Kuta’s eyes widened as he watched the colossal, armoured beast tentatively erected what looked like a plastic tent in what Kuta assumed was the ship’s cargo bay or something. Lord Galyn seemed to have a hint of concern, but his movements were swift and calm, despite his size.
“Do we really have to do this?” Retvik asked, holding a large crate as big as he was. Wires dribbled out of it and connected to the clear plastic tent. “He does not seem… I do not understand the need for this.”
“It’s better safe than sorry!” Arkay explained. He popped up on top of the crate Retvik was holding, fiddling with a panel in the crate’s side. “You have so much stuff going on out here, maybe some corruption triggered all this.”
“Some… What now?” Kuta blinked, looking around for Arkay. The former death god appeared by Kuta’s side, nudging him slightly.
“Corruption. Endless, infinite hunger that spreads and consumes all. When it’s not busy being a parasitic host to beings like us.”
“So…” Kuta felt more nervous now. “You… think I might… have some of this corruption stuff in me?”
“That’s what we’re checking! Alright, sure, we should have done this earlier, but I’m pretty sure you’re clean. This is more of a formality than anything else.” Arkay beamed, opening a flap on the side of the tent. “Step inside please. It won’t hurt but you’ll feel very warm.”
The little twin hesitated, before doing as he was told. Once Kuta was inside, Arkay resealed the tent behind him, then waved up to Galyn, who was holding a remote control that was too small for his hands.
Just as the former death god has said, everything around Kuta seemed to warm up. But the heat quickly started getting more intense, almost as if it was passing through Kuta. The intensity though worsened, making Kuta feel uncomfortable, before abruptly disappearing. As if the heat had been drained away.
“Is that… it?”
Arkay glanced up at Galyn as he reopened the side panel. A reassuring nod came from above, followed by a sigh of relief.
“Yep. You’re clean.”
Kuta took a long, deep breath, feeling way more relieved than he expected, considering he had been fine before he’d entered the room.
“That is good, right?”
“Yep!” Arkay smiled, nodding at Retvik. “Retvik will take you back upstairs so you can settle down. Do you want to see the results when they’re 100% done?”
Kuta shook his head. “No thank you. I just want some water.”
Retvik helped Kuta back into the ship proper. Arkay watched them disappear upstairs, but was interrupted by a tap on the shoulder.
“Good work.” Galyn seemed satisfied. He patted Arkay on the shoulder again. “You are doing well with your new responsibilities.”
“Mine?”
“Yes, yours. Your little Decayling.”
Arkay’s smile faded. “Are you really pushing this on us?”
“Somewhat. You are Decay Lords now, you must be able to bring others under our wings. Kuta will be Litvir’s, Retvik’s and your responsibility, and I will monitor you as you work.”
“That is… a lot to put on us. We haven’t been Decay Lords for… very long…” Arkay’s confidence faded.
“You believe you cannot do this?”
“I’ll be blunt, I don’t know. But…” Arkay paused, then sighed. “We’ll do our best. Like we always do…”