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According to the Fable of The Stars , Terminus the Aeon of Finality often traverses different worlds while reciting prophecies of the future. As an invisible apparition moving against the current of time, most ordinary beings could neither see nor hear them.
Elio, however, sees them anyway, because Elio is a cat and cats don’t care for science, nor do they care what others think is impossible.
(It must also be said that there are plenty of cats who cannot see The Finality even if they try, so Elio is outstanding even among the most exceptional.)
*******
The first time Elio encountered the Aeon of Finality, he was not yet named Elio. He was just a random stray with no name, wandering a small neighbourhood for scraps.
It was one of the coldest nights of the year. The poor kitten knew he was about to freeze to death in a matter of hours. In his first life, he had also died the exact same way, but at least back then, he had managed to last a few more years.
“Poor child.”
Tired green eyes blinked when a strange voice echoed in his mind. The little creature looked up, only to see an eldritch phantom hovering in front of him.
Never one to take an insult lying down (because being pitied is the same as being humiliated), the cat snapped back. “I’m not poor. And you’re ugly!”
Thankfully, The Finality was not angered by the young creature’s insolence. If anything, they sounded fond when they replied. “Your eyes are indeed special. Very few could claim they can see me.”
The black cat held back a snort. Did the ghost just compliment his eyes after he insulted their appearance? What was wrong with them?
At the time, the kitten had no idea that the being in front of him was an Aeon, though even if he had known, he would likely still have reacted the same way. He was tired. It was only his second life and he was tired as f*ck. No wonder most cats looked like they were done with the world on good days.
“...Why don’t you follow me, child?”
The black kitten could not remember everything they talked about, but at one point, the ghost started trying to lead him somewhere. The cat did not want to move at all. The night had gotten so cold that even breathing felt painful.
He had no idea how the Aeon managed to persuade him but before the little creature realised it, he had mustered every last bit of strength he had left and followed The Shapeless Prince. Perhaps he truly believed that the ghost knew of a warm place where he could rest until morning. Or perhaps, the kitten simply did not wish to be alone in his last moments.
“Just a little bit more. It will feel better soon.”
His trembling limbs followed the gentle voice until his consciousness gave way to exhaustion.
When the stray cat woke up again the next day, it was to the warmth of fire in a chimney and the smell of burnt timber. A kind old woman had walked past the street where he passed out in the snow and brought him back to her home. That became his permanent home until the day he breathed his last.
*******
And then the black cat with bright green eyes was reborn. He breathed again, in pain.
He strongly believed that one of his feline ancestors must have pissed off the Aeons and the entire race was granted nine lives as punishment for the bastard’s mistake.
Luckily, after living through a whole lifetime, the once helpless kitten was no longer at the mercy of his surrounding environment. He knew where to find the best places for shelter, how to find food that wouldn’t upset his stomach, when to swallow his pride and let himself be petted for favours, and also when to commit crimes.
The cat did not meet the ghostly not-ghost figure who helped him in his second life again. Yet, they were never too far from him. He knew that, because just like what the Aeon told him when they first met, he was special. His eyes didn't see the world as it simply was to others. He did not only see the present, but also countless possibilities, what could have happened, and might happen in near futures.
It started off as the cat mistaking his ability as a case of double vision. Then, he started seeing images of people who were not standing in front of him, of those who were far away, and even of people whom he had never met. It was a great thing that while the cat tried to adapt to his special power a.k.a. doing all sort of impulsive weird sh*t, everyone merely assumed he was a normal cat being possessed.
The black feline was not pleased by the lack of recognition for the power he held. However, it could not be helped when he was surrounded by idiots. He decided to make it his life mission to chase after the being who had saved him and recognised his gifts — the ghostly Aeon who had been appearing only at the edges of his special visions, as if challenging him to catch up to them.
Without a doubt, it was no easy task. The cat’s third life mission ended up becoming his fourth, and then his fifth, and so on…Only in the middle of his eighth life did his effort finally pay off. At last, Terminus was in front of him, looking as ugly as he remembered.
“Well done, child. You have been training those eyes,” the Aeon said in acknowledgement, as if they had not been actively egging him on.
