There was something wrong with Death.
All the Veth had noticed it, ever since they felt that bump. They’d been keeping quiet about it though, because they all knew that when Death was in a funny mood, Veth tended to disappear.
In the mean time, twenty Veth had all been stationed around the incident site, and pretty much every other Veth was on high alert and constant patrol. The Veth Prime was currently scouring the beaches of Kinigi himself, killing anything that shouldn’t have been there. Nothing was allowed in right now apart from the spirits of the dead. Needless to say, no one was going to be allowed to sleep or do anything else for a while.
“The new guy should ask Her…” Kannak muttered, knowing full well that he was no longer the new guy.
“The new guy,” a small, skinny Veth by the name of Denir, hissed, “is on the shores doing our job for us while we guard this hole and make sure whatever it was doesn’t come back.”
“Why is he doing that rather than standing by Her side?” another Veth, a purple and white Veth called Onar, asked. “That’s what I do anyway, every day. In between the orgies and stuff, of course.”
“I heard he doesn’t even take part in orgies,” Hortas, a particularly grumpy Veth, growled. “Seriously, that fucker is supposed to be our boss and he’s a skinny little yellow-bellied idiot who hates his job and doesn’t even want to be here! We lived strong lives and died with honour and all he does is bitch and moan and whine. Probably why She keeps on locking him up in random cages and palming him off to us, so She doesn’t have to listen to him.”
“Not to mention that he’s not that Vethic either. Intentionally keeps himself looking like a weird panvok critter,” Onar added. “Actually, I think he’s pretty ugly. Okay, he’s gone and done everything our Lady has requested of him, but still…”
“Which is why we should get him to ask Her!” Kannak smiled, bringing the conversation back to the start. “I mean, She beats him up all the time anyway. And She puts him in random cages. Dunno why She does that. He’ll probably get replaced once the new new guy hatches. Although I do get why he’s always so angry, Death did kinda break Her deal with him.”
Onar blinked. “Death made a deal with him?”
Denir tutted. “Mate, were you not there when he landed on the shore? We had to fucking chase him down, and he kept on screaming how Death had betrayed him and shit like that. It was bloody insane.”
A large, golden being came along and sat down next to the four Veth.
“Hi, Continuity,” Hortas grunted. “Done explaining shit to the idiot?”
“You act as if I didn’t spend years explaining ‘shit’ to you, Hortas. I suggest you shut up.” Continuity tutted then turned to Kannak. “You want to get Arkay to ask Her? Good luck. He is busy right now and there is a huge pile of corpses for us to feast on later when this is all over.”
“How many?” Onar asked. “Like, ‘just after the Soul Rupture’ huge?”
“About that big, yes. It will be a tasty celebration.”
“You have more faith in him than most of us,” Kannak sighed as he stuck his claws into the ground, drawing shapes in the dirt. “I think everyone thinks he’s a retarded fucker and not even worthy of being called a Veth.”
“Well everyone is wrong!” Continuity stood up with pride. “Despite his anger, his lashing out, his inexperience, he has proved himself capable when he needs to be.”
“Doesn’t mean She isn’t going to replace him though,” Hortas sneered. “Fucker doesn’t follow Vethic traditions. He hates it here and the sooner She gets rid of him, the better it will be for the rest of us.”
“Wait, how will it be better for us?” Onar asked, looking confused. “We’ve got one Veth out there doing the job of fifty of us. Okay things are weird right now, but that’s more time for us to have fun though, right? Fuck it, if he wants to work his oura off…”
“His what now?” Kannak interrupted.
“His tail. His ass. Whatever. If Arkay wants to work because he hates nice things, then fuck it, I’ll take the extra free time he gives us. Can’t hate him for that.”
“Exactly!” Continuity grinned.
“Seems like Hortas is just on the “I hate the new guy” train again,” Denir added.
Hortas growled and tried to think of a reply. But just as he did so, Kinisis flashed into existence in front of the Veth, hovering over where the hole used to be. There was a distant look in her eyes. A hint of fear they could all detect.
“My Veth, I to speak to you all…”