Timik was having a bad day.
He was supposed to have gone home, put on his nice armour and then gone out for a morning piss-up at his favourite bar, score some chicks, get laid and then spend the afternoon in the back garden, lying in his inflatable jacuzzi with whoever had decided to stick around after sex. Then he’d go back to work as a guard the next day, after a little, somewhat forced holiday.
None of that happened.
Instead, Timik had returned home, been confronted by Temthan Pistoarchs, stripped down and dragged to the Yisin Guard Temple, a religious hotspot on the edge of this large military base. Once there, they immediately put Timik on trial.
Not for abandoning his post, like Timik assumed. He hadn’t intentionally abandoned his post, he’d kinda been stolen away by a death god. Timik though had called in as soon as he could, saying he had been called in by a powerful Ksithan about a family thing. Clearly that lie had fallen though. Not that it mattered, because the Pistoarchs, the religious inquisitors who demanded that everyone worship the Serpent of Love, were accusing him of working for the Whenvern and the Thantophor and turning his back on their Blessed Allbirther.
That wasn’t true of course. Timik had tried to explain that. He worshipped the Allbirther. He was compelled to, not because of the Pistoarchs or anything like that, but because the Allbirther had blessed Timik with his amazing good looks and his brilliant purple scales that most Temthans envied him for. He, like many other Temthans, had SEEN Yisini, seen her do her wonderful rituals at the temples of the Temthan capital, blessing their powerful Empress Agapia. Yisini was real. Timik adored and worshipped her. Why were they accusing him of this?
The trial wasn’t very long. Timik stood no chance. They had all decided that he was guilty. They ignored everything Timik said, throwing wild accusations at him with no way for Timik to defend himself.
After that ‘trial’, they dragged him away to a cell at the back of the temple. Twenty Pistoarchs, ten Raptesses and Raptorans and about thirty soldiers all watched with curiosity as Timik was tied up and lowered into the cell. The walls were all made of plexi-glass so his jailers could see what was going on.
“Yisini herself will decide your fate.”
Those words… Those words were the last thing Timik wanted to hear. Ever since the Allbirther had descended upon the Temthans, there had been… whispers… Terrible, terrible whispers about those who dared say bad things about the Allbirther. That she would punish them in horrible ways.
The ground opened up beneath Timik. Horrible, sticky fluids coated the floor as Yisini pulled herself through, snaking around the Temthan.
“Oh. You. Kairos wanted you. I won’t let him have you.”
Her voice was quiet and calm. Somehow alluring.
“You’re going to be mine. I’m going to make you have some glorious children…”
Timik panicked. “I don’t want hatchlings! Not yet! What are you on about? I don’t even like the Whenvern! I like you! I worship you!”
“Good!” Yisini beamed. She ran her claws up Timik’s body, both tickling and scratching him. “That means you’ll have no problem with me changing your gender and impregnating you.”
“What… No! Please! I’ll do anything! Please don’t change who I am! Please! I’ll become a Raptoran, I’ll worship you in the temples, I’ll do anything! Just not th-”
Yisini covered Timik’s mouth with a nasty, vile gunk that gummed up his teeth. She then ran a single, jagged claw down Timik’s stomach, cutting through his scales and flesh. Timik tried to scream, but the goo just travelled further down his throat. He could hardly breathe.
“Don’t worry. You’ll start to enjoy it soon…”
The Allbirther paused. A weird, rumbling sound could be heard.
Suddenly, the cell disintegrated, sending the Temthans scattering all over the place. Shards of dust briefly blinded the Temthans, sending them away in a panic.
“What the fuck are you doing, Yisini? I thought you were above torture.”
Yisini uncoiled herself and turned to face this intruder. It was the Death God, Arkadin. Except he just looked like a normal black and yellow Skyavok with a starry cape on.
“None of your business, little brother!” Yisini beamed as she turned back to Timik. “Just dealing with a little traitor here… Hey, get off my tail!”
Arkadin pulled Yisini away. “You and Epani have been cutting bloody swathes across the skies, and I’m tired of it. It was just a few months ago I had to stop Kairos doing the same thing. I’d appreciate it if you fucking stopped interfering with mortals, doing the same shit you always warned me not to do.”
Yisini shrugged Arkadin off with a growl and continued what she was doing. She cut across Timik’s chest then started stabbing his pectorals with a smooth claw. Before she could do much else, Arkadin pulled Yisini away again, forcing her to let go of the Temthan completely.
“You’re not listening to me.”
“Why should I?”
“By continuing along this path, all you are doing is enabling and furthering my agenda rather than your own.”
Yisini hesitated. “You mean I’m… Fuck, am I accidentally helping YOU of all beings?”
Arkadin nodded.
With a snarl, Yisini let go of the Temthan’s body and disappeared back down the hole from which she came. Arkadin sighed, then cut Timik’s body free. Surrounding Timik and himself with a shroud of shadows and stars, the pair teleported off, away from the horrible temple and into a weird space ship.
“Thanks…” Timik muttered as he passed out, the pain becoming too much for him to endure.