Theocydes liked this little universe. He had never been inside it, stepping inside that universe would get Theocydes killed, or at the very least force him to respawn. He didn’t want to risk that. Still, the little universe was important. It contained one of the beings that had caused the entire local pentacluster to be free of horrific Voidborn cults. Although Theocydes himself was a Voidborn, he’d escaped from his cult and was trying to find new purpose, and recently, he had found it. However, Theocydes didn’t really have anyone to discuss his new future with, which was why he was essentially risking his life to come here.
Not wanting to disturb the universe’s inhabitants, Theocydes hovered above a colossal metal slab, a large hatch that marked the northern pole of the little universe. He was certain that he’d already triggered the anti-periuniversal entity alarms, but as long as Theocydes kept his distance, he’d be fine. Moving too close might make him look like a threat.
After about a minute, the hatch opened up ever so slightly, then immediately slammed shut again. Some angry screeching was heard, followed by more silence and the sound of something flapping away. Once the flapping sound had faded, the hatch opened up properly, and a small, black, furry creature appeared. Theocydes somewhat recognized the shape, he had been told of a highly ranked Decay Lord of Deathven that took that shape, that had passed through recently. But this black, furry creature was not the same one.
The creature hissed, then climbed out onto the metal platform to greet Theocydes.
“What do you want?”
“Well, uh, first, I would like to know why you are a kitty cat, Arkay…” Theocydes muttered.
Arkay was a Decay Lord, being held prisoner by two Life Goddesses, working for them as their God of Death within this little universe. But he was also potentially insanely powerful, and also had that Zontanian spark himself. From what Theocydes could tell, Arkay was either part Life Goddess himself, or something far more… problematic.
“Stupid in-universe politics. Why are you here?”
The fact that Arkay was being snappy concerned Theocydes. Even though Arkay was about 40cm tall right now, Theocydes knew that Arkay was a dangerous individual. After all, he had killed Ahkron, the Great Ancient Collector, a legend among Voidborns. Theocydes knew to tread carefully. After all, he had no idea if Arkay could still teleport into people into suns.
“I actually came here to say goodbye.”
Arkay blinked. He hesitated, then changed his form, switching into that armour-plated shape that was more familiar.
“What… what do you mean?”
Theocydes shrugged. “I will be blunt, this sector is dead. Aside from the odd corruption, there is pretty much nothing here aside from your universe, a couple of baby universes, two Life Goddess Oases and the Decay Lord pit stop where I tried to kill you. When the Final Mother was killed, this whole sector emptied out. And I have decided to move on.”
“Oh…” Arkay frowned. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think me killing Kinisis would have such a huge effect on everything.”
“How were you supposed to know? I didn’t think one Life Goddess would ruin this sector so badly. I mean, Ahkron’s appearance screwed things over further, but I do not blame you in the slightest. You’re not the only one to have been tortured by a Life Goddess, why do you think I originally wanted to kill you? Being a hybrid was bad enough, but I spent a long time carving out a tiny piece of territory for myself and I had far too many Life Goddesses waltz in, ruin my experiments and try to enslave me.”
Arkay frowned some more. “Life Goddesses, what a bunch of bitches, right?”
Theocydes snorted. “You can say that, yes. Either way, I am moving from this sector, out to the Ventra Expanse.”
“Why?”
“I have decided to go back to my old, pre-bound duties of Corruption Purging.”
The former Decay Lord continued to blink. “I’m sorry, I’m… not getting any of this.”
“That is fine. You are not a Voidborn, you don’t know of the ancient traditions. Many early Voidborns dedicated their existences to killing Corruption. Even though I was born into the Goldblessed cult, my early duties mostly involved clearing the pathways for the Goldblessed to expand. Unfortunately, I was kidnapped by a Life Goddess and bound to a universe, forced to serve as its guardian for a bit. The whole… experience left me somewhat bitter, and when I finally killed that torturous swine, I neglected my old duties. But now things have cleared up a bit, I can return to them.”
“And where is the Ventra Expanse?”
