“Alright now, deep breaths.”
Relkir did as he was told, taking long, drawn out breaths. But Relkir was currently not in reality. He was trapped within his own mind, lying in a field of fluffy grey clouds, staring up into a pitch black sky littered with small, red points of light. As to why Relkir was there, he wasn’t quite sure.
After having borrowed his half-brother’s fire powers, part of Relkir’s own godlike abilities, he’d realized he could no longer un-borrow them. He’d spoken to Retvik earlier that day, and Retvik had dutifully shown him how to dismiss the flames that rippled up his arms, but while Relkir had been quietly studying in the Decayling observatory, those flames suddenly reappeared, setting fire to the book he had been reading. As time went on, the stress built up, and Relkir found himself borrowing the abilities and powers of his fellow Decaylings, mostly the ice-based elemental powers that Akah used in a bid to get rid of the flames, before abruptly teleporting himself across the ship and appearing in Seimeni’s private bathroom, where the Life Goddess was in the middle of showering.
Of course, rather than responding calmly and responsibly, Seimeni had instantly perceived Relkir as a threat and tried to drown him, only for Relkir to suddenly grow gills and be completely unaffected. Thankfully, Relkir found himself teleporting out of that situation, only to reappear in the main Decay Lords’ office, where he’d interrupted a private conversation between Retvik and Litvir. At least they had the decency to cleanly knock Relkir out before he could do any more damage, and Litvir had immediately put Relkir into some sort of healing sleep so they could figure out what had happened.
After a few more deep breaths, Relkir decided to speak to the voice that was talking to him.
“What is going on?”
Something purple flashed to Relkir’s side. Curious, Relkir sat up to greet the new presence.
“You are stressed.” Litvir’s reply was blunt as he flickered in and out of Relkir’s view, before fully appearing and sitting down next to the dazed former Divine Guardian. “Something triggered you and your animalistic sub-mind took over, causing you to lose control of your adaptation powers. Tell me, Elkay, what is bothering you?”
Relkir sighed. Something about Litvir’s presence was bothering him, and it wasn’t just the fact that he used Relkir’s old name.
“If I knew what was bothering me, I would not have suddenly lost control!” Relkir hissed. He felt threatened all of a sudden. He climbed to his feet, but abruptly stopped, taking a moment to inspect his own body, peering into a puddle that appeared all around him. His eyes were red again, and on Relkir’s back was a pair of demonic wings, the ones he had been born with. The ones he had lost when he had been abducted by the Allbirther and experimented on. “I am… how I used to be…”
Litvir nodded. “Yes, you are. We are in your mind, and in your mind, you appear how you wish to be, how you want yourself to be.”
Relkir flapped his wings. He’d never been able to fly, he was simply too heavy, what with being an armour-plated Rethavok. But he could glide, and just the sensation of having his wings back made Relkir happier than he had any right to be. That brief moment of joy though faded as Relkir remembered that this was all in his head.
“Well you could change your real self, if you wished…” Litvir remained on the ground, watching Relkir with curious intent. “You have the power. With enough training, you could potentially learn how to shapeshift similarly to how Tenuk does.”
Relkir turned back to face Litvir. “I just set myself on fire, gave myself frostbite then teleported twice, very nearly into a wall.”
“Retvik nearly blew up a hospital before he learned to control his fire powers. I killed five of my siblings while trying to develop my telepathic systems and reel in my desire to feed off emotions. I see that you trained briefly with Phovos when you got your adapting powers, you really believe she instantly learned how to not turn feral the moment she got stressed? You fell, but you can and will pick yourself up and get back on your feet. After all, you are the great Elkay Theanon, the youngest High General to ever bless Rethan society, a being that even I respected when we were mortal.”
“That is all gone now, Litvir. Our universe is gone. My past no longer even exists, there are only nine other beings who even remember and they are all on this damn ship. And now I am studying to partake in some sort of hideously dangerous trial, in order to claim the right to be considered an adult around here!” Relkir snapped, allowing himself a hint of anger.
Litvir though took no notice of Relkir’s frustration. He simply shrugged. “You consider yourself a child?”
“In the eyes of you Decay Lords, yes. I am… not used to having limited rights, to having to be under the wing of someone else. It bothers me greatly that I cannot finalize my partnership with Teekay without having to complete a randomized challenge that I cannot predict or truly prepare for.”