It was very insulting to be called a child even after dying and being reborn seven times. Nevertheless, they were a cosmic god, so the cat supposed he could let that slide.
“You are difficult to pin down,” he said, sounding about as polite as a cat could manage. “This time, will you give me a name?”
While it seemed like a random request, the question held a deeper meaning. For a cat who had lived through most lives as a stray, being named was similar to being tied down to a place. In this case, the cat actually wanted to ask if The Finality would agree to take him in and let him follow them from then on. After he had spent many lifetimes looking for the Aeon, that decision was only natural.
Still, the cat did not ask a direct question because he did not want to feel insulted in case Terminus said no. He went about it in a rather confusing manner. It was fortunate that the Finality could understand his intentions without a hitch.
“Well then, Elio.”
Terminus replied, seemingly not even needing time to think or reconsider after the question was asked, as if they themselves had been waiting to say that name for a long time. “Come along. Since you are such a bright child, I’m sure we will have a lot of fun together.”
*******
As it turned out, it was not fun at all.
“Get ready, Elio. She should be here shortly after the clock strikes.” Terminus reminded the cat once again to hold his position.
Instead of answering that he had been ready and waiting for an hour already, Elio chose to mald. “This is stupid! The script doesn’t make any sense!”
Why must Cinderella lose one of her glass slippers? Why must Elio help her?
Terminus never explained things properly and Elio was too prideful to beg them for answers, as much as curiosity was killing this specific cat. He did not have time to complain more because at last, the clock tower struck, signalling the start of the script. Elio’s focus snapped back on track, and his eyes turned towards the top of the staircase where the main protagonist should be arriving.
Right on time, Cinderella appeared and raced down the staircase. Elio counted the seconds in his head before jumping out of his hiding spot.
Caught by surprise, Cinderella only managed to avoid the cat by a hair. She had to skip a few steps by making a jump forward, successfully losing one of her glass slippers in the process. That part was great. What was bullshit was the fact that Cinderella did not tumble down the flight of stairs and die right there.
She was in heels. How did that make sense?
“Oh dear. I am sorry!”
Cinderella blurted out a hurried apology, sending the cat a look full of guilt. Unfortunately, she had to pick herself up and continued running again as the sound of Prince Charming calling after her was fast approaching.
Well f*ck, she was kind so Elio couldn’t even direct his anger at her in good conscience. He strode back to The Finality’s side, positively fuming.
“Great job, Elio.”
‘I almost died’ . Elio wanted to say, but that would be kinda insulting to himself because he would never die that easily, so instead he said, “That girl could have died.”
“She wouldn’t. Today is not the day her fate ends.” Terminus answered. Their shadow figure flickered, as if shrugging at the cat’s remark. “No matter what, her time of death will be the same. However, she could either die thirty years later after someone else became the crown princess and brought the nation to ruin; or she could die thirty years later, as the queen of a prosperous kingdom, surrounded by those who love her.”
Thirty years… Elio would have a massive headache looking that far ahead, but he should get to that level in a few years if his current progress continues. The Finality had been bringing Elio everywhere, letting him see all sorts of civilisations and people as a means of training. His visions and senses had been on overdrive as a result.
Yet, the Aeon did not stop putting more work on Elio. They continuously came up with random “scripts” as ridiculous as the current one and asked him to complete it without much explanation.
“...So everything we did was just for Cinderella to leave a hint behind, so that the prince could find her.”
“That’s right.”
Great. Elio was going to plot glorious revenge against that Prince Charming.
“You did great.” As if sensing his resolution, Terminus complimented the cat again.“ Now, time to head to our next destination.”
If Elio was any less of a dignified creature, he would be grinding his teeth in frustration. The Aeon never even gave him any spare time to plot murders. Elio was so fed up. He felt more like a slave than a companion.
Screw everything.
“Let’s go.”
And yet, at their gentle urging, the cat moved his nimble limbs once more, faithfully following the shadow of The Shapeless Prince.
Just like the first time.
*******
“Terminus, you have a child?!”
The first time Elio met Akivili could only be described as surreal.
It was surreal because he could not believe The Finality had any friends. He thought that most Aeons were solitary and never interacted with one another. Then again, once Elio encountered Akivili in the flesh, he realised they were exactly the kind who would not care what someone else thought and make friends anyway.
