u/Saiga123

Sitting astride a white horse Death looked down upon the world with an air of detachment. It wouldn’t be long now before the last of humanity was snuffed out by the invading army. The humans were putting up a valiant effort but they wouldn’t last much longer. They were being pushed back on every front and soon Death’s work here would be done.

“Almost makes you feel sorry for them doesn’t it?” a voice said beside it.

Turning its head with glacial slowness Death beheld a being floating cross-legged next to it. Dressed in a harlequin’s motley the being’s mask covered face smirked at Death with a rictus grin. Coolly staring at the apparition for a long moment Death asked “What Are You Doing Here?”

“Why to watch you work, of course!” it replied with a manic laugh “It’s not every day one gets to witness the death of an entire species.”

“At This Moment Six Billion Five Hundred Seven Million Sixty-Two Thousand Nine Hundred Forty-Six Species Are Going Extinct In Just This Arm Of This Galaxy. Why Are You Here For One As Insignificant As These?”

“I could ask you the same question.” The harlequin countered “They’re important enough to warrant your personal attention.”

“Every Being Receives My Personal Attention.” Death growled, affronted. “From The Lowliest Gnat To The Mightiest Of Kings, I Reap The Stars Themselves When Their Time Comes. Even Gods Must One Day Face Their Reckoning.”

Holding out his hands placatingly the God replied “Now, now, no need for that. As I said I’m only here to observe.”

“Why?” Death demanded to know. “You Are No Patron To These Creatures. They Offer You No Prayers, No Offerings. What Interest Do You Have In Their Eradication?”

“Why, none at all! I just find these humans endlessly fascinating, don’t you?” the God grinned “It’s just a shame their time is being cut so short before they could expand beyond their home planet.”

“Do Not Speak To Me Of Their Time!” Death thundered as he waved a hand causing an endless multitude of hourglasses to appear around them, the roaring hiss of falling sand engulfing them in a deafening cacophony. “Every Being Has Their Time. They Are Owed No More and No Less Than They Are Allotted!” With a gesture one of the hourglasses grew in size until the others faded from view. The top bulb on this hourglass was almost empty; the grains of sand, each an empty hourglass in itself, tumbled to the lower ampoule as the war waged on beneath them. “And Humanity’s Time Is At An End. Shall We See How Far Off That Day Is For You?” Death suggested as it held out a hand as an hourglass coalesced into being, the timer somehow fitting into the palm of Death’s hand while simultaneously being astronomical in size.

Ignoring the implied threat the God said “Do you not find it to be such a tragedy? That no matter how much they struggle they cannot fight their fate? That no matter how much they resist in the end you will take them?”

“Such Is The Nature Of The Universe.” Death replied dismissively “It Is Not Our Place To Alter The Threads Of Fate, We Must Simply Fulfil Our Function And See The Tapestry Woven As Intended.”

“Have you no compassion?”

“Compassion?” Death scoffed. “Does The Farmer Care For The Life Of The Crops He Reaps? Does He Weep For Each Ear Of Corn, For Each Stalk Of Wheat? No, He Need Not Concern Himself With Such Trivialities. He Needs Only Complete His Role And Reap The Harvest When It Is Time.” Death said.

“Ah, but what can the harvest hope for if not for the care of the reaper man?” the God giggled as Death’s expressionless face scowled at him. “Else why bother living if all that awaits them is the cold kiss of your scythe and empty oblivion?”

“What They Choose To Do With Their Time Is No Concern Of Mine, My Remit Begins Once Their Time Is Up. Hope Is Not Within My Purview.” Death said dismissively before turning a suspicious gaze onto the Jester “Nor Is It Within Yours. You Still Have Not Told Me What Your Interest In This Doomed Species Is. And I Would Have Your Answer Now.” Death demanded.

“What do you care what my interest is?” the God replied cryptically.

“I Will Not Have You Interfering With Their Fate.” Death intoned.

“Oh? I thought the Reaper Man has no care for the Harvest.” The God snickered.

“He Cares When What He Is Owed Is Stolen From Him.” Death hissed. “Now Tell Me Your Purpose Here. I Shall Not Ask Again.”

Death’s scythe suddenly appeared around the Jester’s neck, the silver blade glowing as if made from solidified starlight biting into the nape of the God’s neck as the curve of it hooked around his throat. The God scoffed at Death’s threat “Your threats ring hollow. You wouldn’t risk the Tapestry by culling me before my time.”

