“I thought you were trapped somewhere out there…” the Veth tutted as Tenuk dragged himself onto the beaches of Kinigi. “You know the order to kill Deitics on sight is still going on, yes?”
After wiping pale, silver sand from his face, Tenuk looked up to see who was speaking to him.
“Oh. Hi, Retvik. How are you?”
Retvik tutted again and started to walk off towards the large dome house in the distance. Tenuk noticed that the golden Veth was limping slightly.
“Retvik? What happened?”
Another tut. Retvik continued walking. Realising that he was not going to get any answers, Tenik decided it would be best for him to follow Retvik. After all, some other Veth might come along and mistake him for a meal.
As they reached the dome, Tenuk seemed surprised at how lax security was. Many of the Veth that guarded this place had gone off into reality, doing their best to hold back Stasis and the Zonta masses that threatened existence.
“So, what’s going on?”
“You know exactly what is going on!” Retvik growled as a hole opened up in the side of the dome. Retvik pushed Tenuk through then went in himself. The hole quickly snapped shut.
Tenuk shrugged. “I know things are bad but just because I’m Stasis-spawn, doesn’t mean I personally am to blame for all this Great Merge crap. You though, you look like crap yourself.”
Retvik glanced down at his right leg. Underneath one of the heavier pieces of armour was a stab wound. “Bunch of A’Vatas tried to break in. Fended them off myself. One of those fuckers got me in the leg. It’ll heal in a few days, but the collective healing banks are struggling with so many Veth in combat right now.”
Tenuk sighed. “This is all the A’Vatas, isn’t it?”
“Mostly. Them betraying Death and working for Stasis.”
“Where is Death right now?”
Retvik pointed up towards a staircase. Tenuk had never noticed it before.
“She feels betrayed, Tenuk. She has been hiding away. I have not seen her like this before… How long have I been here?”
Tenuk shrugged. “I don’t know. About a million years, I think. I didn’t know that Death could hide away in general.”
“I’ve… been here for a million years?” The look on Retvik’s face turned from somewhat angry to rather surprised.
“Yeah. About that. But is Death… alright?”
“No, she really isn’t!” Retvik snapped back to the conversation at hand. “Maybe… Maybe you can convince her to come down. At least for a little. Us higher up Veth have been doing our best to keep things going but no one has been able to get Death out of her funk.”
Tenuk sighed. “Fine. I’ll try. Anything you recommend me avoiding?”
“Just talk to her.”
Tenuk uneasily headed up the stairs, while Retvik watched on. But a little flicker of panic popped into Retvik’s mind, causing him to suddenly chase after the Kronorethan.
“Actually, hang on a moment.”
“What?” Tenuk exclaimed as Retvik grabbed him by the wrist.
“Let me come with you.”
Retvik pushed past Tenuk and walked up the stairs, opening the door to Death’s bedroom. Tenuk had never seen that room before and gasped in wonder. Unlike everything else, the room was mostly empty except for a pile of pillows, blankets and cushions in the middle of the room. What was awe-inspiring though was the state of the walls. Swirling galaxies, nebulae, all sorts bloomed and faded on the walls, as if one were looking directly out into space.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Yeah…”
Suddenly, Death erupted out from the pile of cushions.
“WHAT DID I TELL YOU RETV- Oh, hi, Tenuk…”
“Hi, Death, are you alright?” Tenuk asked, keeping his voice down.
Death stretched out her arms, then crossed them and growled. “No. No, I’m not alright, Tenny-poo. I’ve been betrayed. I’m weak. I didn’t want you to see me this weak. I don’t want ANYONE seeing me this weak…”
“I don’t think you’re weak,” Retvik tutted. “Just acting stupid.”
Death glared at her formerly favourite Veth, then growled and turned her back on him.
Tenuk glanced at Retvik, then back at Death, not sure what to say. Retvik tutted then left the room, leaving Tenuk alone with the personification of the Cycle.
“Um, Death?”
“I don’t want to speak to you.”
“Well I want to speak to you, Death.”
Death sighed, then threw herself back into her pile of cushions. “Fine. Out with it.”
“I… I don’t believe that you’re just… giving up.”
“I’m… I’m not.”
“You are. You could be out there, trying to get your strength back…” Tenuk paused. “I mean… I don’t like the idea of the cycle. I’d prefer it if everyone was immortal. But since that can’t happen without Stasis freezing everything perpetually, you’re… the only chance of immortality that we have.”
“That’s bollocks and you know it!” Death snapped. “You shouldn’t even want me to regain my strength!”
Tenuk shrugged. “My base Deitic self might think that, but I’ve evolved beyond the cruel, uncaring ways of the Deitics. Plus… I like you. You’re way nicer than Stasis. If Stasis and the Whenvern were like you, then the universe would be a better place. But no. You’re wallowing here in your own sorrow, making yourself no better than those two six-dimensional idiots. I always thought you were better than that.”
Death was about to start shouting at Tenuk again, but something stopped her.
The bastard spawn of Stasis standing in front of her was right. The sneer on Death’s face faded away, slowly replaced with a small smile. Tenuk may have been right, but he wasn’t going to be right for long. She looked up at Tenuk, her smile becoming a full blown grin.
“You have a point, dear. Now, you should leave.”
A portal opened up beneath Tenuk, teleporting him goodness knows where, before snapping shut.
Death grinned as she made her way downstairs, pausing only to grab her favourite scythe.
“Things are about to get messy…”