Arkay glanced at his emails, specifically the last email he had just received. He checked it several times, then checked the clock. Once he was satisfied that enough time had passed, Arkay sent a quick telepathic message to Litvir and Retvik, then closed his eyes, concentrated as hard as he could and, finally, snapped his fingers.
All of a sudden, the office around Arkay vanished. It was replaced by darkness. But not complete darkness. There were little lights floating in that inky void, small candles providing a way to see.
Arkay was also not alone. The Overlord was present and busy talking to a couple of other, unknown Decay Lords. All of them were huge beings. The unknown Decayons hadn’t noticed Arkay’s appearance, but Overlord Deathven had. All he did though was briefly glance in Arkay’s direction, then start working on finishing up his conversation.
It took a while for Deathven to get the Decayons to leave. Eventually, they agreed to some sort of deal to share responsibilities over a large base, and the two Decayons bowed and disappeared in flashes of darkness.
“Sorry, am I early?” Arkay asked, once he had checked that the coast was clear.
“No, not at all, Deathbringer. That meeting overshot. Sometimes powerful beings are too stubborn to listen to simple answers…” Deathven grunted, then summoned a seat for Arkay to sit down, as well as a drink for him. Deathven himself remained seated, relaxing on his throne. “Anyway, welcome. You are a brave being, coming here on your own, despite our past.”
“Well, it’s important. And I think you’re smart enough to know that I’m a perfectly reasonable person as long as my friends and family are not in danger.”
“That is understandable. Anyway, little one, why are you here? You did not specify in your message, you just requested my audience.”
Arkay hesitated. “We’re alone right now, right?”
“We are, yes. But I cannot guarantee any interruptions. I am a busy person, after all.”
“Alright…” Arkay straightened himself out. “Well, I have good news. I think. We found Red.”
Deathven looked Arkay up and down, then leaned forward. “Oh?”
“Yeah. We found a red-plated being that’s a Synaisthyn. And no, it wasn’t Ret, who you call Lightbearer.”
“Who is it?”
“Um…” Arkay hesitated. “I will tell you. But I want a confirmation from you first.”
Deathven thought for a moment, then tutted. “You want to raise Red as a Decayling.”
“Yep, basically.”
“Why?”
“Because, well…” Arkay hesitated some more. “He’s just a kid. Literally a teenager. Like, I think he was in the same position as me, he was soul-severed, he was tortured and twisted and broken and stripped of everything he was. But the being who made him, I think they actually cared about the kid and sent him out into the void to save him from further pain. And in doing so, they reverted him back into a child.”
“Red is a child?”
“Yeah. Not a baby, thankfully, but he’s a youngling. A youngling with no idea what is going on or what happened to him or anything. I know you think Synaisthyns are dangerous and, in all honesty? I am dangerous. But Elkay… Unender proved himself to be safe and stable. I think Red could also become safe and stable, if you allow us to train him and look after him. He could become a powerful and loyal Decay Lord, he could become a wonderful person in general… once he’s grown up.”
“Hm…” Deathven thought to himself, but only briefly. “Curious. I will consider this, but I do have questions, before I make my answer. Deathbringer, will you be tutoring this child?”
“Um… Somewhat. The plan is to make sure he learns the same lessons Unender did. And the best way he can do that is to learn from Unender’s positives and my mistakes. But no matter what, we want to make sure the kid is happy and safe. He doesn’t deserve the misery that Unender and I went through.”
“That is very true…”
Deathven suddenly paused, as did Arkay. Something else had materialised from the darkness. And, worse, it was someone Arkay recognised.
“Deathven, I have a need of… Huh! You! Yellow! You found Red?” Skotadision immediately demanded, the second he spotted Arkay’s yellow plating.
“Uh… kinda?” Arkay stuttered.
That stutter clearly angered Skotadision. The ancient Voidborn summoned a blade. But almost instantly, that blade was destroyed. Oddly, not by Arkay.
“Stand down, this instant!” the Overlord roared.
“They-”
“I said, stand down! I will now allow you to do any harm!”
Skotadision straightened himself out and glared at Deathven. “You promised-”
“I promised to keep the All And None from co-existing. I DID that. Deathbringer here is neither All nor None. He is far too young to be either of them! I simply requested Deathbringer to find Red as a courtesy, because Deathbringer has the skills to safely contain a Thrice-Torn Spirit! Now leave, before I decide to ignore all future requests about your silly Rainbow Ruin prophesy!”
The Voidborn hesitated, glanced at Arkay, then sighed and disappeared. Arkay though just blinked in confusion.
“Did… did you just defend me?”
“I did, yes.”
“But… but why?” Arkay asked. “You’ve always hated my guts.”
“Occasionally, I realise that I am wrong about people. I was wrong about you, Deathbringer. I originally saw you as an untamed monster, one that could potentially explode. You proved that to be true. But I realised that you only exploded because you felt cornered and were desperate to survive. If left to thrive, you could become an influential being. And you did exactly that. You are powerful but also honourable, a worthy ally. And because of that, I give you my full permission to take Red in and help him grow into a good person.”
“Huh…” Arkay wasn’t sure how to answer at first. But after a while, a smile grew across Arkay’s face. “I appreciate your change of heart, Overlord. Makes me feel like almost a real person. I’ll make sure that the kid grows up into a good one.”
“Thank you, Deathbringer. Stay safe.”
Arkay smiled properly as he faded back into the shadows. “Thank you too, Overlord. You won’t regret this…”