Leaving the temple through its entrance, both Janus and Print walked down the stone steps together before finally touching the ground as they stepped out onto the open town, whose once-blue sky is now a midnight world pitted with stars. It seemed that night had fallen after their long chat.
Briefly turning his head over his shoulder, he gazed back at its exterior and the building itself, standing tall and proud in its architecture, reaching into the dark clouds above as if it were a pillar to support the heavens. He noted the rows of columns that framed its front, each made of stone, that stood proudly and supported the rest of the structure, holding it steady and solid against the wind and weather.
While the roof of the temple was equally impressive, with a steep pitch that sloped upward to a point at its center, There, a single spire rose high into the air, reaching toward the heavens with a sharp tip that pierced through the dark clouds.
Despite its grandeur, however, Janus attention was quickly cut short after Print suddenly caught his attention, "Long time no see!" The elderly cat said with a smile, watching the approaching, disgruntled Schrodinger march his way towards them.
Returning his sight back to the situation in front of him, "Is you again?" he answered with a tone of surprise. "I thought you were dead," baffled to see the once-guide who was mutilated beyond repair is now completely healed as if those injuries had never happened.
Schrodinger stopped before them and briefly glanced at Janus before giving a disapproving scowl to Print. "You're not the one who summoned me here, are you?" I asked the white cat with narrowed eyes, "Is that it?" He added with a bit of anger.
Print replied in an apologetic manner, bowing his head in shame. "Yes, yes," he admitted, "and actually no, it isn't," raising his head with reluctance. "The elder council preferred you to be his guide of sorts," revealing to him who did the summoning in the first place.
"What?!" Schrodinger exclaimed with fury, "Why am I being summoned again!?" He demanded angrily, "And for this?!" Glaring daggers at the god who stood beside him with an expression that mixed bewilderment and shock,.
The narrator whistled at this ungrateful display, "That's a bit rude there, wouldn't you agree?" He spoke calmly to his host, "After all we have been through in saving this cat's life, this is the thanks we get?" He chuckled lightly, finding this situation to be rather amusing and sad at the same time.
"We shouldn't have saved him," Saturn fearfully regretted. "This is a sign that he's going to betray us again!" Giving into his own paranoia despite how many times he kept on believing his worried lies on everything that could be a potential threat.
Janus calmly watched as the two conversed with one another in heated debate, bringing his attention elsewhere than here. His mind was whirling with questions as he tried to make sense of what had transpired ever since he learned the basic and important stuff.
The streets of Ulthar were lit by the dim glow of lanterns, casting long shadows over the grassy surface. The buildings were mostly squat and humble, with walls made of wood and cobble with thatched roofs that stood in contrast to the stark gray skies above.
Ordinary medieval town. But then, Ulthar was not an ordinary medieval town when it was occupied by sentient cats, walking around casually as if everything were perfectly normal as they went through their daily lives along with the humans who lived here.
"Fine!" Schrodinger huffed angrily, having grown tired of this silly debate: "If it means allowing me to live in peace with the elder council, then so be it!" Accepting his assigned role with an air of defeat and annoyance from this whole ordeal.
Satisfied, Print smiled and nodded his head, "Good, I'll be seeing you then," turning around, "Janus!" Looking at the unfocused god of time, "you there?" I called him twice to gain his attention. "Yeah..." Answered Janus, blinking, "Sorry, I got distracted by the sights around here," apologizing sheepishly as he scratched his head.
"His going to be your tour guide from now," he casually answered with a smile still on his face. "And if you have any questions, just ask him, and he will gladly answer them in the most polite ways," glancing at Schrodinger with narrowed eyes. "Is that right, Schrody?" Grinning at him, which in response made the other cat hiss in disgust and utter hatred of that name.
"Yes!" Sneering at the elderly cat, "Whatever gets this job done!" Trying to stay optimistic despite his dislike of being part of all of this, he says, "I swear that if I have to deal with this much longer, I'll lose my mind!" Exclaiming loudly for everyone to hear much to Print's amusement and Janus' furthered confusion.
Watching as the elderly cat merely shrug off Schrodinger's comment without any concern, "See you then!" With his final farewell, he instantly vanished without trace, leaving only the two together in this peaceful, quiet night of the town.
"Ready when you are," Janus said softly to the fuming cat in front of him. "Is something wrong?" Watching as the other took deep breaths of the cool night air to calm down for a second before facing him again and answering with a grunt.
Putting on a professional face, the feline immediately teleported both of themselves into his home. "Were you here?" was his straight-to-the point answer as he walked away from the living room. "Before you ask, yes, this is my house," he said sharply without stopping for a moment.
