“YOU AGREED TO IT?”
Rethais was glad he ducked as a porcelain bowl flew past him and smashed against the kitchen counter.
“I take it you are upset.”
“YOU SAID WE WERE GOING TO LIVE A LIFE OF LUXURY AND YOU WOULD JUST BE AN AMBASSADOR! YOU SAID YOU WOULD NOT RETURN TO THAT CURSED DUTY!”
Lysar was angry, far angrier than Rethais had ever seen her before. The second Rethais had walked in and explained what was going on, Lysar’s mood faded completely. She had been rather pleasant and content mere seconds ago, yet was now throwing cutlery in Rethais’s direction.
“LIAR, DECEIVER, WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?”
Rethais sighed, backing out of the kitchen and towards the front door. “Lysar, we have been struggling to find anyone even willing to become High General for the last two months. I am simply stepping back in until we do find someone.”
“YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME!”
“I did tell you. I am telling you right now…”
A metal stool barrelled towards Rethais, which he simply batted to one side. Both he and Lysar were strong beings, but an actual fight would have been dangerous. It was better just to let Lysar continue throwing things for now.
“YOU MAKE A SPLIT-SECOND DECISION TO RUIN OUR LIVES!”
Rethais sighed. “No, I made a split-second decision to follow the path we already know, rather than traipsing into the unknown. There are essentially no living Rethavok that have the knowledge to be High General, while also being capable of dealing with deities, except for myself. We both knew this could potentially happen, it already was happening in a way, and now I am just making it official.”
“YOU SHOULD HAVE STOPPED AND SPOKEN TO ME!” Lysar wailed. “I DO NOT WANT TO GO THROUGH ALL OF THIS AGAIN!”
“It will be different this time. We… I am just maintaining everything as it is. We will-”
“You cannot prove that! The… the god dangle over us! The damn deities that we pushed to one side, that we strode forward without their stupid conflicts!” Lysar took a deep breath. Tears welled up, and Lysar did nothing to stop them from trickling down her cheeks. “We are just their little playthings, Rethais. You in particular, you bow to their demands. I do not want to lose you again.”
Rethais tutted, then started removing his armour, just chucking it on the floor. He then took off his stomach wrap, dumping it on the pile. Hideous scars covered Rethais’s bare skin, snaking across his stomach. Cracks rippled across his armour, small chips missing. These were what remained of an old, horrific injury.
“You already lost me, Lysar. We already lost the battle. As much as I hate to admit it, I would rather follow orders than, well, be killed in a bout of godly anger. I was lucky the first time. But for the safety of literally every being in existence, playing along is a better choice than trying to fight back against universe-ending entities.”
Lysar hesitated, wiping away some of her tears. “I do not… want to raise a kid in this universe…”
“Well we…” Rethais paused, shaking slightly. “Lysar, are you… expecting?”
“Yes…”
“Since… when? Why did you not tell me?”
“I…” Lysar was stuttering now, and the tears were flowing harder. “I thought… you would be… angry with me…”
Rethais shook his head, then delicately stepped towards Lysar, wrapping his arms around her. “I could never be angry with you… Surprised, yes, but not angry… Have you spoken to a medic yet?”
“No…” Lysar whimpered. “I… I was scared…”
“I am sorry…” Rethais hugged Lysar more tightly. “We will get through this, I promise…”