a good feeling, that was for sure.

sighing, alora stepped closer. "moira. i need your help."
the cat lifted its head from writing, revealling a greying muzzle. two maroon eyes stared at alora. "what is it now?"
"this is urgent, moira. this kit has just been cursed by the void. we think it has something to do with moribunde's....disappearance."

moira's eyes widened and he checked the scroll intensely. staring at sirius closely, he shook his head and sighed. "there's nothing that can be done about it, nor will we be able to retrieve moribunde. i'm sorry to break it to you, but this kit is only going to live twelve centuries. poor thing's only going to live a little bit past one millenium."

sirius's eyes widened.
i'm going to die in twelve centuries? wait...not die...succumb to the void. like in the myth.
she gave a pleading glance to alora, although it wasn't likely the green molly saw it.

"what?! THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO, YOU SAY? moira, can't you change fate?!"
moira opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a stony glare from alora.
"and don't tell me fate isn't meant to be changed. you made an exception once, and you yourself broke your own rule."

moira simply sighed and stared tiredly and wordlessly at the duo.
"that was once. and that was because something interfered with fate first. i can't change fate due to others' wishes. she's going to have to live with it, and nothing can be done about that.

besides, you do remember that even changing fate cannot get rid of the curse, right?"
"i had to try. but it seems like you're no help like always."
glaring at the old god one last time, alora picked sirius up by the scruff once again and stormed out of the lorekeeper's room.

[crexmii]

[ 4 centuries after moribunde was lost.]

"we've got to isolate her. we don't want the curse to spread. besides, if she turns into a voidlurker while alone, its much less dangerous." phoebus insisted. sirius pressed a beige ear to the door, straining to hear who was talking. she couldn't see any of them (she wasn't supposed to be there in the first place). the kit stared through a small crack in the marble door.

it was dark. almost midnight.

"but...phoebus, she's just a godling. it'd be cruel- but i agree. it's the only way." another voice sighed reluctantly.
wait. is that voice…alora?

sirius stood still for a moment, then pressed her ear to the hole once again.
what do they mean, isolate me?
more talking. sirius couldn’t concentrate on the rest of the conversation anymore. she was too busy trying to decipher what phoebus and alora were talking about. whatever it was, she had something to do with it.

just then, she heard pawsteps growing closer and closer towards the door. uh oh.
bolting, she ran out of the pantheon and past the many rooms as fast and as quietly as she could, praying that they didn't hear her running.

running back to her room in the pantheon, sirius leaped onto the bed, breathing heavily and staring down at her paws. they were both beige in the past, but now one was midnight purple, with a faint splotch of beige. "what do they mean, isolate me?" she heard footsteps getting closer to her room. head swiveling around, she immediately covered herself with a blanket, curled up into a ball and pretended to sleep.

the sound of the door unlocking had never seemed scarier. "okay, alora, you wake her up." she heard phoebus's voice coming from the left side of her bed.

"psst. sirius, wake up." alora whispered directly into her left ear. "ngh. alora?" she mumbled, hoping her acting would be enough to convince them she had been asleep.

opening her eyes, she saw phoebus and alora looking at her uncertainly. as she shifted closer to her caretaker, she noticed alora had moved away slightly. "okay, sirius. you know that you're cursed, right? that you have twelve centuries before you become a voidlurker? anyway, it's eight now."
sirius nodded. it was the sad truth, but she knew.

"okay. then do you know that..after a while it gets worse and..it spreads?"
"huh? what do you mean?" the young goddess tilted her head.

alora sighed and looked at her with fear in her eyes. "that means. if you touch another cat, they'll be cursed too."
"wait- so if i-" sirius raised a paw and stared at it. alora shrunk away, but slowly moved closer again.

"yes. if you touch me, or any other cat, mortal or god, they'll become cursed just like you."
"oh no, what am i supposed to do?!" she cried.

"ssh, ssh. which is why we, the assemblage, have come up with a solution."
filled with hope, the chimera nearly leaped up to hug alora, but then stopped herself. alora was looking uneasy, and phoebus was in a defensive stance.

"don't get too excited." phoebus meowed. "okay, so the solution is to isolate you. what does that mean? basically, you'll be in your room, and you won't be able to touch anybody or well, go out. unfortunately, you won't even be able to speak to fae. breakfast will be delivered while you're asleep."

"but-but- can i at least talk to you all?! how long is this going to be for? I'M NOT HURTING ANYBODY BY TALKING!"
alora gazed at sirius sympathetically. "no. you won't, since we'll be busy trying to fix it all. and..." alora winced, a guilty look in her eyes. "it's going to last until..it...you...well...change. and this is for safety reasons, alright?"

sirius felt like she was about to tear up. nobody to talk to. nothing to do. eternal loneliness, until she became a voidlurker.

"can i at least go out? just go out and get fresh air a bit, don't talk or interact with any other cat?" alora glanced at phoebus. the great tom looked hesitant, but he nodded.

"alright. that's all we came to say. we'll tell fae about this in the morning. this might be the last time you talk to me. i do care for you, sirius. good night." alora meowed before she locked the door once again.

the moon illuminated the room.
they're all scared of me. do they even care anymore? i want to see fae. fae will love me.
curling back up in bed, sirius let the tears fall and cried herself to sleep.

