“I will be honest, I did not think you would show up.”
Arkadin perched on the small asteroid, analysing the being before him. The Panelix was a colossal creature, towering above both Arkadin and the asteroid, but she wasn’t how Arkadin remembered her. She was now very feminine, with whale-like features, large, finned claws and a crown of horns around her angler fish-like lure.
“I was considering it. But, well, freedom is a difficult subject, and I can’t really just ignore it.”
Epani bowed her head. “I appreciate your concern and I thank you for even considering us. After all, we did not part on the sweetest of terms.”
Arkadin sighed. “Yeah, but none of that was really your fault. Kinisis has always had a way of twisting things. She used all of us. Blew me into pieces, twisted you and Yisini into rebuilding her world and, well, I have no idea how long she’s had control over Kairos. Longer than she’s had control of me. And that’s not to mention how she’s probably manipulating Galyn and the Thantir as well.”
The Panelix simply nodded, then remained silent. She seemed upset.
“What happened?” Arkadin asked, noticing the unusual emotions.
“I wanted to try and settle this in a friendly manner. When I realized my existence was chained to Kinisis’s universe, I went to Kinisis and spoke to her. She did not care. She simply said that, since she created me, I belong to her. Always. The Allmaker was very blunt about it all. And, to rub salt into the wound, she then interfered in the creation of a sun I was making, as if to tell me that I was helpless. I refuse to be helpless.”
Arkadin didn’t say anything at first. “That sounds like the Kinisis from before. She would do that to me too, whenever I didn’t do exactly as she wanted. In this universe, I think Kinisis calmed down a little bit, but… well, I don’t want to describe what she… used to do.”
“So we are in agreement. Kinisis must fall.”
“Yes. Do you have a plan?”
Epani nodded again, putting her hands together. “I do. I have discovered a location at the centre of the universe, where Kinisis keeps a planet that I did not create. Inside are a network of tunnels, flooded with toxic, volatile chemicals. Although I cannot see inside, I have used echolocation to discover that, at the planet’s centre, there is a miniature star, a black dwarf, one so ancient that it should not be possible to exist within multiple living universes. I believe this to be Kinisis’s true heart, well protected and well hidden.”
“I assume there is a catch though. Otherwise you wouldn’t have requested my help.”
“There is. The tunnels are small and, worse, rigged to collapse and disintegrate, which would cause the toxic chemicals to mix with the black dwarf and cause a cataclysmic explosion, one that could easily doom the entire universe. The black dwarf would survive, but nothing else would. But if you can get in there and kill the star without causing the tunnels tom collapse, I can, at the same time, kill Kinisis’s current physical form. This pincer movement should allow us to take her down for good.”
“Alright. I’m in.”
Epani blinked, surprised at Arkadin’s immediate agreement.
“You are?”
“Yeah. Seems simple enough. Aside from potentially accidentally ending the universe.”
“Well…” Epani trailed off. “I… I have considered that a possibility. And I have made peace with that. Yisini and Kairos might consider otherwise, but, well, Kinisis would happily kill it all anyway. Especially if we fail. She has done so in the past.”
“Kinisis doesn’t care about us, she just likes her power. Does she know you are here talking to me? Because if she does, she might retaliate.”
“I have attempted to remain as quiet as possible. I spoke to Yisini and told her I was looking for ‘inspiration’. I have also been slowly collecting… samples and backups, in case things do go spectacularly wrong.”
“Alright. We should get to work then. Before anyone notices.”
Epani nodded in agreement. “Yes. We have a lot of work to do. But I must ask though, are you ready to kill her? It is… quite… a task…”
Arkadin almost smiled. “You have no idea how much I’ve secretly wanted this..”