“It’s funny how we go through such extremes here…” Sini mused to herself as she wandered around her oasis. Currently, there was no one around apart from her little sister Phovos and Phovos’s Voidborn girlfriend Phovoula. They’d come to the oasis for a quick break, but also to make sure that their Life Goddess ship (awkwardly named Yisini) was in working condition. Phovoula was currently being pampered by Lissandra, one of Sini’s guardians, in the spa area, while the two Life Goddesses talked about Life Goddess-y things.
“Isn’t that always the case?” Phovos asked. “Things are at rest until they aren’t.”
“Yesterday, it was insanely busy. Today, it’s dead. The day before that, I had no one even pass by.”
Phovos shrugged. “Sometimes it’s like that. There’s no seasons out here, it’s not like the hospitality industry inside a universe. The void is massive and people come and go as they please. And the Kinigian Wilderness is pretty empty in general. Very little traffic from your preferred visitors.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Decay Lords are more likely to go and visit that Matanaiai pit stop or other other Retvik’s pub in the Ventra Expanse than visit any Life Oasis. But Decay Lords and Decayons in general are also kinda the most common type of entity around here and you’re not really aiming at that audience.”
Sini thought to herself for a moment, then shrugged. “Yeah, fair enough. I’m looking for Life Goddess traffic mostly. But you guys could totally open a little Decay Lord cafe at Savepoint. And you should have Akah run it. He needs a job that’s less dangerous for a bit. Poor fucker always seems stressed when he’s working.”
“I’ll suggest it to Akah. He might prefer making ice cream though.”
“HAH!” Sini laughed. “Nice one. Anyway…”
The two Life Goddesses suddenly trailed off. Sini had spotted something. Something dark and inky. And it was heading straight towards a specific pool of water with a pedestal in the middle. The thing crashed directly into the pedestal and collapsed in the pool of water, before flailing wildly.
Neither Phovos nor Sini knew what the thing was, but it looked rather Corrupted-y. Phovos though immediately opened up a hammerspace and pulled out a large glass canister of black liquid, which she immediately threw at the strange thing. The glass shattered, coating the thing in the black liquid.
“Was that Elkay’s blood or Arkay’s blood?” Sini quietly asked as the thing shook and seized.
“Arkay’s blood. He just summons jars of it and I asked him for a few jars for safe keeping.”
“Fair. I’ve got some of his tail bone, which I use to mass-produce his blood…”
Sini turned her attention back to the thing in the pool of water. Having been coated in Synaisthyn blood, the inky Corruption seemed to have completely dissipated. Instead, lying in the pool breathing heavily was a familiar face. To Sini. At least, so she thought.
“Elkay Athanasion, what are you doing here?” Sini exclaimed as she pulled the Skyavok-like being out of the water. “You’re supposed to be inside your universe, being a god like Epani wanted! Hang on… you’re… you’re not the little Shadow of the Skyavok…”
Sini inspected the being some more, unsure what it was. Phovos also inspected it.
“It’s not a Skyavok!” Phovos blinked in confusion. “I think it’s a Threan-type Retha.”
“A what?”
“You know Kaytee?”
“The little armoured Thantir who looks like Teekay?” Sini asked.
“Yeah. His species. And, I think, also Arkay’s original species, when he was mortal. But this guy… he smells… Life Goddess-y.”
Sini paused, rubbed her eyes and inspected the creature some more, turning them over to make sure they were alive. She took a deep breath, tasting the being’s scent, then scooped them up in her arms and carried them back to the main buildings, immediately taking them to a private room and placing them on the bed.
“Uh, Sini, is something wrong?” Phovos chased after Sini, having also noticed the weirdness of the being’s scent.
“Yep. Something’s really wrong…”
Sini inspected the being some more, making sure that they were no longer affected by Corruption. She realised that the being hadn’t been Corrupted. It had done something she had only seen once before. The being had forcibly changed itself from Corruption into a Life Goddess. But more worryingly, the Life Goddess’s scent was almost identical to that of Sini herself.
Phovos prodded the creature and it abruptly sat up straight, then rubbed its face.
“Hello…” the being muttered. “Thank you for helping me. I’m finally… finally free from that Corrupted bastard… Who are you both?”
Sini blinked in disbelief, having realised who the being was, even if she didn’t know their name.
“We… we’re your siblings…” Sini stuttered. “Half-siblings, at the very least…”
The being looked up. “Pretty sure you’re not. I had six half-siblings and none of them looked like you.”
That statement made Phovos also blink in disbelief, as she worked out who this person was.
“You’re Elkay-En. You’re Arkay’s half-brother… but also… somehow my half-brother too… But also… somehow Corruption or something…”
Elkay-En sighed. “I was Corruption. Half mortal, half Unending Ancient One. I… I’m sorry about Arkay though… I heard what Epanophovon did to that universe… I… I technically worked for the Unending Ancient One, for one of his child-groups, going between universes and selling gear to protect universes from other strains of Corruption. I… I abandoned Epanophovon and his ways and have been trying to expel the Corruption inside me completely. I don’t know what you poured on me, but it saved me.”
Sini crossed her arms and sighed. “You’re not Corruption. Never were. You’re the “demi-male Zontian” that Kinisis gave to Epanophovon when he attacked her penultimate universe. You’re an intersex Life Goddess, which I assume Kinisis made by impregnating a Threan-type Retha…”
“The same one that later had Arkay and Veekay?” Phovos asked.
“Who’s Veekay?” Sini asked back.
“This half-Voidborn that’s Arkay’s half-brother. He does Corruption purges in the Ventra Expanse.”
“Hang on, you know TWO of my half-brothers? And… from what you’re suggesting, Arkay is alive?” Elkay-En exclaimed.
Sini nodded. “He and I trapped Epanophovon inside a universe and got some Decay Lords to nuke him.”
Elkay-En paused. “So… that was how I managed to find the strength to break free… because you… uh… nuked him… and… killed him…”
Phovos and Sini glanced at each other, then sighed.
“You’re clearly completely scrambled right now, brother…” Sini frowned. “Lie down, have a nap, and we can talk about all of this properly once you’re feeling better. Alright?”
“Of course… thank you…”
Elkay-En laid back down on the bed, then pulled a blanket over himself. Sini waved her hand over the strange being, gently coating him with an invisible powder, and Elkay-En swiftly fell into a deep, calming slumber.
“Well… this is fucked up…” Phovos muttered as she and Sini left the room.
“Yeah… and we’ve got to work out how to tell Epani about this as well…”