Chosen Quest - Epilogue - A Time to Live
...he steps out of the door and blinks as light flares.
He staggers back, and his back meets wall, a familiar one. His body feels... different. He looks down and something like shock fills his mind as he sees his young, small body. The body of a kid! What was happening?
He looks upwards and sees the Six, and recognizes the trial room, and confusion fills his mind.
"HELLO, BILLY BATSON. WELCOME HOME."
"What... what happened? Why am I here?"
"YOU HAVE FINISHED YOUR TRIALS. YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR QUEST AND PROVEN YOURSELF WORTHY TO BE THE CHAMPION AND THE WIZARD. WE ARE SATISFIED."
He is gaping. His mind scrambles to grasp what they mean.
"What? But, I was dead... what do you mean?"
"YOU WERE SET A TRIAL TO PROVE YOURSELF, AND TO LEARN TO EXCISE THE DARKNESS WITHIN YOU. YOU DID BOTH, BY LIVING THROUGH THEM, AND BY GROWING PAST THEM. AND YOU SHOWED US YOUR DEDICATION WITH A LONG LIFE OF SERVING AS CHAMPION AND WIZARD BOTH. NOW, THE TIME HAS COME TO REJOIN YOUR TIMELINE WHERE YOU SHOULD BE. EIGHT MONTHS HAS PASSED SINCE YOU ARRIVED HERE. EIGHT MONTHS IN WHICH YOU LIVED OVER THOSE 100,000 YEARS."
He is gasping as tears flow across his eyes and down his face. His knees tremble and give out.
"I... don't... how?"
Even as his panic and confusion rise, a gentle touch of warmth fills him and he feels the panic wash away.
"FEAR NOT. YOU SHOWED LOVE AND COMPASSION, HONESTY AND STRENGTH. AND YOU PROVED YOURSELF THE ONLY WAY A PERSON CAN, BY LIVING A GOOD LIFE."
Then the room dissolves into whirling light as he takes a breath, and then the room fades back in as he exhales, and he is standing in his rooms on the Rock.
He blinks as he looks up and into a mirror. His face is young... so very young.
He feels a wave of weariness wash over him, overpoweringly, and he staggers over to his bed, falling onto it, and into a deep sleep.
As he sleeps, the last of his healing happens. Memory of the past 100,000 subjective years slowly integrates with his mind. Memory of that time becomes a mist of lessons, thoughts, and deeds, and specifics, many are lost, but the attitudes and deeds and wisdom he gained remain. He remembers those. How to live, how to survive, how to fight, how to love, how to let go, how to give, how to receive.
He sleeps and forgets,and remembers, and he heals.
And, come morning, he wakes up.
When he wakes, and remembers the end of the quest, he cries, silent tears carrying poison out of him and bringing him peace.
Then, he smiles a tremulous smile at himself, and he rises. He was still shaky and would be for some time, but right now, it wasnt time to worry about that.
It was time to live.
He staggers back, and his back meets wall, a familiar one. His body feels... different. He looks down and something like shock fills his mind as he sees his young, small body. The body of a kid! What was happening?
He looks upwards and sees the Six, and recognizes the trial room, and confusion fills his mind.
"HELLO, BILLY BATSON. WELCOME HOME."
"What... what happened? Why am I here?"
"YOU HAVE FINISHED YOUR TRIALS. YOU HAVE COMPLETED YOUR QUEST AND PROVEN YOURSELF WORTHY TO BE THE CHAMPION AND THE WIZARD. WE ARE SATISFIED."
He is gaping. His mind scrambles to grasp what they mean.
"What? But, I was dead... what do you mean?"
"YOU WERE SET A TRIAL TO PROVE YOURSELF, AND TO LEARN TO EXCISE THE DARKNESS WITHIN YOU. YOU DID BOTH, BY LIVING THROUGH THEM, AND BY GROWING PAST THEM. AND YOU SHOWED US YOUR DEDICATION WITH A LONG LIFE OF SERVING AS CHAMPION AND WIZARD BOTH. NOW, THE TIME HAS COME TO REJOIN YOUR TIMELINE WHERE YOU SHOULD BE. EIGHT MONTHS HAS PASSED SINCE YOU ARRIVED HERE. EIGHT MONTHS IN WHICH YOU LIVED OVER THOSE 100,000 YEARS."
He is gasping as tears flow across his eyes and down his face. His knees tremble and give out.
"I... don't... how?"
Even as his panic and confusion rise, a gentle touch of warmth fills him and he feels the panic wash away.
"FEAR NOT. YOU SHOWED LOVE AND COMPASSION, HONESTY AND STRENGTH. AND YOU PROVED YOURSELF THE ONLY WAY A PERSON CAN, BY LIVING A GOOD LIFE."
Then the room dissolves into whirling light as he takes a breath, and then the room fades back in as he exhales, and he is standing in his rooms on the Rock.
He blinks as he looks up and into a mirror. His face is young... so very young.
He feels a wave of weariness wash over him, overpoweringly, and he staggers over to his bed, falling onto it, and into a deep sleep.
As he sleeps, the last of his healing happens. Memory of the past 100,000 subjective years slowly integrates with his mind. Memory of that time becomes a mist of lessons, thoughts, and deeds, and specifics, many are lost, but the attitudes and deeds and wisdom he gained remain. He remembers those. How to live, how to survive, how to fight, how to love, how to let go, how to give, how to receive.
He sleeps and forgets,and remembers, and he heals.
And, come morning, he wakes up.
When he wakes, and remembers the end of the quest, he cries, silent tears carrying poison out of him and bringing him peace.
Then, he smiles a tremulous smile at himself, and he rises. He was still shaky and would be for some time, but right now, it wasnt time to worry about that.
It was time to live.