Ch. 5 Getting Back Up

This is a continuation of the apocalypse saga

For all other chapters, check out TAS playlist here.

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Eternity is a long dark. Or a moment – a breath - passed in silence. Silence that groans on across the darkness that one cannot see beyond or within. Darkness with no light, no streak. No eyes to claim a passing figure, no mind to lie and say what was and what wasn’t. This is the great sleep, the endless oblivion, the fabled final end. Is this darkness obscured or is it the true lack of all presence? There is nothing to touch, nothing to touch with. If a mind were to intrude in this infinity it may just go mad.

But this is not a place for the mind. This is no place at all. This is the end of all ends. The beyond. The answer to every question. Salvation is where the soul falters, stutters, and collides with truth. This is the fear of an active thought crossing the mind of many as they come face to face with eternal suffering trapped in a decomposing corpse that can no longer house the infinite complexities of human life.

And when they breathe out, they cease to be. But is that nothing death? Or is it merely the lack of life? A waiting room?

A waiting room upon which a door may open.

What was that?

An open door.

“Hello?” Infinite darkness has a strange way of feeling too close. As if the cold of an open space lies just beyond the darkness. What is that beneath the back of a rotted, hollow being that was never meant to stay or leave?

“Hello?” It doesn’t smell so rotten though. Imagine that. Sterile. Clean. The sort of smell that the nose can’t bear to experience because there’s nothing human in it but the lack of what should be. This was not the death of such a delicate sensation, but the lack of its life.

“Hey!” A forgotten sensation: Fear. How long has it been? How could one go so long without understanding true fear? Terror can creep into the periphery of the sightless eyes as quickly as joy flees when the storm rolls over the mountains. Yet shapes do form in that darkness. Corners, edges, sharp and shimmering as the vaguest lights appeared from somewhere far below. No. Not below. Across the horizon.

“Hey, I’m in here!” Frantically, a hoarse voice begs for freedom from a dark space made of metal. Fists struggle to pound, echoing off the walls, ringing ears that hadn’t experienced something such as this in time past. Who was this? What was this? What was… he? ‘He’ was clear in his mind. It seemed right at least. But who was he? Something was confused in his mind; something wasn’t as clear as he would hope. But things were becoming clearer as he felt his legs come to life, and a faint sensation burned in his gut. Not just fear, but something else.

“Someone get me out of here!” He tried to lean forward and felt his face smack against the darkness. The collision echoed in the darkness. Pain was a distant memory reignited by a blistering warning that traveled through his mind and sent a tingling sensation cascading through his body.

“Finally...” Thunder rolled. The faint light at his feet flickered then returned to the dark. Who was that?

“Is someone there?” Akashi yelled. Akashi! That was him! Memories flooded in of a life lived… was it good? Was this his retrospective? His time to reflect? Had the scales balanced his fate? His mind flicked between decisions past, friendships broken, loves lost, empty spaces where something might’ve been once but now it felt so far away.

“Listen! I’m – I don’t know what’s going on, but… my name is Akashi Pacè! I’m a Paradian Peacekeeper! I don’t know how I got here, but I need help! Please, someone let me out of here!” Then another memory creeped into his mind. His last failure. The portal was opened. The sorcerers were reborn. Something took him away. Something killed him.

In the darkness, he saw lights begin to glow. They were vibrant, like the colors of the rainbow, flickering in and out before glowing into a blazing light that blinded him until his eyes adjusted, and the space was illuminated. There wasn’t much to see. He might as well have been in a metal coffin. Is that what it was? Was he buried? Was a storm coming in just above his head? Was the dirt slowly soaking up each little droplet until it seeped into his final resting place, to drown him into a second death? Then, as quickly as they visited him, the lights blinked out, leaving him alone in the darkness again.

