A horrible, scraping screech filled the air as Arkay entered Kinigi, his claws extended and scratching the ground as he walked. It wasn’t until he reached Kinisis’s weird, dome-shaped home that anyone actually looked up and paid attention though.
“Kinisis, my dear, I feel rather betrayed right now…” the Thantophor smiled as he broke down the door. “You’re basically cheating on me. Didn’t we have a bunch of deals or something?”
The Avatar of the Cycle sneered as she watched over six large, translucent pods.
“Go away, Arkay. You were never worth my time. Don’t know why I ever put so much faith in you.”
Arkay was still smiling, but not as much. “That’s mean. I always did right by you, Kinisis. I’ve done almost everything you asked. I’ve risked my life for yours. But now you take me and our deals for granted.”
“Why are you here, you piece of shit?” Kinisis growled. She hadn’t expected Arkay to return. She had kinda hoped that he’d spend eternity trying to cry himself to sleep in that stupid Void Cage, pretending that he couldn’t get out.
“Because you broke yet another deal with me, Kinisis. I gave you three billion souls. You still broke your end of the bargain. And honestly, I’m sick of it all.”
“So what?”
“Well, I’m going to stop you and your retarded plan.”
Kinisis hesitated.
“You’re going to…”
“Yep.”
Kinisis paused. “Why are you suddenly so happy? You were a miserable wreck not long ago… Wait…”
For a moment, time froze. When it unfroze, Kinisis realised the six pods behind her had disappeared.
“YOU’RE WORKING WITH THAT IDIOT DRAGON?” the Lady of Death screeched. “HOW COULD-”
Before Kinisis could finish her sentence, Arkay kicked her in the stomach, then grabbed Kinisis by her black, shadowy tail and smashed her repeatedly into the ground.
“How does it feel, Kinisis?” Arkay laughed as he threw Kinisis across the room. “How does it feel to be kicked into the dirt and treated like a puddle of piss?”
“Not great…” Kinisis muttered, just as Arkay grabbed her again and chucked her through the front door. This time though, Kinisis flipped back onto her feet and started throwing spears at Arkay. “But it’s not torture if you don’t feel pain. It’s not death if you don’t die.”
Arkay sighed as the spears passed right through him. One spear impaled itself in the ground by his foot, and Arkay picked it up and threw it back vaguely in the direction Kinisis was standing, then slowly approached, his claws and fangs getting longer.
“I’m you, Kinisis. You’re me. I’m the horrible, ugly, violent side of the Cycle that YOU wanted to put to one side. You always told me that the Cycle was more important than anything. I re-learned that lesson. Now I think you need to re-learn it.”
Kinisis started throwing more dark spears at Arkay. He was beginning to make her worried. Yes, she had treated him like dirt and controlled his actions for all these years, but it had never occurred to her that he might… actually start fighting back. Or worse…
“You… no… YOU CAN’T!” Kinisis suddenly screamed. “You CAN’T TAKE OVER. YOU CAN’T BECOME ME!”
“You made it so I could take your place…” Arkay tutted. “You were the one who designed me, gave me this power. Alright, Kairos and Stasis, they’ve opened my eyes over the millennia. Frankly, what Kairos and I did before we came here, that really showed me how shit you’ve been making things and how I can make them better. But you created me. You birthed me. Through pain and torture. It’s a Cycle, Kinisis. You should know that.”
“YOU CAN’T!” Kinisis was panicking now. She crushed the ceiling, dropping it on Arkay, but he simply clawed his way out. She tried making the ground collapse beneath him, but Arkay just hovered. “ARKAY YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME! I’LL… I’LL KILL YOU!”
This time, Arkay stopped, but only to laugh loudly. “Oh please! Kill me! You do realise that the only way you can kill your precious Thantophor is to destroy your Soul Fragma, right?”
Kinisis was genuinely panicking as she scrambled backwards, trying to think of what to do. Arkay continued his approach, summoning a massive, dark axe.
“You’re scared. You don’t know what to do!” the Thantophor gloated. “You don’t want me to take over, take control. But you also don’t want to ruin your thousand years of work, and your backup plan at the same time.”
Arkay raised his axe, ready to strike down. He deliberately took his time, curious as to what path Kinisis might take.
“You won’t win!” the Avatar of the Cycle screeched. With a wave of her arms, she turned herself into a four-legged animal and ran off into the distance, heading straight for the Soul Fragma. “I won’t let you!”
The Thantophor tutted, then put his axe away and slowly walked outside, pausing only to close what remained of the door behind him.
“It doesn’t matter to me. Either way, I win in the end…” Arkay sighed as he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.