“It is the next sector over. Not too far, in periuniversal scales. I have a close ally there, a young Adogtic Voidborn by the name of Vekeus, who already works in Corruption Purging, and I am meeting up with him to assist him in his work. Unfortunately, because of this, I will no longer be close by to warn you of any potential youngling Voidborns wanting to make a mess.”
Arkay sighed. “I hate to ask more questions, but what does Adogtic mean? And I… I ought to know more about Voidborns, really. My… step-father was one.”
“Well us Voidborns are not exactly open with information. The term Adogtic just means that a Voidborn works solo and is not a member of a cult or other group…” Theocydes paused. “Who was your step-father?”
“Uh… some guy called Kenon. He was Kinisis’s partner, but I often wonder if he was just as manipulated and used as the rest of us. After all, when the Golden Protectors attacked our universe, Kairos said that Kenon immediately stepped forward and helped defend Kinisis, just leaped right in and started killing other Voidborns. Sometimes I wonder if Kinisis did something to Kenon to make him snap and attack Epani, Sini and Kairos and force me to kill him, because he acted somewhat normal until Kinisis stepped back into the universe.”
“You… killed Kenostaton?” Theocydes couldn’t help but gasp. “I… I was aware of his death, didn’t think it was you. Or that Kenostaton was chained to the Final Mother.”
“Kenon was special?” Arkay answered with a question of his own.
Theocydes nodded. “Kenostaton was one of the Stolen Princes of the Golden Protectors. The Princes were all vastly powerful Voidborns that were capable of producing kids, and when the Mothers of the Golden Paradise found out, they kidnapped and bound all five of them to different universes, to stop them from having heirs… I will be honest, Arkay, you genuinely scare me.”
“I was originally designed to kill things. It’s… what I do, I guess…” Arkay shrugged. “And it’s why I’m stuck here. After all, why would Epani make a new god of death when she had a dead god of death she could resurrect and force to serve her? Way easier to just fix up an old slave…”
Theocydes looked Arkay up and down. This broken down Decay Lord reminded him of someone. Himself. Theocydes had been forced to serve a Life Goddess, and that Life Goddess had treated Theocydes like a slave too. Admittedly, when Theocydes gained his freedom, he’d enslaved the Life Goddess’s child and he’d also been an utter monster, but, well, there was some sympathy to be had.
“You hate it here.”
“I do. It was fine for a little bit, but I’ve been forced to cut all communication with others. You’re the first person I’ve spoken to properly in like a week. It’s miserable.”
“Hm…” Theocydes thought to himself for a moment. “I suppose I could get you out of here. Pretend to kidnap you, then drop you off somewhere far away from this universe.”
“I appreciate the thought, but I’m bound to this universe, being pulled too far away from it would seriously damage me, maybe even kill me. If I’m to leave, Epani and Sini need to unbind me from the universe first…”
“Oh well. Worth a shot. I suppose, in the mean time, I could come and visit? Sure, the Ventra Expanse is a while away, but I can pop back every so often, just to give you someone to talk to.”
Arkay glanced up at Theocydes. “You… you’d do that? You’re… being randomly kind. Almost too kind.”
“Maybe, but it is not entirely altruistic. I feel like someone has to keep tabs on the being that killed the Great Collector. And a happy Voidlord Killer is better than a stressed one.”
“… Fair, I guess… And I do appreciate the company. Sure, you’re a Voidborn douchebag, but, well, you’ve been trying not to be a douchebag, despite it being in your nature…” Arkay sighed, then put his hand out. “Thank you for coming and speaking to me. I wish you luck in your new endeavours.”
Theocydes hesitated, then shook Arkay’s hand. “I appreciate that. Farewell.”
“Stay safe, friend.”
Theocydes couldn’t help but snort at that statement. A Theokton, a Slayer of Greater Voidlords, considering him not an enemy but an ally. “Heh. You too, friend. I hope things turn around for you, Arkay.”
Arkay bowed slightly as Theocydes let go, then drifted off into the darkness. “Thank you. Farewell.”