“So, uh, what are you going to do?”
Kayen had asked that question a couple of times, but the goddess hadn’t answered him yet. She’d start saying something, then change her mind and go back to fiddling with… things. Machines, Kayen assumed.
Really, the whole room made no sense. It was both tiny and huge at the same time, filled with a strange mixture of mechanical and organic machinery. A cross between what he had seen when the Panelix had tried to kill him and what he had seen while trapped in the Allbirther’s horrible organ factory. One created space, the other created life. The Allmaker created both, but clearly she made other things as well.
“Is it going to hurt? Whatever it is you’re going to do to us?”
“My, my, you really do ask a lot of questions, don’t you?” Yisini hissed as she sat on a little perch above a desk in the corner. “Too many, in my opinion.”
“They’re about to be turned into death gods or something,” Epani hissed back. She was lying in a similar little nest nearby, her long, finned tail and one of her clawed fins hanging out the side. “Let them ask their questions.”
“Yes please, because I have a lot of them!” Kayen did his best to seem vaguely optimistic. He had nearly pissed himself several times and was shaking all over in fear, but… well, they probably did know that he was terrified but he wanted to make it seem slightly less obvious. Plus, his questions meant he could try and stall for time while his friends and soon to be fellow death gods had a chance to try and work out a plan.
“Like what?” Epani asked.
“Like, what’s it like, being a god? I can tell Allbirther Yisini enjoys it, but you don’t seem that happy.”
“Being a god is great!” Kinisis exclaimed as she bounced by. For some reason, Kinisis and her lab were absolutely gigantic now. What had been a creature exactly the same size and shape as Phovos was now as tall as a skyscraper, prancing around a city-sized laboratory. Even the other deities seemed small in comparison, despite them being a great deal larger than the four mortals.
Something flashed into the room. A large, black and gold being. One that Kayen instantly recognised as Kenon, the Lord of the Void, the Space between Spaces. The one deity the Skyavok did worship just a little.
“Kinisis…”
“I’ve got this all planned out!” Kinisis grinned as she covered Kenon’s face with one hand. “Trust me.”
“Time is skewed right now.”
“Of course it is, because the Thantophor is dead. It’ll all go back to normal when I’m done with this lot!”
“I liked him.”
Kinisis laughed. “No you didn’t. No one liked Arkadin. The Banikans only care because they believe he created them, when they should be worshipping Yisini like everyone else.”
“That is not true!” Kenon protested. “I care!”
“If you really cared…” Kinisis turned to the hulking, antlered beast. “If you cared, you wouldn’t have had your other children attempt to rip him from my bosom. You would have used Arkadin for more than just dealing with errant corruptions. You wouldn’t have convinced his siblings to wage war because you were angry I wasn’t letting you stay with me.”
Kenon didn’t say anything. Kinisis laughed, which prompted Epani and Yisini to laugh hesitantly. None of them wanted to get on Kinisis’s bad side right now. With a sigh, Kenon disappeared again, knowing he had been beaten.
“That was weird…” Kayen muttered.
“Nah, it’s fine!” Kinisis smiled again, turning her attention back to the four mortals. “Did you have more questions for me?”
Kayen glanced at his friends, then nodded. “Uh, yeah… so, uh, what will we actually do as gods?”
“You get to do whatever you want!”
“Really?” Kayen asked. “Why couldn’t Arkadin do what he wanted?”
“Because he threatens things.”
“But won’t we threaten things?”
“You’ll be a lot weaker than Arkadin. Four weaker gods are easier to control than one all-encompassing Death Lord.”
“Really though? What if, when we’re gods, we’ll team up and overthrow you?”
“You won’t be able to do that.”
“You just said we’ll be able to do anything!”
“Within reason.”
“So what are the limits of all this?”
Yisini rolled her eyes as Kinisis dutifully answered every question the dumb mortal threw at her.
“Well, you’ll be making sure that everything dies properly. With four of you, I can split you into two groups, two to death with Panelixian deaths and two to deal with Yisinic deaths.”
“What do those mean?”
“What?”
“Panelixian and Yisinic?”
“Two separate systems. The decay of things like stars and planets and the decay of more organic things.”
“Which of us will be doing what?”
“Not sure yet. We’ll see how you all look when you’re done.”
“How will we look?”
“And what about the Whenvern, Kairos?” Phovos suddenly asked.
“What about him?”
The Raptor took a deep breath. “Isn’t the Whenvern technically more of a death bringer than any death god could be? Sure, Kairos is Oras, Kairos is Time, and Time is how we grow and develop and exist. But is he not also the doom drum who creates the beat and rhythm with which we march towards death? We call Arkadin the Lord of Death, the God of Decay, the Thantophor, but in truth he is but a moment of existence, that final moment. It is Kairos who takes us on that path, leading us down the road of decay and death. Will turning us into death gods really do what you thing it will do, or will it just shift the blame elsewhere?”
Kinisis stopped what she was doing.
“You know what, you bring up a good point.”
“Are you just shifting bla-” Phovos started, but Kinisis raised her hand, silencing her.
The Allmaker blinked in confusion. “I don’t actually know where Kairos is right now…”