“Are you alright?”
Letharus glanced up at the kindly voice, then went back to staring at the tiny screen in his hands. He had been watching videos of small, fluffy animals for a little too long now, but it was the only thing that made him even remotely happy lately.
“I wish to be left alone.”
“Mhm. I expected you to say that.”
Decay Lord Vikalos had been very patient with Letharus. The former Voidborn servant had healed up nicely from the damage his master had done to him, but, emotionally, he was still a wreck. So if Letharus wanted to be left alone, or if he wanted to consume ten litres of frozen cream, Vikalos had allowed him to do so. Anything he wanted, except for harming himself or others.
“Do you mind if I sit next to you for a bit?” Vikalos asked. “I do not want to talk or anything. Just want to take a small break.”
Letharus glanced up again, then shrugged. The Decay Lord was a nice being. Kindly and understanding. There was no harm in letting Lord Vikalos sit down.
Pleased with Letharus’s response, no matter how small it was, Vikalos took a seat and pulled out a screen of his own. Letharus peeked over to see what the Decay Lord was watching, but it turned out to be just more fluffy animals. Not quite the same ones Letharus liked to watch, but close enough. Letharus however quickly noticed that Vikalos was flicking away occasional ads. The site Letharus was using had no such thing.
After some more peering at Vikalos, Letharus decided to speak up.
“Why are you watching videos on that place filled with ads?”
Vikalos grunted. “I have not found another side. Do you know of a better one?”
“Yes, do you want me to show you?”
The Decay Lord nodded, and handed over his device. Letharus quickly typed in the address, then handed it back to Vikalos. Immediately, Vikalos seemed happy.
“This does seem like a good site. Thank you for helping me!” Vikalos beamed. Letharus nodded, muttering a thank you of his own, then fell silent once more.
The silence though did not last very long. Letharus had returned to his videos, but noticed that Vikalos kept on glancing back at him.
“You are a helpful being, you know that?” Vikalos smiled.
“I was.”
“You are not any more?” Vikalos asked. “You helped me just now.”
“All the little things I do now are nothing…” Letharus hissed. “Nothing will make up for my sins.”
“Can I ask what sins?”
Letharus took a deep breath, before finally saying what he had kept buried for… goodness knows how long. “The death of my universe is on my hands… It is dead because of my actions.”
To Letharus’s surprise though, Vikalos did not seem… shocked or anything. He was just shrugging.
“You and me both, dear. I was a death god for my universe. Many of the Decay Lords here were. We all feel bad about what we did, which is why we all come together and help each other.”
“So you… killed your universe as well?” Letharus asked.
“Yep. I did not feel good about it either. A forced hand. Many missteps. I felt very guilty for a very long time. That was, until I got into the job of helping Decaylings overcome their own feelings. While my universe may be long gone, I take respite in the fact that I can now help and protect others.”
“You… help others… to atone for your sins.”
Vikalos shrugged. “I am not a… religious being, but yes, you can put it that way.”
“Can I… do that?” Letharus hesitated. “I used to be a psychiatrist, I used to help others overcome trauma. I would… like to do that again.”
“You would?” Vikalos asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, then!” the Decay Lord beamed as he got up. “Once we have finished off removing all those silly Voidborn traces, we shall get right on that!”
Letharus smiled, just a little. “Yay…”