Everything was black, but there were little candles floating around, providing a scant amount of light. But Elkay-En and Vekeus clearly didn’t care about the darkness, because they were preoccupied by the large, Voidborn-like being standing before them.
“Welcome, little ones. I am Overlord, and I wish to discuss your trial and your future with you. We traditionally do so with our Decay Lord designations and codenames, over a fine meal. So please, sit down so we can talk.”
Elkay-En and Vekeus glanced first at the colossal being with a rather dog-like head, then did as they asked, sitting at a table that had appeared. Vekeus though also changed his form, back into his old mortal Threan-type Retha shape.
“Uh… hi!” Vekeus waved awkwardly. “Are you that Deathven person?”
“I am, yes. But we use our codenames here. Darkpurger, Voidblaze, please, have something to eat and drink. You deserve it.”
“I mean, sure?” Vekeus shrugged. “I can’t quite make out your mood. Mostly because I can’t see your face. But… you seem kinda… confused.”
The Overlord smiled, but that smile was mostly invisible. “I am a little confused, mostly because the Thantir have sent me two Decaylings and neither of them are Decayons. The previous Decaylings the Thantir sent me, only two of them were Decayons. The set before that, three were not Decayons, and, among the Missing, only Flamebearer and Souldrainer are normal Decayons, even if Deathbringer’s Amalgam Mimic ways has made them more powerful.”
“Alright, well, fair, I guess?” Elkay-En was now also confused. “Arkay always wanted to be the combat medic support among his team of Ksa and I somewhat accidentally kept on throwing him at the front lines when he was mortal, so it makes sense that he unintentionally lives out those support role fantasies and makes those around him stronger.”
Vekeus turned to Elkay-En. “You were a bit of a bastard with us Ksa sometimes, you know.”
“You think I was going to let my second physically strongest Ksa sit on the backlines?” Elkay-En tutted, then returned to the subject at hand. “Either way, we completed our trial, yes? Are we done?”
The Overlord seemed to smile some more. “You did complete your trial, yes, indeed. You also massively angered my Trial Setters. They get upset when some Decaylings are… too creative with their solutions. That is not your fault though. The Trial Setters should have better planned for two unique beings.”
“Oh, so you are impressed?” Vekeus asked.
“I am, yes. That was… a very Zontanian way of dealing with your challenge. Simply making it disappear and sending the problem away to be dealt with by someone else. I will have to check in with your fellow Thantir to see what they did with that Corrupted Voidborn, but it was admittedly too far gone for us to try and save. But I am also rather curious about you both.”
“Why?” Vekeus hesitantly muttered. “And… like… I assume you are more interested in Elkay-En than you are in me.”
“No, no, I am interested in both of you equally. Yes, Darkpurger is a genuinely interesting type of Life Goddess, it is rare to see a male-leaning one with a rather grotesque twist on life manipulation, but Voidblaze, you are not a newling Voidborn the same way Voidraptor is. You are an older Voidborn, you have existed for a while, yet you are joining the ranks of the Decay Lords now.”
Vekeus hesitated some more, then shrugged again. “Well, let’s be fair, Voidborn cults fucking suck. It’s way better to do my Corruption Purges while assisting Decay Lords rather than assisting a cult that likes to terrorise others.”
“A fair comment. Either way, I am very satisfied with your performance.”
The Overlord smiled yet again, then stood up, and snapped his fingers. As he did so, the collars and bands around Elkay-En and Vekeus disintegrated. Deathven then raised his chalice.
“Darkpurger, Voidblaze, I name you both Decay Lords. You are very strange Decay Lords, but you have proven your strength and your worth, and I hope to hear more about your antics in the future. Continue being strange, continue being good, and your futures will remain bright. Congratulations.”
Elkay-En eyed Deathven. “Is that it?”
“What do you mean, Darkpurger?”
“I… I expected you to be angry at us or something. Or that there would be a trap. Or you would… do something…”
Deathven shook his head. “No, no. No need for that. I am being honest in my words. I am impressed with how you both acted, I am curious about your futures and I am perfectly fine with a Life Goddess and a Voidborn being Decay Lords among a strange sect that already has both. Also, you are not Amalgam Mimics, so that is also why I am not bothered.
“So… uh… you aren’t going to trap us?”
“Why would I do that?”
Elkay-En tutted. “You did that to Voidraptor and all the Synaisthyns. I spent a lot of time looking up trials for other Decay Lords, I spent a lot of time talking to the rest of the Thantir. Yet you put me and Veekay into a test that we solved with relative ease.”
“To be fair, that latter part is on both my Trial Setters and you. You two were very clever and my Trial Setters vastly underestimated you. But I am being genuine, there is no funny business to be had here. You completed your trial, you are both officially Decay Lords, and I would like to send you home now.”
“Oh…” Elkay-En felt deflated, and didn’t know why. Vekeus though was fine.
“So we’re cool?” Vekeus asked.
“Yes, Voidblaze. We are, as you say cool. Please, return to the Thantir and continue your good work. Farewell, Darkpurger and Voidblaze.”
With a snap of Deathven’s fingers, Elkay-En and Vekeus suddenly found everything going dark again. When everything returned to normal, they were back at Savepoint. And in front of them was Vekeus’s ship, which had a massive hole in the side of it and was partially melted. There were also a few pieces of molten Voidborn armour plates scattered around.
“You guys are bastards…” Arkay grunted as he finished putting out some flames. “And, sadly, that Voidborn couldn’t be saved.”
Vekeus grinned. “That’s unfortunate, and yes, we definitely are bastards! But we’re also Decay Lords now!”
Elkay-En also smiled. “Indeed. Everything turned out mostly alright in the end…”