Vekeus hesitated as he parked his ship outside the Shield and Stave, the cosy little Decay Lord-run pub which not only served Adogtic Voidborns, but was quite nice to stay at as well. As he’d flown back from the Athata Rift, Vekeus had been rather undecided. He’d been flip-flopping between his physical looks – that of his Voidborn self and that of his old, original, almost mortal form. The way he had been back when he was inside a universe.
Really, the last few hours had been awful. Yes, the Thantir had kindly cured him of his infection. But their Master Psion had also unlocked all of Vekeus’s memories. He could finally remember being bound to a universe. Except, it turned out, he hadn’t been bound to a universe, he’d been born inside one. He’d lived a normal, mortal life, until Corruption killed his universe, he escaped into the Eternal Darkness and turned into a Voidborn because of it. The trauma had blocked his memories, and, as he was recruited by other Voidborns, he just accepted that.
But Vekeus wasn’t a Voidborn. Nor was he a confused Decayon. He was both. A hybrid. And it turned out, when Vekeus was mortal, when he discovered his true heritage, he dismissed it. He wasn’t the child of just any Voidborn, he was the only son of Kenostaton, one of the Five Stolen Princes. The royalty of the Golden Protectors. They were one step below the Grand Golden Lord Himself.
Now, Vekeus was preparing to speak to his fellow Adogtic Voidborn allies. But this was only making Vekeus worse. Theocydes was fine, he was a former Goldblessed, a stereotypical asshole who had learned empathy. But Kesistatir was also a Stolen Prince. The last Stolen Prince. And, technically, he was Vekeus’s uncle. Those two were nothing though compared to the Newling Voidborn that they were currently guiding to Younglinghood. Staton was Vekeus’s father, reincarnated and reborn.
It was awkward. Vekeus didn’t like it.
Glancing at his reflection, Vekeus grunted, then shifted back into his Voidborn form. Gold, silver and metallic red. And hollow. With no pulse, no heartbeat, no breathing. He wasn’t satisfied, but he needed to let his allies down easy. With one last sigh, Vekeus climbed out of his ship and headed into the pub. Kesistatir and Theocydes were already there, their ships were parked outside.
Inside, his friends were sitting in their normal corner, but Vick, the barkeeper, spotted Vekeus first. Another side effect of the memory loss was that, well, Vekeus had been coming to this bar for many a year-string, and he’d never realized that he and Vick were actually from the same universe. To be fair, neither of them had any way of knowing. Vekeus thought he was a Voidborn and he’d lost his memories, and apparently Vick remembered nothing as well.
Which was a shame, because Vick, or rather, General Retvikalios, was a well-known hero, someone Vekeus had looked up to as a mortal. But right now, Vekeus didn’t want to burden Vick with unwanted memories.
“Hiya, friend! Do you want your normal order?”
“Yes, please.”
Vekeus opened up his voidpocket to pay, but Vick slid him over two drinks instead of one, then smiled.
“Your friends told me what happened. It’s on the house.”
“You sure?”
“Yep. Enjoy.”
“Well… thank you…”
Vekeus bowed slightly, then made his way over to where Theocydes and Kesistatir were sitting. Hovering just above the table, dipping itself in and out of a glass of water, was Staton, shimmering cheerfully.
“Vekeus!” Kesistatir immediately stood up and put an arm around him. “How are you feeling?”
“Uh… very… conflicted…” Vekeus muttered as he sat himself down. “I… I have some news…”
“Are you cured, at least?” Theocydes asked.
“Yeah, yeah. You were both right. The Thantir fixed me up. Their nice Life Goddess… I accidentally called her Kinisis and pissed her off royally… they literally put her blood on my stump to make my arm regrow more quickly. Also kinda ran into Shatterblade, who killed my entire unit when I was with the Golden Protectors, but he was actually pretty damn relaxed, all things considered…” Vekeus sighed some more. “I also had a word with their Master Psion and someone called Kaytee and… well, Eksi gave me my memories back. And he also… looked like one of my old half-brothers… And… well…”
Vekeus turned to Staton, then picked him up out of the glass of water and gently held him in his hands.
