Every so often, Panthon would stir from his eternal slumber, to adjust his position and check that he was still alive. Having essentially frozen himself in time to stop himself from possessed by both a Voidborn and a Corruption, Panthon did need to make sure that both dark influences hadn’t taken over him completely. Admittedly, Panthon was buried deep underneath a frozen planet, locked away in a coma, which meant the spreading was slow, but, over the course of countless millions of years, the initial infection in his left hand had only spread up just past his wrist.
Now that his checks were done, Panthon could go back to his permanent sleep. But doing so was a multi-step process, which he needed to prepare his mind for. First he needed to go to sleep, then he needed to drop into a low level coma status, and, finally, he’d go into a deep hibernation, shutting down almost completely. The sleep was easy. The lower levels were a tad tricker, and going into a coma meant mentally travelling to what Panthon called his Pretty Safe Space.
The Pretty Safe Space was… somewhere, a place only his mind could access. A black sphere of nothing, dotted with colourful, twinkling lights. It was calm and safe and peaceful there. But Panthon was also aware that… he shared this space occasionally. He’d never SEEN anyone in the Pretty Safe Space, but he’d felt the brief presence of others.
Up until today.
As Panthon’s mind drifted into a coma, as his consciousness travelled to the Pretty Safe Space, he realized he wasn’t alone. There was a very small being present, just under 2 meters tall, flailing and growling, covered in black goo, dazed, lost and confused.
Since Panthon had full control over the Pretty Safe Space, it meant he could warp the reality of it. He floated over to the little creature, then pulled the goo off them. He was well aware that the goo was Corruption. After all, there was a small spot of similar black goo leaking from the stab wound on his hand. But this being was nearly completely consumed. Nonetheless, they were still fighting, still struggling. With Panthon’s assistance, while the Corruption was probably nearly done consuming their body, he could at least give them some brief respite.
“Ugh… thanks… hurts…” the creature stuttered, trying to orientate itself. “Won’t… do much… I’m already… too far gone…”
Panthon inspected the being some more. Small but armoured. Really, it looked like a tiny, yellow-plated version of Panthon himself. But Panthon’s head plate covered the entirety of his face, and he lacked visible eyes. This darling had cute little golden eyes, filled with pain and tears. With a smile, Panthon sat the being in his hand.
“I’ve… seen you here… a few times… Big, unconscious guy. You’re… a Synaisthyn too.”
“Is that what they call Thrice-Torn Spirits these days?” Panthon asked with an air of curiosity. He hadn’t spoken to another being in a very, very long time.
“Uh… it’s… it’s what me and Elkay agreed on… Everyone else just calls us Amalgam Mimics. Hate the name… That being said… considering you are permanently in a coma and I’m… basically dead… Elkay will probably be the… only one left…”
The creature was panting heavily. They were utterly exhausted, and had clearly been fighting back the Corruption for a while.
“What is your name, child?”
The creature looked up. “My name? Don’t have one any more… I’m just another consumed corpse… Another slime-covered cog in the endless, all-consuming machine that is Corruption.”
“What was your name before you were captured?”
“Hah… The Corruption calls me an ‘Oull’. The Life Goddesses called me Arkadin. Deathven and his stupid Decay Lord society codenamed me Deathbringer. But you can call me Arkay.”
Panthon smiled. “Ah, I see my promise is holding fast, and my old friend is still alive and kicking. How is he these days?”
Arkay shrugged. “Dunno. Only ever met him once. Pretty sure he wanted me dead because I’m a stupid mixed up idiot. You… you know him?”
“I do, yes. Deathven, Lifean and I set up the first sanctuary for beings that were not of the Three Main Types. The Life-Givers and the Darkness-Borns… didn’t approve. Of course, we rebuilt. Repeatedly. But I was attacked and nearly killed because I am a Thrice-Torn. Infected too. I have been abusing my Time-Side to keep myself frozen, so the infection doesn’t take over, and so I can keep my promise to my Two-in-Spirit.”
“Ugh…” Arkay swallowed nervously. “I… I made a promise once… I… I made promises I can’t keep… Sure, I kept my promise to protect Epani’s stupid universe, but I’ll never be able to reunite with my friends again… The Corruption is going through my mind as I speak, ripping through my memories in a bid to make me give in and assimilate.”
