“Where am I?”
Kairos blinked, trying to orientate himself. Milliseconds ago, he was in the middle of a chaotic battle, using his temporal abilities to create a time loop, trapping those inside and stopping everyone within from being fatally wounded. All of a sudden though, the armoured Whenvern was in a much more relaxed setting. An old library, with leather-bound books lining the walls and a fireplace crackling in the background. Before him were two very comfy seats, one of which was occupied by a familiar face.
“Little Decayling, what have you done?” Kairos immediately demanded an explanation. “I need to go back to the-”
“The time loop is fine. You are still controlling that. We are currently at a conscious level just below your temporal control facilities.”
“What is going on?”
Kairos was furious. And very concerned. Where even was he? And why was Litvir, the freshest of the three Decaylings Kairos was supposed to be teaching, in here with him?
“We are inside your own mind. I hope you do not mind, but we needed a quiet place so we can have a quick chat.”
“WHAT IS GOING ON?” Kairos roared. As he did so, the walls shook slightly, but the fire remained still.
Litvir crossed his legs, shrugging. “If you would let me explain… You panicked and created a time loop. We need to break you out of the time loop. But since none of us can see inside your time loop, I am here to, uh, help. Would you mind sitting down, so we can talk, please?”
The Whenvern eyed Litvir cautiously, then picked himself up and sat down in the chair. It was weirdly comfy. Almost too comfy.
“Seriously, Decayling, what is going on?”
Litvir smiled. “Decay Lord Galyn suggested that I shock you with a mental blast to knock you out of your time loop, but I realised that may cause more harm than good. And give the timeless Voidborn an upper hand against us. My plan is quite the opposite. We throw everyone off by filling them with ecstasy, then have Galyn stab all the Voidborn with his trusty daggers.”
Kairos hesitated, not really sure what to think. Not just because of what Litvir just said, but also because Kairos knew Litvir could tell what his thoughts were.
“You agreed this with Galyn?”
“Nope. But Galyn is an ancient warrior, not an empathic tactician like I am. I know better than to hurt a god of time like yourself…” Litvir leaned forward, still smiling. “So, Kairos, tell me, what is making you sad right now?”
The Whenvern grunted. “I am not sad. I am angry and frustrated and grumpy.”
“All negative emotions. We need to push those to one side and concentrate on something enjoyable…” Litvir summoned a notepad out of nothingness and started writing things down. “Tell me, when were you at your happiest in the last… um… let us say… month?”
“My happiest?” Kairos was confused now. “Why do you need to know that?”
Litvir tapped the pen he was holding on his head. “I cannot make everyone in a time loop keel over in ecstasy if I am not inside the time loop!”
“Oh. So… you need me to do it.”
“Yes.”
“And you need a memory or something to do so? To… share with everyone else within my time loop?”
“Exactly. Preferably a very strong, recent memory.”
Kairos frowned, not really liking this plan. “That does somewhat mess with my privacy rights.”
“Which is the other reason why I am here. The memory you choose, I will alter so that everyone sees their own version of it. As if they were in your shoes.”
“Hm…” Kairos seemed slightly less concerned now. “What… sort of memory are you looking for?”
“A very happy one.”
“How about…” Kairos trailed off, thinking about the memory and grinning, knowing that Litvir could see what he was thinking about. After a few seconds, Litvir snapped his fingers, snapping them both back into their current level of consciousness.
“I get it, I get it, you are very well endowed and had a lot of great sex with Seimeni…” Litvir finally muttered, rubbing his eyes. “That memory will have to do, because we need to hurry this along.”
With a sigh, Litvir snapped his fingers again, and Kairos found himself lying down on a long, soft bed. The library-like room around him melted away, replaced with something that looked vaguely similar to his memory. Just similar enough for Kairos to more fondly remember everything. And definitely similar enough to make him feel rather awkward as Litvir sat on his chest… just like…
Before Kairos could continue that thought, he felt a pair of eerily cold, clawed, Rethan hands placed across his head.
“Close your eyes and relax…”