“I wonder how things are going in there…”
Phovos sipped her incredibly fruity cocktail, then shrugged. She was lounging on a deck chair that was way too big, staring out into the void. Sitting with her were two of her siblings. Elkay-En was his normal grumpy self, and wanted to get away from Savepoint for a bit because of an argument he’d had with his half-brother Vekeus, so the two Raptors had brought him along for the trip. The trip was mostly so that Vexer, the Vrekan Divine Guardian, could spend some time with both Elksia and his daughter Reksi, and Phovoula was now keeping an eye on the place so Sini could take a break as well and speak to her siblings. Because it was clear that Sini also wasn’t doing too well.
“You worried about your universe?”
Sini tutted, then nodded. “I’m always worried about it. I can’t see what’s happening on the inside. I just pick up the occasional broadcast or message or whatever.”
“Was it your first universe?” Elkay-En asked.
“Technically? First or second. The universe I was… made in, I didn’t make that one, Kinisis did. I don’t know whether to count the little pocket universe Epani and I made after Kinisis blew everything up, but that was our baby until Kinisis wanted in again. Then Epani and Arkay killed Kinisis and I helped Epani remake that pocket universe into a real universe with proper walls and rules and everything.”
“You made another universe too, though?”
“Yeah. That one… got properly nuked. But it only existed so I could trap that corrupted cunt inside it, so I could save little Arky. Wasn’t really a universe anyway, was just a hot mess pretending to be a universe. And then those Pentathax guys turned it into a singularity, taking the corrupted cunt with it. But that universe over there, the one on the horizon? That… that was my baby.”
Phovos thought for a moment, then grunted. “Couldn’t you… just go back though?”
Sini glanced at her littlest sister. “What do you mean?”
“Epanophovon forced you to leave because of a contract you were all forced to sign, right? He’s dead now. He can’t stop you.”
“He may be dead, but his children definitely are!” Elkay-En exclaimed. “His older children are definitely still active, and some of them will definitely continue to try and enforce his will. I might not be a part of those circles now, but I definitely used to be in on that horrible stuff and… well… It is not without risk.”
Sini nodded. “Pretty much. And that’s on top of being tainted by the darkness. Being out here does things to you. Well… not so much Life Goddesses, but everyone else. Because there’s no rules to constrain you any more. You end up… changing, I guess. Adapting to a place with no rules, no anything.”
Phovos wasn’t convinced. “Wouldn’t matter either way. Epanophovon broke the contract. He attacked you and your universe, right? That’s why Arkay lost it and broke free and started fighting back, because he broke the contract. Doesn’t that render it null and mean you can’t go back in there if you wanted to?”
“I… I guess… But…” Sini frowned. “Based on what Epanophovon said when he had us all cornered? There’s… rules that Life Goddesses are supposed to follow when making universes, and our universe, with Epani, Arkay and I technically being Life Goddesses and Kairos, Arkay and I technically being Time Drakes broke those rules. And these rules are apparently enforced by some unknown group of powerful Life Goddesses that also have some control over Corruption. I… I don’t really want to mess with them if I don’t have to. I’d rather be safe than sorry, and I can watch on from a distance and offer help when I can.”
“And do you offer help?” Elkay-En asked.
“I have you Thantir running around killing Voidborns and Corruption and shit. But in all honesty? Epani does… kinda have everything under wraps, from what I can tell. Things are peaceful, and she has twelve cute little deities that keep her and the universe safe. I’ve… caught whispers of them talking to each other. They’re doing a good job.”
“I guess. I wouldn’t know. I haven’t been in a universe for a long time…” Elkay-En frowned.
“You thought about making a universe?”
Elkay-En glared at Sini. “You think someone as messed up as me can go and make a universe? You’re insane.”
“I dunno, Kinisis was way more messed up than us and she made fucktons of universes.”
“She made fucktons of universes then killed them all!” Elkay-En hissed. “Trillions of lives came and went just because of her own sick curiosity. I can’t bring myself to do that to other people. I may have been a ruler of others when I was mortal, I may have been a natural-born leader, but at the end of the day, I was just a mortal, as far as I was concerned. Death was a natural thing as well. If I was a Life Goddess ruling over… ugh… I… I just can’t. It’s not right. You see mortals as playthings and I can’t do that.”
Phovos patted Elkay-En on the shoulder. “You’re not alone there, mate. I can’t do it either. Not until I work out how to create life that is… resistant to that sort of thing.”
“Admittedly, that’s why you two are weaker Life Goddesses…” Sini shrugged. “Being a Life Goddess means having domain over all. I mean, I never worked out how to make proper immortal life outside of deifying people, and, in all honesty, I’ve never actually deified anyone. But also… I think the most powerful Life Goddesses have something we all don’t.”
“Actually, it’s the opposite. The most powerful Life Goddesses lack empathy and only care about themselves…” Phovos sighed. “That’s why Elkay-En and I can’t bring ourselves to consider universe-building, and you can’t bring yourself to do certain things any more either. Because we care about beings that other Life Goddesses would consider below them.”
“I guess…” Sini frowned. “Still… I don’t want to make a new universe. Not yet. Not until that one there stops spinning. And I don’t want to let it stop spinning.”
“Don’t worry, big sister. We’ll help you protect it.”
Sini closed her eyes and sighed, then smiled a little. “I appreciate that. And I’m sure Epani does too…”