“What are you plotting, Kairos?”
In the past, Epani was somewhat unpredictable. She could go into a rage over the smallest thing and take her pain and anger out on others, and how she reacted varied greatly. However, now that she was a true Life Goddess, Epani never needed to show off her power. That was because she wasn’t always sure how to use it though.
“I am not plotting anything.”
“My children came to me, telling me you did some time manipulation when Kohra and Murum’Va confronted you about traces of Corruption they found. What are you plotting?”
Kairos eyed Epani. She also used to be a lot larger. A vast sea monster, with teeth and claws and that third-eye-like lure. Now Epani took an upright form. A form similar to her mother, but inferior.
“I am not plotting anything.”
“You are! I can sense it!” Epani hissed, wagging a finger at Kairos. She was somewhat large right now, but no taller than Kairos. “I may not be attuned to the Forward Flow like you are, but I can tell that you are up to something!”
Kairos crossed his arms, grunted, then repeated his statement once more.
“I am not plotting anything.”
“Are you going to stop lying to me?”
“I am not lying. And even if I was, I wouldn’t stop, not until you start respecting me.”
Epani snarled, then changed her form, turning back into that gigantic beast of the skies. Kairos had predicted she would do that, but he didn’t expect Epani to get even larger and to go for Kairos directly. Her jaws latched onto Kairos’s arm, ripping a chunk of skin from his wing.
The Allmaker spat out the mouthful of Time Drake. “Respect you? I do far more than simply respect you! I protect you, I gave you a home and a purpose, I keep you safe from your imagined demons and your ludicrous false prophecy! I have risked so much for you, to keep you alive! Sini is gone because of you and Arkay was taken and tortured because of you! So many have died because of you! And you talk to me as if you deserve my respect?”
“I literally keep time running in this universe. I also did so in Kinisis’s universes. Kinisis respected me, she gave me the protection and power I deserve. You keep me here because you need me. I’m perfectly happy to stay here, but you are vastly inferior to Kinisis, and I’m only still here because I feel beholden to the promises I made to Kinisis, and thus feel I have to protect you. You though, you’re inferior to Kinisis.”
Epani paused, somewhat taken aback by Kairos’s last sentence. She snarled again, then, instead of directly attacking Kairos, she altered gravity around him, making Kairos and herself heavier and heavier. But while Epani could tolerate the gravitational pressure, Kairos’s limbs were starting to struggle.
“EXPLAIN YOURSELF. NOW.”
“You need me. You needed Sini and Arkay. You needed Kinisis and Kenon. You’re struggling on your own. You can’t make a universe, you just build on the work of others. This universe is tiny and pathetic in comparison to Kinisis’s ultimate universe. And that universe was nothing compared to her penultimate universe, which she made herself, with just a tiny bit of help from me and Kenon.”
The Allmaker glared at Kairos, then growled and tutted.
“You’re wrong. In every single way. Kinisis never did anything on her own. She never got her hands dirty. She forced you into a broken contract to serve her sorry ass, she used you, she used Kenon, she used her army of Vethic slaves, she used Sini and I and she used and abused Arkay. Her universes were chaotic hellscapes, where mortals warred against each other and died in the trillions. Her universes died because she didn’t care for them, she let them get hurt by Voidborns and devoured by Corruption. My universe may be small, but it is strong and healthy and peaceful. And, more importantly, it is alive.”
“Yet you still need me to keep time stable.”
Epani’s growls turned into a snarl again.
“You can’t handle time. It’s above you. You need me here. You can’t deny it.”
“Kinisis needed you. And you needed her. You craved her love. You suckled from her teat like a colossal baby. Seimeni could not satisfy you. Sini could not make you happy. And I clearly cannot either. And now you do not have mother around to protect you from some absurd conspiracy I do not even think is real, and that you are inadvertently creating, you are acting like a pathetic little child, even though you have everything you need. But let me be clear to you, Kairos, I need you here, currently. That will change.”
“Hah. As if. You have no spine, Epani.”
“Of course I have a spine. I killed Kinisis. I tamed Kenon. I settled Sini. I kept Arkay chained and away from you. I will work out a way to not require you to keep time in this universe stable. And when that day arrives, you had better hope that we are still on friendly terms.”
Kairos closed his eyes and sighed, scanning several future timelines. He couldn’t see far, but there was no near-future scenario in which Epani mastered the Forward Flow. Which meant that she was potentially bluffing.
“If that day arrives. I doubt it. Either way, I am not plotting anything.”
Epani eyed Kairos some more. She wasn’t sure if Kairos was lying, but she had no concrete proof either way. She needed more information before she decided what she wanted to do. She was also well aware that Kairos had seen her coming, meaning he could have hid his plots and schemes well before she arrived. Because of this, Epani decided to change tact.
“If you say so. If I discover otherwise, you can say farewell to the discoveries my children and I have made in regards to your stupid prophecy.”
Before Kairos could comment, Epani disappeared in a flash of light. But while Epani’s parting words did bother Kairos, he soon settled down. He had plotting to do.