Faster than he could fully perceive, there was a metallic rustling. He felt air rush by him so fast he couldn’t come to grips with what was happening. His head spun as he found himself in an open room. Akashi looked around confused. Across from him was a wall of cement with windows dotting the space just beneath the ceiling. He was in a basement somewhere - a morgue. The wall he was against was lined with cold chambers. Akashi put one hand over the other and became very suddenly aware of how cold his skin was. He couldn’t make out anything in the dim room, but he could see just barely that he was in a clean white dress shirt with a red tie and gray slacks. These weren’t his clothes. Not until he died, and someone had to dress him. They fit better than anything else he owned, that much was certain.

The lights he had seen in his chamber came back, glimmering around the basement. The lights grew brighter, illuminating the entire room in a rainbow of light. As though an aurora of every color he could imagine had been cast across the room. He sat up and turned his sore body to face the chamber wall. Akashi could finally see reflection shimmering in the metal of the chambers. He let out a gasp.

“Shit…”

His skin was gray, sick, cracked, and dry. His hair wasn’t brown, but instead his curls was gray with white streaks. When he nudged his button-up out of the way, a gaping hole ran from his abdomen up to his chest. From the hole, a black corruption spread out across his torso then dissipated into dead vasculature. He felt a faint pulse in his body, but even as he felt his heart might be racing, it thumped slower than he ever felt it in his life. He couldn’t tell if it was from hazy smudged metal or if it was real, but it looked like smoke was flowing his body and dissipating into the air.

“What - what happened to me?” He whispered in horror. He reached a cold dead hand up and touched his face. It felt fake, like he was made of hardened, cracked clay. “This… this can’t be real.”

“Sorry to say it’s very real.” A voice said from across the room. She sounded calmer than the impatient ‘Finally’ that had greeted his ears not long ago. Akashi’s eyes darted across the room and met a strange woman’s gaze. Her skin was a deep glistening auric. She was tall and imposing. She wore an entirely white pantsuit topped with a wide brimmed hat to match. She had a white umbrella in her hand that she used like a cane. Her hair was in loose curls that cascaded down her back. At first glance, Akashi thought her hair might be white, but it had a strange haze to it as though it were both white and a deep brown at the same time. Her face was lost in time. Her eyes were a stormy haze, and her red lips wore a sad frown. Akashi slid off his metal resting place onto the cold tiled floor. At least they gave him the decency of sealing him away in his favorite wing-tipped shoes.

“The service was beautiful, by the way. I’ve never attended a funeral, but I imagine it was what anyone may want.”

“Gods above, I’m dead…” He whispered. She nodded,

“Very dead. Yet here you are. Here we are.”

“And - uh - you are?” Akashi asked. She laughed,

“Centu.” Akashi’s eyes widened. “Yes. That Centu.” She beamed with pride as she twirled her umbrella slightly, drilling it’s tip gently into the floor.

“The goddess?”

“Yes. Centu, Centinu, She of the Storms, the Draught Ender, the Queen of the Clouds.” Centu flicked her umbrella up onto her shoulder. “Really, any of those work, but I prefer Centu. My worshippers like Centinu though.” She walked towards Akashi and sized him up. “And you are the legendary Akashi. I’m sure you don’t remember me, but I remember you. Our fates have been entwined for some time. Though I expect you wouldn’t realize. What’s one to know when it isn’t revealed? You are but a man after all - well, not anymore.” She looked at him as if she was holding back a chuckle.

Akashi couldn’t think of what to say. He didn’t even entirely understand what she meant. She leaned against her umbrella and looked up at the flashing sparkling lights over their heads,

“Foolish little creatures, aren’t they? Be careful, they’re more harmful than they look. The Fates aren’t always so kind, but if you feed the fire, they’ll have a soft spot for you.” Centu knocked her umbrella against the metal of the mortuary coolers and the colorful lights brightened to an excited glimmer as they floated around the room like gargantuan dust motes. “You will surely feed the fire now.” She smiled, and the air around them became electrified with energy. To Akashi it felt like a group of giggling teenagers sharing in him being the butt of their joke. Akashi turned away from the woman and faced his reflection. He didn’t even recognize himself anymore. His once brown eyes were now splotched with hazy cloud-like pits of gray. Without looking away, words draped in horror seeped from between his beyond chapped lips,

“Did you do this to me?”

