“Where the fuck are we?” Elkay rubbed his eyes, trying to focus on his surroundings. Behind them was a horde of angry monsters being shooed away by a dragon. In front of them was a huge lake of purple and pink liquid, being held back by an equally huge silver damn. The six of them were standing on a floating platform, kept in the air by a large balloon.
Veekay peered over the railings of the platform, down at the rather vicious rapids below them. Despite the liquid being dammed up, it was sloshing around as if a massive, cosmic being was stirring it all up.
“Kinigi. We’re in Kinigi. Those are all souls.”
“So we’re dead?” Eksi asked.
“No.”
Behind them, the horde of angry monsters had moved aside so a larger, angrier being could come through. It was a massive serpent, covered in what looked like both spikes and vines. It was screaming and cursing at the dragon.
“YOU BASTARD, YOU RUINED MY PLANS!”
“WELL MAYBE YOU SHOULD STOP KILLING ALL THE MORTALS?” the dragon shouted back, spitting fire in the serpent’s direction.
“HOW DARE YOU ACT AGAINST THE CYCLE?”
“HOW DARE YOU KIDNAP MY CHILDREN AND TRY AND TURN THEM INTO THANTOPHORS!”
“HOW DARE-”
The dragon and the serpent started tearing into each other, causing the angry horde to back away and turn its attention to the six siblings who clearly weren’t supposed to be here.
“Wait, she was going to turn us into monsters like Arkay?” Psiksi panicked, not so much about the encroaching horde, but more about how horrible Arkay looked and acted. “I don’t want to kill anyone! I don’t want to…”
“And you don’t have to!” Arkay interrupted, as of on cue. Unlike the last time they saw him, Arkay looked a lot better now, happier and more yellow. “I’m so glad Kairos is here and distracting Kinisis for a bit. Because I need you guys to blow up that dam. I would do it myself but it would… I don’t, kill me is the wrong word…”
“What, why?” Elkay was confused again. “And why do I feel like someone has been… sticking things in places…”
“Don’t…”Again, Arkay interrupted but his smile had instantly faded. “Don’t think about it. It’s not worth thinking about, and honestly, if you can get some memory erasers, I recommend it. But yeah, you all need to destroy that dam.”
Arkay flapped his massive, black wings, pushing the floating platform down to the Soul Fragma.
Above the lake, Kinisis was getting tired and pissed off. The Whenvern’s shiny scales were too slippery for her to wrap around. Not only had Kairos invaded her personal space, but he had CLEARLY done something to Arkay as well. The Dragon God of Time effortlessly flew in circles around the Avatar of the Cycle, taking pot shots with his spear. With every direct hit, a spurt of black, inky blood would burst out, only to turn into smoke and reattach to Kinisis’s body.
“WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?” Kinisis screeched as she tried to claw Kairos’s wing. “WHY?”
“I ask the same of you, Kinisis!” Kairos roared, flipping over Kinisis’s serpentine body. “All you do is bringing misery to your own Cycle! Do more damage than even Stasis would like!”
“I JUST WANT TO START AGAIN!” Kinisis’s voice was getting more and more screechy. “I hate what I’ve created! I want to start again! Get it right! But I have to burn it all before I can do that?”
“Says who?” the Whenvern tutted, still flying and avoiding Kinisis’s attacks. “Why can’t you fix it? I help fix Arkay and he’s fine now! You treat him with love and care and-”
“YOU SLEPT WITH ARKAY!” Kinisis screamed, flailing wildly. “YOU SLEPT WITH HIM, YOU SCUMBAG, YOU’RE ONLY SUPPOSED TO SLEEP WITH ME! YOU HEAR THAT, MY LITTLE THANTOPHORS-TO-BE, YOUR BROTHER SLEPT WITH YOUR FATHER!”
Back at the Soul Fragma, Kinisis’s words echoed around. At her command, the horde of monsters, the Vethic protectors of Kinigi, were beginning their approach, ready to tear the six siblings apart.
“You guys need to hurry up!” Veekay shouted as he summoned more piles of TNT out of thin air. One of the perks of being half Deitic was that he could do things like that, although it was a rather strenuous task for him. “Those Veth are getting angrier AND closer!”
Arksi though had frozen in place. Eksi was also acting rather… surprised. “He what…”
“Who what?” Thitaksi wasn’t paying attention, he was busy making holes in the dam and filling them with explosives.
“She said…”
“Shut up!” Veekay snapped. “No one cares! Get those explosives in place and move your fat asses!” Veekay paused, as someone was tapping him on the shoulder. “What do you want, Elkay?”
Elkay pointed at something in the distance. “What’s that?”
Veekay’s jaw fell open as he dropped what he was doing.
“Oh no… Stasis is here…”