Kenon sat on the edge of this strange bed, knowing that something was definitely wrong. His memories of the previous day were blurry yet painful. Something had hurt him. Hurt him so badly that he didn’t remember. Luckily, as his vision cleared, he realised he was not alone, and there was someone present to give him the answers he needed.
“Hey you, you’re finally awake!” The amethyst-scaled serpentine being smiled as she uncoiled from the lone chair in the room. “Good thing too, your meeting with the other race leaders is starting in two hours!”
With a gasp of worry, Kenon threw himself off the bed, only to find himself feeling far, far too weak. His legs barely held him up. His head was spinning. Was that nausea in his throat?
Yisini continued to smile as she approached and pushed Kenon back onto the bed.
“Easy, mate. You need to be careful. Really careful.”
“What in the name of your mother is going on?” Kenon snapped, upset with how Yisini was treating him, as if he was some sort of minor being. “What happened?”
“From what I can gather, you made a promise to Arkadin and then broke it. In exchange, Arkadin took your immortality. Or a large chunk of it, at least. And he really fucked up your normal god body. So…”
“What?” Kenon snarled, trying to get up again, only to be pushed down again by Yisini. “What do you mean?”
Yisini snapped her fingers, tutting. “I had mum and the siblings interrupting me constantly yesterday and I’m kinda sick of it. You’re vulnerable and you’re going to sit here and listen, and answer when I tell you to. Understand?”
Kenon nodded. He was feeling so weak, barely even functional. The weakness was worse than the weird pains in his arms and legs.
“Okay, first off, what the fuck did you promise to Arkadin?”
Kenon sighed, closing his eyes. “I promised him I would treat his friends kindly. Then I discovered one of them wanted to usurp me. So I punished him and went to kill him.”
“Which… friend? Has he or she got a name?”
“His name is Ret-”
“Retvik. You tried to kill Retvik. the one fucking mortal that Arkadin legitimately has a crush on…” Yisini shook her head, tutting loudly. “You’re a fucking idiot.”
“He was plotting to usurp me and destroy everything I have built for his little race for the last two months!” Kenon protested.
“You should have known better…” Yisini continued to tut. “Because now you’re stuck in a mortal body while I repair your actual body. You could feasibly die if you don’t play your cards right!”
Kenon fell silent, shocked by what he had just heard. “What..?”
“Arkadin took what made you a Voidborn. You’re still a god, but you’ve been really fucking weakened. Your godly body is in tatters and it’s gonna take me and Kinisis a few hundred years to be able to fix it and maybe make you a Voidborn again. Best case scenario, we get you back on your feet in fifty, maybe seventy five years. But until then, so your mind doesn’t decay, I put your mind in an experimental mortal Rethavok body that I had spare.”
“So… I can continue my work here as High General, but not as Void Lord?” Kenon took a deep breath. “I suppose… I should be thankful I am alive.
“You fucking well should be!” Yisini patted Kenon on the back. “But now you get to prove that you’re as great a leader as you claimed you were. You may be mortal, but you’re a powerful mortal. You should make the most of it. Bring everyone together. Like Kinisis always wanted.”
Kenon nodded, slowly calming down. “Yes, you are correct. I will take this opportunity and run with it. I have a legacy to maintain, after all.”
“Good!” the Allbirther beamed, helping Kenon to his feet. “You be a good little mortal. I’ll let you know when your body is all fixed!”
And just like that, the serpentine goddess disappeared, leaving behind a small mirror. Kenon picked up the mirror and gazed into it. He still somewhat looked like himself, but without his familiar antlers.
“Well… I guess I have work to do…” Kenon sighed as he got up and started putting on some armour, knowing that he genuinely needed the protection now…