The floor was wet and damp but not sticky. The air had a salty, stale odour to it. But the path just kept on going, on and on and on. In a straight line, disappearing into the gloom.
The entire time they walked, Retvik, Litvir and Arkay expected something to happen, something to leap out at them, something to speak to them, something to approach them. Nothing happened though. Not until they reached the end of the stupidly long corridor, only to find what had once been a luxury room that was nothing but rubble. And sitting on a pile of twisted concrete and metal that had once been a throne was a single Voidborn.
The Voidborn was a very smooth one, with mostly black and gold plating, but strange orange shark-like fins running down its arms and back. But the strangest thing about this Voidborn was that it was giving off an aura of misery. To the point that it barely noticed its three visitors.
“Uh, hi?” Arkay eventually waved meekly as he and his partners approached.
The Voidborn looked up, then sighed and climbed off its ruined throne to greet the Missing. Or rather, it greeted Arkay and seemed to ignore Retvik and Litvir.
“You. The Second. The False Null.”
Arkay blinked briefly, then rolled his eyes. “Hello, my name is Arkay Theanon, codename Deathbringer. I am none of whatever those titles are.”
“But you are…” the Voidborn growled slightly. “The second Torn to survive to maturity, the second Torn to become bound to the Decayons. You are Yellow, the predecessor of the Third, of Orange, the One We Contained.”
“Contained, past tense, I assume?” Litvir asked. “May I ask, are you Torkalion, are you the member of the Orangegold that we are here to meet?”
“I… Yes. I am Torkalion. I am… the only remaining member of the Orangegold now. Because what made us call ourselves the Orangegold came back and… tore us asunder.”
“Let me guess…” Retvik grunted. “You imprisoned the entity known as Vryda, hurt this being, potentially tortured them, made them kill in your name, and they broke free, came back and killed you all.”
Torkalion hesitated, then growled. Litvir and Retvik could tell that he was considering violence, but was already too beaten down and was unwilling to risk further injury.
“Well… you would be correct. We captured what the Plated Voidborns call Orange. A being that is Thrice-Torn. A being similar to the False Null here. One that is… far more dangerous than what we once attempted to control.”
“Are you considering trying to control me?” Arkay found himself snarling. “Because I think we all know that you trying anything will end up with you dying painfully.”
The Voidborn hesitated again. “I… I am no fool. In fact, it pains me to even ask you for assistance. I seek safety and protection.”
“Hang on, you are genuinely terrified of something…” Litvir muttered. “You have absolutely no fear of me or Retvik, but you are also not that scared of Arkay. Even though you just called him more powerful than Vryda.”
Torkalion lowered his head in shame. “We… we filled Orange with rage. We filled her with pain and suffering. And we used those to make her bend to our will, up until she was bent so much that she fought back…”
“And she… she attacked you.”
“Indeed…” Torkalion stuttered. “I am the last of the Orangegold. I was also the only person to ever… suggest that maybe we should use… the carrot rather than the rod. I do not know if that spared me, but I do believe that Orange will hunt me down and kill me. As I most likely deserve.”
“So… you want us to protect you?” Retvik asked. “You do realise that, well, we got in here with ease, and we can only do so much.”
Torkalion gestured around. “We discovered that Orange has one weakness, a powerful fear of water. Well… not just any water, viscous fluids. That was what we trapped her in, and that is what this room is booby-trapped to be flooded by should Orange attempt to break in and attempt to kill me. I just need your presence until I have finished my teleportation ritual. The ritual will allow me to teleport to a far safer spot within the territories of the Vast Voids, to whom I will then pledge myself.”
All of a sudden, the room began to shake. The walls began to crack, but Torkalion seemed unbothered. With a wave of his hand, all the rubble he had been standing on was thrown to one side, revealing a metal lid. Beneath that was a large vat of thick, bubbling, amber liquid. Torkalion smiled.
“Thank you for making Orange hesitate. That distraction was all I needed. Good luck dealing with Orange’s rage.”
Before the Missing could do anything, Torkalion leaped into the vat of liquid. As soon as he was fully submerged, both he and the liquid vanished. However, the walls decided to give in and a new liquid, this one redder in colour, flooded the room.
Rather than panic, Arkay and Litvir worked together to form a protective telekinetic bubble around the three of them. The red waves crashed in, but bounced harmlessly off the bubble of protection, despite Retvik’s concerns. Arkay decided that there was no point sticking around, and he used his destructive powers to create a vast hole directly above them. Litvir then lifted the bubble up into the air, out of the base and out of the water, off the small base completely.
However, something else was briefly spotted, circling the area. A bright orange glow, a blur, speeding by. A loud screech was heard, and the orange glow disappeared.
“Do you think that was Vryda?” Retvik asked as Litvir carried the three of them back to their ship.
“Oh, almost certainly…” Arkay frowned. “And… I think that Voidborn was right. Vryda might actually be a Synaisthyn…”
“Well, let us hope that she does not turn her rage against us…” Litvir muttered. “Because we accidentally just helped her tormentor escape…”