“Theoglossa is the language of the Gods, derived from an ancient, strange, hellenistic other universe, far beyond our knowledge. It is currently untranslatable by mortals within the universe of the Four.” – Efay Anglosson, A-Class Skyavok Archivist
Arkadin had been hard at work, tidying up the universe. While everything was still working correctly, he’d picked up lots of bits of dead Voidborn and Arkadin needed to expel the remains, lest they start polluting the universe’s airs and waters with their external influences. However, as Arkadin had slightly more power now, he was also capable of being much more thorough. Which was why he was very confused when he noticed a tiny, tiny slither of Voidborn influence buried beneath the home world of the Rethavok.
It turned out, the city of Vretania was an utterly ancient one, and it was built over a series of large caves and underground rivers that were seemingly untouched, despite the history above them. At the centre of these rivers though was an underground lake with an island in the middle. That island wasn’t made of slowly eroding granite. It was made of lumps of gold and platinum ore, mixed in with streaks of silver and little amethyst and sapphire geodes.
At first, Arkadin couldn’t tell why he could sense a Voidborn presence here. But at the tip of the island was a single dark shard. And sitting by it was a ghostly, golden figure.
“Ah, paidi mou…”
The figure was clearly in the shape of a traditional Voidborn. Four arms, masked face, heavy antlers, hoofed feet. But it seemed… vaguely familiar to Arkadin. What bothered him more though was that the ghost was speaking Theoglossa, the language of the gods. A language that only five beings total knew how to speak. Well, clearly, six now. Then again, Voidborns were capable of instantly learning languages, so it had probably just picked Theoglossa at random. After all, Arkadin spoke a myriad of different languages.
“Ti eisai?” Arkadin snapped, summoning a staff. “Yiati eisai edo?”
“Mou afises edo…” The being looked Arkadin up and down. Arkadin drifted closer, close enough to better inspect it. It stood at about 5m tall. But it looked sad.
“Poios eisai? Eisai Kenogenisos, nai? Oi Kenogenisoi den epitremountai mesa sto sympanio mas! Fevge apo’do, prin se skotono!” Arkadin hissed.
The being however remained unmoved. And it looked sadder. “Sou eferan piso. Se ekanan paixnidi tous. Opos i Kinisis ekane me emena. Ego, esu, o Kairos, oi adelfes, eimastan oloi paixnidia tis Kinisis. Yiati eisai edo kai esu, Arkadin mou? Yiati den efevges otan eixes tin evxaria?”
“Stamata!” Arkadin snarled, not liking how the Voidborn ghost was talking to him. “Eimai o theos tou thanatou, PREPEI na eimai edo!”
“Isoun elevtheros. Ksana-irthes piso. Yiati? Ego den eixa epilogi. Panta imoun edo. Eimoun doulos tis Kinisis, edosa ton eavto mou pros tin Epani kai tin Yisini gia na tin ksefygo. Esu omos, yiati eisai edo?”
“Panta eimoun edo. Eimai meros tou sympaniou. Eimoun kai meros tou perasmenou sympaniou. Etiaksame to ksana. To ekaname kalytera.”
The Voidborn ghost sighed. “Omos se espasan, paidi mou. Eftyaksan ena neo sympanio, alla se desmevsan sto sympanio tous.”
“Den… den katalaveno…” Arkadin stuttered. “Tous voitho. Prepei na eimai edo. Eimoun panta edo.”
“Eimoun kai ego panta edo. Epistepsa oti ksefevga tin Kinisis. Epistepsa oti i Kinisis pige allou na vlapsei allous, oti esu piges allou na zeis mia zoi elevtheri. Eimoun lathos. I Kinisis odigise me se trelia. Den ithela na pligono ta koritsia mou. Den eimoun ego. Kai i Kinisis odigise se na me skotoneis. Kai fainetai oti, meta, i Kinisis odigise ta koritsia tis na se pagidevoun. Eisai toso spasmenos tora oti den thymasai…” The Voidborn lowered their head. “Apologo, Arkadin mou. Den einai dikaio. Ego aksizo ola auta pou ekanate pros emena. Eimai Kenogenisos, oute eimai kalos Kenogenisos. Esu… ah, mikre, eisoun thnitos. I Kinisis katastrepse kai oi dyo mas.”
