“I do not understand this place…”
Kuta groaned to himself as he sat down on a bench. To his left, a small, peaceful stream and running down a perfectly curated miniature forest. To his right was Retvik, who was peacefully eating a bowl of mashed potatoes. It took a moment for Kuta to realize that Retvik was taking a break.
“I do not understand it either…” Retvik grunted. “What is troubling you?”
Kuta tutted, then gestured erratically towards the world around them. “We are acting as body guards for what is essentially a heavenly afterlife, yet barely any beings come here.”
“Fair enough…” Retvik returned to his bowl of mashed potatoes. He wasn’t even sure why he was eating it, but Retvik was not in the mood for more solid foods. At least the starchy product would help fill his stomach and make him less hungry.
“Are you not bothered about this?” Kuta exclaimed. “We, like, sit here and do nothing aside from telling lonely Voidborns that they are not welcome. The Life Goddess beings come by, get a drink, buy some stuff from Kinisis and leave. Where is the actual traffic?”
Retvik grunted some more, not particularly pleased with being interrupted. “It is all just a front so Kinisis can sell that… anti-Void liquid, or whatever it is called. From what I’ve gathered, you need a base of operations to process that stuff.”
“So… this is not a bar and holiday home for obviously gendered Life Goddess with stars in their shimmering flames?”
“It is.”
“Where are the customers then? Look, there is no one here! I just finished my shift and Litvir took over and no one came here at all today! Where are they all?”
With a groan and a grunt, Retvik put his food down to face Kuta properly. “Be thankful that it is not busy here. Life Goddesses are only one step above Voidborns when it comes to morality. Everybody else, the Time Drakes, the Divine Guardians and us Decay Lords, we are nothing but playthings to the Life Goddesses.”
“I… I do not understand…” Kuta admitted. “Is that how it is out here, outside of universes?”
Retvik nodded. “Outside of safe zones like this Life Oasis and places like Deathven proper, Decaylings like ourselves are an endangered species. Heck, you saw what happened between us, the Life Goddess and all those Voidborns. It did NOT go well at all, and nearly ended with Arkadin killing us.”
Kuta hesitated, then paused a little more, mulling over his next few words. “You… I have not really heard you call Arkay ‘Arkadin’ before.”
Retvik took a deep breath, then sighed loudly. “When it comes to Arkadin, he is, well, a Life Goddess, and not even a sane one. It is for the best that he is no longer with us.”
“I am sorr-”
“Do not apologise. He does not deserve apologies. Us on the other hand, we lucked out and have all our needs met.”
Kuta frowned. “You really are not doing well right now.”
Retvik shook his head. “Right now, no, I am not doing great. But this is a temporary sadness, it will pass. Life is better for us all now.”
“I guess…” Kuta shrugged as he headed off. “I will leave you to your break. See you later.”