“Kinisis?” Kenon asked as he approached the massive, crystal tower on which the Allmaker was perched. “Kinisis, may I have a word?”
“What do you need, dear?” Kinisis hadn’t moved. She was staring off into the darkness, her eyes fixed on a single point.
“I was hoping you would allow me to borrow Arkadin briefly. I require his assistance on quickly mending some universal scrapes and scratches.”
Kinisis grunted. “No.”
“Why? With his assistance, I could get my duties done within 53 hours rather than the current approximate of 84 hours.”
Kinisis had been like this for a while, obsessing over the small orb she had dumped her children on, watching as they interacted with the mortals around them. At first she had been amused by her children’s antics, but over time she had become… frustrated with them. Kenon wasn’t sure why she was doing any of this, and nothing he had said or done had shed any light on the situation.
“Kinisis, I think we need to stop this. Maintaining the universe on my own is much harder and much more tedious than it should be.”
The Allmaker’s eyes finally drifted away from the pale orb, down towards Kenon.
“Did you just question me?”
“I did!” Kenon bowed slightly, a vague attempt at keeping Kinisis calm. “I do not understand why you are continuing to punish our children. They have duties they need to do and you pinning them on a mortal rock is causing more issues than it is solving.”
With a sigh, Kinisis leaped off the top of the tower, landing gracefully in front of Kenon.
“They need to be taught to respect me and to respect mortal life. And they all have their own little lessons they must learn to better themselves. When they learn those lessons, then they may return.”
“And what lessons must they learn?” Kenon growled. “Because your instructions are vague, as always.”
“They have to understand what mortal life is like. They need to work hard, earn a living, look after each other and fall in love.”
Kenon took a deep breath, rolling his eyes. “Kinisis, you do realise you could end up letting them die down there, yes?”
Kinisis tutted. “They’ll work it out.”
“My dear, Yisini will never do a hard day’s work, Kairos will never willingly earn a wage, Epani will always put duty above others and Arkadin will never find love. They would all give in to mortal fates than force themselves to fit in the moulds you lay out for them.”
“They WILL bend to my will!” Kinisis snarled, raising both her voice and her hand in anger.
“They will not. For they are individual beings with individual lives, and you do not understand it. You cannot simply force our children to behave like the mindless slave-gods of old. Especially with Kairos and Arkadin, who have always been individuals, even prior to this universe.”
Kinisis sighed, then calmed herself down, also taking deep breaths. “I just want them to be good kids.”
“Our kids are good. Even Arkadin is good, despite his dark duties… If anything, our little Thantophor is the most well-behaved child one could ask for. But if we punish our kids for being, well, themselves, then they will rebel against us, Kinisis.”
“They will rebel anyway.”
“Anyone who is repressed will fight against their oppressor.”
“Alright…” Kinisis gave in. “You’re right. But I want to give them a little more time.”
Kenon nodded. “Very well. I shall leave you to it…”