“Good day, Decay Lord Vikalos speaking, who is this?”
A shy yet formal voice slowly began to emerge from the other end of the line. Vikalos was just about to finish his shift for the day, so he didn’t really appreciate this call.
“Hello, Lord Vikalos. This is Doctor Phanty from the Decayling Investigation, Research and Safety Project. I am calling you today to discuss a Decayling that was released into our Project by the Thantir.”
Vikalos grunted quietly, sitting back down at his desk. “Who specifically are you calling about? Because we have, somewhat unfortunately, sent quite a few Decaylings your way.”
“I wish to discuss the incorporeal one that you brought recently. As is standard, I cannot give you absolute names, due to security reasons. That being said, you delivered an incorporeal Decayling, yet did not inform us that said Decayling was incorporeal or capable of becoming incorporeal.”
With a sigh, Vikalos tapped on the flat screen on the desk, and begun searching through records. “Doctor Phanty, please give me a moment to see who we recently sent to you. Would you be able to give me some form of name to help me locate this Decayling?”
“Ah, you see, this is the problem. The incorporeal Decayling in question is also rather… anomalous. You will have to use their ID to search them. DK2991.”
“Thank you. One moment, please.”
Vikalos put down the communicator and typed the ID into the search bar. Immediately, one result came up. This caused Vikalos to immediately roll his eyes as he picked up the communicator again.
“Of course…” Vikalos grumbled. “Yes, I am familiar with this Decayling. Perhaps a little too familiar with them. What are they doing now?”
Phanty seemed somewhat surprised by Vikalos’s tone. “They… have not done anything. In fact, they have been incredibly well-behaved. They would be a model Decayling if they were allowed out. The only issue we have is that the Decayling is incorporeal and you did not inform us of this.”
“Because he was never incorporeal when he was on the Thantir One!” Vikalos snapped. “That little… mess of a being keeps on getting new and random abilities, this is probably just a new one. One that will go away in a week when it no longer needs its new power.”
“Lord Vikalos, I think you misunderstand what I mean by incorporeal. In DIRSP terminology, incorporeal means that the being in question is not actually present. Instead, they are a ghost-like being, either physical or non-physical, and their actual body is located elsewhere. Alternatively, the being could have two separate bodies and switch between them unwillingly.”
Vikalos frowned, rubbing his eyes wearily. “What does this actually mean? Do you not have the Decayling at the facility? Has it escaped? Because I am certain we spent a LOT of resources making sure the Decayling did not die or get turned into a monster.”
“Unfortunately…” Phanty seemed somewhat upset at Vikalos’s response. “Unfortunately, you are correct, the Decayling’s actual body remains in an unknown location. However, there is some good news in that the Decayling’s physical form is clearly in a safe location, and that actions done to the Incorporeal Secondary Form seem to carry over to the original and vice versa. All we need to do is find that original body and we should be able to help them recover.”
“Wait…” Vikalos paused. “You… have not told the Decayling about this?”
“We thought that you knew of the Decayling and their issues.”
The Decay Lord sighed. “So… he does not know?”
“No,” Phanty explained. “We believed that the Decayling was aware of the situation, as they appear semi-aware in general that they are in two places at once. Aside from the incorporeal issue, the Decayling is mostly healthy, if a bit run down, which is most likely caused by the incorporeal issue.”
Vikalos sighed again, feeling somewhat guilty about what he was about to say, but knowing it would be better in the long run.
“You… should not tell him. Let him be ignorant. If you tell him, he may lose his mind again. It could very easily hurt him beyond repair.”
“You believe so, Lord Vikalos?”
“I know so. Having seen the Decayling react in the past… this could shatter him yet again. And I think the poor little thing deserves some peace.”
Phanty didn’t answer at first. He considered Vikalos’s words, then tutted. “I will consult with the other doctors here at DIRSP, then get back to you. Thank you for your time.”
The call disconnected, and Vikalos found himself listening to a dial tone. After a moment of brief annoyance, Vikalos decided to just drop the whole subject and let the experts deal with the potential future distaster. After all, he did tell them…