The catacombs of Thre-Vretania were vast, empty, and normally rather calm. In the distant past, these water-ridden caves had been sanctuary to early Rethavok. The darkness had been used as cover not just to spawn, but also as a source of protection and safety from other races. In modern times though, the catacombs had been abandoned, with concrete tunnels and steel sewers built above them.
However, today, something echoed through the catacombs. A collapse at their very centre. Something had torn through the central palace above, burying through the tunnels and sewers before crashing in a heap of rubble and gold, altering the course of underground streams that had not been seen in generations.
“YOU AGAIN!” Kenon roared, confused and surprised, perhaps with a pinch of fear as well. His plans to remake reality had been… interrupted by the presence of a being he had once thought dead. “YOU LEFT. YOU HAVE NO PLACE HERE!”
Above, various mortals had gathered, just a handful that had been close by. Kenon cared little for them. They would be remade, just like everyone else. No, right now, he had a more pressing threat to deal with. The Thantophor had supposedly left this universe for good. But here he was, in that pathetic yellow armour, with those dumb, cutesy golden eyes, standing over Kenon.
“Why are you here, Arkadin? To die once more? All you ever do is hold everyone back!” the Void Lord snarled.
Really, the Thantophor wasn’t really that much of a threat. There was one simple course of action: distract the former death god enough for Kenon to be able to take him out. Even now, Arkadin seemed somewhat distant. Definitely armed, but not seemingly ready to strike.
With a sneer, Kenon picked himself up and dusted himself down. “You really are pathetic. A little nothing. A smear. A real death god would actually be good at his job. Cold-hearted and straight to the point. But you? You are just a pathetic little romantic, getting too involved with all these silly mortals. All of you are overly involved, but I am going to fix that. I am going to make this universe perfect, make everyone inside it perfect.”
Arkadin still hadn’t really moved. He was just standing there, watching Kenon, fiddling with his two weapons – some sort of laser rifle and a long, pointed spear.
“Really, I would offer you a place in my perfect world, Arkadin. But all you do is corrupt whatever you touch. So many have suffered needlessly because you did not just do your deathly duties. You got yourself involved. So now, instead of me just remaking everyone and everything as I see fit, I am going to have to… alter your former friends. Destroy them and remake them, rather than just augmenting them.
“You, however, I will just have to kill. Again. Because you are not just pathetic, but you do not know when to quit either. A slimy little weasel, just begging for affection. Affection you never deserved. If you speak up though, I can give you a quick death for a change.”
Kenon glared at the Thantophor, summoning his staff. Yet still, Arkadin stood still.
“Are you not listening, kid? Has your time as a Decayling rendered you dumb and mute?”
“Nah…” Arkadin shrugged, holstering his rifle. “Just trying to decide what to kill you with.”
The Void Lord paused, then let out a loud laugh, throwing his head back with glee. “Kill me? You do not have what it takes! Never did, never will! Because you are a pathetic little-”
Kenon’s words ended abruptly. Arkadin’s spear had pierced his throat, his neck, his spine, his whole body, wedging the Void Lord into the ground, pinning him in place. Paralysed, he watched as Arkadin approached and very gently placed a hand on his face.
Suddenly, Kenon felt… pain. Genuine pain. But underneath that, there was a strange thumping sound. A regular patten. A heart beat. One that was… slowing down. Each heavy thud, each pound of blood and air felt harder and harder, as the Void Lord gasped and spluttered, drowning in his own golden fluids.
“This is how it feels, you know…” Arkay whispered. “This is death. A slow, agonizing decay.”
The Void Lord tried to focus on the Thantophor, but his body refused to cooperate. His heart beat slowed to nothing. His lungs failed to function. A bubbling sensation ran across Kenon’s mind, as his brain began to suffocate. Garbled words fell from Kenon’s throat before falling silent completely. Somewhere in those vomited sounds, Arkadin hoped that maybe he’d heard an apology, but it was most likely just wishful thinking.
With a hint of sadness and a tear in his eye, Arkay removed his hand from the cool, dead mask of the former Void Lord. Above, other beings had begun to gather. They had all seen what he had done.
“Sorry I didn’t kill you sooner…” Arkay finally sighed, before teleporting away. “Should have freed us both a long, long time ago…”