“Saved what was left of your life? Yes. Changed your looks? Well -”

“My skin, my hair, my eyes, my face, my everything? My life? Did you do this!” He struggled to keep his voice down. The only thing stopping him was the way his throat struggled to raise above a normal speaking volume. She placed a gentle white glove on his shoulder,

“Bringing a man back from the dead comes at a price… especially when you change a man into a more malleable figure.” Akashi swung around,

“Malleable? You’re talking about my life, lady!” A smoky essence dripped from his body as he screamed. He couldn’t remember the last time he raised his voice in anger. He was surprised at how much it burned his throat. The Fates stopped floating and waited, watching on in fascination.

“Humans are very malleable, Akashi, but not what we need right now.” She tapped her foot, brought her hand away from his shoulder and to her round chin, then looked up in thought, “You’re lucky I was able to pull some strings and get you back to me rather than where you were going – oblivion isn’t so nice, you know.”

“I got an idea of it, yeah.” He leaned back against the chamber wall and sighed, trying to return to some sort of state of calm.

“Now relax and be grateful, would you? You’re being resurrected and meeting a god on the same day. Few are so lucky.”

“Gods, imagine what my auntie would say…” He grumbled.

“She sent for some lovely flowers at your funeral. Her and uh – oh, what was her name? Doesn’t matter. They looked pretty. Very specific to the southwest I believe.” She waved the thought away and continued, “Anyway, when you and your comrades closed the portal, I felt your fate being sealed thanks to my lovely friends here. Lucky for us, you and I are intertwined, and after a couple of quick deals, you’re back and in many ways, better than ever. You’re no longer human, but something else. Thanks to me.”

“Something else…?” The Fates began to dance around them, Akashi’s eyes struggled to adjust to how close they came.

“Yes.” Centu’s voice rose with a power that Akashi hadn’t seen in her before. Outside thunder rolled and lightning illuminated the basement’s windows. “You were like lightning on the horizon. A hero, a soldier, a legend. Now you’re the ash of what’s left. You’re a dissipating cloud in the atmosphere. The embers of a fire left behind by a world that keeps moving, but you still simmer in the night as the rain pelts your charcoal.” The Fates let off a hiss that sounded to Akashi like a cheer. “Oh, hush!” Centu snapped, and they obliged. She quickly focused back on Akashi, “Rise as my champion today, and tomorrow we can save this world from what the Void Tyrant has planned for all of us.”

Akashi looked at his reflection again and sighed, “Do I have a choice?”

“Of course you do. Do you think me so crass? Do you have such a low opinion of your gods, my champion?” Akashi shrugged,

“I’ve spent my entire life serving one person or another. This is all pretty messed up. It’s all wrong, but… I don’t know if it’s my fight anymore. I failed already, didn’t I? I’m gonna have to pass on this one. Maybe find someone better, lady.” Akashi prepared to walk around the goddess and leave. He didn’t know where he’d go after that, but he was sure he could figure it out. This wasn’t the life he wanted. This wasn’t living. Was he ever though?

“Now hold on.” Centu firmed up the once gentle hand that had rested on his shoulder. Akashi was pulled from his deep thoughts of reflection and left immobile, unable to push past the deity. Was her power over him specifically so strong, or was she just that powerful? “If you say no, then you will die where you stand. The only thing keeping you alive is my championing of you. You really should be more honored than you’re acting. You do know I’ve never done this before, don’t you? This is a momentous occasion. In the old days, I think my greatest priests and priestess would bestow this title upon you as you stood upon the great glass pyramid of lightning hidden in the northern deserts.”

“Surely, ma’am. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but you’re telling me if I don’t do what you want, then it’s back to oblivion.”

