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Dee’s aura flickers and goes out like a flame. The next thing he knows, he's looking onwards at the base of the tower on Danu Talis. His body is gone, crumbled to ash, but his comrades are still fighting.
“You came all this way, I figured that you at least deserved to see how it ends.” Dee turns around to see the hooded man with a hook. Marethyu.
“Am I-?”
“Dead? Yes. You’re nothing more than a ghost now. You can observe, but your words and actions will go unnoticed. So. What will you do?” Death smiles at the Magician. It’s almost unsettling.
Dee looks back at Virginia, Scatach and the others. “I’ll go find the twins. I want to see the end of the prophecy.”
“A good choice.” Death turns and walks away.
He leads the Magician to the Pyramid of the Sun and vanishes.
***
It’s not hard to find the twins. Dee follows the twins to the top of the pyramid. He takes advantage of being a ghost and hovers above the ground.
He watches the events unfold.
He sees the twins meet their parents, his Elder masters. He sees the twins’ faces as they learn the truth.
They’re not actually twins, just pawns in their game. Not unlike myself. Dee frowns, suddenly very angry for the twins. And for the time he spent hunting after the Flamels.
He watches the twins fight their false parents, the Earthlords who predate the Elder race. He knew that his masters were strong, probably stronger than most. But Earthlords? He wonders just how long Isis and Osiris had to keep up that disguise. Did the Elders always know them as Isis and Osiris? Or were they impersonating them? Maybe the real Isis and Osiris are long since dead.
The pyramid is engulfed in intense light as Josh kills the Earthlords.
The two that are one, the one that is all. Dee suspects what the Prophecy truly means as he sees the twins bicker about who is going to fulfill the prophecy. He sees them part ways.
Josh arranges the swords at the top of the Pyramid. Dee notices him hesitating, “When in doubt, follow your heart. Words can be false, images and sounds can be manipulated. But this ,” the ghostly Dee taps John’s chest. “This is always true.’ ” Dee repeats the advice he had once given the boy. Words he knows he can’t hear.
One by one, the boy combines the swords until only Excalibur and Clarent remain. As the ice sword melts and the two finally become one, Dee understands just who exactly Josh was to become. Death is the one to bring the downfall of the Elder world.
****
Dee stands in a blank, open area. Death stands in the center.
“I’d like to make you an offer.”
“Why? I have not done anything.”
“You have done much more than you think. You played an important part in the salvation of humanity.”
“And I do not regret that. It’s my proudest achievement in a few centuries.”
“But you do have regrets. I can change that. Let you walk a different timeline.”
Dee looks at Marethyu, skeptical. “Why would you do that for me? What would you gain? What price do you want from me?”
Death smiled, “Your loyalty. You’ll be working under me this time.”
Dee’s eyebrows furrow, “What are you planning?”
“Ah, I can’t give away all my secrets, my friend. Just consider it my gratitude for making me who I am today.”
“I didn’t know you considered me a friend.”
“Maybe not in your timeline, but a couple of them out there,” he smiles. “I could always use a powerful necromancer on my side, among other things. Your thirst for knowledge will be my asset, Dr. Dee. Your role is not over yet.”
Dee holds out his hand, “I think we’ll make a good team.”
“Oh, we will.” He said, “Now follow me, we have a meeting.”
“With who?”
“An old friend,” he smiles mysteriously.
Dee gets the feeling that he’ll have many more questions than answers with this new life. He wonders, just what his new role is.