Yisini and Kairos both charged up the narrow staircase, nearly tripping over each other, as they raced to the sound of terrified screaming that had suddenly started echoing across the colossal castle they were currently in. Neither of them knew what was going on, all they knew was that something terrible was happening at the top of one of the castle towers.
Smashing through an already smashed door, the two deities swiftly discovered the source of the screaming. Lying on the ground were two bodies: one utterly still, headless, cold yet still bleeding, the other convulsing and screaming, clawing at their own throat, shaking violently and smashing their head against the floor.
“A-Arkadin?”
While Kairos’s first reaction was to stutter and look away in horror, Yisini immediately wrapped herself around the convulsing body, holding the poor being tightly in her long, silky tail. She placed a gentle hand on the Thantophor’s armoured head, hugging him tightly and cooing gently.
“Shush, little brother. Shush. It’s all fine. You’re safe and sound.”
Slowly but surely, Arkadin calmed down. He began to take deep breaths and soon stopped shaking. But he was covered in blood, not just from the headless corpse beside him, but from the claw marks across his body and the biting of the inside of his own mouth.
“What… what was all that about?” Kairos suddenly asked, rushing around to make sure they were safe and secure, then summoning a time bubble around them just to be on the safe side. “Arkadin? Are you alright?”
The Thantophor’s eyes snapped open. Realising where he was, Arkadin abruptly shook his head, then looked around, dazed and confused. Yisini loosened her grip on Arkadin, allowing him to move his arms and legs.
“What happened, little brother?”
“Words. Words of change. Drifts on the wind.”
“What?”
Yisini peered into Arkadin’s eyes. He wasn’t quite awake. It was almost as if he was in a trance.
“Arkadin, you’re not here.”
“Twists of time. Ribbons tattered. Crushed down. Recycled. Reborn.”
Not knowing what to do, Yisini looked to Kairos for help. Kairos though just shrugged, being just as confused and worried as Yisini was. Yisini frowned, then began to gently massage Arkadin’s head, hoping that making him relax would also make him start… making sense. As she did so, the Thantophor immediately stopped tensing up, his eyes drooping and a bloody tongue lolling out of his mouth. About about thirty seconds though, Arkadin snapped to attention, suddenly much more aware of his surroundings.
“That was… ugh…”
“What happened? Are you alright?” Yisini and Kairos asked in unison.
Arkadin shook his head, wiping blood from his mouth. “No. I’m not alright. Kinisis and Stasis, they did something. Something horrible… I… I don’t know how to explain it…”
“Stasis?” Kairos exclaimed. “You… no one’s called Kenon by that name in…millennia.”
“It was mostly Kinisis… I think… She tried to summon… not me, but…” Arkadin stopped mid-sentence, closing his eyes again. “I can’t talk about it. It might happen for real if I do.”
“Talk about what?”
“I…” Arkadin fell silent, trying to work out what had happened. He had only come to that castle to slay a necromancer, but something had… happened… and now all he could taste was his own blood. “I don’t really know what happened and I don’t think I can talk about it yet. I need to… clean myself up and rest.”
“Well you ain’t doing that on your own!” Yisini snapped, letting go of Arkadin and helping him to his feet. “We’re taking you back to one of Kairos’s keeps and we’re going to keep an eye on you, because you just did a really fucked up thing!”
Arkadin glanced at the headless corpse. “That’s just a dead necro-”
“Don’t be coy. We’re talking about the screams and seizures.”
Kairos sighed. “Unfortunately, Yisini is right. You’re in no position to be let out of our sight right now. I mean, you’re covered in your own claw marks.”
The Thantophor took a deep breath. “Yeah… you’re both right. I’ll come with you, but on one condition: please, for the love of all that is good, don’t take me to Kinisis or Kenon. One of them did this to me. I don’t think… I don’t think I can confront them right now.”
Yisini scooped Arkadin up in her arms, ignoring the vast amounts of blood and saliva that covered him. “Don’t you worry, little brother, we’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you’re healthy…”