“Kinisis, may I have a word with you, in private?”
The Allmaker looked up from what she was doing. Considering the door was both squeaky and had a bell for when anyone entered, Kinisis wasn’t quite sure how Galyn got in. Then Kinisis remembered that Galyn was probably as old as she was, and doors and alarms weren’t exactly a hassle to him.
“Sure, what do you need, Galyn?”
Kinisis snapped her fingers, summoning a chair for Galyn to sit on. Instead. Galyn pushed the chair to one side, then leaned on the desk, towering over Kinisis. Kinisis wasn’t quite sure whether this was supposed to be threatening or intimidating, or if Galyn just disliked chairs.
“I need to know whether you are being honest or not. Because your proposal is genuinely too good to be true.”
With a shrug, Kinisis leaned back in her chair. “What is it that’s making you feel nervous around me? Why do you not think I am honest?”
Galyn grunted. “I do not want to come across as rude, but, well, you are a Life Goddess. There is always a catch.”
Kinisis frowned, then got up, leading Galyn to the window behind her.
“You see that, Galyn? That is the last 10% of my universe. It mostly belongs to my daughters now. But they are not capable of defending it the way I was. Building a Life Oasis here, and later maybe a Decay Lord hub, gives the little universe some camouflage, some extra protection, so they can work in peace…”
Kinisis trailed off, then waggled her finger briefly. She opened up a tiny portal, then pulled something out of it, snapping the portal shut again. The something was a small, glass vial with a black, slightly golden fluid inside it. Kinisis handed the vial to Galyn.
“Uh, what is this?” Galyn asked, looking confused. It looked vaguely familiar, as if Galyn had seen the fluids elsewhere.
“Antiphthoric hemostasin. Regeneration-negating Decayon fluids, mixed with the blood of a Voidborn, topped off with anti-corruption properties. This stuff is worth a fortune, since it can only be made in very specific ways…” Kinisis started explaining. “This stuff is toxic to Voidborns, deadly to corruption and catnip for Life Goddesses. And we have a huge supply of it. My kids have no idea what to do with it, so I’m going to be selling it all off, as a side-business for my Oasis.”
“How… valuable is it?”
Kinisis tutted. “Very. You have to kill a Voidborn in a very specific way in order to create this stuff. Arkadin killed my ex-husband when he threatened us, and left a fountain of this hemostasin as a parting gift. Which is originally why I wanted him here, so I can share the profits with him. But there is… one more reason…”
Galyn handed the vial back to Kinisis. Kinisis nudged it back. “Keep it. I have literal cubic tons of the stuff… The real reason is, well, I’ve not been a good being. Sure, morality is completely subjective, but compared to the general moral compass of mortals and lower deities, I’ve been a bitch. And I want to do something good for once. Hence the Life Oasis, selling dirt-cheap hemostasin, and giving you guys the space to expand and rebuild a guild that my actions helped ruin. However, I completely understand you not trusting me though, because I am a Life Goddess after all.”
Galyn took a moment to think up some sort of answer. But before he could say anything, something distracted him. A small voice in the back of his head.
“Sorry for listening in,” Litvir and Kuta whispered in unison. “But she is telling the truth.”
Galyn closed his eyes and grunted loudly. The twin brothers immediately took this as a reason to leave the conversation, as they were hanging about outside.
“Well, Kinisis, thank you for expanding your reasoning for me. Do you have a contract ready for us to read through?”
Kinisis’s eyes widened. “You’re actually going to accept? I thought little Retvik was just…”
“You made us a very lucrative offer. Would be silly to just ignore it, yes?” Galyn smiled. “After all, one should not count the rings on a gifted tree…”