Kuta sat in his chair, feeling very deflated. Sure, he had managed to resurrect himself and cause his evil twin brother a great deal of pain, but nothing felt right. He thought he’d explode back to life in the middle of something important, pointing out how corrupt Litvir was and exposing the horrors of being a psionic mastermind. Instead, he’d woken up in Litvir’s tiny bedroom, on a ship floating through space, and the only emotions he’d inspired had been a hint of anger, confusion and a wave of relief, of all things.
In all honestly, Kuta wasn’t even sure if he’d even managed to escape his brother’s simulations. None of this felt particularly real.
“Are you alright, Kuta?”
The being sitting opposite him was Retvik, a being that Kuta at least knew and somewhat trusted. Back when Kuta had been held prisoner, Retvik was one of the few beings that briefly kept him sane and let him taste reality. Yet Retvik seemed different now. Bigger, more imposing and definitely more on fire. Somehow though, he had full control of his fire powers, and carried a friendly but otherworldly aura about him.
“No, not really.”
“Are you ill? Do you need medical attention?”
Kuta sighed. “No, not at all. I’m absolutely fine. Psionic powers are a bit wobbly, I am picking up weird emotions from you and Litvir. But I am fine.”
“You do not seem fine,” Retvik grunted. “Is something on your mind?”
Kuta glanced around the room. It was somewhat cozy. To his left was a large pile of cushions and pillows, where his twin was sleeping. Ahead of him, past Retvik, was a vast glass panel, with stars twinkling outside. Or at least, that was what Kuta thought. Apparently they were the glows of distant universes.
“Did I really escape the simulation?” Kuta eventually asked. “Is any of this real?”
Retvik grunted again, taking a moment to think about his answer. “I, uh, assume it is. At least, I hope it is. It would suck if everything I have experienced is just the figment of someone else’s imagination…”
Kuta eyed Retvik, watching him struggle with the very thought of being in a simulation again, before turning back to Kuta.
“None of this makes sense.”
“It really does not…” Retvik frowned, snorting overly warm air from his nostrils. “But you have missed a huge amount of, well, context, I guess. You were basically dead, and the, uh, multiverse continued on without you.”
“But… you all said the universe… blew up?” Kuta asked, feeling more and more confused. “Did it?”
“Uh, yes, but some of the gods saved part of it. And some of us… somewhat ended up being deified as well.”
“But what are all these… other beings? What is Galyn? A god from another universe? I am pretty certain our universe only had four or six deities!” Kuta rubbed his head. “I have so many questions, I do not know where to begin. This is all so confusing. Not to mention all this ‘decay lord’ stuff!”
Retvik shrugged. “I can at least explain that. Turns out, in the space between universes, there are various… factions, none of which trust each other. We are Decay Lords, which is a catch-all term for former deities from dead universes-”
“But we are not deities!” Kuta interrupted. “We re just… mortals.”
“Before Arkay unwillingly blew up the universe, a vast number of individuals were made into demigods in a last-ditch effort to save everyone,” Retvik explained calmly. “Litvir and I were among those individuals. And because you were a part of Litvir, you ended up deified as well, I assume. The Decay Lords as an organization are not… bad. They just… really like bureaucracy.”
Kuta glanced at all the paperwork in front of him. “I… guessed as much.”
“It is unfortunate…” Retvik paused, peering behind Kuta. The door had swung open, and a familiar yellow-armoured being waltzed in, carrying three bowls of some genuinely nice-smelling stew. Arkay swiftly moved various sheets of paper to one side and placed a bowl next to both Retvik and Kuta.
“Hey guys!” Arkay smiled. “None of you have eaten, so I made you all some stew.”
“Oh, thank you…” Kuta muttered. “I am not hungry though.”
“You should eat. Need to regain your energy!” As soon as Arkay arrived, he swiftly disappeared, but not before having left a bowl of stew next to the still-sleeping Litvir.
Kuta glanced at Retvik again, this time with a different look on his face.
“Is that really the Thantophor?”
“Yes.”
“Is he really that small?”
“Yes.”
“Huh…” Kuta trailed off. “He… makes me feel weird.”
Retvik tutted. dragging Kuta back to the task at hand. “We should get this paperwork sorted out…”