Arkadin hesitated, then edged even closer. The ghost seemed to be hiding tears. But because it was a ghost, its tears never went anywhere. What this being was saying though, Arkadin didn’t really seem to understand. A time from before this universe? Arkadin wasn’t sure. The Voidborn seemed genuine, but they also seemed trapped.
“Gia poso kairo emeines edo?” Arkadin asked.
“Prin ksana-eftyaxate to sympanio sas. Eimai pagideumenos edo, den mporo na fevgo, an kai ithela. I Epani agapise me, pistepse oti eimoun o pateras tis, den me afise na pethaino. Alla ksexase. Kai osoi theoi kai miso-theoi itan mesa sto sympanio otan to dimiourgisan ksana, ksanasikousame. Ego, o palaiodrakos kai o pnevmastraggistos.”
“Kai… den theleis na eisai edo?”
The ghostly being rubbed its eyes and glanced at Arkadin. “Den tha me skotoneis ksana?”
“Den pistevo ola avta pou mou eipes tora. Nomizo oti eisai trellos. Eisai Kenogenisos kai den epitrepountai oi Kenogenisoi mesa sto sympanio. Alla fainetai oti den itheles na eisai edo. Eisoun edo katalathos. Tha itan… lathos na se skotono.”
“Sovaromilas?”
“Sovaromilo. Eisai trellos. Den pistevo avta pou mou eipes. Alla den theleis na pligoneis kapoion. Den theleis na eisai edo. Theleis na eisai elevtheros. Gia alitheia. Pos mporo na se elevtheroso?”
“Tha me elevtheroneis?”
“Nai. Apla den ksero pos.”
The ghostly Voidborn sighed. They clearly weren’t sure themselves. And both it and Arkadin were aware that, should the Voidborn be removed from the universe, they might simply die. After all, it had clearly been here for a very long time, and no longer had a proper physical form. After a moment of thought though, the Voidborn seemed to accept its fate. There was freedom and liberation in death. A chance to rejoin the Eternal Darkness that had originally birthed it, aeons ago.
“To Kenofragma. To televtaio thravsma…” The Voidborn pointed at the dark shard. The last remains of its physical body. “Piase to, fere to sto telos tou sympaniou sou. Dioxe me exo, kai tha eimai elevtheros.”
Arkadin hesitated, then dismissed his staff and did as he was told. He delicately picked up the black, shimmering Voidborn shard. As he did so, the Voidborn’s ghostly form disappeared, and its voice muttering from the shard instead. Arkadin wanted to get this over with, but instead, he decided to fly through the universe. As they flew, the Voidborn whispered to itself, saying how beautiful the universe was.
After about twenty minutes of travel, they reached the northernmost part of the universe. Arkadin opened up the large, metal hatch, then climbed through, making sure that he remained in contact with the panel. He held out his hand, and the shard disintegrated, and the Voidborn’s ghostly form returned.
“Evxaristo, Arkadin mou. Apologo gia ola pou ekana pros esena. Apologo gia avta pou ekanan i Kinisis, ta koritsia tis, pros esena. Aksiza na me ksanaskotoneis, alla panta eisoun kalytera apo emena.”
“Den aksizeis na pethaneis.”
The Voidborn shook its head. “Einai ola sto parelthon tora. Elpizo oti, mia mera, tha eisai kai esu elevtheros. Na eisai evxaristimenos kai agnos ksana. Opos sou aksizei.”
“Oxi. Den tha ginetai. Panta tha eimai edo. Etsi aksizo, os theos tou thanatou…” Arkadin tutted. “Fevge tora. Pige elevtheros. Kai min erxesai piso.”
“Dystyxos. Antio, paidi mou. Evxaristo.”
With one last smile, the Voidborn faded away. Whether it was dead or not, Arkadin didn’t know. Considering how long it had been trapped for, it was probably gone forever. At the very least, its spirit was free now. And this entire time, Arkadin had never asked its name.
Arkadin sighed to himself, then climbed back into the universe. He admittedly felt a little bit of envy towards the Voidborn. Alive, dead, neither, whatever it was, it was well and truly free. Something Arkadin would probably never experience. He was chained to this universe, from beginning to end. The same way he’d been chained to the universe before it, and every other universe prior. He was the god of entropy. That was just what happened to gods of entropy. They remained trapped. Freedom was for others, not him.
With a tut, Arkadin buried that envy, closed the universal hatch, then went back to work.