The last place Kuta expected to end up in was a cosy Banikan bar on a planet with slightly too much oxygen on it. When they stepped through the Thantophor’s portal, they knew they would reappear somewhere odd, but this made little sense. It made even less sense as the Banikans all glanced at him, said hello in their strange, backwards language, then went back to what they were doing.
Sitting in front of Kuta were two drinks and what was now a yellow-armoured Rethan. Despite their bright colouring, they were a fine specimen.
“So what’s the first thing you remember?”
Kuta thought to themselves, but also took a moment to scan their surroundings, to check and see if they were being watched or monitored. Unlike most Rethans, Kuta had a long list of unexplainable abilities, including telepathy, the old Skyavok power to teleport via shadows and, weirdest of all, the inability to age properly. Sure, Kuta had just turned 100 years old not too long ago, but they were physically only in their early 30s. Once Kuta was certain nothing was listening in, they decided to answer.
“I remember hurting Litvir, confusing Retvik and disturbing the large non-Rethan known as Galyn. We were all inside the metal ship, the Thantir Two. You were not immediately present, but you assisted me in pulling myself back together, helping me make my first steps as a Decayling, something that does not exist in this universe.”
“What else do you remember?”
“You taught me things. Gave me a codename, Spiritdrainer. We went on little missions. Nothing special, up until we were asked to look after a Life Goddess.”
“Ugh…” Arkay’s mood immediately dropped as he put his head in his hands. “I know what I did. I still hate myself over it. Ruined everything. Should have just kept on saying no.”
Kuta eyed the Thantophor. Considering that the God of Death was supposed to have been above low-level feelings, Kuta was picking up genuine pain and sorrow, borderline agony, from the Thantophor’s aura.
“As far as I remember, that Life Goddess was threatening you, blaming you, forcing you to do things you did not want to do. And, although you did slice that Life Goddess in half, you kinda just told us to leave, when Retvik stated to Galyn that you threatened us.”
Arkay paused, then looked up at Kuta. “What exactly did I say?”
“You do not remember? You told us to leave, and if we did not leave once you were done destroying everything, you would destroy us too.”
“Yeah, no, I threatened to kill you all. My own friends. I did all of this to myself…” Arkay trailed off, wiping away a black, inky tear.
“If you do not mind me asking, Thantophor, where did they send you?” Kuta was aware that they had just made a deity cry, and was feeling rather concerned. But still, they needed to know more. After all, they had a god at their fingertips, one who had promised to answer their questions. To do that though, Kuta needed to see what Arkay knew.
Arkay found himself struggling to answer. “I… I don’t honestly know. Which is why this all bothers me so much. Epani and Sini messed with my mind, they wiped lifetimes worth of memories and I am only just picking up the pieces. You though seem to remember more than I do.”
“You say that, I only remember my time as a Decayling, before giving up my divinity to live as a mortal again… Although, now that I think about it, the whole giving up my divinity never happened. I was supposed to have met with the Allbirther on Dekem 10th, but the building we were to meet at no longer seemed to exist.
“Either way, in my prior life, after the Decayling stuff, we came back here. I was in a relationship, I had made friends, I was considering having a kid, but that is all gone now. When I woke up on Dekem 6th, with memories that made no sense, I looked up those I knew. My dear Trismit is a captain in the 271st Legion and has a partner closer to their age, Talmin is a simple farmer with a partner and two kids and Gath is a national hero and not the gentle giant that I remember. I have also searched for both Retvik and Litvir, Retvik does not have the fire powers I recall them having, and I have not found a single trace of someone who is supposed to be my twin sibling. Litvir Kaldynik does not exist in this universe.”
The Thantphor straightened himself out, then grunted. “I did the same thing when I started getting some of my memories back. I’m pretty sure that Sini created a lot of beings that I vaguely remember to keep me confused and placated. Although, despite Retvik once mentioning you, I never knew who Litvir was until after we all became Decaylings, which is why I can’t find a mortal version of him either.”
“So…” Kuta frowned. “These things happened. But at the same time, I have lived my current life, as General of the 11th Legion, struggling with powers I cannot truly comprehend…” Kuta blinked. “A Decayling is a being, potentially a deity, without a universe. Am I still a deity? Or rather, a demi-deity? After all, I have godly powers and I do not age properly.”
“I was about to say, you look young considering you’re in the triple digits… well, our universal rules state there can only be four gods, Kairos, Epani, Sini and myself, but since Sini didn’t take your divinity away, I guess… well, welcome to the Long-Lived Club.”
“There is a club?”
Arkay nodded. “You’re number twelve.”
“Who are the other eleven?”
“You met four of them yesterday. Well, three. Nyssi was asleep on the sofa…” Arkay stuttered. “I probably shouldn’t tell you the others. Even if the Raptor is a pretty obvious member. Then again, the other six are terrifying monsters that Sini and Epani use to keep their shared palace safe. Kairos just kinda… found them all trapped inside some weird ship thing one day.”
Kuta looked Arkay up and down. “You are rather open with me.”
“Because we know each other. We were friends. And we had a crush on each other and neither of us would admit it. Also, you’re the General of Hidden Affairs, if there’s anyone I can trust to keep things secret, it’s you.”
“Fair, fair. I admit though, it is… relieving, knowing that I am not going insane. Now that I know these are just memories, I can more reliably dismiss them.”
Both beings fell silent. Arkay sipped his drink, while Kuta had another look around, having briefly forgotten that they were in a Banikan cafe. They had not really met Banikans before, and Kuta found it interesting how they just seemed completely normal. However, as they turned their attention back to Arkay, another thought popped into their mind.
“Why are us Rethavok slower and more emotionally stunted now? And why do we all use the same pronoun most of the time? Were we always like this?”
“Arkay shrugged. “I don’t really know. Sini and Epani did… lots of things when they remade the universe how they wanted it to be. It’s smaller, tidier now, I guess. Dunno why she changed us though.”
“Us?”
“Genetically, I consider myself a Rethan. Even if the type of Rethan I am hasn’t existed in about 16 billion years. And yes, I am well aware that the number I just gave you makes no sense.”
Kuta smirked, then leaned forward. “Well, either way, I think we have some… catching up to do. As you said, we had a crush on each other. But we are both… less terrified now. If you are willing, I would like to invite you around to my place for a drink.”
“Did you just ask me on a date?”
“Mhm.”
Arkay pondered the thought. “Well… Normally, I’d say no, because I’m not supposed to date mortals, but you’re not a mortal. Nor are you stuck behind something stupid like the Rethianos Tradition.”
“Hah, the little exile asked you out?” Kuta stopped mid-sentence. “I really should not call them that. That is rude of me. But I can see why, you do present yourself wonderfully when you are not a Skyavok. And even then, I do not mind the smaller form, being somewhat small myself.”
“You’re quite attractive yourself, Kuta. Especially now that you’re wearing armour that fits you.”
“Thank you. I appreciate you not having any hang-ups on both my vampiric fangs and my eyes.”
Arkay smiled, just a little. “I have a thing for Rethans with weirdly coloured eyes… You know what? Sure. Let’s call it a date…”