“Correct. And there’s no shame in taking that road to nothing, but if you take it again, I can’t pull you back. But champions? Special servants, champions, avatars, all those grand beloveds of the gods receive their own special afterlives.” Akashi thought for a moment. Centu continued, “Listen,” she whispered so close to his ear that not even the Fates could hear her, “you and I have a chance to do something good.” She pulled back and let her voice raise a little higher, “More importantly, I made a deal and you’re going to hold up my end of it. So, hear me out before I send you to your death.” She leaned away until they were staring eye to eye.

“Ok… shoot.” Akashi lowered his head and put a hand to his forehead.

“Perfect. The Tome of Oran Koh – one of the most important books on Astra - was stolen by the Void Tyrant, the one we, the gods, call Carja. This book is the next thing he needs to conquer all of the realms. You see, Oran Koh’s grand Tome was a love letter written to his chosen people. You know the ones; those special somebodies who would walk around glowing all those beautiful colors? Little did our grandest of ancient gods know, he had also inscribed in this ancient text archaic magic beyond the mortal mind’s comprehension that could merge all of the realms into a single overlapping universe. Pure chaos. Wars upon wars. Fiends, dragons, monsters, gods. All of them in one realm.”

“Sounds pretty bad.”

“And it is. Carja promised any sorcerer connected to the Void a place in his universal empire. I believe you’ve met some of those.” Centu stepped away from Akashi and turned away, looking out the windows towards the coming storm. She leaned on her umbrella as Akashi leaned back against the chamber wall behind him.

“Unfortunately, I have.” He said with a shake of his head.

“Indeed. Other ancient ones that you need not worry about made a deal to protect this Tome as they knew its power and feared the chaos it may cause. Oran-Koh relinquished it with respect. Unfortunately, they failed. Carja made a move for the Jewel of the Void and succeeded. Then his followers used it to break down the walls between realms. Then he made a move for the Tome… it all happened so fast. Oran-Koh doesn’t even know yet, and we’re keeping it that way for now.”

“Why keep it from him?” Akashi asked. “Isn’t he known for being one of the nicest gods? Love gods are the only ones who have him beat far as I know.”

“Never you mind that.” Centu responded quicker than Akashi would’ve expected.

“Okay… so, the jewel –“

“Much like the Tome itself, it was just a means to an end. Your failure was just the beginning - brought on by that absurd creature, Monroe, thinking she can play god in her little city. She was right to close her borders, but she’s a fool to think it will keep what is coming out. She and many other city leaders are going to stand their ground, but it won’t matter if they hide inside their shells. Not unless we do something. The very fabric of the creators’ vision could tear apart at the seams. Or perhaps it isn’t so cut and dry… even the Fates don’t have a definitive answer on the outcome.”

“Wait, you don’t know?” Akashi asked. He was still reeling at how uncertain she seemed. How could a god not know?

“Well… no. As hard as it is to say – but this is the time when honesty is most important, isn’t it? - I don’t know. None of us do. But that’s why we need to get the book from the tyrant before he can use it and before we have to know what happens next. Even if the best-case scenario happens, we’re in a lot of trouble. That’s why I need your help. You’re a champion for the greater good.”

“Sure, that makes sense, I guess.” Akashi mulled over the thoughts rolling through his head for a little longer before he found the courage to ask the thing that bothered him the most.

“I see your face.” Centu said. “I feel your thoughts. Just say it.” She almost sounded impatient, but she had a playful smile plastered on her face.

“Well… why can’t you do it yourself?” Akashi crossed his arms, trying to look as serious and assertive as he could muster, but he struggled not to be afraid of the fact she just admitted to knowing his thoughts.

