“I assume your meeting with the Whenvern did not go well…”
Kuta did not need their telepathy to tell that Arkay was utterly broken inside. The Thantophor was currently in the form of a beautiful yellow-plated Rethavok, but black tears were running from his eyes, gnawing at the silver armour he was wearing. Normally, Arkay would politely knock to enter Kuta’s office, however, today, he had just teleported in, not even using a shadow as a portal like he normally did. And now Arkay was staring out the window, unable to face Kuta.
“Kairos told me it was a definite potential future. One that can be avoided, but definitely real.”
Kuta approached slowly, not wanting to scare Arkay. They considered putting an arm around him, but chose not to, and instead just gazed out of the window as well. While Kuta looked out to the sky, Arkay was watching people and traffic on the street below.
“So am I going to die?”
“No. But only if we stop seeing each other and I go cold again.”
“Oh… So… are you here to say goodbye?”
Arkay nodded. “Goodbye and thank you.”
Kuta tutted, not liking those words. “Well, that… that sucks. That really sucks. Because I do love you, Arkay, and I hate that we have to end this. But I suppose, if I have to choose between loving you and being alive, well, it is not really a choice, is it?”
“No, it’s not a choice at all. Really, I owe you an apology, Kuta. I should have known this would happen, in some way or another. Yet I got… greedy, I guess, and I dragged you into my stupid life anyway. You gave up far too much to be in a relationship with me, and now I’m abandoning you. I should have left you alone, never should have bothered you in the first place.”
“You do not owe me anything, Arkay. Yes, it sucks that my home was destroyed and both my legs were broken, but that may have happened no matter what. At the same time, you opened my eyes to new experiences and I got to feel genuine love and affection for the first time in, well, about a decade. It may have been brief, but I enjoyed our time together and I am glad we got to be together in the first place. How long are you going away for anyway? And, if you… do not mind me asking, what does ‘going cold’ actually mean?”
Arkay glanced at Kuta. “You’re not angry?”
“I am a Rethan, I do my best to not be angry, after all, we are large, armoured dangerous creatures. Admittedly, I am a tiny, tiny bit angry, but I am sad more than anything else. We are both understandably sad. Because we love each other. However, it seems the, uh, universe, multiverse, whatever, all of that is conspiring against us.” Kuta glanced downwards, then wished they hadn’t. They had forgotten that they were quite high up, and Kuta was admittedly not the best with heights.
“Yeah, that’s understandable. If there was another way around this, if there was a way where we could be together without risking your life, believe me, we wouldn’t be having this fucking conversation.”
“I know, I know…” Kuta sighed. “I am not angry at you. It just… sucks.”
“Yeah…” Arkay trailed off. “Literally the only good news I have is that my going cold isn’t permanent.”
“I still do not know what you mean by that.”
“Oh.”
Arkay didn’t answer at first. He turned his attention to several clouds that were drifting by. Clearly he could see something that Kuta couldn’t.
“Going cold… Basically, I have to cease all physical connections with mortals. All mortals. Not just you. I can still intervene when I desperately need to, and I’ll send you emails with information as to not invalidate your new job completely, but otherwise, for me, it’s complete radio silence. No more mortal persona, no more interfering directly with governments, no more watching live arena matches and no more spending time with you. I do my duties as the God of Decay, I keep to myself and that’s it.”
“Oh. That sounds… miserable.”
Arkay snorted. “That’s how it’s always been. At least, up until recently. But every other time I’ve gone cold, I’ve done so… without having experienced… this… you…”
“I think that is what makes this even more depressing. You are billions of years old, yet…”
“I know, I know. I thought I was… getting better, but… well…” Arkay turned back to Kuta. “I’ll survive. And you’ll survive as well. I want you to go and live your life, to move on. I hope that, when I come back in a decade, you’ll have found a new poten-partner, maybe even a full partner. At the very least, I want you to be happy.”
“You are going away for a DECADE?” Kuta couldn’t help but shout.
“The last time I went cold, I did so for two hundred years. Most of my cold periods are for about five hundred years, with me only really coming back for our 2.5k flare-ups. It’s definitely a long time for you, but a decade is… it could have been worse.”
“That does not make this situation any better!” Kuta exclaimed. “You… You are just a slave… There… has to be more to this than just my life being at risk.”
“You’re right. It’s not just you at risk, it’s everyone. I thought Arkidetelos was dead, but… but losing you, in the way I saw in that potential future… Well, you know first-hand what Arkidetelos is like, even if this universe has no idea. I can’t put you all in danger. But I got a small taste of freedom, thanks to you. The sooner I go cold, the sooner I can warm up again.”
Kuta calmed themselves down, then sighed. “So… is this it?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Arkay wiped the tears from his eyes and threw his arms around Kuta, holding them tightly. Kuta hesitated briefly, then hugged Arkay back, before letting go.
“I love you, Kuta.”
“I love you too, Arkay.”
“I’ll see you in ten years, alright?”
“Look after yourself, dear.”
Arkay smiled weakly. “I will. Goodbye.”
“Farewell.”
The Thantophor allowed himself a few more tears, then faded away into the shadows, leaving Kuta alone in the dark, empty office.
…
Deathbringer is now online.
Deathbringer has added Spiritdrainer to the group chat.
Deathbringer: Hey, Retvik, Litvir, I’m really sorry to throw this at you both, but I have to go cold for a bit. It’s… hard to explain, but I need to go silent in order to avoid a potential future where I go all… Arkidetelos on everything. This means I won’t be able to talk to you or anyone for, potentially, quite a long time.
Deathbringer: I’m really sorry about this and, trust me, I hate it as much as you two do. But you both know how dangerous I am. My going silent is better than anyone else suffering.
Deathbringer: In the mean time, I’ve added Kuta to this chat. They will be upset and lonely. Please look after Kuta. I’m going silent for Kuta’s sake. But, honestly, Kuta is… a better person than I could ever be. I almost consider them my replacement.
Deathbringer: I love all of you dearly. I wish things were different, but, well, better for me to disappear than for Kuta or anyone else to get hurt.
Deathbringer: I’ll see you all soon. Goodbye.
Deathbringer is now offline.
Deathbringer has left the group chat.