Plans for More

The lands of Kinigi were once a rather nice place to be. Flowing rivers, fields of pink and silver grass, the occasional grey tree with purple leaves and cute pebble paths cut through the lands. Most of that had disappeared, ever since the Anger started.

Kinisis, the ruler of the rivers of the Cycle and the personification of Life, Death and Rebirth had been making sure that the seas of souls ran red with the blood of the deceased, running a long, tireless crusade to destroy all life so she could start again. The ghastly yet somehow rather attractive deity had a lot of plans, few of which she could fulfil without the universe’s current population of souls.

“My beloved little Thantophor! You have returned!”

Of course, while Kinisis worked on recreating the universe as she saw fit, she needed someone to cause death and destruction, to kill the living so Kinisis could renew them and make them reborn again. That was where Arkay, the Thantophor, came in.

“How many have you killed today, my favourite little Veth Prime?”

Arkay didn’t reply at first. Already, Kinisis’s fury began to build.

“How many?”

“I do not know…” the Thantophor finally spoke. “I lost count at the million mark.”

In an instant, Kinisis’s kindness faded. She extended her claws, slapping the Thantophor and leaving bloody scratches across his face.

“I TOLD YOU. TEN MILLION A DAY. WHY DID YOU NOT DO THAT?”

Arkay backed away. The injuries had already faded, replaced with yet another set of dark grey scars to add to his damaged, tattered skin.

“There was a distraction. One worthy of my attention. My… siblings…”

Kinisis’s mood immediately changed. She perked up, changing her look into something less ghastly and far more attractive. She began to walk around Arkay, stroking him with her long fingers, occasionally ‘accidentally’ scratching him and seeing if he flinched.

“Your siblings, eh? That makes things interesting. I assume you tried to kill them?”

“No. I told them to keep out of my way and in exchange, I’d leave them alone.”

The Avatar of the Cycle smiled slyly. “Oh, did you now?”

“Yes.”

“Really?”

“You leaving my siblings alone is the main part of my damn contract with you!” Arkay growled.

Kinisis continued to smile, and started plucking pieces of paper out of thing air. She would inspect each one in turn, then scrunch it up and throw it off, the paper disappearing back into thin air.

“Kinisis…”

“Don’t!” Kinisis raised a finger. Arkay tried to speak and suddenly found he couldn’t. She continued to look at various pieces of paper, until she found the one she was looking for. “You know, I should have done a written contract with you. Because really, your deal with me could be anything. All I have is a quick written account of what happened, and the deal was that I let your brothers live long lives. They’ve lived long lives, have they not?”

Arkay struggled to reply. Kinisis realised she’d muted the Thantophor and waggled her finger, allowing him to speak once more.

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve been serving you this entire time.”

“Well, it’s been, what, ten thousand years or so and they’re still alive, right?”

“I… I guess…”

Kinisis fell silent, but her smile only got bigger. Finally, she turned to Arkay, grinning wildly.

“What if I had seven Thantophors?”

Arkay’s eyes widened. “Please, Kinisis, leave my brothers alone. I told them to leave me alone…”

Still grinning, Kinisis disappeared in a puff of smoke, only to reappear, leaping on Arkay and pinning him to the ground.

“I want you to beg.”

“Kinisis PLEASE!” Arkay growled, twisting and turning, trying to get Kinisis off him. “Please… please… I don’t want to hurt them… I’ll kill more for you… just leave them out of this…”

The God of Death’s grin turned into a frown as she climbed off Arkay. “Oh fine. But I want a billion souls here tomorrow. Otherwise I’m going to get myself some new pets. Got it?”

“Understood…” Arkay sighed.

“Good! Now get going! We’ve got work to do…”