Outside, the pure white vehicle floated ominously, having drifted across the space between universes on silky golden sails, using a solid gold anchor to hold it in place. The owner of this strange ship had waved down the Deathven Vessel known as Shimmer’s Plight, demanding to speak to the Decay-Lords on board.
This owner was a Voidborn and a particularly pretty one at that. It dressed in all white, with gold accents and a strange, golden disc-like halo that blotted out most of the Voidborn’s smaller features. Unlike other Voidborn, it lacked the traditional two sets of arms, instead having simple yet muscular limbs and long, thin fingers, coupled with an extra thumb on each hand. It wore white robes, but because the being was so pure and white, one could assume it was wearing nothing at all.
Now, the Voidborn was standing where it had boarded Shimmer’s Plight, waiting patiently for the Decay-Lord in charge to open the cargo bay doors and let it in.
“What do you want, Cazitilax?” Vikalos grunted as he heaved the heavy doors open. “Why are you stopping us today?”
Cazitilax’s halo glowed softly. “I heard you had a new friend, yes yes?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“You picked up a Decayling. And I heard you were going back to Deathven, so clearly it must be vaguely important, yes yes?”
Vikalos grunted a little more. “You do realise you have no right to be on this ship, yes?”
The white Voidborn tried to look past Vikalos, but the view down the ship was mostly blocked by an annoying red dragon eating a large bucket of fried poultry legs with stumpy little arms, talking to a small, wispy creature who seemed vaguely angry.
“I just want to see the little one, maybe maybe? I know there is one here, yes yes! You stopped and picked the little cutie ink sac up, yes yes? I have to do my rounds and check with the local Decay-Lords, you agree, yes yes? Keep you all in check, so we don’t have to deal with the bigguns, perhaps perhaps?”
Vikalos leaned forward. He towered over this golden, beautiful being, but the Decay-Lord did not seem to threaten Cazitilax at all.
“You seem to have forgotten the deals between the Void Lords and the Decay-Lords. We do not interfere with each other.”
“But you did, yes yes?”
“Only to assist one of your own.”
“Using an Antifthor, perhaps perhaps?”
“No. Using an old shard of an Antifthor that we have for experimental purposes only.”
Cazitilax shook its head, but as it was so bright, there was no way of telling what the Voidborn’s facial expression was. “So what was the Decayling you picked up, maybe maybe? Because we all know you picked something up, that is why Deathven Vessels slow down, yes yes?”
“We also slow down to deal with invading Corruptions!” Seimeni beamed as she peered over Vikalos’s shoulder. “There’s been a ton of them here lately!”
“Oh, really really?”
“Yep!”
The Voidborn thought to itself. After a moment, it turned back to Vikalos. “And the Decayling?”
“Still in its sac, which is why we are heading back to Deathven. If it had been important to the Void Lords, you all would have known.”
“Very well, yes yes!” Cazitilax clapped its hands together with glee. “We wish you all the bestest of lucks, yes yes! I shall leave you to your journeys, yes yes?”
“And the same to you, Cazitilax…” Vikalos grunted.
“Byyye!” Seimeni waved.
The Voidborn clapped its hands again, then disappeared, vanishing into thin air. Vikalos tutted to himself, then pressed a button on his wristband, activating a vacuum that sucked any and all Voidborn traces out of the ship.
Behind Vikalos, a door nudged open.
“Why did you lie about me?” Arkay asked.
“Because they’d fuck you up big time, silly!” Seimeni laughed as she leaped past. “Voidborns LOVE cutting up Antifthors and turning them into weapons!”
Vikalos pushed the door closed, then locked Arkay back inside his room.
“Just stay there for a little bit longer, little one. It is not a safe place for you here…”