“So, what’s wrong?”
Telin and Arkay had been sitting in silence for a while. Well, Telin had been sitting, Arkay had started off lying down and routinely sank into the sea of cushions. After a while, he’d sit up, readjust and sink again, but this time round, he just sat up straight and looked at Telin.
“It is complicated.”
Arkay shrugged. “Mate, you’re talking to one of the most fucked up, complicated people in the pentacluster. Can’t be that complicated.”
“Hmph. I am embarrassed even considering saying these words.”
“Oh…”
Arkay fell silent, then struggled to his feet, made his way over and sat down next to Telin. “This thing that’s hurting you, is it a secret to everyone, including your partners?”
“Yes. Psehon may already know. Phos does not know. He CANNOT know. Him knowing would… ruin everything.”
“As someone who has literally ruined everything, again, it can’t be that bad.”
Telin glanced at Arkay. “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, clearly something awful happened. You met Retvik and Litvir for the first time and I was trillions and trillions of miles away, trapped inside a universe. A few years ago, I did something so awful that it caused me to be sent away to be… well… imprisoned, basically. First in Deathven, and then inside a universe. I ruined my life. Whatever is happening between you, Phos and Psehon can’t be that bad.”
Telin didn’t say anything.
Arkay frowned, then decided to change track. He waved his hands several times, smiling as he did so. “Alright, how about, I make things simpler? Here’s what going to happen. I’m going to make it so literally no one else in the multiverse can hear us. No sound, no telepathy, nothing.”
“This is completely secret?”
“Yep.”
After a long sigh, Telin relented. He growled, mostly to himself, then finally spoke.
“There is… some Voidborn within me. Genetically, I am one quarter Voidborn.”
Arkay looked Telin up and down, then shrugged. “That’s not that bad.”
“Little one, I lead a Voidborn eradicator sect. My greatest enemies are Voidborns. Yet a quarter of my genetics belongs to the greatest and worst Voidborn of them all, the Grand Golden Lord. I am ashamed. This pain is tearing me apart.”
“The Grand Golden Lord?” Arkay asked.
“Yes. The master of the Golden Doom, the creator of the cults, the father of the Stolen Princes. And one of those Stolen Princes… I do not know which one but it certainly is one of the long dead ones… one of those monsters sired a being that then assisted a Life Goddess in creating me.”
Arkay thought some more. “Huh. So, firstly, I guess you were never actually born, and, secondly, technically, that means we’re related.”
The absurdity of Arkay’s statement caught Telin unaware. “Uh… what?”
“My half-brother, Veekay, he’s half Voidborn. His father was Kenostaton, who was both a Stolen Prince and someone I killed. That would make you and Veekay second cousins, I think. But in all honesty? It means nothing what so ever.”
“What do you mean? This means literally everything!”
Arkay shook his head. “It means nothing. The first thing is that it literally doesn’t matter who birthed you, it’s what you do with your existence that matters most. Clearly whoever made you, they put a bit of Voidborn in you to make you more powerful, so you would naturally be better at killing Voidborns in general. But that bit of Voidborn doesn’t make you a Voidborn, and you went on to prove that you are not Voidborn in any way.
“The second thing is that no one needs to know. You don’t need to tell anyone. It’s no one’s fucking business who made you. You choose whether people need to know. And if someone does find out? We go back to the first thing, that it doesn’t matter and you’re still here, murdering Voidborns.
“Thirdly, I think Phos would understand. Yes, he is technically Beh’evok perfection, but he loves you. You guys have been partners for a fucking long time. He’d understand my first point and he’d be forgiving. While you don’t need to tell anyone, I think it might be worth sitting down with Phos and Psehon and explaining things. They love you, the same way Retvik and Litvir love me, and they would appreciate… not so much knowing the truth, but understanding your pain about the truth.
“The most important thing though is that, at the end of the day, you won, you killed all the Voidborns. The Thantir helped, but they wouldn’t have been able to do what they did had you not set all the groundwork, and you were the ones who cleaned up afterwards, destroying the Crystal Doom forever. Whether you are part Voidborn or not, it doesn’t matter, because you succeeded in life, you accomplished your goals and rid the sector of a great evil.
“Telin, it does suck knowing your heritage is… awkward, but you are here, standing strong. You are not a bad person. You have flaws, sure, but we all do. As long as you continue being strong, then you have proven yourself to be good and pure, just as good and pure as Phos and Psehon are.”
Telin didn’t respond at first, but Arkay could tell, his words had gotten through to the ancient Beh’en.
“And, in all honesty? You’re not alone. There’s a bit of Voidborn in me too. We’re still good people though, despite everything.”
Telin eventually calmed down, and even smiled a little. “You are absolutely right, Arkay. We are good people. Righteous murderers, but also good people. I apologise. I lost sight of things.”
Arkay got closer, putting a hand on Telin’s shoulder. “It’s alright, mate. We all lose sight of things, occasionally. I’ve done it a lot. But we can talk to each other. And I’m always happy to listen.”
“I appreciate that. I appreciate you and your honesty too, Arkay. If you ever need me, I will do whatever I can to assist you.”
“Thanks, mate!” Arkay smiled, giving Telin a hug.
Telin hugged Arkay back. “Thank you too, little one.”