'What is real?'
'There are signs, certainly, but in the end, who knows?'
'You don't have to leave me, Church.'
It is the beginning of the end.
'So cold. Oh, please, why are you letting this happen?'
'Everybody describes it differently… like a shadow falling over them, or a jolt of electricity. I wish I could be more helpful.'
Chilled to his bones and aching, Church wakes; and then he wakes again, and there is the rhythm of the train, like the pulse of blood.
It is the beginning. Of the end.
2
Snow falls. A flurry caught in the unforgiving wind blowing relentlessly across the frozen wastes that stretch to the horizon. In that wind, there are whispers, lost souls, telling of the end of the world, of all worlds. Their stories are caught in the ruddy glare reflected in the rolling snow dunes and the crested waves of ice.
High in the silver sky, the Burning Man looks down on this place, and the shimmering city of gold and glass at its heart, as he looks down on all places, waiting to cast the final judgement. The towering outline of fire is still waiting to be filled, but it will not be long now. It is the twilight of the gods, and men, and all living things.
Ragnarok.
Dreaming, yet awake, you understand this as you move out from the confusion of the World-Tree's branches and drift across the desolate landscape. The whispers have told you what was and what will be, what is real and what is not. You move on quickly. You want to see more. Worry knots your thoughts, that perhaps this time it will not be all right.
3
See there, at the top of the tallest tower of the City of Marvels, where Hunter looks out at the seething figure and feels its words in his heart. His quarters reveal that he is treated with respect. Sumptuous furnishings fill the chamber, furs piled across the wooden floors and tapestries hanging on the walls, while floor-to-ceiling windows on three sides give a grand perspective on the world. But though a great fire blazes in the hearth, Hunter still feels the chill.