“What’s your name, child? Oh, you must be so smart. It’s difficult to get a hold of Terminus.”
While Elio despised small talk and pleasantries, he did not terribly mind the outpour of compliments from the friendly Aeon. So he offered The Trailblaze his name and held out one of his front paws.
“I’m Elio.”
Akivili looked ecstatic. They reached out enthusiastically but only gave the paw a gentle nudge, as if worried it might hurt. Quite insulting, in Elio’s opinion, but he overlooked that only because the Aeon did not keep the contact for too long. Despite their overly affectionate words and attitude, The Trailblaze seemed to know exactly when to back off from someone’s personal space. Elio could see why they were so well liked.
After the first meeting, Akivili popped up again relatively often. The Finality usually sent Elio away on such occasions so he only caught bits and pieces of their conversations.
“It’s strange to see you so often, Terminus. Will doomsday come knocking tomorrow?”
“Doomsday might really arrive early if you keep hanging around The Elation.” Terminus responded calmly. “What were you thinking when you invited them on your trips?”
“It was only one time! And Aha only got competitive because someone said I was the worst trailblazer. They wanted to show they could do better. Or worse.”
“...They got competitive so they blew up one of your Emanators? Don’t tell me you let that fool off the hook for such a reason.”
“Oh, come on… Both you and I know that Aha is no fool.”
Elio did not know whether to feel smug or mortified at the realisation that the Aeon could be such an airhead. They were the kind that would support their ‘friends’ no matter what, even if the friend suggested ‘total annihilation’ as the solution to accomplish World Peace.
Regardless of his feelings, the black cat soon learned to get used to Akivili’s shiny-ass presence. They grew on him, like the ticks that drove Elio insane in his fourth life.
The Trailblaze also gave him a blessing—the infamous blessing that enabled the Nameless to adapt to any harsh environment they might come across. Thanks to the boon, Elio’s coat was always warm and shiny. For that, he was a little thankful—just a little though, so he did not stop using Akivili’s legs as scratch posts while they gushed about their children.
Elio had no idea why The Trailblaze loved talking about those twins so much. The little dipsh*ts had not even been born.
“I hope you get to meet them one day,” Akivili said wishfully, as if it was something Elio badly wanted.
“I don’t care.” The cat drawled. He must have said it ten times within that meeting alone.
“Aww. But I’m sure they will like you a lot!”
Amid his irritation, Elio failed to notice how Terminus always turned quiet whenever The Trailblaze mentioned their children.
*******
Some time later, in one of Akivili’s shorter visits, Elio saw The Finality passed two mysterious shiny yarn-looking balls to The Trailblaze who tucked them away neatly.
Elio was curious, though he asked nothing and feigned indifference as if he did not see anything. If he showed clear interest, he knew that The Finality would deliberately never tell him anything.
“Ah, Elio. What a sight for sore eyes.” Akivili said when they spotted the green-eyed feline, reaching a hand out to scratch behind his ear.
That was a good spot, so Elio did not bite their hand off and simply started purring like a turbo motor.
“Such a kind child.” The Aeon chuckled. “...I’m grateful. Take care from here on, alright?”
Despite the uncharacteristic touching words, The Trailblaze simply smiled, then waved their hand and walked away.
Only once they disappeared, Elio spoke.
“Are they high?”
The Finality merely responded with a soft hum. What was Elio supposed to interpret from that?
Terminus always told Elio to be patient, that the truth should reveal itself when it was the right time. In other words, they would only say what they wanted to say. Elio had to find out every damn other thing on his own.
He decided not to be bothered.
Some time later, the news of The Trailblaze’s demise spread like wildfire across the universe. The reason for their passing remained unknown to all, except for one being — The Finality.
Elio tried not to be bothered.
Even Aeons perished. He had always known that, but what happened to Akivili did not make sense.
“What happened? Their fate is not supposed to end yet.”
On a rare occasion, the black cat raised a direct question to Terminus after he had checked through his visions multiple times.
“How far did you look?”
“Just a few years, but I could see many instances where they showed up to meet us… Of course that’s no longer the case now.”
