*
The light from the room was blinding, as the violet runes took on a life of their own. The ç'aether began to grow, with dozens of new crystals erupting from the rocky ground. Ice covered the walls, as the ç'aether pillars grew ever taller. One emerged mere inches from Kingston's sleeping body, gently rocking him from the force of its birth.
Darkness surrounds me. A soft, gentle darkness that embraces me with warmth and peace. The bed beneath me is hand-made, a perfect fit for my ageing body. Birdsong fills the air outside, the sweet sound bringing a smile to my face. As the warm dawn-light fills the room, my eyes open.
How long has it been now, since I awoke to her smiling face? Ten years? Twenty? Time moves differently in this place, erasing the good, but drawing out the bad. I can remember every fight we had, every screaming match and dispute, but the happy times elude me. What did we do for our first anniversary? What colour were her eyes? All muddled memories and twisted recollections. But She is gone, and I must look to the future.
After all, today is the first day of the rest of my life.
I somehow manage to swing myself out of bed, and stand up on the second try. My youth was filled with excitement and action, doing things like fighting in wars, studying the sciences, and courting a most elusive woman... but it seems as though my old age will be filled with peace and relaxation. Is this what it means to be old? To be retired from the world? Maybe I should have chosen to go out fighting? Maybe I should have died young, on the battlefield, or out in the field, studying pollution, like my father.
No. I chose to live.
I made a promise... an unbreakable promise... and I will keep it, even if it means living the rest of my life here, in exile. I promised to look after him, to guard him in her stead. Sigh. It's almost time. I walk to the kitchen counter, where I've put The Clock. I synced it to the Station's computer, so it should be accurate. In five minutes, thirty-two seconds, the entire world is going to end.
Not permanently, thank the gods, but temporarily... well, I don't know if anyone would think of five hundred years as temporary...
In five minutes, seventeen seconds, I will be the only conscious human on the planet. I will be alone to witness the desolation, the emptiness of living in a world bereft of laughter or life.
In four minutes, forty-six seconds, my true exile will begin. The next time another human looks upon the clear-blue skies, or bathes in the light of dawn, I will have been dead for centuries.
I could make it to Genesis Station 13 in three minutes, fifty-five seconds, fight my way in, and find an empty pod. It's not too late. And once I'm inside, what choice will they have but to let me stay? I could be with them, sharing their dreamless sleep. I would awaken with them, ready to face the reborn planet beside them.
No. I have made a promise. I have sworn an oath to protect them, and I cannot do than from inside a pod.
In two minutes, ten seconds, my true duty will begin. I will be their watchman, their guardian against the unknown terrors of the world. While they lie there, asleep and unwary, I will protect them...
I will protect him.
In one minute, five seconds, everything will change. Perhaps it is for this moment, this time of calling, that I was born. Maybe everything I've endured, everything I've faced, has merely been in preparation for this day.
In thirty-seven seconds, he will be asleep. He will be at peace, safe from the dangers of this cruel world. He will awaken someday, to the glorious future he deserves. Maybe one day, he will stumble across this humble hut. Maybe he will venture inside, and find all the mementos of my life.
Maybe he will somehow understand, that I was his protector. Maybe he will thank me, for always watching over him.
Ten seconds left. Nine. Eight. Seven. I never even had the chance to say goodbye.
Three. Two. One.
Zero.
And, just like that, they're all gone. Just like that, I'm all alone. But this is not the end, after all, today is merely the first day of the rest of my life...
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