“Hi, dad. I’m not sorry I disowned you, I’m not sorry that my half-brother killed you, but hi.”
Staton shimmered some more, not understanding what Vekeus was talking about, then bounced up and down briefly and jumped back into the glass of water. He seemed amused but clearly didn’t get it. However, Kesistatir and Theocydes had worked it out.
“Hello, nephew!” Kesistatir smiled somewhat. “I was right, yes? About a lot of things.”
“Annoyingly, yes, you were, Kesistatir. Kenostaton was my father. I was born inside a universe. I…” Vekeus swallowed nervously. “I’m not a true Voidborn.”
Kesistatir immediately disagreed. “You are the son of a Stolen Prince. That means you are a Voidborn, according to Golden Protector laws.”
“Still not a true Voidborn though!” Vekeus sneered, glancing briefly at Theocydes. “See, you’re not amused! You’re almost angry!”
“I… I’m not angry. And I’m not… well, I’m somewhat concerned. Not because you’re a hybrid. That happens. Almost all Geneseon Voidborn are hybrids, because female Voidborns are essentially non-existent. I’m just… dumbfounded that you’re related, genetically, to the monster who catalysed the extinction of the Golden Protectors, nuked the Golden Defenders and ate the Athanathean League. And killed Kenostaton.”
Vekeus frowned. “Well… if I’m blunt… Kenostaton was… well… an asshole. One who was apparently easily manipulated to the Cycle he was bound to. Considering that the Cycle let her own universe get consumed, then blew up a second universe to kill the Golden Protectors, then turned herself into a Corruption, it’s not like he was bound to a good influence. And if Arkay is anything like how I remember him? He never killed without purpose.”
“I guess…” Theocydes was only somewhat convinced. “Still, considering what Arkay is like…”
“He is still alive, right?” Vekeus asked. “You’ve spoken to him.”
“I have, yes, but I don’t think he’d remember you.”
“Hmph… That other Eksi was right. Seems to be a recurring theme from folks from my original universe…” Vekeus glanced at the bar, where Vick was working, then lowered his voice. “Turns out, the nice barkeeper over there? He’s from the same universe as me. Was a well-known hero. To the point that he was famous for literally attacking Kenostaton with his teeth and claws in a feral frenzy.”
“Huh… Well… All things considered, I don’t think you’re any less of a Voidborn…” Theocydes shrugged. “Yes, you’re a hybrid, but eh, you’re also still technically one of us, just as attuned to the Eternal Darkness as we are. But you’re also properly a traditional Voidborn too, following our original, blessed ways, keeping the Darkness pure, so the work of Life Goddesses can blossom. The cults around here? We all abandoned the traditions, we strayed off course. And we perished becuse of it.”
Kesistatir nodded in agreement. “You are absolutely right. Vekeus, you are an honourable Voidborn. And, fingers crossed, we are teaching Staton how to be an honourable Voidborn as well.”
Staton shimmered happily, suddenly remembering he was around and technically part of the conversation. The idea of him being Vekeus’s father though made no sense, since Staton was still a bit too young to understand the concept of reincarnation.
“You will be a good boy, yes?” Kesistatir smiled at Staton.
Staton bounced up and down. He couldn’t actually speak or anything. Heck, it would be a long time before he’d even obtain a physical form, but he was quite happy.
“Heh, we’re doing good already…” Theocydes smirked. “Renouncing our pasts, accepting what most would consider lesser beings and raising a Newling into a reasonable Voidborn. On top of assisting Vekeus with his noble Corruption Purges.”
Vekeus though sighed. “Ugh, speaking of which, I kinda… need a break from that. The hard stuff, at least.”
“It’s fine!” Kesistatir continued to smile reassuringly. “We will take on some smaller bounties in the mean time. But Vekeus, child, I am proud of you. And I think Kenostaton would have been proud of you as well, in his own way. Staton here is lucky and thankful you are a good being.”
“I… I appreciate that…” Vekeus eventually smiled as well, as he opened his drink. “Thank you.”