When Paths Cross Again

Across Zantrayel, life did not pause.

But it did stagger, like a heart learning a new rhythm.

The return of the chosen—gods, demons, and the newly awakened—did not bring only celebration.

It brought confrontation, confusion, and for some, quiet heartbreak.

🌕 Scene I – The Sister Who Stayed

In the garden of memory, Nyala still tended her brother's shrine.

He had gone into the Crossroad as a teenager.

Now he returned—a god of wind and wisdom, speaking in verses the air itself translated.

"You kept my name alive," he said, kneeling before her.

"But I am not him anymore."

Nyala placed her hand on his chest.

"Then let me learn who you are now."

🔥 Scene II – The Husband Who Came Back a Demon

Kaien once left to protect his family.

He returned with obsidian horns, a serpent's grin, and eyes like dying stars.

His wife stood in their old home, arms crossed.

"You remember this place?"

Kaien nodded, voice low and rough.

"It echoes in me. Even in the dark, I held it close."

Their daughter peeked from behind her mother.

He dropped to one knee and whispered:

"Do you fear me?"

She shook her head. "You came back. That means you love me."

🌿 Scene III – The Boy Who Stayed Human

Tovi watched his three older brothers return—one a minor god of stone, one cloaked in green flames, one glowing with the mark of Erzulie Freda.

They hugged him, teased him, tried to lift him into the air with divine ease.

But Tovi stood firm.

"You all left. I buried Ma alone. I fought the Hive when they came. I bled with the living."

One brother—who now bore a lion's mane and silver claws—lowered his eyes.

"Then teach us how to live again."

💫 Scene IV – Ayola and the Council of Return

In the temple above the Crossroad, Ayola, now forever linked to the seat of Papa Legba, observed the unfolding waves of emotion.

Not every story ended in embrace.

Some ended in rejection.

Others in confusion.

Some in laughter through tears.

But across them all, one truth bound them like invisible thread:

To return is not to resume.

It is to rewrite.

Together