“LEAVE ME ALONE!”
“YOU ARE MINE!”
“I DON’T BELONG TO ANYONE!”
Retvik was pretty sure that was the second explosion he had experienced in about thirty seconds, but what with everything going on and him being buried in rubble, he couldn’t have been sure. There was a huge amount of shouting and screaming going on and Retvik was having a hard time deciphering it all.
As quickly as it had all started though, the shouts and screams and bangs and booms all disappeared. An eerie silence now filled what remained. Or did Retvik pass out?
Again, he wasn’t sure.
Consciousness though returned swiftly to Retvik as someone appeared to be digging him out of the rubble. As his eyes flicked open, he spotted one of the few Decay Lords he actually recognized.
“What happened, Seimeni?”
“Was gonna ask the same of you, Retvik!” Seimeni tutted, pulling on Retvik’s arm. The rest of Retvik though was still mostly trapped under sheets of metal and large plates of glass. “Something exploded, something hit me through the wall and I think they attacked Arkay and tried to take him.”
Seimeni frowned. “I was worried you’d say that. Did you see who it was?”
Retvik grunted as he began to free himself, then gestured at the large pile of rubble he was in. “Clearly not. I am quite upset that, while death seems less of a thing, all my pain receptors are clearly still working.”
“Oh. Are you hurt?”
Retvik didn’t answer at first. He could now see the rest of the devastation. The entire medical wing had been destroyed, as well as the nearby rooms as well. Already though, Decay Lord workers were beginning to clear everything up and put everything back together.
“I will be fine. They took Arkay?”
“We don’t know. All we know is that a Life Goddess attacked our damn ship and broke the truce between themselves and the Decay Lords. And we really need to find the stupid Decayling before the Life Goddesses fuck with him.”
Retvik rubbed his eyes, his body still aching and bruised, then finally managed to pull himself from the rubble, standing up straight. “Why is he so Light-damn special anyway? As far as I am aware, he was always just a death god.”
Seimeni frowned, helping Retvik as he stumbled off, taking him over to where the new medical bay was. “Well… if he is anything like me… Someone who can be both a Decayling and a Life Goddess right off the bat… and programmable too… If I’m honest, I hope we find him soon because I don’t like his chances…”
The new medical bay was pretty busy, but luckily Seimeni managed to get Retvik seen to pretty quickly. But Retvik had only just sat down when one of the higher ups immediately demanded his presence.
“Retvik, we need you right now…” Vikalos demanded.
“Why?” Retvik asked, as a medic of some sort handed him a pack of healing gel to place on his head. “Can I not have-”
“No. We sent Kal to track down Arkay’s location. He is within the buffer zone between your old universe and the Periuniversal Void. You need to accompany Kal and bring the Decayling back.”
Retvik took a deep breath. “Alright, fine. But can I have a moment to, well, heal up, please?”
Vikalos nodded. “Of course. But be quick. We need to get Arkay back as soon as possible, before the Life Goddesses and anyone else know he is out there…”