I held his hand through it all.

I held his hand even as I felt the bones beneath the weathered skin begin to weaken, even as I sensed his pulse slowing. I watched, as he bid me to, as we promised each other we would should one be taken before the other.

I watched the long years scream at me through his eyes: fulfilling and wondrous at first, the novelty of a long life fresh. Then I watched those years darken, taper down to an empty, listless existence forged from the regular practice of witnessing yourself outlive everyone you ever loved.

A life turned to ashes.

I knew that pain, and yet he had bore far more years than I had. No wonder he didn't want to die alone.

I wondered if he craved death, if he looked forward to it now that living had become so tedious.

"Are you afraid?"

He smiled at me indulgently.

"I've outlasted nearly all terrifying things. I don't have much use for fear now."

"Do you know where you are going?"

His eyes closed.

"No. I hope for nothingness. I've shouldered too much in this plane to bear anything more than absence."

I wrinkled my brow. Before I could respond, he reached for the pendant that he always wore beneath his clothes. He pressed it into my hand, closed his palm over mine.

"It is your turn." His tired, fading eyes sparked with a final resolve that betrayed his impending mortality.

"Your turn to protect. Your turn to serve. You must find the others and repair the veil."

"I do not under-"

"You will."

And with that, he breathed his last. The pendant in my hand began to warm the moment life left him. It seared my skin and I'd almost dropped it when it began to shake.

It lifted from my outstretched palm, hovering unencumbered in the air before me, growing in brightness and generating more heat. A powerful voice as ageless as I was ancient sounded and I feared, for a moment, that my heart would fail and end me before this mystery was revealed.

"You now protect this mortal plane. The veil is torn and the creatures that lurk beneath the universe steal through. Find the Sealers and fix the rent. Now ancient eyes are the only eyes to see what is hidden. Ancient ears will hear the silent screams. Ancient hands will patch up the cleaved. From this heartbeat to your last will you protect the earth. For it is now that no one knows her more than you."