“Oh, I am doing this myself for now. I’ll need the help of a champion – a tool.” She gestured to him, “I’ll also be diving between realms to determine what is stopping him from unleashing his evil upon the land – for if it were as simple as reading from the book, he would’ve done it already - trying to find out what we need from where, building the coalition amongst the other gods, and telling you what to do.” Centu’s umbrella floated into the air next to her and she snatched it up. “I love to brag about my power as much as the next god, but I can only do so much alone. I will cast a wide net, though I expect to catch little.”

“This is crazy. This sounds like something from a myth.” Akashi took a deep breath and leaned away from the chamber, standing up straight.

“These are mythical times.” Akashi nodded in agreement. He took a deep breath then sighed. He still didn’t feel up to the job, but something about the way she spoke made him feel like that kid in his 20s fighting on the frontlines for what was right. She might as well have put a rifle in his hand and told him to hunt the truth like he did all those years ago. He shook his head,

“Fine. You got me. I’ll… I’ll try my best, boss.” Centu became electric as she smiled at him,

“Excellent! When trouble comes to your land, I’m the first to say that mortal problems are just that and must stay that way. This isn’t a mortal problem though, and I’m glad you’ve seen reason in that.” She turned towards him and from the very air itself she pulled out a bag and passed it to Akashi, “I took this from your home – I didn’t think you’d mind. Get dressed. Feel free to go back if you need, but I didn’t think you’d want to be caught out with your – well, I’m sorry, but even I could not save you from the perils of reviving a mortal shell. This should cover you up just fine.”

Akashi opened the bag and found a wide brimmed hat much like Centu’s but gray and a large trench coat to match. “Oh, gods above… I thought I had thrown this out.” He laughed a bitter chuckle. He had bought the coat and hat when he first moved to Paradia. He thought it’d be a part of his everyday outfit, but then he realized there was a uniform requirement for his position. When he stopped wearing the uniform in later years, the whole look wasn’t something he was especially interested in. Now he didn’t have much of a choice. She was right though; the big hat and coat would hide his features from anyone so long as they didn’t try to take it off him.

“It’s lucky you didn’t. It will hide your… less desirable features. Most wouldn’t be happy to see a ghost walking their city – hero or not.” Centu’s face took on a serious glare as she turned around and began walking away. “Don’t worry. Follow the storm, and you’ll find your way. Follow the storm and I’ll see you further down the road.” Thunder rumbled overhead. The lights dimmed and flickered as lightning collided, shaking the building.

“Wait!” Akashi called after her. The air was thick with electricity as the building shook. The Fates disappeared in the flashing lights, leaving them alone. She looked at him, waiting for him to speak. “I need to know,” Akashi began with a look of anxiety on his face, “damn near 20 years ago now? That tower out west… that storm?”

“Guilty.” She said with a grin. “I’ve been watching you since your prayer to my brother back in the desert. Your words went astray. Sometimes prayers fall on deaf ears. Sometimes they fall on the wrong ears. We’re both lucky yours didn’t get to where you wanted them.” With her final words, the room went completely dark. As the lights blinked back on, she was gone, the Fates were long past, and Akashi was alone.

“Never thought I’d live to – never thought I’d see the day.” Akashi put the coat on. To his surprise it fit better than most of his old clothes did. He felt a tingle in his stomach and looked down. Even through the white shirt, he could vaguely see the darkness at the center of his torso. He had been many things in his life. A delinquent, a soldier, a traitor, a Peacekeeper, and now the champion to a god. He supposed this wasn’t so far-fetched. He put the hat atop his head, concealing his curls and shadowing his face. “Just need one more thing back home.”

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It didn’t take Akashi long to find his way back to his apartment. At least they hadn’t cleared it out yet. The oppressive night had crept into his home and left it feeling hollow and sad. Rain pelted the looming skyscraper, and he could see the storm bombarding the windows even as he made his way through the halls in the dead of night.

He scavenged his small 1-bedroom apartment for anything he could bring with him. He knew a lot of his things were lost along with his old life. His Peacekeeper issued energy pistol was probably kept for evidence. His ring was nowhere to be seen in the mess that he had left behind – maybe Monroe kept that too. Something about seeing his home not as his anymore but a reminder of his former life made him feel sort of ashamed. Through the windows, the neon lights bent through the rain-soaked glass and splashed the apartment with light, revealing the mess he had left behind.