“It Would Cause Repercussions.” Death allowed, the dim lights in the sockets of his skull growing to raging infernos. “Ripples In the Tapestry, Tangles In The Skein. But I Have A Certain Amount Of Discretion In These Matters And The Tapestry Is Resilient Enough To Survive Taking You Before Your Time.”

Seeing the fury building in Death’s eyes the God said “I simply find their tenacity enthralling! Look at them, even without a hope they cling to life and fight tooth and nail just to extend their existence a moment longer!”

“Struggle Though They Might, They Cannot Defy Fate. Humanity’s Time Is At An End.” Death replied solemnly.

“Are you so sure?” the God asked mockingly as he pointed towards Humanity’s hourglass.

Turning towards the hourglass the fires that blazed in Death’s eyes went cold. The Sands were no longer falling. Urging his horse closer Death examined the aperture and saw the sands jammed at the neck, stubbornly refusing to fall. Turning back to the doomed planet Death saw the impossible. The humans were rallying. Pushed to the edge of oblivion the humans fought back, refusing to accept their fate. Their broken bodies refused to lay down and die, instead fighting on in a manic furor pushing their bodies well past their limits to stem the enemy's advance. The alien host threw themselves against the human lines and broke against the human’s sheer refusal to die.

“What Have You Done?!” Death roared as he swung around and wrapped a skeletal hand around the God’s throat. “You Dare Interfere! You Dare Intercede And Deny Me My Due!”

The God let out a manic laugh choked by Death’s clawing fingers. “Not me Reaper! It’s all them! They’re doing it all themselves!”

“Impossible. Mere Mortals Don’t Have The Power To Alter Their Fate, Not Even The Gods Do. Once Their Thread Is Cut There Is No Denying Their End!”

“And yet they are!” The jester laughed as he wrenched himself free from Death’s cold grasp and floated over next to Death to observe the planet below “This is why I’m here. To see them fight back against destiny itself and win! Such insignificant and powerless creatures yet they have the ability to throw off the chains of fate, to weave their own thread through your precious Tapestry.” The hollow eyes of the Jester’s mask seemed to gleam in excitement as he watched the spectacle below. “And to see what you will do.” The God purred as he turned to face Death, the grin on his mask widening. “What will you do Reaper man? Will you abide by fate and ensure their demise? Or will you smash their hourglass and see what pattern they weave across the universe?”

Death stared down at the humans in silent contemplation before murmuring “They Threaten The Very Fabric Of The Universe. Their Loose Thread Could Unravel The Entire Tapestry.” Death turned back to Humanity’s hourglass and with a casual wave of his hand dismissed it.

The Trickster God floated closer to Death, his leering mask looming over the Reaper as he let out a manic giggle “You’re letting them live? I didn’t think you had it in you.”

“As I Told You, Every Being Has Their Time.” Death said as he urged his horse away from Earth “It Merely Seems They Have Earned A Hard Fought Reprieve. I Will Reap Them In Time.”

“I never thought I’d see the day you went against Fate.” The God laughed as he trailed along beside Death.

Death let out a derisive huff “I Am No Implement Of Fate. While Our Duties Overlap They Have No Say Over My Domain. I Am Beholden To No One But The Sands.”

“Fate doesn’t like it when their pretty Tapestry is tampered with.” The God warned “They cannot abide a dropped stitch. They’ll try to correct it.”

“Let Them.” Death intoned disinterestedly “It Is Not My Duty To See Their Threads Woven In The Manner They Find Pleasing. Nor Is It My Duty To Intercede On The Humans’ Behalf. Should Fate Succeed In Snuffing Them Out Then I Will Reap Them As The Sands Demand. Otherwise Fate Shall Have To Learn To Weave Around Them.”

“And if they unravel the whole Tapestry?” The god wondered in chaotic excitement.

“Then I Shall Reap The Universe.” Death stated simply as he and his horse faded into the void.

One after one the stars were vanishing. It started slowly at first, almost unnoticeable unless you were looking for a particular star that was no longer there but soon it was undeniable. Like black ink bleeding across the night sky, the stars were blotted out one by one, a creeping darkness engulfing the heavens until only a few remained.

The Star Eaters were here.

Little to nothing was known about them; none had survived to tell any tales. All that was known was that they were heralded by an encroaching darkness consuming the sky. And once the last light faded and a world was plunged into darkness, they would descend.