The Finality paused for a moment. When they spoke again, they sounded quite pleased. “It’s not easy to pry into an Aeon’s future. Your ability has improved a lot.”
To the compliment, Elio let out a snort, because that had to be sarcasm in disguise. “How is it an improvement if the visions are suddenly changing?”
The cat felt an irritating weight pressing against his cold-blooded heart. According to his visions, they could have been meeting The Trailblaze right then. Yet, everything had changed ever since that day, the day Akivili said their last goodbye.
“Changes are not always a bad thing, Elio.” Terminus said gently, but the cat could not bring himself to believe it.
*******
Though the ghostly Aeon did not show any emotion over the passing of a close acquaintance, they never mentioned Akivili’s name again. Elio continued to stick close to The Finality, assisting them in their random whims as well as working on strengthening his foresight power.
One night, Elio came back after carrying out a small errand. The Finality had promised to wait for him on the rooftop of an abandoned building. It was a night with a full moon. The Aeon was sitting in silence, watching the view of a devastated planet as if in deep thought.
As he approached, Elio slowed his steps in hesitation.
Because lo and behold, he could see The Finality. Suddenly, he could really see them.
During the long centuries they travelled together, Terminus had always worn the veil of a ghostly shadow, their true appearance obscured by some unknown forces. Only on lucky days, Elio managed to catch a few glimpses of their features — a slender build, bright blue irises and silver hair that shone like the moonlight.
But that night, The Finality’s figure was revealed in full, without any mystery or deception.
“You’re back. Is the work done?” The Aeon spoke first.
Thankfully, they sounded exactly the same. Elio would not know what to do if their warm gentle voice suddenly turned out to be high and chirpy like one from those finches he used to hunt for breakfast.
“Yes. All done.” The cat decided not to comment on the Aeon’s sudden change in appearance and his disappointment for them not being cat-shaped.
He simply dropped an empty parcel box he had fetched into The Finality’s hand. Pausing for a moment, the Aeon pulled out an object from somewhere and put it inside the parcel, sealing it. Then, they conjured a small space rift, tossed the object in there and closed it back up.
Elio had seen The Finality use those space ruptures plenty of times in the past, either for them to move from one place to another, or to throw things somewhere. Things like Elio. So, the cat was particularly not curious about the rift. The thing that caught his attention was rather the object Terminus had placed inside the mail parcel. It was a shiny yarn ball, similar to the ones they had given to Akivili.
“It’s not yarn.” The Finality corrected the feline in amusement. “Those were made from threads of fate. They have the power to grant wishes. In the near future, they will also be called Stellarons.”
Bright green eyes widened in surprise. That sounded like such a powerful name for such an ugly glob. And Terminus just threw a bunch of them away like that?!
“Hah. How powerful can they be?” Elio commented.
It wasn’t meant to be a question. He was just trying to calm himself. He even climbed onto the Aeon’s lap and started kneading their robe subconsciously.
Unaware, Terminus answered. “Enough to destroy a few planets, I suppose?... It depends on the price paid. Nothing is free, after all, especially when it comes to destiny.”
Aeons, Terminus really gave a bunch of fate-changing treasures away. Elio wanted to murder them.
“Give me some then.” He demanded, even though the cat had no idea what to use those fate yarn balls for.
Regardless, Akivili got two, so he should get at least five. It was only fair.
“I don’t have any left.”
F*ck.
Elio expected that answer, but he still scratched at the Aeon’s robe for good measure. It did nothing.
Terminus smiled as they patted Elio’s thick fur coat. That did calm him down, not because it actually calmed him, but because it felt… too strange to be able to see The Finality’s expression, to be petted by them. It was as strange as it was foreboding.
Elio tried to shake off the feeling. He curled his body around and settled down on the Aeon’s lap. Silence stretched between the two companions, though it was not uncomfortable. In fact, Elio would have preferred it if they stayed that way.
Unfortunately, things rarely went the way he wanted.
“Elio, why do you think the Aeon of Finality travels against the current?”
“Hmph…” Elio purred lazily. “I don’t care why you do what you do.”
Right. If the cat actually cared about that, he would have rage quit following The Finality a long time ago.
The Aeon chuckled. “How kind. Then if you could go back to the time before we met, would you want to return?”
