6 Collection

Selene raises her cup in the air, saying some words of appreciation for the people that came to her invitation, as though they all had a choice in the first place.

The castle of Selene is where she stays, secluded and not anyone can just enter as they wish. Except Eclipse of course. Otherwise, almost no one has been in this palace and it is also hard to get her to attend a party too. So this is an opportunity of a lifetime.

Besides, they are all eager to meet the boy they had not seen since the 'incident' that took place a while ago and Selene's invitation is a big indication that she is going to ask for something big and they are here to see the drama.

After Selene made her announcement, everyone began to dig into the food present in front of them, something they do not necessarily have access to as it is not something they can make on their own.

Meaning to say, Deities have their own festivals, including the things that people can only offer to them. Other Deities cannot touch other foods made specifically for those festivals unless that Deity makes it and serves it to them.

So, in front of them are everything from Mooncakes to Osmanthus Wine and they are in an abundance. Selene took great care throughout the week to make sure the food is perfect, after all, people well-fed are happy people.

"Eclipse, you may go," Selene said, giving the man an encouraging smile as he nodded at her and got up from his chair, excusing himself.

When they were making their way down the stairs, Selene gifted Eclipse a very special Jade pendent, mixed with moonstones and silver encircling the pendent, almost like a necklace.

Eclipse pulled out the necklace from his robe's pocket as he stared at the pendant, a slight smile coming on his face as he began to make his way to the table on the furthest side, meeting the Deity of Penmanship, Gimle.

"Hello, Gimle." He greeted the man who immediately pulled him into his embrace, squeezing him tight.

"Eclipse! How is my favourite doing?" He asked, brush still in his ear as his ink-stained hands patted the boy on the head.

"I am alright." Eclipse said, smiling gently. "How is the work coming along?"

"Without you? It has been quite an annoyance." He laughed, taking a swing of his wine. "Now, I can guess why you are here. You wish for my blessing, right?"

"Yes." Eclipse said, smiling at the man. "I do pray that I have enough goodwill with you to ask for help here."

"Of course, my boy. You are a good kid. No matter what you ask for, you know you will get it." He said, patting Eclipse on the back before giving him his blessing.

Staring at the pendent, Eclipse noticed that there is a faint glow at the bottom of the Jade and Moonstone. It is very faint and almost more like a line than a full glow but that is only an indication of how many blessings he collected.

"Thank you so much, Gimle." Eclipse said, walking away from the man. "I will leave you to your meal then."

So that was what he did, going from table to table, Deity to Deity, asking them for their blessing and they gave it to him. Some took more convincing than others, like the Deity of Negative Emotions while others did not even seem to notice what they just did, like the Deity of Alcohol.

Soon, Eclipse finished the first table and the glow was hardly halfway but he was not to be dissuaded. He continued on to the other tables, leaving the table with the moon goddess and the five up to her.

It took a while, but he was able to complete the last table, with the light in the pendant only reaching halfway with just a handful of Deities left. Deciding to take a breather, he walked through the cloud covered floors and out the large doors that were fifty times his height.

He ended up in the balcony, overlooking nothing but clouds for as far as the eye can see. On the horizon, he could make out a faint trace of the sun as well as the colourful hues all scattered at his feet while the wind ruffled with his hair.

"Beautiful, don't you think so?" A voice said behind Eclipse who did not even bother to turn around to know who it is.

"It certainly is." He said, taking in a deep breath before finally looking at the person that walked out to meet him. "It has been a while, Yonah. You look well."

The man had his sleeves over his hands, covering them as his flowy robes rustled, walking to Eclipse, "I could say the same to you. You always look radiant."

"They say you are innocent, but the things you say to me in bed would tell otherwise." Eclipse chuckled, raising his eyebrow at the delicate-looking Deity, a blush creeping up the back of his neck.

"You promised not to tell."

"I am not telling." Eclipse held his jewelled hand out to him, a gentle smile coming on his face as Yonah took it, allowing Eclipse to pull him to him. "I pray you are well."

"You are in the middle of a crisis, not I." Yonah chuckled, covering his mouth with his hands. "Still you concern yourself about me. How odd."

"I take it you know my predicament?"

"I do, your mother told us." Yonah placed a gentle hand on Eclipse's arm, concern flashing across his face. "Are you certain you wish to do this? The risks are great and reward few."

Not answering him, Eclipse continued to look at the distance in front of him, the two falling into a comfortable silence for a couple of seconds.

"I have been with the mortals for a while now." Eclipse began, staring at the distance with a wistful look on his face. "I have come to know more of them. They can be cruel, so cruel you wonder why they even are allowed to exist in the first place.

"But, then you see just how kind some are. People that do not have anything, whose breath is like the passing wind and yet, they live as though they have nothing to lose. It is fascinating."

Yonah looked at Eclipse silently before turning back to the scene in front of them, "I see that they have grown on you."

He paused for a second before shouting, "Alright! I have made up my mind."

"About?" Eclipse asked, leaning against the balcony railing.

"I will grant you my blessing." Yonah held his hands out and murmured words under his breath as Eclipse just stood there, not entirely sure what to do as he did it too suddenly.

After the blessing, Eclipse stared at the pendant, noticing that it has gone up drastically just with the blessing from Yonah. Giddy with happiness, Eclipse ran to the Deity, pulling him into an embrace.

"Thank you!"

"I do not know what you wish to do there." Yonah gently pulled out of the hug, slightly redder than he was before. "But, I trust you enough to know that you do not have any bad intentions, not as the memory showed. So, you will have to come back successful."

"Of course, I will." Eclipse said, nodding happily at the boy just as they heard rustling beside them. "What the-?"

"I hope I am not interrupting." A woman with a long red dress said, walking to the two while sipping wine from her cup. "I am sure you remember me, Eclipse."

"Amor, goddess of love." Eclipse said, taking her hand and planting a kiss on it. "You look beautiful as always."

"You certainly know how to talk to others, child." She said, taking a sip of her wine before continuing. "I am not here to take much of your time. Only to give you this."

She blessed the boy and, just as quickly as she came, she disappeared, leaving the two alone to stare after her.

"She certainly is … interesting," Yonah said, smiling at Eclipse who was busy looking at his pendant, the glow has gone up but it was not enough yet. Pushing the pendent down, Yonah took Eclipse's hands in his and pulled him to the main hall. "Do not look so forlorn. Come. I will help you."

Not sure what he was talking about Eclipse just followed him back into the hallway that had gotten much louder than when he was there before.

How things can change so fast that you do not even realise what is happening anymore. Time truly is something to not be fiddling around with. Eclipse thought, seeing some of the sprawled on the ground in a drunken daze, eyes growing slightly heavy with every blink as he stared out the windows they passed.

Blink.

Is that a dark cloud in the distance? How ominous.

Blink.

Crows? Can they fly to this altitude?

Blink.

Crash!

"Mother!"