“Galyn, may I have another word with you?”
Galyn blinked several times, realizing that he had been staring off into the darkness for a while. To his side was Retvik, who had a rather tired look on his face.
“Of course, what is troubling you, Retvik?”
Retvik tutted a few times to himself, then sat down on a nearby stool. Galyn also sat down, somewhat concerned about Retvik’s mood.
“I feel really hypocritical asking you this…”
“Asking me what?” Galyn grunted. “You are finding yourself attracted to Kinisis?”
“What? No, no, of course not!” Retvik almost spat in shock. “She… all that… No, just no. Too much mess, too much hassle. I actually wanted to ask you if I could take a short break, and go and see my family and friends.”
Galyn relaxed a little, then frowned. “I can give you time off. You do deserve it, after all. But you are a fully fledged Decay Lord now, and the deities within this universe will see you as a threat. You will have to speak to Kinisis, and most likely you will need written confirmation from the three deities inside too.”
Retvik frowned a little.
“There is another option…” Galyn exclaimed. “You could allow Litvir and Kuta to make a telepathic projection for you. Since you have done something similar before, it should not be a problem.”
The Flamebearer frowned some more. “Galyn, I am not making myself particularly clear, but I want to see my friends and family in person. Projections do not sit right with me.”
Galyn thought to himself for a moment. “Tell me, Retvik, who do you actually want to visit?”
Retvik paused. He clearly hadn’t actually thought about it. “Well… I do not want to, well, interfere with anything. And I am pretty certain that I am written down as missing in action back home. But I would honestly just like to see my oldest friends again.”
“And who are they? Wait…” Galyhn rubbed his head, trying to remember something. “You mean the youngling Time Drake and the Divine Guardian? The two that helped you blow up that Voidborn bastion?”
Retvik grunted. “Yes, I would really like to see Elksia and Tenuk. At the very least, I would like to inform them of Arkay’s fate. They both cared a lot about Arkay, we spent a lot of time growing together.”
“Hm…” Galyn trailed off again, briefly lost in thought, before turning his attention back to Retvik. “They are deities, in the same vein that you are a deity. I suppose a visit could be arranged.”
“Oh?” Retvik’s eyes lit up slightly. “I can visit them?”
“Yes, but you will most likely have to ask Kinisis. However, now that I think about it, it might actually be easier to invite them here at the Life Oasis, rather than you going down to meet them.”
“I would…” Retvik hesitated, not wanting to seem ungrateful. “I would prefer to go and meet them, but I am happy with either solution.”
Galyn smiled. “Good, good. Just do me a favour and let Kinisis know, sort it out with her. After all, this is her place and her old universe. And let Litvir and Kuta know as well.”
Retvik bowed slightly. “Thank you.”
Galyn waved his hand dismissively. “No worries, kid. You deserve a bit of a break anyway…”