Prologue: Family Meeting
“He’s gone,” the finality of the statement hit Desire like a comet to his very being. The words extended to the edges of the universe beyond their endless space. Desire felt as empty as the room they occupied.
“That’s not, he can’t be,” Trissandra sounded like a lost being, as though her anchor to this reality has been untethered. Desire understood the feeling.
“He’s been gone since I have been in being, what makes this so significant?” Sane asked, sounding quite bored with the situation. Even though they were formless in this space, Desire felt Sane’s irritation.
“I summoned him,” Forrest said simply. Their brother’s lack of presence finished Forrest’s statement. The summoning failed. Even Sane’s restless being went still.
“That’s not possible,” his brother, Prophet whispered. A new sensation was hinted at in that statement, one their eternal selves had never experienced. They did not have a word for it, but it made them shiver. They all remained silent for years, but they hardly noticed, preoccupied as they were.
“They did something to him!” Trissandra suddenly shouted. That strange feeling seemed amplified in Desire’s sister. Sane just laughed at the inane statement, Forrest joined in the laughter. Even Desire felt the absurdity of such a sentiment.
“He was last spending time among them, it is not such a crazy deduction,” Prophet said, not a single ounce of amusement in her tone. That silenced the laughter and all attention went to Prophet.
“They’re animals, terrestrial and physically bound, they could not dare touch our Brother, never mind hold him against our summons.,” Forrest said, sounding unsure for the first time in their existence. This more than their elder Brother’s absence filled Desire with that strange cold feeling.
“They may not be solely responsible, but they must’ve had a hand in our Brother's absence,” Trissandra said with more certainty.
“What if he stayed among them? It’s possible he found a way to unbind himself from us. Perhaps the creatures had more knowledge than we gave them credit for,” Prophet mused. Trissandra scoffed at her thoughts.
“If they truly had such knowledge, why would they share it with our Brother? If they did have such knowledge they would take him from us, and use him for their own ends. It’s what I would do in their position.” Trissandra spoke with contempt, like the very thought of our Brother being bested by these physically bound souls was a very affront to us. Desire realized he thought quite similarly.
“No, he could not. He would have obtained the knowledge and would have left as we all wish to do. Our Brother has always led by example, perhaps it is time to leave this universe to its own devices. It is the same cycle over and over. To be honest this world has nothing left to show us.” Forrest said with a sigh.
Desire noticed Sane’s lack of input and when Desire drew his attention to his strange brother, he noticed a curiosity that Sane had not exhibited in Millenia. It made Desire confront what he was feeling about the whole ordeal. Desire looked inward, and felt lost amongst all the rambling from his siblings. He felt empty, as though the once fiery drive of purpose was extinguished, leaving only smoke.
“What is to be done?” Desire put out there. They had always worked for their collective aim, an aim that was almost instinctual, but since their Brother’s initial absence they had started drifting from each other and that rift had just grown as their Brother’s absence continued. Desire felt that last thread of connection being pulled like they were reaching the event horizon of some cataclysm.
“I’m leaving,” Forrest was the first to speak and just like that, Desire felt that last thread rip.
“Always was the coward,” Trissandra growled.
“Always was the fool,” Forrest replied to their sister calmly. And with that, he vanished.
“I’m going to find him. Our Brother has a need of us and we are bickering amongst each other, how pathetic,” Trissandra was no longer with them.
“He’s a strange one,” Prophet mused, seemingly contemplating her own actions to come. For a moment Desire did not know what she meant, but it only took a moment for it to dawn on him. Sane had also left. Just Prophet and Desire were left.
Desire stayed silent, contemplating his own fate.
“What will you do brother?” Prophet asked of Desire. He felt the strange mix of contempt and pity. He just stayed quiet, as he had no answer for Prophet.
“Well you can find me in the mortal realms, I think it’s time to see for myself why our Brother felt so inclined to spend time among these monkeys. Farewell Desire.” Prophet said before her existence also vanished from Desire’s presence.
The blankness of his surroundings echoed his own being. Besides the very faint flicker Prophet allowed him to sense, he was alone. He could truly not feel any of his siblings. This was the first time since he had come into self-awareness that this was the case. He could not understand how their Brother had done it, the lack of other beings seemed to tear at his own being. Were the mortals truly enough to shun his family?
He went over each of his sibling's arguments and could see merit in each of them, each one tearing his will into another direction. The uncertainty of his existence was a first. He always knew where to be, what to be doing, and when to be there. Now, infinite stretched before him. And a strange unknown feeling sprouted from this realization, one he did not like.
This feeling spurred him towards action. He knew only one true fact, his Brother spent millennia among the physically bound, Regardless of what happened, that is the only real clue.
With a decision finally made, the strange feeling subsided and Desire filled their empty domicile one more time with his being, before also disappearing from their family home. With no more wills holding the space together, it shrunk into itself and vanished. Leaving true emptiness, and silence.