Veth gathered along the shoreline of Kinigi in their thousands. It had been a long time since the Vethic population gathered in its entirety, and many Veth had forgotten just how many of their kind existed. Their eyes faced forward, towards the ocean that separated Kinigi from the rest of the universe, what they normally called the Mortal Plane. With all the Veth there, they were on high alert in case something tried to slip in.
Finally, Kinisis appeared. Not in her normal Death form, what most Veth saw. But not in her Birth form either, the half of Kinisis that Veth only saw on the other end of Kinigi, where souls returned to the Mortal Plane, reborn as new beings. No, this time, she was her whole self. The entirety of her body was black, with galaxies, nebulae and more sparkling on her skin. Her eyes glowed white. Her claws were extended.
Kinisis hovered above the Veth, a distant look in her eyes. The Veth all fell silent and waited for her to speak.
“My children…”
Immediately, her voice trailed off.
“I call you my children. You are not my children. You are a part of me. I am the mind. The consciousness. You are my nervous system… No… I am the heart… And you are my immune system. Jumping into action. Guarding me. Protecting me.”
The Veth looked among each other. They knew something was wrong.
“But you all, my little darlings, you can only defend what is inside. You cannot protect me from outside threats. Only what pierces the surface… That is what happened the other day. Something pierced the surface. Something got in. It did no damage, you all stopped it and made sure that nothing else got in. That thing though, it was just a messenger.”
Most of the Veth remained silent. But one of them stood up.
“You fear that the thing that sent that messenger is coming to visit,” the Veth Prime growled. “You are keeping us all in the dark. Stop hesitating and tell us what we need to do.”
Kinisis looked down at the Veth Prime. He was her newest little pet. One day he would be her strongest. While his outburst angered her, she knew he was right.
“I know. But I can’t tell you what to do because there is nothing you can do. Not directly.”
“What can we do then?” the Veth Prime demanded. “We serve you. We make sure this universe’s cycle spins on unharmed. Tell us.”
Kinisis sighed. She looked at all her other Veth. While none of them had said a word, she could feel that they all agreed with the Veth Prime. Even if they didn’t like their newest member.
“To explain what I need to do to stop this thing… I can’t explain it without confusing you all. It’s impossible. Beyond any normal being’s comprehension.”
“Then at least give us something. Tell us what the problem is. Tell us what to do in the mean time!” the Veth Prime shouted.
The Avatar of the Cycle smiled. She hadn’t smiled in a while.
“Basically, I need to fight off this threat. Physically. My reality against this thing. Kenos and Kairos will be by my side and help me. My normal systems, the cycle of life and death, the renewal of worlds, the birth of stars, the death of galaxies, that will all be… passed down to you.”
“Us?”
“No, you, Veth Prime.”
The Veth Prime stepped back, dumbfounded. “I’ve been here for… like no time at all…”
“I know…” Kinisis sighed. “I don’t have any other choice. Put all my eggs in one nest. I screwed up majorly. But now I’ve got to go and do this and I need some of you to take over while I do it. You won’t be alone, my little Prime. My oldest Veth will assist you. But if I don’t… Well… If I fail, if this thing gets in, it will…”
Kinisis trailed off. There was genuine fear in her eyes.
“Mistress?”
“It will do horrible things to us. It will make us suffer. It will devour us. Then it will make us part of its own horrific cycle.” Kinisis wiped a tear from her eye. “I… hope it won’t get that far. Everything will most likely be fine.”
Once again, Kinisis trailed off. She looked down at all her Veth. She was proud of them.
“I have left… instructions… in case things go wrong… But you’ll… you’ll all be fine…”
In a flash of light, Kinisis disappeared, leaving the Veth dazed and confused.