The Final Downfall [Inter-Universal Protectors Series: Book 2]

Amneris had no idea how she ended up in this place. If she was honest, she’d initially thought this was the Void. But it wasn’t. She just . . . knew. It was a part of her power. This place was nothing. Nothing at all.

The nothingness continued for seconds, minutes, hours. It could have been years for all she knew.

And then there was something. A man.

Well, not actually a man. Her mind saw him as a man. Amneris could see his energy. It screamed male. Like herself, he had no true physical form. Even so, she knew who this was. At least, she had a hunch. If the myths were truth, this man was Naka. The Eternal Darkness. The Silent Core himself.

As time was yet to exist, Amneris had no idea how long he was alone in the darkness. How long she watched him. How long it was until a light appeared in the darkness. The light was a woman. The First Light. The Photon Core. Naiu herself. Again, she only knew Naiu was female from the feminine energy. That and the fact she’d met the Goddess many times.

Their energies danced around each other and, after a while, they took on true physical forms. Naka, as expected, took on the appearance of a man. He had dark skin, short dark hair and bright red eyes. Naiu took on the form of a woman. She had pale skin, white hair and white eyes.

The two held each other, seeming to dance in the nothingness around them. When they looked at each other, it was with lovesick smiles. Gods, they were in love. Amneris gagged. She knew what it was like to feel that way—she felt it with Colt—but to see it happening. Ew.

But there was something else inside her as she watched. She would never feel that way again. She would never see her friends, her family, anyone.

Amneris watched as the two First Beings created the Primordial Gods. They spread out through the nothingness.

A flash of light. The first universe. The Gods cheered at their creation.

Amneris allowed its light to fill her. As the scene of Creation around her faded, she went with it willingly.

“Count on you to show up in places you’re not supposed to.”

Amneris looked up, squinting in the light of the Sun Boat as it passed over the clear waters of the river before her. She was standing on the bank, the field of reeds swaying behind her in a cool light breeze.

She looked down “Shit happens. Really thought I’d end up somewhere else this time.”

The man beside her, her friend Yinepu, spoke, “Unfortunately for you, I believe you will always end up here. No matter how many you kill or destroy, you always will come to A’aru.”

She made an irritated noise. “Your point?”

“You have a good soul. You will always make it to A’aru.”

“Lucky me.” Amneris snorted. “Nice to not have to go through a Trial this time. Having my heart taken out and weighed once was enough for my Afterlife.”

“You fainted.”

“Oh, shut up.”

She caught his smile out of the corner of her eye. “My boss expects you for dinner.”

“Of course he does.” Amneris stretched her arms above her, enjoying the light of her Sun Boat. It warmed her spirit. Literally.

“Not today, though.”

She turned to Yinepu. “No?”

He shook his head, facing the river. “I am to escort you back to your world.”

“Why?”

The God begun walking, hands in the pocket of his dark jeans. Amneris kept pace beside him. “Your body has almost reformed,” he said. “You aren’t really dead.”

“Then why am I—”

“No idea.” Yinepu tipped his head back and laughed. “I never know when it comes to you, neither does Auser. You’re a special case.”

Amneris nudged him with an elbow. “Remind me not to do any more favours for you, Dog Boy.”

They walked together through A’aru. There were few houses here and there. Children played in the waters of nearby rivers, their parents watching on. The older kids—teenagers—lazed about in the Sunlight. Kings and nobles mingled around goblets of wine. They all had one thing in common. All were dead. Everyone here was a spirit, aside from the Gods, one of whom walked beside Amneris.

They talked about nothing in particular as they wandered up a grassy knoll, stopping only to wave at the Sun Boat as it vanished down the river. Amneris linked arms with her old friend, holding up the skirt of her long pale dress so she wouldn’t trip. Yinepu lead her toward a large stone archway. She knew what it was. It was the way back to the living dimensions.

“Do I have to?” Amneris asked as they stood before it.

Yinepu nodded. “As much as I enjoy seeing you, you do need to go back.”

“Why?”

“Aside from the immortality.” She rolled her eyes. “They need you, Amneris.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I know you think they don’t and they can handle things without you, but you are important. Not just because of your power.”

“Then what is it?”

A shrug. “Call it a hunch.”

He pushed her toward the now-misted gate.

Amneris glanced back at her friend. “Hey.” She smiled. “Thanks, Yinepu.”

“What are friends for?”

She waved over her shoulder as she stepped through the gate.

She was back in the darkness.

Alone.

She was there until a sense of feeling returned to her. Until she was in her body. In a soft, warm place.

When Amneris opened her eyes, she was in a dream.