“Hello, Life Goddess Kinisis.”
“Heya! How can we help ya?”
Kinisis beamed as the colossal being stood at the bottom of the ramp to her ship, far too large to actually enter it. By the being’s side were several guards or servants or… whatever they were, Kinisis wasn’t sure. A black and red draconic being and a ghostly, feminine being that Kinisis recognised. By Kinisis’s own side were several of her own guards, all armed and ready to move in case anyone tried anything funny.
“Life Goddess Kinisis, I am here as a representative of the Thantir and the Decay Lords in this region, in order to discuss a singular important issue. We have heard rumours that you are searching for a lost Decayling, and we request that you cease your search.”
At first, Kinisis wasn’t sure how to respond. Mostly because she’d kept her searching mostly secret. The only person she had told was one other Life Goddess… With a pause, Kinisis worked it out.
“Seimeni, did your mum tell you about me?” Kinisis tutted, ignoring the much larger being and focusing on the feminine ghost Decay Lord.
“Yeah.”
“And you told Lord Vikalos here?”
“Yep.”
“Why?”
Seimeni shrugged. “It seemed kinda dangerous, wandering around the Periuniversal Void, looking for a Decayling that could be damaged or violent…”
“Exactly…” Lord Vikalos, the massive, armoured being grunted. “You are exploring in a realm that is particularly dangerous, especially after a universal death. The Thantir specialize in finding Decaylings, calming them down and rehabilitating them, before giving them suitable homes. You on the other hand have no special expertise in doing these potentially dangerous tasks.”
Kinisis frowned, not liking the way this Decay Lord was talking down to her. Okay, sure, he literally had to do so, he was at least triple Kinisis’s height, but still, Kinisis didn’t like it.
“That seems like an incredibly cold and mean way to describe my son. Because that is who I am searching for.”
“I understand, Life Goddess Kinisis. But your son is a Decayling and, most likely, a highly volatile one, due to the circumstances of your universe’s demise. This is a job that should be left to professionals.”
“Yeah, I get that, but shouldn’t you be helping me?” Kinisis protested. “I know my son better than anyone. I should be able to find him.”
Vikalos grunted, not accepting Kinisis’s argument. “That may be true, but we have professional Decay Lords working on this case. We are talking about an A-Class Decayling with a violent background and unstable corruption levels, it would be immoral for the Thantir to allow you to continue. So I kindly request that you cease your search immediately and allow us to take over. If you wish to assist in the search, that is fine, but we cannot have you interfering in any way.”
Kinisis turned to her guards, all of whom seemed at least vaguely swayed by Vikalos’s points. None of them seemed too willing to actually fight this massive being, especially since he had been rather professional about the whole situation.
“Alright, fine. I’ll back off. But as soon as you have Arkadin caught, I want to see him and talk to him. He is my son after all, and I doubt there’s anyone else around here that knows Arkadin better than I do!”
“Well, you’d be surprised…” Seimeni giggled, only to be silenced by Vikalos.
Vikalos bowed, as did the other Decay Lords. “Thank you, Life Goddess Kinisis, for your cooperation. As soon as we have any more information, we shall contact you.”
Kinisis bowed back, then signalled for her guards to head back inside the ship. “Thank you too. Please try not to hurt him.”
“Do not worry, we will not allow him to be harmed…”
“Wonderful! Have a good one!”
Kinisis waved goodbye, then closed the ship doors, locking the Decay Lords outside. As soon as they were out of earshot, she felt a tug on her side.
“Are you… actually gonna do as they ask?” Tahvra, her smallest guardian, queried.
“Eh, kinda. We’ll just follow them around for a bit. See what happens…” Kinisis smiled. “After all, they probably have better tracking tech than we have anyway…”