The twelve beings all sat in a circle, wondering what was going on. Kinisis had said she wanted to talk, and there they were, waiting for her. All around them were soft cushions, bowls of food and glasses of drinks, to keep them all occupied until the Mistress arrived.
They all knew she was coming when that familiar pink sparkle appeared in the middle of the room. Kinisis exploded from nothing, showering everyone in edible confetti.
“Good morning, Guardians!” Kinisis smiled.
“It is morning?” were the muttered replies. Kinisis glanced at her subjects, understanding their confusion. The windows outside showed nothing but darkness, aside from the occasional glow of another universe, and streaks of cosmic dust.
“It is approximately morning!” Kinisis smiled some more. “How are you all feeling today?”
The Guardians all whispered to each other. Several answers came out. Most of them were confusion and bewilderment.
“Understandable…” Kinisis sighed. “I owe you all some explanations, and you all want to ask me questions. We’ll start with some basic explanations and then we’ll have a brief questioning period at the end.”
Shifting her weight, Kinisis rose into the air slightly, so she was hovering. She waved her hands around, simulating specs of light, which turned into clouds and stars.
“First, I will… explain what actually happened. For real. Not the half-assed “universe died” thing I told you. Because it is more complicated than that.”
Gold streaks appeared across the simulation, all surrounding one larger point.
“These are the Voidborn. Specifically, they were a cult, called the Golden Protectors. Their name is a complete lie though, as they were selfish bastards that only cared for other Voidborn. They had discovered that a Voidborn, my old friend Kenon, had been killed by one of the deities in my old universe, the little Thantophor. They came to kill this deity and take the Voidborn’s body away.”
The golden streaks grew larger.
“This wasn’t quite true. Kenon wasn’t dead, he was recovering. And the Thantophor had already been punished for his actions. The Voidborn cult didn’t listen to reason though and demanded we hand them both over. The alternative? Agonizing torture and death to everyone in the universe.”
Out of the central simulated star, three beings appeared. A dragon, a snake and a whale.
“While Kairos distracted the Voidborn armies, Yisini and Epani worked to gather as much as they could and save it in a small pocket dimension which I had created. During this time, Yisini scouted the main mortal races and picked out the best members of each race. They worked hard, but the Voidborn saw our ruse and attacked.”
Explosions began to emanate from the various stars and clouds. An army appeared alongside the dragon, fighting against golden orbs.
“Despite Kairos raising an army to fight the Voidborns, it wasn’t enough. They closed in on us, threatening not just our universe, but the universes around us. That was when I made the decision.”
A crystal appeared in the centre of the simulation, with a small figure inside it.
“The only way to stop the Voidborn was to destroy the universe they were standing in. Channelling my powers into the sleeping Thantophor, we caused a chain reaction that destroyed the boundaries of the universe, annihilating almost everything inside it. Everything except what Epani, Yisini and I had saved.”
The golden orbs melted away.
“We were now within the Periuniversal Void. But Yisini and Epani didn’t want me to return to the small part of the universe they had saved. So I set off on my own to explore the void, taking you, the twelve mortals-turned-deities that Yisini and Epani gave to me as a parting gift, by my side.”
The simulation faded away, leaving everyone looking slightly less confused. Kinisis turned to each of the Guardians.
“This took longer than I expected, we’ll need to get going soon. You all get a question each…” Kinisis glanced at Akah, the Lanex, first. “We shall go around the circle, starting with Akah.”
Akah blinked, not expecting to go first. He stumbled on his words before blurting out the first thing that came to mind. “What are we doing out here now?”
“Now? Nothing in particular. We are currently travelling through the Void, making amends for what we did. A universe was destroyed. That has consequences that I need to comprehend before we move on. Next question please.”
Tahvra shifted in his spot, looking a bit awkward. “Where… did you get this ship and everything?”
“I had all of this prepared in advance. I was prepared for a lot of things, just not the specific events that… made all of this happen.”
“Why can’t we just all go back though? Why do we have to be here with you?” Atteh’Kus, the massive Banikan, growled. “Are we not allowed within the place that the snake and the whale saved?”
“No. Because you are all beings influenced by me. Even before this happened. Epani declared that she wants no… Kiniseon presence within what she has saved.”
“So what are we?” Vexer asked. “Are we gods? Demi-gods? What?”
Kinisis smiled. “You are Kiniseon Beings, the best of both worlds. Deities with mortal connections and feelings. But also the ability to adapt to almost all situations.”
“So we are… adapting gods with feelings?” Vokulnaax reiterated. “Isn’t that… dangerous?”
“Not at all!” Kinisis beamed. “You were all… designed to avoid many failings I have had with other deities. You all also have fail-safes built in, and were designed to be loyal to me.”
“Aren’t we going to get lonely out here though?” Tahnahos asked, looking more awkward than most. “Because, well, being mortal means we have desires…” Tahnahos paused. “Possibly sexual ones.”
This question caught Kinisis slightly off guard, but she did have an answer. “The unique thing about Kiniseon beings is that you are, theoretically, sexually compatible with anyone. I will be honest, the last few stages of your design were rushed, so while you are designed to work well and be friendly with one another… Well, you could all form partnerships if you want to. As long as it’s all consenting.”
“But we are different species!” Fragiir exclaimed. “Isn’t that… wrong?”
“You aren’t different species. You are all Kiniseons, but with different forms. You are not your mortal races, you were made into Kiniseons and kept your original shapes. With some tweaks and changes to make you stronger and more durable!” Kinisis explained. “If you wanted to, you could change your appearances into whatever you wanted. How you look now is just your ‘default’ form, how you are when you are at rest…”
Kinisis paused, glancing at some imaginary thing on her wrist. “I hate to cut this short, but we have to get moving soon. I’ll take one more question.”
There was muttering among the Guardians, but it all stopped when Phovos sighed, clearing her throat. No one had really heard her speak in a long time.
“Who am I? Who are we? And who were we, before we ended up here?”
“Ah…” Kinisis frowned. “That is… a hard question to answer. I will… give you all personalized notes on this… but not right now.”
“When?” Phovos asked.
“As soon as we get to the next Life Oasis.”
“You promise?”
Kinisis tutted. “Of course, Phovos. I will give you all what you need.” She suddenly clapped her hands together, grabbing everyone’s attention. “Now, my Guardians, get the ship ready. I want to be out of here in five minutes, understood?”
“Yes, Kinisis…”
The twelve Guardians all grunted and got up from the circle, getting back to work.