Kohra was genuinely surprised that the door opened up and revealed something vaguely familiar. For weeks, he had been trying to reach the realm that the Thantophor called home, only to find nothing but emptiness. Or occasionally a field of flowers. It wasn’t the fact that Kohra wanted to die or something, it was just he had a contractual obligation to meet with the Thantophor on a weekly basis and he didn’t want to be blamed for breaking said contract.
The door had revealed a rocky path, leading around a corner and down a driveway to a large, bungalow cottage. It looked rather homely and pleasant, with a vague smell of fresh bread drifting among the flowers and pollen. There was also a chlorine scent, coming from the bright blue swimming pool.
Considering that the last time Kohra was here, all of this had been destroyed, he was somewhat surprised. The only major difference was that everything was… bigger than before. Everything had always felt big because Kohra felt small, but this all felt… much bigger.
Walking down the driveway, Kohra noticed a single, four-wheeled vehicle parked under a shelter with solar panels on it. Why would… why would a deity need solar power?
The front door was down the side, next to a rocky wall that was covered in succulents and vines. There was no visible doorbell, so he decided to knock and hope for the best.
After a moment of scrambling heard from inside, the door opened.
“Hello?”
“Uh, hi…” Kohra whimpered ever so slightly. This creature wasn’t the Thantophor but it was rather scary. “I’m looking for… Arkadin…”
“He’s not here.” The creature opened the door further and let Kohra inside. “But please come in. I like visitors. My name is Thassalin.”
Thassalin looked like a weird, demented cross between something vaguely Thantophoric and something vaguely Time-Draconic. A melding of Death and Time. Heavy Panvok plating covered massive dragon scales. There were two pairs of wings on its back and four massive claws on its hands and feet. But wings aside, it was only about as tall as a Rethavok.
“I’m Kohra. Do you know where Arkadin is? I was, uh, supposed to meet him for drinks at his place. I thought this was his place. Okay, he broke it all a while back but I assumed he’d fixed everything up and moved back in.”
Thassalin shrugged as he led Kohra over to a massive pile of cushions that had replaced the sofas Kohra was used to. In the middle of the cushions was a small table with a teapot and two little cups and saucers on it.
“Is Arkadin…”
“He is still here. Just not around. Yisini knows but won’t say.”
“Yisini?”
Thassalin shrugged. “Oh. You do not know. Arkadin saved me and brought me here. But I was homeless so Yisini brought me in and made me guardian of these lands. As well as other… things…”
Kohra blinked. This creature was… not from here? Was it a deity? Either way it was pouring him a cup of tea.
“Sweetener?”
“Uh… Four please.”
Thassalin laughed, then put seven little capsules into the tea and handed it to Kohra. It was probably too sweet now, but Kohra felt rude to not accept it.
“So what are you doing here?” Kohra finally gathered up some courage to speak to the creature.
“Living out my last few thousand years. My universe is dead. But now I’m helping Yisini because she is Life and I like Life. I used to be a Time God. But I am happy now. The suffering is over, and I get whatever I want.”
Kohra had tons of questions, but for some reason the first one that came out wasn’t the one he wanted to ask. “Where is Yisini?”
“Oh?” Thassalin shrugged. “I do not know. She said she needed to fuck something. I do not know if she meant that literally. Probably. She has lots of ideas right now. Which is why she made this place look nice again. Apparently Arkadin made it look sad and horrible here and now it’s nice.”
“Where is Arkadin?”
“I do not know.”
“Do you know-”
“I don’t really know anything, little mortal. I just lounge around here, scaring off nasties, stopping the Time Dragon and the Space Shark from visiting and looking after Yisini and her many needs. I am afraid I do not have the answer to your questions.”
“Oh.”
Kohra quietly sipped his tea.
“If you want though, you can sit around and wait. There are these nice ‘video games’ we can play…” Thassalin suggested.
“You’re not… bothered?”
Thassalin clambered over the cushions to reach for two game controllers. He flicked a switch on the wall and a television screen appeared. “You will have to leave when Yisini comes, but until then, you are welcome here!”
“Really?”
“Yes. I want more friends.”
Kohra smiled as he finished his tea. “Well then! I’ll be your friend!”