Kairos snarled as he pressed a crystalline shield against the colossal tear across the edge of the universe. He had thankfully predicted that the vast Corruption would attack at this specific point, but that didn’t make the ordeal any better. Worse, he had underestimated the sheer size of this Corruption. It was… huge. So huge that Kairos couldn’t see all of it from where he was. Most of it was trying to get through this initial hole, but other tendrils were trying to break in elsewhere.
“Let me take over!”
Assistance arrived swiftly. Arkay was darting around, throwing flaming blades that caused the smaller tendrils to immediately back off. He then helped Kairos with his crystal time shield. But as Arkay did so, future flashes flickered through Kairos’s mind.
“No!”
“No?”
Arkay was clearly confused. He spotted some more intruding tentacles, then backed off and blasted them with plumes of acid. The acid seemed slightly more effective, so Arkay sprayed some more across the front of Kairos’s shield. This caused the Corruption to hiss.
“It’s going to break in further south! Stop it there!” Kairos demanded.
“But the main mass is here!”
Kairos growled, then exploded the crystal shield into millions of shards. They shredded through the majority of the tendrils, but the main mass shifted to one side, then tried to squeeze through a smaller hole. Again, Arkay rushed off to try and block it, but Kairos beat him to the punch, briefly slowing time and erecting a new barrier, this one covered in spikes on the front.
“Arkay, trust me, I NEED you to stop all the smaller blobs!”
The Thantophor did as he was told, sealing up some puncture wounds in the universe’s membrane as he did so. A particularly large tendril tried to break in, above Kairos’s head, but Arkay quickly swooped in and dealt with it. Summoning several of his anti-Corruption daggers, Arkay charged back in. But before he struck, he ran the blades down his arms, coating them in his blood. Each slash caused the Corruption to screech and boil away.
Before Arkay could do any further damage though, the universe’s outer membrane turned into diamond. Epani and Sini had intervened, and were sealing up the universe completely. At the very least, they’d have some brief respite while they worked out a better plan.
Arkay though was somewhat annoyed, and he immediately directed that annoyance at the Whenvern.
“Kairos, I can hold this back better than you can, why are you not letting me do my job?”
“Because…” Kairos grunted, checking that he was clear and safe, before straightening himself out. “Because I am getting a LOT of future flashes. Bad ones. Brother, I need you to do exactly as I say, when I say it, so we can protect this universe.”
Arkay blinked. “You’re having future flashes?”
“Yes.”
“Why am I not getting them?”
Before Kairos could answer, Epani teleported between the two male deities.
“This Corruption is huge!” Epani screeched. “It’s about half the size of my damn universe!”
“It all burns the same, Epani!” Arkay tutted. “Stay calm, sister. Kairos has a plan, right?”
The Whenvern nodded. “I’ll hold back the main mass here, while Arkay will stop break ins elsewhere. We need to get the mortals in on this though. Evacuate up north, get as many fighter ships as possible and have them use any and all incendiary weapons they have. They’ll cover anything Arkay can’t cover. Sini will help move the masses, and she’ll also ferry over some Vohran and Temthan fighters to help up north.”
Epani took a deep breath, settling down somewhat. “Alright… what can I do in the mean time?”
Kairos closed his eyes, but blue light could be seen escaping from beneath his eye lids. “Stay in the fortress at the centre of the universe. It wants you Life Goddesses… something about an unnatural order, that there’s two of you here instead of one. But Sini can disguise herself as a Time Drake, you can’t, so it won’t target her directly. Stay at the bunker, get all your backups ready just in case, and concentrate on keeping the universal boundaries as solid and hard as possible. And take one of Arkay’s daggers.”
Arkay glanced at Epani, then handed her one of his anti-Corruption daggers, as commanded. Epani created a long chain, which she tied around the dagger’s handle, then wore it around her neck, so it was in permanent close proximity to her.
“Very well. Is there anything else I can do right now?”
“No. Just do as I say. Both of you. If I tell you to do something, do it. I can see ahead, you can’t.”
“Got it.”
Feeling better, Epani teleported away. But Arkay remained where he was.
“So why aren’t I seeing future flashes? And why isn’t Sini seeing them either?”
“You’re not a Time Drake, you just mimic me.”
“That’s a load of piss. I’ve had future flashes before.”
Kairos didn’t answer at first. He glanced behind him, back at the Corruption on the other side of the now diamond-coated universal membrane, which was busy trying to douse the fires Arkay had caused and plan a new path of attack.
“Kairos!”
“You are not seeing future flashes because non-pure Time Drakes can’t see future flashes related how they’re going to die.”
“Is… is Sini in danger?”
“From what I can tell, if we do everything as I predict, Sini will survive.”
“But I won’t?”
“Maybe. I… I am testing different paths, to try and save you. But saving you could mean others perishing.”
Arkay fell silent, then sighed. “Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t try to save me. Focus on the path that saves Epani and Sini, that saves the universe. They’re more important.”
Kairos edged closer to Arkay. “But… you might die. The chances… my predictions are… worrying.”
“Doesn’t matter. You don’t know for sure. But this universe is more important. I care about everyone in this universe over my own life. And if that means sacrificing myself? So be it.”
“Arkay, I have to-”
“No. Don’t. Don’t try and save me. Use me. You have the ultimate killer of Corruption at your finger tips. I’ll do anything to protect this universe. Not for you or Epani or Sini, but for my friends, for the mortals over all. You all have the option to flee, to abandon the universe and start again. They don’t. They’re trapped in here, and so am I. We have to fight, and I am willing to die if I have to.”
Kairos looked Arkay up and down some more. “Why though?”
“I made a promise. To protect this universe with my life.”
“You promised to serve one more cycle, after which you’d go free.”
“Well…” Arkay hesitated. “Well… I’m a 16 billion year old slave. I’ve lived long enough. Death is freedom. Even if it’s not the freedom I want. If I’m going to die, I want it to be in a final blaze of glory, doing what I did best, trying to protect others.”
Kairos sighed, then closed his eyes again. That blue glow returned, sharper this time, but faded as Kairos opened his eyes once more. “I… I thank you, Arkay. We have a much, much greater chance now. You… you are insanely dedicated and brave.”
Arkay shrugged. “Of course I am. I do have one question though.”
“Yes?”
“I know you won’t give me a percentage chance, nor will you tell me how I die… I just want to know, is my death guaranteed?”
“No.”
The Thantophor smiled, ever so slightly. “Alright. I have a chance. I’ll accept that… Anyway, I need to get started, evacuations are going to be rough. Whatever you need me to do, tell me, alright?”
Kairos nodded, and smiled back. “Of course. Thank you.”
“No worries. We’re all relying on you, Kairos.”
“I know. Good luck.”
Arkay waved, then headed off to the nearest planet, to start moving non-combatants and get as many fighter ships armed with incendiary weapons as possible.
A knocking sound interrupted the brief silence. The Corruption was peering in, tapping on the diamond layer, coldly but politely asking to be let in. Kairos approached the crystalline shell and snarled.
“You still have a chance to leave here without pain, vile darkness.”
“Xata. Om yara ris tha netra, se khra.”
Kairos didn’t understand what the Corruption had said, but he assumed it was some sort of threat. Ignoring the tapping, Kairos set to work, fortifying his defences and scanning through potential future paths. There were good outcomes out there. He just needed to find them.