Kohra shifted his weight and sneaked forward, hiding behind rocks and trees as he made his way up to Arkadin’s home. For some reason, the teleporting key Kohra had used hadn’t actually teleported him to the house on the hill, but a good 100m away. Luckily, Kohra had shapeshifted into a taller being and this walk wasn’t too bad.
As he approached, he realised that Arkadin was sitting at the dining table, writing something down. Kohra decided to be extra sneaky and…
“What are you doing?”
The Lord of Death’s voice scared the shit out of Kohra.
“I was…”
“Going to sneak up on me?”
“Yeah.”
Arkadin smiled, then leaned back to open the sliding door. Kohra stepped inside and sat opposite the Thantophor. As soon as he did so, a tray of tea appeared in front of him. Arkadin sipped the drink he already had.
“I came back.”
“I saw. With a new look as well…” Arkadin smiled as he pushed his pen and pad to one side. “Why did you turn into a Rethavok just like your brother?”
Kohra glanced down at his body. He had shapeshifted himself into a Rethavok-like being. Slightly taller and leaner though, with much paler skin and light blue armour. Enough to blend in and stand out at the same time.
“I… I don’t know. I mean, Rethavok were the most common in the place you left me, so it made sense. You think I look dumb?”
Arkadin shook his head. “Not at all! You look wonderful! I am just surprised you took such a similar form! Are you going to change your name too?”
Kohra blinked, then decided to have a quick drink. “It’s not something I’ve considered. My name isn’t that… Obvious… Well, I won’t be running around calling myself Kohra Tou Avran. I’ll need a surname but it’s not important right now.”
The Thantophor seemed happy. “I assume you haven’t spent all your money?”
Kohra smiled awkwardly and pulled a bag from his belt. He gently placed it in front of the Thantophor.
“I’ll be honest. I felt bad taking your money. One of the first things I did was find a way to see if I could withdraw my money, the money my father had been giving me for years. I’ve been slowly emptying my account, and decided to pay you back. The money would be better off in someone else’s hands.”
Arkadin laughed. “Really? You do… Realise I’m a god, right? I can have whatever I want! Well, I can’t have a boyfriend or anything and I can’t create living things and stuff like that… But I can give you all the money you want.” Arkadin pushed the bag back towards Kohra. “Take it. Do some good with it.”
“Like what?” Kohra was confused. “I have money. I could settle down and live in a nice place for the rest of my life.”
Arkadin got up and wandered into the kitchen. After rummaging through the fridge, he returned with a plate of smoked hams, eating several slices before he even got back to the table.
“I am sure there is a charitable cause you could put the money towards. Perhaps start a foundation researching cures for cancer?”
Kohra glanced at the pad. Written on it was a list of names, one of which he recognised. A Kronospast doctor who had created a vaccine against several bad diseases.
“Why would you want me to do that?”
“Because it means less dead people.”
“Again, why would you want that?”
Arkadin tutted. “Most people don’t get it. Everyone thinks I want to kill everything when in fact I want the opposite. I want mortals to find a way to not die. I hope one day, intelligent races will evolve to… not require me…” Arkadin sighed then ate several more slices. “I’m glad you came back to visit me.”
Kohra shrugged. “I like to keep promises. A trait that’s unfamiliar to much of my kind.”
“You should continue doing that then…” Arkadin started writing again, then suddenly paused. “I must apologise though, I am kinda busy right now.” He stood up and led Kohra to the front door. “I do appreciate your company though. We must do this again soon.”
“Sure… Any particular time?” Kohra asked.
“Friday, 9pm your time?”
“That works!” Kohra beamed as Arkadin opened the door. In front of them was not the realm of Death but a familiar alleyway down the road from where Kohra was currently living. “See you Friday! I’ll bring cake.”
“That’ll be lovely,” the Thantophor smiled. “See you then.”