Steel Fire
Epilogue 1

She was welcomed back to the Swarm. The Guardians believed the Republic made them immortal, in an abstract sort of way, but for Victoria the Swarm had made it tangible. It wasn’t as she had expected though. Tyr should have been there.

She looked around. The surrounding landscape was the gray desert of Hel. Wind blew against her naked skin, permeating it with an incessant droning that she had been hearing for a long time but could now feel seep into her flesh. The clouds that hid the sky roiled, occasionally hinting at shadows and lights from things moving beyond the oppressive gray. There was nobody else in sight.

This was where she had found salvation. Among the doom driven madmen that assaulted this Realm she had found a home, but it was with them that she had finally found where she belonged. She hadn’t thought of the others for a long time, and could no longer recall their names. There was only a vague image of other long-coated figures standing next to her as they all stared in awe at a godly presence before them that was cloaked in light and shadow. The Swarm sang down at her from beyond the clouds.

The words hurt. She screamed, in pain and ecstasy, but couldn’t hear herself. The clouds parted for just a moment and a gust of wind slammed her against the ground. Her eyes felt like they were on fire, while her head was being torn apart. Skin peeled away as she laughed.

When she heard her own laughing, it came with another sensation. Her head lay against a a cold floor while a warmth surrounded her. When she opened her eyes, she could see the warmth was her own blood, drying on the concrete. Her body convulsed and trembled as she threw up and was overcome by coughing. When it stopped there was a ringing in her ear. She laughed again.

Her hands trembled as they went to her face. What they touched felt wrong. Of course, her body had always felt off to her. There was an emptiness where there shouldn’t have been, and a softness in what had once been bone. At least she’d stopped bleeding. She grabbed the edge of the table and dragged herself on her feet. Her legs held. She laughed again, softly. Her legs hadn’t been what had been shot so why had she thought they would fail?

Her eyes focused on the camera in the corner of the room. A mangled face twisted into a smile.

“You can’t kill a god.”