Arki had admittedly taken far too long to find the small cave where Prodota had asked to meet her, but finally, she was actually doing it. Not to agree with Prodota and help her with her insane plan, but also not to kill her, as she had been told to by her… sponsors. Arki hoped that maybe she could convince Prodota to take a less lethal path herself. After all, Prodota’s desires were attainable without violence. Arki wanted to lead her to a better path. There was a chance, she had to take it.
As Arki reached the dark cave, she left her guards at the entrance. If she brought them with her, she was pretty sure Prodota would lash out or feel threatened. However, Litvarious was keeping a telepathic eye on her, and Arki had somewhat sharpened her claws a little, so she was also armed. She did her best to not feel too nervous though. Sure, it was a long, damp, dark cave, but Arki was a strong girl.
“You took fucking ages…” Prodota tutted as she lounged in a pool of water, which glowed softly but didn’t cling to Prodota’s skin. It turned out, only the walls of the pool were glowing.
“Yeah, I’m sorry, I… I admittedly couldn’t find this place…”
Prodota immediately picked up on Arki’s nerves. “You’re uncertain. You’re really uncertain.”
Arki frowned. “I think you can understand why though! I just came to this party thing out of curiosity and you want me to help you kill the person who invited me to the party in the first place!”
“That is fair, but you get what’s bothering me though, right? I want to make things, I want to be a creator, but I’m bound to this stupid family of retarded mistresses that do nothing but treat the seven deadly sins like the bible and a shopping list combined!” Prodota hissed. “They do nothing. They’re worthless.”
“Quick question…” Arki interrupted. “What’s a bible?”
“Uh… you don’t know what a bible is?”
“No. I’m not from here.”
“Oh. It’s a holy book…” Prodota blinked, then got back to the point. “Girl, you know I’m right. This is a hive of pointlessness and fuckery. I… I want my mum dead. She’s holding us all back because she wants to keep her universe on top.”
Arki fell silent, then sighed. “I… I get that…”
Prodota eyed Arki. “You… you did something. You… you killed your mother. You know exactly what I want to do because you’ve already done it!”
“In self-defence!” Arki stuttered, worrying that her story was falling apart. “She tried to kill my sisters! I didn’t want to do it, but I had to protect them and their universe and all their creations! But my mother was a vicious monster who enslaved everyone! Your mum doesn’t do anything, she just sits there watching people party! You don’t need to kill her, you can just leave and build your own creations and just be better!”
Prodota seemed to calm down briefly. She sighed a few times, then looked back at Arki. “You’re both right and beautiful. But you also now know my plan, and I can’t really let you leave. You’ll try and stop me.”
“I want to stop you though because I made mistakes and don’t want others to repeat them!” Arki exclaimed. “You know what my mother did when we killed her? She tried to resurrect herself and turned herself into a new strain of Corruption! You kill your mother, she might destroy the universe beneath us, killing everyone! Or, worse…” Arki paused, then lowered her voice. “She… she might kill you…”
“Wait… you… you care about me?”
Arki nodded. “Sure, you’re planning to murder your own mum, but, well… you’re the most… I don’t know… You’re pretty but you have this… this power, this desire, this… I don’t know… But I’m certain that your mum won’t go down without a fight. And she’ll hurt you…” Arki rubbed her side, removing some of the makeup that made her skin look smooth, revealing hideous scars, particularly one just below her breasts. “This is just what my mum did to me, physically. I don’t want others to go through what I went through, psychologically.”
Prodota stared at Arki and her scars, her mind filled with confusion. She approached Arki, then put her hands around her, pressing their lips together. Arki was too shocked to fight back, and quickly found herself kissing Prodota back. For a moment, Arki was hopeful that maybe love and kindness had won out, but as something pierced Arki’s side, she realised she had been tricked.
“I’m sorry, babe, but, as wonderful as you are, you’re both right and wrong. Nothing will change if I don’t do this.”
Prodota removed the blade from Arki’s side, but something felt stuck inside the wound.
“What… have you… done?” Arki stuttered, wobbling backwards.
“I stabbed you with a Time Drake’s tooth. The fractured piece inside you will block your Life Goddess healing powers and make you slowly bleed out. I don’t want to do this, but I can’t risk you ruining my plan. I’m so close. And I think you understand. Once my plan is done, once my mother is dead, if you’re still alive, I’ll patch you up. But this is more important than you.”
Arki glanced down at the wound, then snarled. She suddenly started changing shape, her body becoming draconic and masculine. And larger. Large enough to grab Prodota by the throat. Arkekronon growled as he ripped a fang from his mouth then dragged it down Prodota’s chest, before stabbing it into Prodota’s throat.
“W-w-what are y-y-you?” Prodota stuttered as blood poured out of her, the light fading from her eyes.
“I am Arkekronon, the Shadow of the River, the Twisted Time Drake, devourer of fools like you. And to think my weaker self believed you could be swayed.”
Prodota gazed at the monster before her. She swiftly realised her mistakes. Arki had tried to give her a second chance, she’d given her other options and she’d tried to give Prodota peace and kindness. And Prodota had just spat in Arki’s face. Knowing she was doomed, Prodota pressed herself against Arkekronon’s held fang, then let herself slip away.
Arkekronon wasn’t satisfied, but the blood pouring out of his side and the sound of someone calling behind him caused Arkekronon to falter. Arki’s form replaced that of Arkekronon, and the little Life Goddess collapsed on the floor, next to the body of someone Arki had so badly failed to save.