Trash festered in the corners, the counters were covered in dirty dishes, and the floors were covered in clothes, boxes, and old takeout cartons. He wasn’t sure when he had lost the thread that was his life, but looking around, he realized it must’ve been a while ago. Maybe this was his chance to get back on track… but who was he kidding? He’s a walking corpse. He’s not getting his life back after this. But if this was this what he was leaving behind, then would it be so bad? He sighed and moved on from the thought. He didn’t come here to just reflect on his life. There was something he actually needed.

He went into his room and got down on his hands and knees. He reached under the bed and pulled out a small lockbox. He sat back on his haunches and put the code into the lockscreen. With a soft click the box unlatched. He opened it and stared for a moment. Somewhere in him he felt a deep pain, followed swiftly by a strange excitement.

“The Mark IV Invader. Little on the nose…” He chuckled, thoughts of a different time flooding through him. Sitting inside the lockbox was an old revolver. Upon the faded opalescent handle was a cursive S that had lost meaning to him a long time ago. It was state of the art a couple of decades ago, but these days it was hard to come across ammo for it. It was standard practice for all weapons these days to have both space for ballistics and energy charge packs. This one only had space for bullets. Akashi rolled the barrel and listened to the familiar click. He took the box of bullets in the lockbox and shoved them into his deep coat pockets. There weren’t enough bullets for the journey ahead, he was sure of that, but it would have to be enough for now.

As he closed the latch, his head began to pound. It was like a klaxon was blaring behind his eyes, warning him something was coming. A few moments after the warning, he heard footsteps in the distance. He felt himself panicking as he looked around for somewhere to hide. He heard a thump as someone slammed into the door. Then two voices spoke back and forth before another thump. Akashi had left his bedroom and ducked into the bathroom just across the hall. The door flew off its hinges and crashed into the ground.

“Who’s there?” A woman’s stern voice called from the doorway. Light illuminated the entryway and traveled down the hall, lighting up the bathroom as well.

“And you’re sure the alarm was triggered?” Another voice asked. This one was all too familiar. It was Providence Monroe.

“Positive ma’am. Not only that, but the readings were astronomically high.” Shara. Gods, Monroe and Shara had his home under security observation. But why?

“How high?” Monroe asked.

“Higher than any sorcerer in the records far as I’ve seen, ma’am.”

“What in the…” Monroe walked further into the room, her footsteps creaking across the floor. Akashi could hear the moment she entered the hallway. He took a quick breath in and tried to hide behind the door, but just as he slipped behind it, the door creaked. Monroe immediately stopped. He couldn’t see her, but he heard Shara move up. He knew Monroe had signaled her forward. Together they creeped towards the door, Monroe’s light getting brighter and brighter as she approached the bathroom. Akashi tightened up and sucked in as much as he could, trying to look like the door was closed. Trying to look like he was hidden. Then the door swung open, revealing him.

“Huh…” Monroe stared straight at Akashi, but didn’t seem to notice him. “Looks like a gas leak, Keeper.”

“Ma’am?” Shara came into view and sized up where Akashi stood. Akashi looked down at his own body and realized he was nothing but a floating pile of smoke – no, more like a dense fog. “Are we sure that’s just gas, ma’am?”

“Looks like it.” She passed her hands through Akashi, and he felt her hands like a hot flame passing through him. “He left this place a mess… wouldn’t surprise me if maintenance hasn’t been here in a while. Could be a bad hot water pipe… could be anything.” Monroe looked away from Akashi and walked out of the room. Shara stared just a little longer, sizing up the strange patch of smoke in the darkness. “How is the lockdown proceeding, Keeper?” The question snatched up Shara’s attention,

“Good, ma’am. We’re rounding up everyone suspected of any form of magic and locking down individual districts. We’ll brave this storm. Paradia will come out the other side of this.”

