“Hello, Arkadin.”
Arkay blinked several times, trying to work out where he was. From the smell of the air, he could tell that he was inside a metal ship, having been abruptly torn from his fledgling universe, the one he and his siblings were in the middle of building.
“Hello…”
“I have some questions for you. Would you be able to answer them for me?”
“Who are you?” Arkay asked.
“My name is Galyn. We need to talk.”
The name knocked some memories in the young god’s mind. He sighed to himself, then felt round to his side. After a moment of fidgeting, Arkay pulled out a small shard of metal that had been embedded in the gap between his skin and his armour.
“In fifteen minutes, I won’t remember any more. Heck, I’ve only been conscious again for five minutes. I’ll answer your questions, but you need to put me back in there when I am done.”
Galyn lowered his head. “What do you mean? What did you do to Kinisis?”
“We killed each other.”
“Yet you are sitting here, talking to me. Why did you kill Kinisis?”
Arkay let out a low growl. “She was harming my sisters. Epani came to me, asking for help, for liberation. So I came back and helped her. I destroyed Kinisis’s heart. She fatally stabbed me. For a brief moment, I died, until Epani and Sini resurrected me. To help them build a new universe.”
“You never wanted to build universes though. You were free from Kinisis’s influence.”
“Epani wasn’t.”
“Her life was more important than yours?” Galyn asked.
Arkay shook his head. “I thought I’d make it out alive. Instead, Kinisis got to me one last time. One last cycle.”
“This universe is that last cycle, I assume.”
“Yeah.”
“You threw your life away, you know.”
Arkay didn’t respond at first. “Yeah, I know. In hindsight, I wouldn’t have done any of this, if I’d known that Kinisis would curse me like this. But, well, this time round, Kinisis isn’t here to hurt me. And there’s nothing Epani, Sini or Kairos can do to hurt me the way Kinisis did.”
“How did she hurt you? I know she used you-”
“I was twenty five years old, going on my first date in a year. Recovering from a myriad of injuries from an adventure gone wrong. She had me gunned down and killed, before resurrecting me into her plaything, for billions of years. I was mortal once, Galyn. A child, just trying to live their life. I did nothing wrong, and she made me suffer. In every way possible. Until I reached the point that suffering is all I know now. You know, when she first resurrected me and bound me to her, she would routinely rape me and torture me? Simply because she could?”
Galyn leaned back. “I… I see now…”
“Yeah… thought as much…” Arkay crossed his arms. “I wish I killed her sooner. For about ten seconds, I was actually at peace for once. And I will be again, once this new universe is over.”
“Can you handle that?”
“I… I don’t know. I guess I’ll find out soon.”
Galyn closed his eyes, sighing. “Well… as it was technically self-defence, I… I will not do anything. We’ll have the sector sealed off, and you four can grow your new universe in peace.”
“Thank you.”
“And, maybe, if either of us are still around when this universe dies, perhaps we can have another sit down. You are welcome to rejoin the Thantir, if you choose to do so.”
Arkay bowed. “I appreciate the offer, but when this universe ends, I’m going to sleep, for a long, long time. I think I deserve it.”
“Very well…” Galyn got up, then led Arkay to a nearby door. “I will leave you to your new universe then. I wish you luck.”
“Thanks. I think we’re gonna need it…”