“Hmph. This is taking longer than I expected.”
Yisini watched from a gilded cage as the golden Voidborn paced up and down. She had no idea where they actually were, apart from “outside the universe” and the more Yisini tried to find out, the more confused and perplexed she got. Nothing in this strange place made sense. Rooms were both infinitely large and infinitely small. Time fluctuated wildly with seconds stretching into hours and vice versa. And everything was bitterly cold. There was no warmth what so ever, aside from the small amount that Yisini herself emitted.
The Allbirther had tried to speak to her captor, but so far, every word she had attempted to say had been met with a stony silence. In fact, the words just muttered were the first Yisini had heard in a while.
“Longer?” Yisini whispered.
The moment Yisini spoke, Ahkron teleported in front of her. He didn’t seem to be able to move like that inside the universe, but out here, the Voidborn moved without any resistance what so ever.
“Yes. Longer. Your pathetic death god is clinging on to life and prolonging the inevitable.”
“But…” Yisini hesitated. She wanted to challenge Ahkron, the vile being that he was, but she also feared for her safety. There was no one out here to protect her, and Yisini wasn’t… exactly good at protecting herself. “But… if he was… pathetic, why… hasn’t he died yet?”
Ahkron slammed the gilded cage in anger, pushing Yisini towards the back of it. “BECAUSE DECAY-LORDS ARE HYPOCRITES! They murder all they touch, yet when it comes to their own demise, they hold off and make others suffer while they cling on to their miserable existences!”
“So…” Yisini really didn’t want to get hurt, but she realised she might have struck a nerve. “So you… don’t think Arky is… holding on because… he doesn’t want his universe to die?”
The Voidborn grunted. “Your death god is called Arky?”
“Arkidetelos. Arkadin, Arkay or Arky for short.”
“Your universe’s end named itself after its start? What sort of pompous being does your death god think it is?” Ahkron almost laughed. “Such a pitiful being. So small and cowardly too. He left you, little Allbirther.”
Yisini shrugged. “Actually I kinda distracted you so he could escape. I don’t particularly like how Arky kills all my stuff but he’s gracious about it all and he helps me make things that last longer and longer… If anything, I think Arkadin is much more of a god of love than I ever was…”
Ahkron laughed for real this time. A cold, mocking laugh. “Death gods cannot feel love. They exist only to kill, decay and destroy…” The Voidborn though swiftly changed his tone. “But I can feel love. That is why I do what I do. I preserve these universes so they can be loved eternally. When I saw you though…”
The cage door opened. Ahkron stepped inside, making himself closer in size to Yisini. He walked closer to the Allbirther, arms outstretched.
“You are perhaps one of the most beautiful beings I have encountered. You could be, should be making universes. The way your mother does. But you could do so, so much better, working with me…”
Yisini blinked. “You… you like me that much?”
“Yes. I would love to be your partner. Your mate. Whatever you wanted, should you accept my offer of marriage, would be yours.”
“What?”
“I want to marry you. Because you are perfect.”
The serpentine goddess continued to blink, not sure how else she could express her confusion. She slowly came to the realisation though that she might have just obtained a small bargaining chip.
“You… want me… to marry you… And you’ll… let me have something?”
Ahkron nodded. “Within reason.”
“Can you… let my universe continue on and not, uh, preserve it?”
The smile on Ahkron’s face faded. “Why would you want that? Do you not want it to live forever?”
Yisini sighed. “I do… but I think you preserving it won’t… that’s not how I want it to live forever. But if you take me out of the equation, then little Arky will inherit my divine control over life. He’ll become the god of life and death and maybe, one day, he might figure it out?”
“You do realise that your little Arky is a little Decayling, and will grow up to consume all?”
“Only if you don’t treat him with the same love and kindness we should all treat each other with…” Yisini sighed. “I’ll admit, I haven’t always done that.”
Ahkron leaned forward and gently patted Yisini on the head. “Unfortunately, your universe and your death god cannot be saved, but perhaps there is something more I can offer you?”
Yisini sighed again. She was realising just how trapped she was. She thought that, maybe, she would have been able to escape or something, but Ahkron had her exactly where she wanted. He had manipulated them all… the same way Yisini used to manipulate others.
“Can I… think about it for a bit?” the Allbirther finally stuttered. “This is all… a lot to take in.”
The Voidborn’s smile returned. Again, he gently patted Yisini, pausing to admire her beauty.
“Very well. You may have some time to consider making any requests. But please do be quick. Your universe’s preservation is… imminent… depending on how your sibling deities act…”