“WHO TOUCHED ME?”
Litvir woke up tied to a cross, blood dripping down his face, pain tearing through his limbs. He was surrounded by soldiers, all with bayonets pointed at him. Bloody claw marks coated his non-armoured parts, and big chunks had been cut out of his plating.
But no one was looking at him. Every demonic being in the room was staring past Litvir, towards something bright.
“Which one of you touched me?”
“Who the hell are you?” Dominarch snarled, holding a tattered, bloody whip as realization slowly crept up on her. “Wait, how did you get out?”
Arkay floated in the centre of the room, dark energy emanating from his oddly unarmoured body. Dominarch growled at her soldiers, shouting to point their weapons at the mimic and shoot it, but, much to her dismay, no one moved.
“What… what is going on?”
“I asked a question. I demand an answer!” Arkay spat. “I know the answer, I just want to hear admittance.”
“How did you get out though?” Dominarch repeated herself. “You were…” Dominarch paused and turned to Litvir. She tried to raise her whip against the tied up Decayling, but her arms remained by her side. “You… you did something.”
Litvir blinked, still unable to really focus on his surroundings. “I… I did?”
“No, I did!” Arkay’s fury could be felt, echoing through everyone’s minds. “Until I am satisfied, until you have all been judged, you will remain where you are. Answer my question, be truthful and maybe I will make your death quick.”
Dominarch hesitated, not really sure what was going on.
“I touched you. You changed yourself though, you little mimicking whore.”
Arkay swooped over to Dominarch, pulses of dark energy lifting the demoness off the ground. “You should not have touched me.”
“What are you going to do about it? Can’t change the past!” the busty demoness snickered. “I’ve gone through plenty of mimics like you. You can barely control yourself, let alone actually hurt others.”
Tutting, Arkay dropped Dominarch, then floated towards Litvir. With a wave of his hands, the binds around Litvir undid themselves, and Litvir gently landed on his feet. Arkay ran his fingers across Litvir’s face, healing some of the more obvious wounds. But as he did so, Arkay’s appearance began to change. Heavy plating formed across Arkay’s body, his female features disappearing and replaced with sharp, smooth armour. A particularly large plate covered Arkay’s face completely, obscuring his eyes.
Once he was satisfied with his new form, Arkay turned his attention back to Dominarch.
“I am not impressed.”
“I don’t care. You have all been judged. I’d give you an opportunity to repent, but I don’t think you’ll take it.”
Dominarch rolled her eyes. “You’re bluff-”
Suddenly, every other being in the room collapsed. All of Dominarch’s soldiers, her precious Dracliks, all her loyal servants. In a snap of Arkay’s clawed fingers, they were all gone. Both Litvir and Dominarch felt them fade away. But the rush of cold death was swept away by a wave of celebration, as the many prisoners down below could be heard breaking free from their cells and tearing off their collars.
“Do you want to repent now?” Arkay asked, his blinded yet somehow haunting gaze falling on Dominarch. “Or will you take your sins to your grave?”
“What sort of… monster are you?” Dominarch cowered slightly, a fear of her impending doom taking over. “What are you?”
“I wish I knew. Will you repent for your sins?”
Dominarch hissed, then charged towards Arkay. But, just like her soldiers, she collapsed in a heap. With a sigh, Arkay kicked her body to one side, then turned back to Litvir. Litvir didn’t want to admit it, but he was slightly… scared.
“I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“It is… fine…”
“It’s not…” Arkay sighed some more. “I should have done… more, I guess…”
Litvir watched as Arkay lifted up into the air, towards a main console. He tapped several buttons, then frowned.
“Go find Retvik and Galyn. I’ll meet you at the ship in a bit.”
“What about everyone else here?”
Arkay closed his eyes. “I’ve mentally suggested that they all find their way back home. There’s enough ships in the hangar for them to all go their separate ways. Not much else more I… want to do.”
Litvir looked away, not sure whether he actually recognized Arkay any more.
“Thank you for saving me.”
“No, thank you for waking me up from that dark place. And sorry for… abusing your powers. There was always a reason why I never gave myself telepathy.”
“If you say so…” Litvir muttered, as he walked away. “See you at the ship, I guess…”