Baldur's gate II_ throne of Bhaal - Drew Karpyshyn [102]
Abdel waited for an eternity to be sure his enemy was truly gone. Once he was confident Melissan's existence had been completely annihilated, he willed himself back through the door between the void of Bhaal's true essence and the realm of the Abyss Bhaal had chosen to make his own.
Epilogue
He emerged from the door and found himself amid the thick, decaying vegetation once again. Abdel waved his hand, dispelling the entire jungle with a single thought. In the distance he could see a ring of sharp, forbidding mountains. These also vanished on nothing more than a whim.
"You have done well, Abdel Adrian."
Hearing the infinite voice of the celestial entity did not surprise Abdel. He doubted anything would surprise him for a very, very long time.
"Now what?" he asked, his voice betraying the weariness he felt in his very soul.
"You stand on the edge of godhood," the creature explained. "You are the last heir to Bhaal's immortality. It is yours to take."
Abdel shook his head. "It's not mine. It never was."
The creature tilted its head slightly. "There is much you can do with this power," it reminded him. "Your greatest desires can be achieved in an instant."
"Can I bring Jaheira back? Or Imoen? Or Gorion?"
"No," the being admitted. "Even a god must accept certain events as things that cannot be undone. But there is much you might accomplish as an immortal, Abdel."
"There is still much I can accomplish as a mere mortal," Abdel pointed out.
"Your wisdom is most unexpected in a Child of Bhaal."
Abdel shrugged. 'There is more to me than my bloodline."
"You understand that if you reject this destiny you will lose the essence of those you have absorbed within you. You will cease to be an avatar, and you will become a normal human male, with all the vulnerabilities and weaknesses of other men."
"I understand." With a rueful smile, Abdel added, "I'm looking forward to it. I was not meant to be a god, or even an avatar. It is not who I am."
"Then I shall free you from this burden."
Deep within his body Abdel felt the faintest pull. It lasted but a moment, and was completely painless. He peered into his soul and discovered only the tiniest ember of Bhaal's spirit within himself. This minuscule portion of immortal essence was his to keep. It had been a part of him at his birth and it would be a part of him when he died. But it was simply that. A part of him. A small, virtually insignificant piece of a much greater puzzle.
The big warrior turned his attention back to the celestial being who had guided him through this bizarre journey. Abdel couldn't read any emotion on the face of the man, but he sensed this was not the end the entity had anticipated.
"You seem disappointed."
"Not disappointed, merely surprised. This possible destiny was foreseen by the one I serve, but certainly it was not expected."
"What happens now?"
"I shall disperse the essence of Bhaal throughout the world," the celestial entity promised. "The Lord of Murder will disappear forever."
The words should have filled Abdel with joy, but he had lost too much, paid too dearly, to feel any happiness within his soul. Gorion, his foster father. Imoen, his sister. Jaheira, his true love. Even the death of the reborn Sarevok added to the seemingly infinite list of those who had stood by Abdel, and fallen.
"You are not responsible for those deaths, Abdel," the divine messenger assured him. "You cannot carry the guilt of their blood on your shoulders."
"And what of the pain?" Abdel asked. "Regardless of guilt, the pain is still there."
"Your wounds go deep," the being admitted, "but in time even your scars will heal, Abdel Adrian."
Abdel nodded, knowing it was true. But there was still something he needed to know.
"So what happens to me? What is my destiny now?"
The great figure standing before him vanished. The Abyssal realm of Bhaal dissolved, and Abdel found himself standing on a trail he had crossed many times