“Huh, I’m surprised they just let me in…”
Psiksi glanced at the old Thantophor, feeling somewhat confused as the two of them walked into a shopping mall. Sure, the mall was located inside a gigantic bubble that protected it from the endless void outside, but it was a genuinely nice place.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Last time I came here, they wouldn’t let me in because they thought I was a Life Goddess.”
Another glance from Psiksi. “Alright, again, what do you mean by that?”
Arkay sighed, fiddling with the white band around his wrist. “At the time, I believed I was a half-Life Goddess, half-Decayon person, and they detected that at the entrance scanners. Now I’m, well, free, I consider myself to be a normal Decay Lord with no Life Goddess in me at all. Guess that was enough to let me pass.”
“I feel like I’ve missed a LOT of context lately.”
“Weirdly, you’re not alone there. I’ve only been back with the Thantir for about three 4-evs. That everything-turning-white thing that you survived by being catapulted out of the universe? I got caught up in that.”
Psiksi frowned. “I’ll admit, I bought all the propaganda that said that you nuked yourself to destroy those invading Voidborns. I guess you ended up out here and became a Decay Lord?”
“Yeah… kinda…”
Arkay fell silent and didn’t elaborate. Sensing that Arkay was clearly a little upset, Psiksi decided to change the subject.
“So why are you specifically taking me to this mall to go shopping?”
“Because, firstly, I want to get out for a bit, secondly, I like you, and thirdly, I kinda feel like I owe you.”
Psiksi was quite surprised by Arkay’s immediate answer.
“You feel like you owe me?” Psiksi exclaimed. “I fucking owe you! You got me out of a sect that kinda hated me!”
Arkay shrugged as he glanced around the shops. “Yeah, but you actually did a lot of good when I picked you to replace me. And, also, you helped calm me down a few times. Also, you let me use some of your wraps and loin cloths to make sure Epani and Sini were both dressed when Kinisis stuck us in mortal bodies for a bit.”
“Oh… I kinda forgot about that… Are any of those three still around?”
“Kinda.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Arkay went back to sighing. “We told you how Epani killed Kinisis and remade the universe in her image, right? Well, firstly, Kinisis failed to resurrect herself and turned into a Corruption, and, it turns out, a nasty, much older strain of sapient Corruption hit our tiny universe hard. We were very, very close to outright losing, but Epanophovon just demanded that Sini leave the universe and I hand myself over to it.”
“Did you?”
“It meant sparing the lives of everyone inside our universe, so of course I did. I got tortured for a bit until Sini found a loophole in the contract we all signed, she saved my life and took me back to the Thantir.”
Psiksi turned back to Arkay. “I thought Yisini hated you?”
“She did. She doesn’t any more.”
“How comes? She literally tortured you in the past.”
“Sini ate some humble pie when she had to carry both life and decay in the remains of your old universe. Finally realized that I was stuck there, being a death god, for a reason.”
Psiksi didn’t really have a response for that, so he altered the subject. “So… you ended up with Retvik and Litvir and became a Decay Lord with them after Kinisis kinda blew you up?”
“Not kinda. I got to be a nuke briefly.”
“Did it hurt?”
Arkay fell completely silent, and remained silent for a little too long. “For a moment, I was both nothing and everything. I felt every star burn up, every unsaved soul melting away. It was terrifying, loud and quiet at the same time. And when Epani killed Kinisis? Well… I lied. I killed her. And Kinisis killed me in return. For ten minutes, I was completely at peace.”
“And, let me guess, sometimes you want to return to that peace?”
“Damn, you’re good at this…”
“I am. I mean, I know me and the brothers were all gladiators, but all four of us did do mental health stuff as well. Frankly, it was the only thing keeping me sane while I spent a year slaving away for the Alsyr…”
Psiksi decided to change the subject again. They were wandering through the mall, not really looking at anything. Admittedly, Psiksi didn’t actually know what he wanted to buy, he just wanted some bits and pieces to decorate his new home with.
“So, how comes you haven’t instantly put your super-capable Decaylings into a trial yet?”
Arkay grunted. “The last time the Thantir sent Decaylings to do a Decay Lord Trial, Deathven apparently tried to store Elkay away because he’s a Synaisthyn. The time before that, it was me, Litvir and Retvik somehow surviving a Decay Lord Trial that was technically impossible.”
“Ah… So… I assume you don’t want Deathven to go “fuck you, Thantir Decaylings” for a third time?”
“Pretty much. Plus, with our current group? Only Kuta and Talok are genuine Decayons. Thassalin should be fine, since Elksia was fine, but Phovoula is literally a Voidborn, we don’t even know if she can do a Trial.”
“What about the other four? They… they seem weird. I mean, they’re absolutely fine as people, but fuck me, they have a lot of powers. Ret has cool light powers the same way I have, but he can also manipulate gravity and cause earthquakes. And Kayel, fucking darkness, he’s rocking that dual elemental fire and ice stuff… Speaking of whom…”
Arkay smiled. “You like Kayel.”
“He’s hot.”
“I know.”
“I don’t know if-”
“You do.”
“You think I have a chance with Kayel?”
Arkay nodded. “Yeah. As long as you can get over the fact that he has the same name as both our mums.”
Psiksi suddenly paused. “Fuck, your mum was called Kayel?”
“Well, that was his common name. And I, uh, don’t really remember much about him. Don’t even know who my father was, outside of a single title, and I’m too scared to ask.”
“What was your father’s, uh, title?”
Arkay’s smile faded. “According to Kinisis, my father was called The Defiler.”
“That’s… pretty fucked up.”
“Yep. But I’m pretty fucked up all round…” Arkay trailed off. “You know what?”
“What?” Psiksi asked.
“We should actually do some shopping.”
Psiksi suddenly grinned. “Hah, yeah, we totally should.”