Everything in Kinigi was swirling around, as if a gigantic tornado was blowing through. The eye of the storm was above Death’s home, and that was where Continuity and Syklos had teleported themselves to. There was no way they could walk through the thick, forceful winds that were tearing everything apart.
Syklos kicked the front door down and Continuity charged in, neither of them sure what to expect. But unlike everything outside, inside, Death was sitting calmly, drinking some sort of beverage. Behind her, Istoria was standing still, chained to several posts, her mouth covered.
“What the FUCK are you DOING, Kinisis?” Syklos roared. “Have you not SEEN what is going on in Kinigi?”
Death shrugged. “No. Should all be rebuilding. Why?”
“Your rebuilding is tearing at the fabric of Kinigi,” Continuity tried to explain. “The Veth are melting down into their base forms. The whole place is defenceless and we’re at risk of haemorrhaging souls!”
“Huh…” Death’s reply seemed lackluster. It was almost as if she didn’t care. “I thought it wasn’t supposed to be windy. Last time it was all over pretty quick. Where’s our little Prime so I can beat him up a little? Surely I can think of a reason to hit him.
“You mean, you have no idea?” Continuity blinked. “You don’t know what is going on?”
Syklos growled, then decided to start making holes in the walls so Kinisis could see what was going on outside. As he did so, bits of random debris started to blow in. Still, Death didn’t seem too worried. As Syklos made more and more holes in Kinisis’s house, Continuity sneaked over to Istoria and freed her from her bonds.
“Thank the River you got here…” Istoria gasped, her arms and legs weary from being tied up for so long.
“Has she lost her mind?” Continuity whispered.
“I don’t know… I think she just needs to sleep and sort herself out, but I can’t convince her on my own!”
Death though still seemed uncaring. She’d yawn occasionally, but didn’t have any interest in any of the destruction going on.
Without warning, the ceiling collapsed above Kinisis. It fell around her, none of it even daring to fall on the Lady of the Cycle herself. Above them, the swirling, chaotic skies of Kinigi could be seen, with large, black tears forming in the sky.
“LOOK, KINISIS. LOOK AT IT ALL!” Syklos screamed. “You are BREAKING it all!”
“No, I’m not.”
“YES YOU ARE!” Istoria joined in on the shouting. “What is wrong with you? It’s like, since that Corruption appeared, you’re… you’re self-destructive! What is the problem? Are you ill? Are you sick of life, of your duties? What is wrong?”
Continuity’s voice though was calmer, more reassuring. “Kinisis, we can’t help you if you don’t let us in…”
Death looked at her Veth and sighed, dropping her drink as she did so. Above them, the skies began to return to their normal colours and the winds started to die down. The River quickly started to correct itself. Veth swiftly reformed and started to gather outside of Death’s home.
Istoria walked over to Kinisis and wrapped her arms around her, hugging her tightly.
“Kinisis, we are you. We can feel your sorrow but we can’t understand it.”
“I know…” Death whimpered. “It’s just… I’m so tired… Thirteen billion years, and I’ve hardly slept… And that… thing that tried to kill me… it scared me…”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Syklos asked. “We could have helped you. But you pushed us away.”
“I didn’t want you all to be sad as well…” Death hugged Istoria back. “What I feel affects you…”
Continuity walked over, calmly placing his hand on Death’s shoulder. “You have been affecting us. But now we can help you fix your problems. This isn’t the way to do that though. We need to work together on this.”
Death sighed, then let go of Istoria, stepping back and looking out at all the Veth who had gathered.
“I think we need to step back from all of this,” Syklos suggested. “Take some duties off your shoulders so you can rest. We can get some of the stronger Veth to take over while you and Istoria and whoever else you want can work together and make a plan for the future. How does that sound?”
Kinisis smiled weakly, a small tear in her eye.
“That sounds like a great idea…”