Kairos sighed as he gazed into the abyss, watching as clouds of cosmic dust drifted by, as glimmering lights faded in and out of existence. The Whenvern was perched on the very edge the observatory he had built into his new home, where he could silently ponder existence all on his own.
Things hadn’t quite been right since everyone had split up. While Yisini, Epani and Kenon worked hard to repair what they had saved and Kinisis had decided to wander the void with her new deities, Kairos found himself with… not much to do. Normally, he would have been doing normal Time God duties, but with the destruction of his old home and the fact that Yisini and Epani were working with a far smaller universe, Kairos wasn’t really… needed.
In fact, he wasn’t really allowed back inside anyway. Unlike Kenon, Kairos no longer felt like caring about mortals and definitely didn’t want to give up his power. So the two Sisters had offered a compromise, that Kairos now be their draconic guardian, protecting their universe from outside influence. He may not have been allowed to see in person what Epani and Yisini were building, but Kairos got to keep his powers and a very nice palace just on the edge of the fledgling pocket universe. At the same time, he could also accept bounties from the denizens of the Periuniversal Void and work on how he could better kill Voidborn beings in the future.
Somehow, Kairos had also managed to pick up an assistant. He wasn’t really sure how. Between his duties as a guardian, Kairos had been helping the local Decay Lords collect stray Decaylings, the demi-godly beings that had somehow survived his old universe’s destruction. Most of them were either handed back to the Decay Lords for rehabilitation then passed on to Life Goddesses who needed gods for their universes, or they had their minds wiped and sent back to their mortal lives, their puny brains being unable to comprehend godhood.
Somewhere along the line, the Decay Lords had offered a Decayling to Kairos. Why, Kairos wasn’t sure. He himself was neither a Decay Lord nor a Life Goddess. But they had made the offer and Kairos had been feeling lonely, so he’d accepted. But most of the time, Kairos was on his own.
“You alright out there, Kairos?”
A familiar voice echoed from behind the Whenvern. Glancing over his shoulder, Kairos grunted as he realised who it was.
“What are you doing here, Yisini?”
The serpentine Goddess of Life shrugged, slithering her way over and joining Kairos on his perch.
“It’s pretty out here.”
“It is. Why are you here?”
Yisini frowned. “I’m not happy right now, to be honest. Thought I’d get to become a Life Goddess, but no, I don’t have it in me. I can create life, yeah, but I can’t create a universe. Epani has that power, she’s the one who got to become the Life Goddess, and now I’m kinda her little assistant.”
“She can’t do it without you, Yisini…” Kairos sighed. “She needs you to keep her grounded, to keep her pretty universe alive and healthy.”
“Yeah, I guess, but the death stuff and time stuff is no fun. Epani does most of it, I just deal with the fiddly micromanagement, but it still sucks.”
Kairos grunted. “It does suck. You get used to it.”
“I miss having you and Arky around. Everything was so much easier. Now I’m slowly turning into a Time Drake like you.”
The Whenvern glanced down at Yisini. She was right. The Allbirther had lost some of her more feminine looks. Her scales were sharper, more crystallized. She had more draconic aspects about her.
“Nothing wrong with being a Time Drake, but I wanted to be a Life Goddess. Just being free and out there, you know?”
Kairos nodded. “Yeah, I know. Maybe in the next universe, things will change.”
Yisini snorted, hiding her annoyance with a hint of forced laughter. “Hah. Funny. Any news from Kinisis? Or those Decay Lords?”
Again, Kairos glanced down at Yisini. He had… heard news, but he didn’t really want to upset Yisini further. “No. Nothing in particular.”
“Hmph.”
The Allbirther fell silent, staring out into the darkness. Kairos watched Yisini’s eyes as they darted around, looking for, well, something.
Suddenly though, a new voice echoed out from behind the two deities.
“Hey! Ya didn’t tell me ya had guests!” Elksia beamed as she skipped out into the observatory. Kairos watched as the Decayling bounced around. Something about Elksia’s ascension to godhood had changed her dramatically, making her far more pliable and far, far more reptilian. In fact, the former Vrekan warrior had lost most of her Vrekan looks, as well as her… death-cult-y ways. Really, it amazed Kairos how Elksia had once been one of the mortals he had hated most. “Shoulda told me! I woulda made more food!”
“Oh, I’m not staying for dinner…” Yisini tutted. “I should be going…”
“You can stay if you want!” Elksia continued to smile. “I’ll just make more food! I’m gettin’ the hang of this god lark!”
Kairos smiled at Yisini. “You should join us. Elksia is a talented cook.”
“Well, alright…” Elksia’s almost oblivious joy had perked Yisini up. “I’ll stay for a bit.”
“Yay!” Elksia screeched as she bounded out of the observatory, back down into the main living area of Kairos’s palace. “Gimme a moment! I’ma whip up something nice!”
The Whenvern and the Allbirther glanced at each other, both of them unintentionally smiling.
“Things aren’t so bad, really…” Kairos shrugged as he and Yisini made their way inside.
“Oh, definitely. It’s all good…” Yisini giggled. “Just need to get used to it all…”