“Oh thank-”
Arkay paused, unsure how to finish his own sentence. Either way, as far as he was concerned, neither Sini nor Epani were present. The massive, crystalline palace was completely intact, however, there was a circle of burnt corpses surrounding the entrance. Arkay couldn’t recognize them though, their features had been sheered away, as if they had been flayed off with pieces of glass.
That was a good sign. Hopefully. With a wave of his hands, the corpses turned to dust, and Arkay proceeded to walk towards the entrance, which was sealed off by a large, metal gate. One designed for a creature far, far larger than the Thantophor.
“Hello? Kairos? Are you here?”
The gate shifted, then slowly opened up, but not all the way. Just enough for Arkay to slip through. He could have just forced his way in, but he didn’t want to make the same mistakes he had made with his sister deities.
“Kairos?”
The entranceway was massive. A long, straight corridor, with skulls hanging on the walls. Arkay only somewhat recognized what the skulls were. They had belonged to various Voidborns, entities from outside the universe. Entities that were vicious, that he and Kairos had worked together to destroy. Unlike Arkay though, Kairos liked to keep trophies.
“Whenvern, are you here or not?”
The lack of answers was getting annoying. Arkay picked up his pace, flapping his rudimentary wings. He altered his appearance slightly, making himself appear slightly more draconic. Hopefully, it would appease the Dragon God of Time. Emphasis on the ‘dragon’ part.
Eventually, the path opened out into a colossal hall. The crystalline walls sparkled in blue and silver, and metallic gems floated in the air, producing a high level of light that Arkay immediately disliked. In the centre of the room was a huge pile of cushions and blankets, where a rather angry, silver, blue and white dragon sat, staring down at the Thantophor.
“You. Are. Late.”
“Yeah, well, it took me a moment to recover from Epani’s beating. Has she visited?” Arkay got straight to the point. He and Kairos had always had a very rocky relationship, having swung from both ends of the friendship spectrum.
“She is not corrupted. Nor is Sini.”
“Well that’s…” Arkay paused, blinking in confusion. “What?”
“It is not corruption that has blinded Sini’s actions.”
“How do you know?”
The great Whenvern outstretched his wings, dwarfing the Thantophor even more.
“If it were corruption, it would have consumed Sini already, and it would have infected Epani. But no, it is something else. Something familiar. But Epani would not explain it to me.”
Arkay sighed. “She’s already been here…”
Kairos stepped forward, lowering himself down, so his head was on the same level as Arkay. If he wanted, he could easily swallow the Thantophor whole.
“You attacked Sini.”
“Are you going to let me tell my side of the story?”
The Whenvern grunted. “Very well. You have a minute.”
“A minute?” Arkay sighed again. “Fine. Alright, simply put, after I specifically asked Sini not to attack some of my, uh, friends, she did exactly that. So I tracked her down and found one of her torture labs, and she just… lost it. Went completely wild at the sight of me. I had to knock her out, I didn’t want to hurt her. Admittedly, I did destroy two moons in the process, but I didn’t have a choice!”
“And Epani did not listen to your explanation.”
“She didn’t even give me a chance to speak…” Arkay lowered himself down sheepishly. “Kairos, what is going on? And, while I have questions, why were there a bunch of burnt corpses at the entrance to your stupid castle?”
The Whenvern growled at the question. “You claim to follow mortal ways, but have been completely unaware of this cult that has cropped up over the… last few months. Insane cultists that want their own gods dead.”
“I’ve been…” Arkay wasn’t really sure how to answer. “I… Uh…”
“Tell me, little Arkay, what do you remember from the Before?” Kairos changed the subject.
Arkay thought for a moment. “Uh, not much. I know I was dead, I died fighting… something, and you three resurrected me. And we built this universe together, on the earth bones.”
“Did you ever stop to think where those earth bones came from?”
“Uh, no.”
Kairos pushed Arkay out of the way, heading towards the exit. Arkay quickly picked himself up and followed. “Well, some things are notoriously hard to kill. If what Epani told me is correct, then this cult picked up whispers of the dead, and is trying to resurrect the being we built this universe on.”
“But they have to kill us first…” Arkay muttered. “That’s why this… thing is possessing Sini, so we can’t heal ourselves as fast as normal!”
“Well, they have to kill those who killed… Her. An act of revenge to bring back the damned. Which means you are going to have to speak to Epani and get her to unlock your memories from the Before. Because I am certain I had no hand in Her death.”
“Oh…” Arkay didn’t speak. Not for an awkwardly long time. The Whenvern’s words had jostled something deep within his mind. Thoughts, memories, but not good ones. Memories that the other gods had buried deep beneath his consciousness.
“Little Thantophor, do you have the strength to do this?”
A small smile grew across Arkay’s face. “Of course I do. How can I pass up an opportunity to kill her again?”