“Tahnahos, you shouldn’t be snooping around down here!” Phovos protested as the little Kronospast tugged at her arm. “We are supposed to be on duty, protecting Kinisis!”
Tahnahos paid no heed to his fellow Guardian’s concerns. Instead, he continued dragging Phovos deeper into the golden palace, down several stairwells, past a myriad of Rethan guards and soldiers, all unaware of their presence. They hadn’t travelled far. Heck, the feast they were supposed to be at was only a couple of floors above them. But it felt like a long way, mostly because there were so many heavily armoured Rethavok around. Normally, a Kronospast and a Ksithan would stick out like sore thumbs, but Tahnahos was using his telepathic prowess to camouflage both himself and the Raptor.
“Tenuk!” Phovos continued to snap, hoping that Tahnahos’s alternate name would make him respond. “Why are you doing this? Where are you taking me? What about Kinisis?”
“Shush now…” Tahnahos finally spoke as they came across a much more heavily guarded door. This one was more like two large, thick slabs of steel. The guards present hadn’t noticed them. But the door wasn’t an issue anyway. With a flick of his wrist, a glimmering portal opened up, allowing him and Phovos to pass through with ease.
“Tenuk! What are we doing here in the jails?”
Finally, Tahnahos stopped and turned to face Phovos. “Dude, shut it. Kinisis is a big girl, she can look after herself for half an hour. She’s flanked by the Panelix, the Whenvern and the Allbirther. She’s fine. The poor vok we’re about to visit though…”
“BROTHER?”
In the largest cell ahead of them, a being that looked almost identical to Tahnahos shouted out, the only difference being his cool white and ice blue skin compared to Tahnahos’s more normal blue looks. By this Kronospast’s side were a hulking cream and purple Temthan, a reptilian being vaguely similar in appearance to Phovos; and a dark, black-armoured Skyavok with a warm orange glow about them. Phovos immediately recognised all three beings.
“You… are all alive?” Phovos stuttered, suddenly at a loss for words.
“YOU’RE ALIVE?” the Temthan growled. “And you are running around free?”
Tahnahos checked to make sure that none of the guards around them were paying attention. Thankfully, with a bit of mind manipulation, not only did the guards not know that he and Phovos were there, but as far as they were concerned, all the prisoners were asleep. That being said, the cell that was holding these three prisoners in particular was rather lavish, with three small bedrooms, proper furniture and a separate bathroom. Once Tahnahos was sure the coast was clear, he nodded at Phovos, who immediately ripped the iron bars apart, creating a gaping hole in the cell wall.
“Wow, thanks…”
Phovos took a deep breath, not sure where to start. “Guys… I thought… we were… informed that you’d all died…”
“Oh no. We are fine…” the other Kronospast grunted. “We were told you were dead… Well, fucking glad you’re not…”
Tahnahos sighed, then wrapped his arms around his brother. “I missed you, Kohra. I’m so sorry.”
“What for?”
“Leaving you and Levik behind. And Timik and Kayen too.”
“Levik’s fine. He went back to being a Vahrga. I’m the only one with blood on my hands.”
Tahnahos paused. “Wait, what did you do?”
Kohra smiled, ever so slightly. “I killed Avra.”
“Oh…” Tahnahos paused some more. “Well I assume he probably deserved it. Let me guess, he wanted to start a war or something.”
“Yep.”
“And I assume Kenon imprisoned you because he’s terrified of patricide?”
“Yes.”
That voice came from none of the beings from the recently freed group. It was much deeper and much more sinister than expected. There were a few nervous swallows as everyone slowly turned to face this new voice.
“Oh, hello Voidborn Kenon!” Tahnahos waved. “Can’t help but notice that you’ve imprisoned my brother. And Phovos’s friends…” With a vague smile, Tahnahos summoned a scroll out of thin air, waved it around a bit to open it, then began to read from it. “Seems like you’ve broken the contract yet again. Gonna have to-”
Suddenly, Tahnahos disappeared. With a swing of his mace, the Void Lord had struck hard, sending Tahnahos through the ceiling, out of the jail cells and through several more ceilings, before finally coming to a halt in the lavish feast room five storeys above.
Without hesitation, Phovos immediately struck back, disarming Kenon and slashing across his gold-masked face with her silver claws. Rather than panic and run, Timik and Kayen both took initiative and pulled Kohra to safety, before throwing whatever they could at the Void Lord. They knew they couldn’t really hurt him, but at least they provided enough of a distraction for Phovos to do some actual damage.
The battle though didn’t last long. Growling menacingly, Kenon lunged forward, grabbing Phovos by the arm as she reached in for another attack. Rather than fight the Raptor directly, Kenon opted to do to her what he had just done to Tahnahos, flinging her upwards, before floating upwards himself.
“Uh, what now?” Kayen asked, glancing up at the massive hole.
Timik and Kohra both shrugged, before dropping their temporary weapons. Standing behind them was a small legion of soldiers, lead by a vaguely familiar red and gold Rethan.
“Damn…” General Rethais sighed. “I was too late getting down here…”
Up in the main hall, everyone was trying to work out what was going on, and why a blue-eyed Kronospast was lying in the middle of the room, by a large machine that had seemingly appeared out of thin air. As the Void Lord rose up, shimmering diamond walls enclosed the entire room, trapping deity and mortal alike inside.
“I had wanted to do all of this more discretely, but it seems your bumbling Guardians have forced my hand, Kinisis!” Kenon sneered, brandishing a new staff that he had freshly conjured. “That being said, I am glad you can join me in my new experiments to alter reality as I see fit!”
Kinisis eyed Kenon, then crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “What stupid plan do you have for us this time?”
“My plan is not stupid!” Kenon roared. “My plan is-”
The Voidborn’s words ended abruptly, cut off by a flash of blinding light and a thundering boom. Where Kenon and his machine once stood, there was now a new hole, far larger and far deeper than the one that Kenon had just appeared from. The crystal walls that had just encased the hall crumbled away, revealing the normal building underneath.
As the dust settled, Kinisis made her way to the massive opening and peered down it.
“Oh no…” the Allmaker whispered, a hint of fear in her normally unwavering voice. “This is not going to be good…”