Janus found himself in a quaint and compact space, furnished with a plush rug that rested beneath his feet and a modest fireplace that crackled and popped in the corner. The walls were adorned with ornate tapestries and framed pictures, each depicting various landscapes and objects that seemed to come to life as he looked at them.
A bookshelf stood nearby, filled to the brim with tomes and texts that ranged from dusty volumes to freshly printed novels. The air was warm and inviting, making Janus feel welcome and comfortable in a way that he hadn't felt in a very long time.
Despite the hominess of the living room, there was a certain sense of detachment to it, as if Schrodinger didn't truly consider this place his home. Even though it was filled with everything he would need or want, it lacked the warmth and intimacy that made a place feel lived.
Has he been living here alone for ages? Janus thought to himself as he looked around at the simple furnishings, feeling a sense of something that he described in his heart but that shared the same level of pain that made him remember something deeply personal to him.
Quickly shaking off his thoughts, he went over to where Schrodinger had gone and found him in the kitchen area, watching him eat a bowl of fish at a very small and short table meant for small felines, not humans. With nowhere to sit due to how small the chairs are, it is best to leave him alone for the time being.
The kitchen is small and clean. A bowl of fresh fruits and vegetables sits on the counter. The cabinets are painted a bright blue, and the fridge is stocked with enough food to last a week. The floor is cold tile, but the curtains and rugs are all soft and warm.
There is a pot of coffee brewing on the stove, and the smell of freshly baked cookies lingers in the air. The sink is scrubbed clean, and the dishes are washed and dried on the rack. It's well-lit, with windows that let in the moonlight and stars.
The sight of it made him feel pity for how lonely Schrodinger is. He has experienced that loneliness after all, for the countless times it has been and will continue to be throughout eternity. Yet, somehow, even in his own vast experience, Janus was unable to understand why anyone like himself continues to be like this.
"It's best to leave a person with their own thoughts and feelings," Vesta calmly explained, her voice echoing inside the god's head; "what we cannot comprehend in others may become ours in due time," her words sank deep within his subconsciousness.
Breathing deeply, Janus could feel every nerve and cell in his body awakening to the world around him. He could feel the warmth of the fire on his skin, the smoothness of the floor beneath his feet, and the sweetness of the air in his lungs. It was as though he had never truly experienced life until that moment, as though he had been existing in a state of numbness.
There was a point in time when he himself believed to be the only person in the whole of existence who couldn't form connections with anyone, not even his own family, which was made out of gods and fools. However, seeing someone else, not of godhood but mortal, no less, experiencing the feeling of loneliness is unimaginable, yet it's what he can see from the looks of things around him.
He doesn't know how to say or express this feeling. Should he be happy that there is a chance he can connect with another person? Or should he be concerned and worry about being used or tricked in the end? Janus was conflicted about what he should be thinking at this very moment.
However, it would be best if he let himself rest for the time being after everything he and his companion have gone through. Good rest will come to him while his mind is clearing out what needs to be done tomorrow in order to get closer to achieving their mission.
Turning around, he walked back to the living room before heading straight to where the fireplace is, its heat beckoning him closer with its promise of warmth and comfort. As he stood in front of the fire, its flames licking at the air, he felt himself begin to relax.
The stress that had built up over the past few days melted away as the heat enveloped him, filling him with a sense of calmness that he had not known for some time. He breathed in the smoky air, allowing himself to float midair with crossed legs.
Sitting in a meditation position, Janus never thought of the idea of falling asleep, as he, for one, never sleeps nor dreams, and not to mention he was not a physical being of sorts but a transcendental and nonexistent deity manifested from the will of an unknown force.
To describe himself is to say that he is a man without a soul, without a mind or spirit, a ghost trapped within prison of fake flesh and blood. His skin and everything else is otherworldly that is neither real or fake, its other. He was once knowing, but also ignorant. He knows nothing, but is also everything.
And now he is nothing—nothing of what he once was—for what he has seen is beyond comprehension, beyond understanding; it is everything and nothing, both beginning and end. He is nothing and everything, the first and the last.
In his solitude, Janus had resigned himself to this fate, but within him is another, a fragment of a memory or perhaps an echo of a dream; it is difficult to say which, for it is both familiar and unfamiliar all at once. Perhaps it is simply the lingering remnants of another time, another place, and another life.
And perhaps he will find his true self in this imaginative world that would give the purpose Janus had desired for so long. A purpose to drive him into uncertain existence that had birthed him, that had nurtured him, that had given him life without meaning or reason why.