Trelzun stared up despairingly at the dying sky. There were so few stars left now. He could see them being snuffed out, entire constellations disappearing one by one. The portals to other worlds had been sealed once the threat had been confirmed. Their long time allies severed the links, cutting off any hope of reinforcement or refuge for fear the scourge would spread to their worlds. Trelzun’s eyes fell to the ranks of soldiers he commanded, knowing that they would not be enough.

Trelzun’s reverie was broken by the sound of heavy armoured footsteps behind him. Trelzun turned to see a cohort of strangely armoured soldiers marching towards them. Their armour was cracked and worn, some were in such disrepair Trelzun was surprised they didn’t fall apart with each heavy step the warriors took. The legion came to a halt save for one who continued to march up to Trelzun. The warrior stood a head taller than Trelzun necessitating him to tilt his head back to stare into the darkened visor. “Who are you?” Trelzun asked.

“Someone who would stand with you during this long night if you will allow us.” The soldier answered, his voice gravelly and harsh.

“How did you get here? The gates are all closed off?”

“We arrived via the Rigel gate before they closed their borders.” The soldier revealed “My men and I have marched for two days to join your fight.”

“But why? Why did you come when the Star Eaters are about to descend?” Trelzun wondered.

“We have faced this horror once before. We but offer what little aid we might render to you.”

Trelzun’s eyes went wide, a spark of hope blossoming in his chest “You fought the Star Eaters and lived?!”

“No. We fought them and died.” The soldier solemnly said as he reached up to remove his helmet to reveal half his face disfigured, a creeping corruption of crystallised darkness emitting a purple void light, tendrils of which were spreading to his scarred but not corrupted side. Worst of all was his eye, inside the socket was a swirling void that seemed to consume the ambient light and dim the area around them.

“Put any thought of victory from your mind, even a pyrrhic one. My men and I were the last to flee our world, our Earth. We fought a fighting retreat that cost us more lives than we saved but had we known they would leave their mark on us we would have stayed and fought to the last breath.”

The warrior held Trelzun’s gaze until the commander was unable to bear the sight of the corruption and looked away. Replacing his helm the warrior said “You are looking at what is left of the human race. We did not come to save you; such a thing is beyond us. But if you allow us, we will fight with you.” The human extended a hand to Trelzun and said“You need not stand alone before this abyssal darkness. We are here and we shall face the chasm as brothers.”

Trelzun stared at the humans extended hand for a long moment before reaching out to grasp him by the forearm “As brothers.” He nodded. “It will be an honour to fight by your side.”

Releasing their grip on each other Trelzun and the human turned back to the sky to watch the dimming of the stars. “What do you think they are?” Trelzun asked. “Some ravenous swarm intent on devouring all light and life in the universe? Or perhaps a plague sent by the gods to judge us for our sins?”

The human let out a sound that was somewhere between a scoff and a grunt “I fear no judgement of the gods. Should any exist, their sins would far outweigh our own. And when this night is through, should I find myself before any that would dare claim that mantle it will be them who are held to account not I.”

As the remaining stars began to dwindle the human said “I shall rejoin my men. I wish to face the end amongst what is left of my people.”

As the human turned to return to his men Trelzun reached out to grab him by the arm. “You faced these horrors before, brother. Tell me… Tell me how they’ll come.”

The human regarded Trelzun for a long moment before saying “All at once and from every direction. The darkness will come alive and descend upon us. They will assail us from all sides and slaughter us indiscriminately. They will crash upon us like a tidal wave and we shall be washed away in a sea of blood.”

Trelzun’s hand shook against the human’s gauntlet as he quietly asked “There truly is no hope is there?”

“No, brother. There isn’t.” The human said gently as he moved his hands to grasp Trelzun by the shoulders “None save for a good death and a hope that these monsters choke on our bones. Do not give into despair, brother. If these monstrosities wish to claim our lives we shall make them earn it. Sell your life dearly so that these beasts of carnage may give pause before they turn their ravenous attention to another world.”

Trelzun’s trembling subsided as his resolve solidified “You are right brother. If no one else will remember us let us give these monsters a fight they won’t soon forget.”

The human nodded his helmeted head and moved to rejoin his men. Left alone Trelzun turned his eyes back to the remaining stars just as the last one was extinguished.

And in the all consuming darkness, the abyss descended upon them.