“Good. Very good. Listen, we’re going to make a move. The Secretary is trying to block our ban. We’re going to remind her who runs this city. Are you with me?”

“Absolutely ma’am. Me and the rest of the Peacekeepers. We’re all with you. In Pacè’s memory.” Monroe chuckled,

“Yeah… in Pacè’s memory.” Akashi felt a rage boiling in him. He knew the reason she laughed was because he’d never go along with this. As he prepared to step out and start an argument, a voice broke through his mind,

“Ah, ah, ah.” Centu’s voice chided him. “Absolutely not. You can’t get involved in this. There are bigger things at play. You need to focus on getting out of this city, nothing more. Save your personal political gripes for later” Begrudgingly, Akashi nodded,

“Fine.” He thought in response. “But how about you stay out of my head?”

She didn’t answer. Akashi hoped that meant she’d listen.

As Shara and Monroe’s footsteps receded, Akashi took a deep breath and found himself whole again. “Nifty trick.” He mumbled to himself.

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With the rain concealing him, Akashi made his way through the city, his steps unimpeded, without a soul to cross his path in the dead of night. Until he arrived at one of many exit gates. The city walls were more heavily militarized than normal. Akashi looked around for a way out, but the only way seemed to be to sneak aboard one of the delivery trucks currently undergoing inspection at the wall’s checkpoint. Akashi walked up to the truck and leaned against its side. A Peacekeeper was looking inside while another was reading off a manifest.

“73 empty bags” She announced.

“Do I really have to count each one? It's an exiting supply truck. Just has empty bags.”

“Hey, I’m just reading the manifest. It’s the last convoy out of the city. Let’s just get this done so we can seal the gate off.” Akashi shook his head. Monroe was using the Peacekeeper’s to take control of the city in the name of safety. Something about it made his skin crawl. How could he let this happen? Would he have let it happen if he were still a Peacekeeper? Frustration bloomed in his chest. Akashi took his fist and banged on the side of the truck. Both the Peacekeeper’s stopped. There was a beat of silence before the woman said,

“Let’s check that out.”

Akashi took a deep breath and began to shimmer into smoke. They walked through him and around the corner to the other side of the convoy. He felt the haze of his body flow about and spread apart. It made him feel nauseous, but he held firm and tried to move. He imagined he was a small cloud drifting along the wind towards the open back of the convoy. He roiled into the bed of the truck and settled among a collection of empty sacks.

“Guess it wasn’t anything. Let’s just get these trucks out of here.”

The other Peacekeeper grunted in agreement.

“Alright,” she banged on the side of the truck and the engine hummed to life, “you’re good to go. Safe travels out there.”

“This is checkpoint C, we’re sealing up. The final convoy is leaving the city empty handed.”

Akashi cozied himself up among all the empty bags and boxes and prepared for a long trip. He wasn’t sure where he would go next, but he knew he was on the road to stopping the apocalypse.

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Okay, okay, to those who said “Akashi’s dead? I don’t buy it.” You win this round! But that’s okay, because hey, Akashi’s back! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! There’s a few lines in this one I’m especially proud of, but I’ll save sharing that for later - maybe take a swing in the comments if you want!

For more stories in the world of Astra, check out the Astra playlist here! There’s a lot of fun stories in there, and I often allude to other stories in The Apocalypse Saga - almost like I’ve really built this world out or something. You can also subscribe if you haven’t already!

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Lastly, it came to my attention while I was walking home this evening (12/10) that I need to post something in the coming weeks that I didn’t originally plan, so stay tuned for that, but I also have a few other projects in the tube. Chapter 6 of TAS will be coming soon - it’s already mostly edited actually, I’m just not sure how many things I want to release before it. We’ll certainly see, so stay tuned! In the meantime I’ll catch you in the comments and I hope you enjoyed!