“Hello, my dears…”
The Twelve Anew stood to attention as Epani entered the Grand Hall at the Centre of the Universe. Normally, she was a colossal, Temthan-like being with a motherly figure and a lure on her head, but today, the Allmaker was a colossal whale-like being with a mouth full of sharp teeth. And a lure on her head. Really, she didn’t fit in the room, and had mostly just stuck her head into the room.
“Hello, Kyr Epani…” Litvir muttered.
“Ah, hello, darling!” Epani seemed to smile briefly. It was hard to tell. “Happy birthday! How was your day yesterday? I am sorry to drag you off your vacation time but I do need to speak to all twelve of you.”
Litvir hesitated somewhat. They were clutching a small plushie. “It was… nice… were… have I done something wrong?”
“No, no, not at all!” Epani’s tone of voice was hard to place. “In fact, I am very proud of you, acting how you did. You realised something was wrong and fought to correct an injustice. But that is exactly why I have brought you all here. Because we… we have a problem.”
“Is the problem that you are biiiiig?” Nanik bounced excitedly. “Too big to fit inside the hall?”
“Uh… no. The problem is that we have a problem with Kairos.”
“Well duh!” Elkay growled. “He has been hurting Dalosisaar, he attacked me, unprovoked, earlier in the year, he sees and treats Maresia as nothing more than eye candy and he FUCKING BEAT UP A BABY.”
“I am technically not a baby any more!” Litvir weakly smiled. “Well, still baby. But a year old baby.”
Elkay turned to Litvir, glared at them and silently told them to shut up, before turning back to the Allmaker. While the rest of the Twelve Anew did occasionally stutter in Epani’s presence, the fact that Elkay had drank coffee alongside the Silent Blade, the now Dead God, meant he wasn’t too bothered. He was also an ancient former assassin, so that helped.
“Epani, there is something genuinely wrong with Kairos. He’s taking out his pain and anger on us. And I think he attempted to take it out on you too, right?”
The Allmaker sighed to herself. “He did, yes. Or, at least, he considered it. Kairos can’t willingly hurt me, he is… somewhat bound to a promise. Some Time Drakes are Motherbound and can’t bring themselves to willingly and intentionally harm a Life Goddess, but that Motherbound status means that a Time Drake is also protected by Life Goddesses and is welcome within universes. None of you are currently protected by that though because you are not Life Goddesses.”
“Question…” Valksia raised her hand. “What IS a Life Goddess? I thought Sini was a Life Goddess, and I assume you are too. But I assume Syksis, Maresia, Akusasiiri, Nanik and myself are not?”
“The term “Life Goddess” is a… more generic term for a godly being capable of creating a universe. You are all bound immortalised deities, you are godly beings who were born mortal and made into deities later on. Arkay, bless his spirit, was originally a bound immortalised deity at one point. But that… we have more important things to talk about. Mostly what we’re going to do with Kairos.”
“What is the actual problem though?” Aster asked. “It seems that the Allriver is angry with… or at someone… and there is a need that is being unfulfilled.”
Elkay almost growled at Aster. “Oh, you’re being diplomatic? Kairos hit a baby and at the bare minimum needs a punch in the face and to go into the time-out box until he learns better!”
“It is… literally my godly duty to be diplomatic…” Aster tutted. “I mean, I’m the God of Diplomacy, for some reason. The Allriver sometimes has outbursts, we all do, but there has to be a cause for what has been happening as of late. And, like, let’s be blunt here, us Twelve Anew can’t do anything against Kairos’s power if he decides to use it.”
“So you suggest bending the knee.”
“No, I suggest working out what the problem is and then working towards fixing that problem so that the billion year old dragon deity that controls time across the universe does his job properly so the universe can keep on spinning.”
Elkay snarled again, but was interrupted by Dalosisaar. “Hang on, was Kairos teaching me time powers so I could be his successor, not in case of emergencies, but because he doesn’t want to be the Great Dragon of this universe any more?”
There was more anger to be had, but it emanated from the colossal jaws at the entrance of the Grand Hall.
“You… you think Kairos wants to just LEAVE? He cannot! He made a promise! He made the same promise I made, that Sini made, that little Arkay made!”
“Alright, really dumb question…” Maresia muttered. “What would Kairos even like… do if he wasn’t around here? Is there even anything out there that doesn’t want to murder us? Elkay, would you know?”
“Why are you asking Elkay?” Aesop sneered. “Since we’ve been in charge, there’s been a grand total of one single interaction with things outside the universe that hasn’t tried to hurt anyone.”
“I’m the fucking god of knowledge!” Elkay sneered back. “And you’re actually wrong. Between going through the remnants of the Dead God and Sini’s old diaries, there are definitely other… things out there. Other Life Goddesses, definitely. Probably other Time Drakes. Other universes too. Maybe other god-like beings too that aren’t Voidborns or Corruption. Allmaker Epani, may I ask, did Sini or Arkay ever wish to leave?”
Epani sighed, then shook her head. “Sini loved this universe more than I did. Arkay had doubts, but his doubts were understandable, since he was resurrected and bound to the universe. Sini, Kairos and I came together and built the universe, and revived Arkay to help us. We all agreed, we all promised. Arkay gave himself up to endless torture because of his promise…”
Everyone fell silent. After a while though, Aster somewhat shrugged.
“We’re going to just have to sit everyone down, Kairos included, and discuss our feelings. Because we can’t solve our problems if not everyone is present.”
“Does it have to be over the next few days?” Kohra asked. “Because, uh, like, I have some personal stuff in the next few days. Gonna go see my big brother and his new friends. And go to a wedding and stuff.”
“I need to persuade Kairos to speak, so that will take time…” Epani sighed some more. “For now though, my dears, keep on doing what you are doing. You are doing great. I am proud of you. Alright?”
Everyone nodded. The vast jaws at the entrance and the dangling lure backed off, then faded away.