Gods at the Beach

The two deities rested happily on the beach, enjoying the warm rays from the freshly risen sun. Kairos stretched his wings out wide, keeping them out of the calm, icy water, while Yisini was lying across almost the whole beach, her tail drifting off across the sea and disappearing into the depths. Nearby, herds of primitive creatures grazed on the grass, completely oblivious to the two massive beings.

“This is nice,” Kairos pondered to himself. “I wonder why I don’t do this more often?”

“Because you’re always busy smashing time machines and doing whatever else it is you do!” Yisini beamed. She flicked her tail out of the sea, flinging something into the air and into the beach next to her. It was some sort of shark-like fish. Yisini picked up the creature and cheerfully bit its head off.

“Looking after time is important, Yisini.”

“So important that you can’t let mortals see how it all works?”

Kairos grunted. “Yes. Because knowing the mortals you have created, many of them would almost certainly try to break time if they had the chance. I’d rather not give them the opportunity.”

Yisini took another bite out of her sudden meal. “So how many time machines have you destroyed lately?”

“Hm…” Kairos his winged hand, counting on long, clawed fingers. “Hm…”

“You don’t know?”

“No, just trying to remember. I think I destroyed fifteen various time machines last year, but three belonged to the same group of beings. None of them actually got close, but I don’t want them to get close.”

“Why?”

Kairos sighed. “They’ll break things.”

“And you won’t?”

The Whenvern flicked sand at Yisini. “Don’t be like that! Time literally runs through my veins. I was designed to maintain forward-flowing time and destroy anything that gets in its way. Mortals cannot even truly comprehend what would happen if they could go back and alter the tiniest things. The past is currently set in stone because I do not allow it to be changed, but all heck would break lose if the past was no longer exact!”

Yisini shrugged. “Eh, I think you’re overthinking it.”

“I’m not!” Kairos argued back. “Unlike the stuff you do, time IS an exact science! It HAS to be as it is!”

“But you can slow down time and do weird timey wimey things?” Yisini asked. “How is that different to-”

“A very precise and exact collection of events happened so that we could end up here. You change one thing, it could all collapse.”

“A species doesn’t go extinct because one member dies. A building doesn’t collapse if you remove one brick…” Yisini tried to counter, but was quickly cut off.

“A building MIGHT collapse if you remove a brick. It might collapse if you remove two or five or fifty bricks. But we don’t know! So it’s better to not remove any damn bricks in case it DOES all fall down!”

“But you don’t know.”

“I’m not willing to risk it!” Kairos growled, then stopped and took a long, drawn out breath. “If you fuck up, Yisini, some creatures die. If I fuck up, the universe could fall apart.”

Yisini shrugged. “I guess.”

The two deities fell silent. After a while, Kairos sat up and shook himself down.

“You’re leaving already?” Yisini asked. “Is it because I’m right?”

“No, I’m leaving because you’re completely wrong…” Kairos grunted, climbing to his feet and spreading his massive wings.

“You don’t know what might happen.”

“That’s true, but I do have several approximate ideas of what might happen, and none of them are good.”

The Whenvern flapped his wings. On the third flap, the God of Time lifted into the air.

“Also, this is why I don’t visit you very often, Yisini.”

“Because I make you think?” Yisini smiled.

“No, because you’re an idiot!” Kairos shouted as he flew off.