“Hm. Did you have similar concerns while working for Kinisis?”
Relkir hesitated, thinking to himself. “I… I find myself unable to properly remember working for Kinisis. I am perfectly aware that I worked for her, but while I did so, I was not myself. I did not have these adaptation abilities.”
“Most likely because she was controlling you. She did that with a lot of beings. And when her influence was removed from you when Kinisis died…”
“She was murdered!” Relkir corrected Litvir, snarling slightly. “Your Lost Third, your stupid friend murdered her!” Relkir suddenly stopped, realizing what he had said, then immediately apologised. “I am sorry, that was…”
Litvir was not bothered at all. “That was out of character, for you at least. Especially since you saw the problems Kinisis created for Arkay in person. But it is also somewhat expected. Kinisis kidnapped you and manipulated you, she raped your mind and made you into her servant. While yes, she did eventually give you back your memories when us Thantir saved you from the Life Goddess known as Viia, there were memories that were permanently lost. Among those lost thoughts are some of the mental controls you had on your powers.”
Relkir shook his head, not satisfied with Litvir’s answer. “If that was the case, why am I suddenly losing control now? The loss of control happens when I am stressed, but it did not happen when Ahkron attacked or while we dealt with that space creature, but it happened while I was studying!”
“Were you somewhat stressed while you were studying?”
“A little, yes…” Relkir admitted. “These Decay Lord trials, they concern me. Too many unknowns. Too much out of my control. Still, how does that compare to when Ahkron attacked us?”
Litvir got up and started pacing back and forth. His fingers were moving as if he was scrolling across a screen, but he was not holding any sort of device. “Well, when it comes to the Voidborn incident, that was all very sudden, but, at the same time, we ARE Rethans, you, Retvik and myself are all former Generals, trained in the art of combat and war. We can handle that stress. But as you just admitted, you fear the trial you will face to become a Decay Lord yourself, and that stress can bubble underneath the surface…”
The psionic Decay Lord trailed off.
“But also, hm… I think this may also be a delayed adrenaline spike. Arkay mentioned something similar with one of his mortal-turned-immortal friends. You did not get rid of the excess energy and hormones in relation to borrowing Retvik’s abilities, that energy ended up being released at the wrong time…”
Relkir considered Litvir’s words, then blinked in confusion. “You are talking with Arkay? Your Lost Third is still alive?”
“Yes, his fellow deities keep him as an unwilling death god, but it turns out, despite being stripped of his memories, he was still playing a specific Decay Lord-run video game, where I found him and managed to establish virtual contact. We now communicate on the regular via text message, but we may never… see him in person…” Litvir let out a rather depressed sigh, before returning to the topic on hand. “All this being said, I do think we can solve your issues, Relkir. This loss of control is dangerous, yes, but a strenuous activity that will use up your stress-based hormones will help. I will also speak to Kal, and see if they can find any latent Life Goddess manipulation, perhaps we can make an attempt to find your lost memories. Finally, I recommend we try a short burst of kyraipnatic conditioning.”
“What is that?” Relkir asked.
“Kyraipnatic conditioning? I will essentially put you to sleep for 24 hours, simulating a sandbox in your mind where you can re-learn basic control of your abilities. Because, if I am honest, Elkay, your powers are far more chaotic than those of your fellow Decaylings. And while Phovos has similar powers to you, her heritage and the fact that she is over a thousand years old already mean she already has a strong grasp on herself. You just need a little time.”
Relkir sighed, not really sure what to say. “Will it work?”
“If you are anything like Retvik, then yes, it certainly will. And because we are now deities, you will be able to learn quicker than ever.”
“Very well…” Relkir settled down. He felt slightly more confident now. “I assume you will leave me unconscious, trapped in my own mind, while you sort this out?”
Litvir nodded. “Yes, for your own safety. We will place you in your room, and I will ask Teekay to get some towels and wipe you down, as you have made quite a slimy mess all over our office floor. Anyway, I have work to do, you try and have some nice dreams, alright?”
“Alright. Thank you for the assistance, Litvir.”
“Hah!” Litvir laughed. “This sort of thing was literally my job, little one. I shall leave you alone now. Go to sleep. Sleep well.”
Relkir bowed slightly, before abruptly collapsing and falling deeper into his own subconsciousness. As he fell into a deep slumber though, he swore he could hear a faint, female giggle…