“Name, please.”
Arkay shifted awkwardly in his seat. Words were a bit difficult currently. Mostly because he’d been crying. A fog of guilt still covered Arkay’s mind, unmoving and not shifting. To the credit of the Decay Lord on the other side of the glass window, they were being very, very patient.
“Which one?” Arkay whispered.
“The name you use for yourself.”
“Why are you asking me this stuff? You have a file in front of you.”
The Decay Lord grunted. Arkay couldn’t see them through the darkened glass, but they did sound vaguely familiar. It didn’t help that Arkay had spent the last goodness knows how long being asleep and trapped inside a small canister.
“We need you to cooperate. So we can get a better understanding about who you are. We need to understand these things via your own perspective.”
“Why though?”
Another grunt. “I do have a file for you here. In it, apparently you have multiple aliases, one of them being Thantoepheron Arkidetelos. But I assume you do not go by that name.”
Arkay sighed. He was tired and really just wanted to go back to sleep. Didn’t help that his arms and legs were falling asleep, due to the heavy de-powering bands tied across his wrists and ankles. “My name is Arkadin. Arkay for short.”
“And what was your birth name?”
“My… birth name?”
“The first name you were given. Perhaps a mortal name, perhaps a different title.”
“I… I don’t want to talk about that. I hardly remember any of it anyway. Are you guys… going to kill me or something?”
The Decay Lord got up from their seat, then disappeared from view. The lone door to Arkay’s side slowly crept open, revealing someone Arkay recognised: one of the older Thantir, Lord Vikalos.
“Do you really have that little faith, little one?”
“Yeah…” Arkay admitted. “Everyone else has wanted me dead or gone or enslaved. This feels no different.”
Vikalos looked Arkay up and down, then sighed. “I will strike you a deal, little one. I will turn off the power dampeners, but only if you cooperate and do not immediately try to flee. Does that sound reasonable?”
Arkay thought for a moment, then nodded. In an instant, the bands disappeared, and Arkay could feel some of his vast, hybrid energies returning. But he still felt exhausted and out of sorts.
With a snap of his fingers, Vikalos summoned a chair and placed it next to Arkay. “Let me explain this to you. You will not be hurt, as long as you do not harm others. This facility is here to help lost, powerful entities like yourself. All we want to do is get you on the right path, so you feel better. Do you understand?”
“Yeah…” Arkay nodded again. “So this… is actually a proper facility?”
“Indeed,” Vikalos explained further. “In fact, it is specially designed to deal with Life Goddess hybrids like yourself. I am sorry about the power dampeners, but-”
“No, no I totally get it!” Arkay snapped. “I’m a monster! I-”
“You are not a monster, you just took a wrong turn. But we can always turn around, head back a bit and find the right turn. Just need to be patient with yourself, because these changes don’t happen overnight.”
Arkay took a deep breath, relaxing slightly. “I… I guess you are right…”
Vikalos smiled, then held out his hand. “We will help you, if you let us.”
“Yeah, sure…” Arkay muttered. “Not like I have much else left to lose…”
“Perhaps, but you also have a huge amount to gain from this!” Vikalos smiled some more, helping Arkay to his feet. “Come along now, I shall show you around…”