Litvir raced up to the top of the universe, as they had been told that a “metal meanie” was sitting on the exit hatch, apparently knocking on it and trying to get in. But as soon as they got into telepathic detection range, Litvir swiftly calmed down and informed Nanik that the Voidborn present wasn’t a threat in any way. In a lot of emotional pain, yes, but not a threat.
“Staton! Friend! Are you alright?” Litvir immediately asked as they opened up the hatch and peered out of it.
Staton was trying to both show and hide emotions. He was a Voidborn, he couldn’t cry, he couldn’t sniff, but he wanted to show that he was incredibly upset, especially now since he was facing someone who was the same age as him.
“No! I am not alright!” Staton exclaimed as they staggered to their feet. It turned out, Staton wasn’t knocking on the hatch, he had been sitting on it and kicking his feet in frustration. Noticing that Staton needed comforting, Litvir immediately put a hand on Staton’s shoulder and sat them back down.
“Do not worry. We can talk about things, yes? We can talk about what is bothering you!”
Staton hissed slightly. “I am angry. Very angry. And sad. But mostly angry.”
“I understand. We should sit down and talk. And we can calm down as well.”
Staton hesitated, then did as he was told, sitting back down on the hatch. Litvir sat down as well, and put an arm around Staton. Staton was much larger than Litvir, but Litvir didn’t mind. They wanted their friend to feel better.
“I guess…”
“So, what are you doing here?” Litvir asked.
“Ugh…” Staton growled a little. “I was supposed to go to the meeting between Voidborns at the paradise that was pink and run by the big snake and now run by the weird male Life Goddess. But Kesistatiir was there and he kept on saying that I am Kenostaton but I am not! I am NOT!”
“You are not, I agree!” Litvir smiled. “You are just Staton.”
“But Kesistatiir keeps on saying that I am Kenostaton but reborn into a new body! And apparently that means I am Kenostaton, not Staton!”
“Have you asked this mean Voidborn to stop?” Litvir asked.
“Yes, but he does not listen! He is a big, bad, formerly evil Voidborn! He is a Stolen Prince! So everyone listens to him! Well… they do not argue back. Vekeus tries but he has less authority. I do not like Kesistatiir any more!”
“You should stop seeing him then.”
“I do not want to see him. But I have to see him because I have a little bit of my own territory and Kesistatiir constantly checks in on me and I do not want him there. I just want to spend time with Theocydes and Vekeus and the weird furry Voidborn but Kesistatiir is always there, always saying I am not Staton, I am his brother reborn!”
Litvir gave Staton a hug. “No matter what that meanie says, I believe what you say, that you are not Kenostaton, you are just Staton. This Kesistatiir person is just a big old meanie.”
“They are…”
Staton suddenly paused, as did Litvir. They both sensed a terrifying presence. Litvir knew what it was, but Staton clearly didn’t and immediately climbed to his feet in a panic.
Something opened the hatch behind Litvir and Staton, and a shimmering orb floated through it. Or rather, that was what Staton assumed it was. Litvir recognised the orb as not an orb at all, but the glowing, all-seeing lure of the Allmaker.
“Kyr Epani!” Litvir quickly exclaimed. “This Voidborn is not bad! He is just a kid like me!”
The lure seemed to examine Staton, who was now visibly trembling. He had met the snake Life Goddess before, knew the small furry Life Goddess and understood that the green-plated thing was also a Life Goddess but used male words, but he was suddenly well aware that this Life Goddess was vastly different. After a few moments, the lure pulled away and disappeared. It was replaced with Epani sticking her head through the hatch in her more motherly, less space-monster-y form.
“Litvir, who is this Voidborn?”
“He is called Staton, not Kenostaton!” Litvir immediately blurted. “Only Staton! He is a small Voidborn! A baby like me! We are friends!”
Epani inspected Staton some more, then tilted her head to one side in curiosity. “Why… why would someone call you Kenostaton? You’re clearly not that fool. You are a child.”
“I… I am not Kenostaton? People… people have called me that. I know it is a bad name.”
“You are not Kenostaton at all though. He is dead. Completely and utterly destroyed. My darling Arkay made sure of that, an entire separate universe ago.”
“But…” Staton stuttered, “but… but… other Voidborns…”
“They are wrong!” Epani tutted. “Kenon was a monster, a well and truly dead monster. You are just… I do not know, some random Voidborn.”
“But I look like Kenostaton, apparently!”
“Only because Kenostaton was a Stolen Prince and a direct child of… whatever one calls the biggest Voidborn out there that influences the Eternal Darkness. Pretty much any Voidborn that pulls themselves out of that Eternal Darkness ends up looking a certain way.”
Staton blinked on confusion. Epani noticed this, then patted Staton on the head.
“As long as you treat others how you wish to be treated, you are fine…” Epani then turned to Litvir. “Darling, you may spend some time talking to this Voidborn, but please remember, you are on patrol right now, and you do need to get back to work.”
Litvir shrugged. “That is fair, Kyr Epani. I will be quick with my friend.”
Epani nodded a thank you, then backed off, disappearing back inside her universe. Once she was gone, Litvir turned to Staton.
“Are you feeling better now?”
“I… I am, yes!” Staton had immediately perked up. “I know I was going to spend time with you, but I really want to go and tell my fellow Voidborns the news. May I?”
“Of course!” Litvir smiled. “I have work anyway. But you can come back later, if you want! I will bring my tablet too and we can watch things.”
“I would like that very much. Thank you, friend. I will go now. See you soon!”
“Bye, friend!”
Staton glanced up at the purple star in the distance, then seemed to fade away and disappear. Litvir smiled some more, then climbed back inside the universe and returned to their patrols, glad that their strange friend was happy.