“Are you going to give in?”
“I… well… part of me… wants to…”
Panthon inspected Arkay some more. He initially thought that Arkay was very young. No, he just looked young. There was vast sorrow in his eyes. Within the Pretty Safe Space, Panthon saw all, and he could see that Arkay was in sheer agony. He was just hiding it.
“You are struggling.”
“Yeah. I don’t want to be corrupted, I don’t want to be a monster. But I want the pain to stop. I’m exhausted. My entire existence, all I’ve done is suffer, sacrificing myself for others. I was… hoping that, in handing myself to that bastard Epanophovon, I’d spare my universe, and he’d kill me quickly but…”
Arkay trailed off. Panthon gently stroked Arkay’s cheek, giving him a little comfort.
“The last time I was conscious, my heart, lungs and digestive tract were in separate rooms, while my arms and legs had been stretched out all over the place… It’s just torturing me. Like the sadistic cunt that it is. I’m trying so, so hard not to give in… but it’s so, so tempting, just to make the pain finally end… But… like… it won’t end anyway… Even when I fall, he’ll probably just keep on hurting me. It won’t ever end.”
Tears dribbled from Arkay’s eyes. But his tears were black and corrupted. As Arkay spoke, he was fading away. Panthon realized this, and held Arkay close, embracing him and hugging him tightly. In here, the Corruption couldn’t infect anything, which meant that Panthon could comfort the dying creature.
“You want to die.”
“Yeah. I’ve lived long enough. But the multiverse just wants to drag out my suffering forever.”
“Well…” Panthon thought for a moment. He considered killing the scared thing. Here in the Pretty Safe Space, he had total control, and he could crush Arkay’s mind, essentially lobotomizing him. But if Arkay was a Thrice-Torn Spirit the way Panthon was, he’d probably adapt and survive. However, there was a way to abuse those mimicking abilities, to trick the Corruption into killing Arkay rather than infecting him. “I… I have… a suggestion. But you might not like it.”
Arkay grunted in pain. “Honestly, I don’t care. I’ll… ugh… I’ll try whatever.”
Panthon sighed. “Very well. You know how Corruptions tend to kill… lesser strains, yes?”
“Uh… yeah…”
“And you are trapped within the claws of the Unending Ancient One, yes?”
“Yeah. He’s a cunt.”
“Indeed…” Panthon frowned. “Simply put, if you change yourself into your own unique strain of Corruption, then the older, more powerful strain won’t be able to corrupt you. Instead, he will devour you, out of instinct. It won’t be painless, it will in fact be agonizing as you are torn apart. But it will be quick, and you will finally fade away, forever.”
Arkay didn’t answer at first. But Panthon could tell, Arkay was considering his words.
“Would I definitely die?”
“Most likely, yes.”
“Ah… Well… Like I said, I’ve lived long enough. A quick death is… better than this. I’m already in agony anyway.”
Panthon hugged Arkay some more. Arkay hesitated, then hugged Panthon back, despite the armoured monster being far larger than he was.
“Before I go…” Arkay hesitated slightly. “Are you… here all the time?”
“Mostly, yes.”
“If you see my friend Elkay, can you tell him to tell everyone I’m sorry? He’ll… he’ll know what I mean… I… I tried, you know? I… I tried. Wasn’t good enough.”
“Giving up isn’t always the worst thing you can do. Especially if you are hurting. But you are good enough. Just like me, things… just did not work out how you wanted them to.”
Arkay rubbed his eyes, wiping way black goo. The Corruption was forming on his skin again, as he was being dragged back to consciousness. “I appreciate that. Hey, uh… I… I didn’t catch your name.”
“My name is Panthon. Panthon Eternatos, codename Everlord.”
“Nice to meet you, Panthon. That’s a pretty cool name.”
“I appreciate the comment. And I appreciate knowing that the society of the Decay Lords still exists in some way. It is… was nice to meet you too, Arkay.”
“Heh. Arkay was my mortal name…” The little yellow Thrice-Torn smiled, just a little, as he faded away completely. “My new name is Arkidetelos, and I am my own strain of Corruption.”