Elio did not know where the conversation was going, but he decided to indulge the Aeon for the time being. “No. Why should I do something so troublesome?”
If he went back in time and saved himself, he might never get to meet Terminus, and his purpose for the majority of his former lives would be lost.
“That’s right. You wouldn't go back, because you have no regrets,” The Aeon sighed wistfully. “Same for me… In the countless Finalities before this, there were many times when no one even knew of Terminus The Finality. It wasn’t always necessary to reveal my existence, because there was no reason for me to exert myself… But this time… there is no way around it.”
As Elio listened, the foreboding feeling he felt earlier returned at full force.
“Hang on a second...”
The Finality continued talking, their gaze fixed on the bright moon, though unfocused. “Traversing against time takes a lot out of me… but I’m afraid. If I do nothing, will we have anything left at the End?”
In that moment, Elio remembered something Akivili had mentioned a long time ago.
“It’s strange to see you so often, Terminus. Will doomsday come knocking tomorrow?”
Ah sh*t… Elio lamented. The ambitious cat had hoped to uncover the fate of the universe using his own power, but now Terminus had spoiled the ending for him.
“You're terrible!!!" The cat yowled. "At least give me a spoiler warning!”
Terminus let out a laugh at his passionate response. “Sorry, child. I suppose you will need a new life purpose.”
While Elio was still irritated, he was secretly pleased to see the Aeon’s mood lighten up.
“Why don’t you try leading the world into a better, different ending? That has been my wish... If everything goes well, we can see each other at the next Finality.”
That must be the reason why the Aeon had been spreading those shiny fate balls. They wanted to give the universe a chance to alter their destiny. If they were that desperate, they could have insulted Elio less and explained things earlier.
Silly Aeon. Elio bumped his head against their hand in an attempt at comfort.
That night, they talked for a long time under the full moon, about the Finality, Akivili, their children and the future that Terminus hoped could be changed. Some of the things they said were enlightening, and some were f*cking dreadful.
“The Trailblaze’s children are, in a sense, my children too. Their lives would not begin without the help of the Stellarons. So that makes them your siblings, Elio.”
At some point, the black cat rested his head against his front paws and closed his eyes, drowsiness overtaking his will to stay awake.
When he woke up, The Finality was gone.
*******
Many years later, the universe soon became aware of a notorious criminal organisation called the Stellaron Hunters.
To people who never encountered them, the Hunters were wanted by the IPC for committing atrocities for the fun of it. To people who knew better, their obsession over the most dangerous object in the universe seemed to be borderline lunatic. Only the Stellaron Hunters themselves were aware of their true purpose to follow Terminus, the Aeon of Finality. And only Elio, Destiny’s Slave, knew that he could not give two flying sh*ts about those sentient yarn balls. He was only collecting his share of what Terminus should have given him ages ago.
“Just so you know, I never wanted any siblings.”
The cat announced to the twin trailblazers, little annoying midgets sleeping peacefully inside an incubator without knowing anything. In a few minutes, Silver Wolf should follow the script Elio had assigned her and transport the babies to Herta Space Station.
It had taken Elio great pains to reach that point: tracking down the Akivili twins’ location — a buried research facility on the dead planet of Pegana, finding the Stellarons The Trailblaze had spectacularly failed to give their children, and then spoon feeding those to the kids so they could wake the hell up.
Since the green-eyed feline had gone through so much trouble, he thought he should see their faces at least once. Might as well do it while they weren’t awake to annoy him. After one glance, Elio instantly regretted it. Even before the kids had gained consciousness, they already resembled Akivili, which was a terrible sign. That meant they would be less likely to ask him for help with world domination and more likely to be surrounded by friends.
The black cat cursed his fate, but also praised himself for the foresight to throw the babies over to the Astral Express. The Nameless would take care of them in the meantime.
Soon enough, a familiar light began to surround the children's figures, an early sign of Silver Wolf’s aether editing skill activating. Destiny’s Slave put his paw against the glass of the incubator, intelligent eyes observing the small bodies until they disappeared.
“Go on. Make them proud.”
If anyone dared touch those kids, Elio would absolutely destroy them and their dogs.