———

[ two decades after isolation. ]

the chimera was in the greenfields as usual, lonelily exploring the realm. she didn't seem to notice how the grass turned brown under her paws.

every other cat was in the pantheon, fae included. it had been a lonely two decades. sirius picked up a daisy, sat down and stared at it.
she stared tiredly at it until she noticed....brown?



"wha-"

the flower was turning brown and shriveling up, petals falling onto the grass. sirius gasped in horror, dropped the remnants of the dead flower and stared at her paws. stepping back onto the grass, she noticed it turned brown too. raising a paw, she touched a nearby rose. dead.

sirius stared around, purple and orange eyes anxious.
she would definitely have to tell alora about this.

[crexmii]

"alora! what's happening?! when i touch things, they die!" the chimera cried.
alora had stared at her with a mixture of fear and hope. "you...you..must be moribunde's successor."
"but i don't want to be! i don't want to make things die." sirius stared at alora with fear in her eyes.

the moment had come. the gods and godlings were gathered in the pantheon. wary gazes met her eyes whenever she tried to smile at them. the only cat who encouragingly smiled back was fae. as usual, moira was hidden in his room somewhere.
sirius swallowed, stepping up the stairs to the giant pedestal. waiting there was phoebus, ready to do the honours of making her a god.

butterflies flitting around in her stomach, sirius stepped in front of the sun god and met his golden gaze. he glanced at her warily, as if he was uncomfortable simply being near her, as if he didn't trust her. sirius felt hurt by the thought, but she shook it away when he started to speak.

his voice was solemn, and the words echoed all around the pantheon.
"as you all know, we are gathered here to witness the making of a new god.

sirius here has found her affinity of, well...death. she shall now take moribunde's place." — sirius swore she heard a tinge of sadness in his voice — "now, sirius, you are the new goddess of death."

sirius felt her heart lift, despite this not being what she wanted. at least the others would be there to cheer her on.
right?? glancing down at the other gods watching the ceremony, instead of encouraging and welcoming gazes, she saw...fear. wariness. horror.
what? this wasn't right. the godlings were no better. frowns, disapproval and anxiety.


are they all...scared of me?
fae's eyes shimmered. sirius smiled down at her. once again, she smiled back, but she could see the uncertainty flash in her eyes, even if only for a moment.

phoebus stared into sirius's eyes. she met his fearful gaze. then to her surprise, the golden tom growled, "you are a proper god now. don't do anything bad. we already don't trust you, don't make that get worse."

the hurt, the pain, the negative feelings were all piling up inside of her. all the feelings she bottled up during the isolation were shaking around, ready to break through the bottle and explode.


something snapped inside of the chimera.
sirius's fur started to spike and bristle. "what did you say?" she didn't whisper back, hissing so every cat could hear her.

phoebus met her glare evenly. "SIRIUS. you are a god now. it will be hard for us to trust you, for you are harbouring a curse, and after all, you have only eight centuries before you become one of them. so you must promise that you will not be rash and cause trouble, or that might have bad results."

the others were glaring up at her now. alora gave her a look of disapproval, and aequore merely shook her head in disappointment. fae's eyes were wide with shock and worry.

sirius couldn't control herself anymore. "you're one to talk when you don't even know how i feel! i have been trying my best. i have been trying so hard to prove that i'm just as normal as any of you, curse or no curse.
YOU'LL NEVER KNOW HOW HARD AND PAINFUL IT FEELS TO BE REJECTED, TO BE TREATED WITH MISTRUST BY YOU ALL! you all are supposed to be my family, my fellow gods and you shun me because you fear me. but i am no different from you all. after all, moribunde got taken by the void, didn't he?"

seizing phoebus's scruff, she glared into his eyes. gasps of horror and screams sounded from the others.
"do you ever think i wanted... this? no! it was just bad luck! you can't control fate, after all!"
and as the chimera let go, black smoke covered phoebus.

"he's getting taken by the void!" aequore yowled in horror.
her scream cut through sirius's thoughts, and she stared back at phoebus and realised what she had done.



guilt churned intensely in her stomach.

oh. no.

———

[ one century later. ]
seven centuries left.

the realm of the gods was still recovering. when alora and aequore went to seal phoebus, they got corrupted too. and finally, nycthys, the last of the old pantheon, succumbed to it when she went to get rid of stray voidlurkers that were too close to the divine realm.

now, new gods had taken their places. things had changed.
fae and sirius's sisterly bond? broken. she never thought it would happen.
now the two argued and argued and fought with their words.

sirius hated this job. she hated seeing the mortals' expressions when she came to take them to the afterlife.
they feared her. the gods feared her too. her own sister hated (and possibly feared) her.

does she regret anything?
yes.

why is everybody scared of me?
a question she had asked herself when she was younger.

now she knows why.
it's because of her horrible curse.
she wishes moribunde didn't get taken.
she wishes she was normal.

but of course, to keep the assemblage, the pantheon and the entire divine realm from collapsing, she has to continue.
all those dreams were silly, wishful thoughts anyway.