“Kahlos! There you are, you silly billy! We have been looking all over for you!”
Kahlos didn’t really look up. He was mostly just staring at the floor, and his eyes were hardly open. Not that one could tell, because Kahlos wore an unusual helmet that hid his eyes and covered his mouth.
Approaching where Kahlos was sitting were Zephyr and Thyel, accompanied by Litvir. With Kahlos already were the twin Life Goddess and Voidborn. They were both called Phovos, but the Voidborn had been having thoughts and Kahlos was doing his best to not speak and reveal them before the Voidborn was ready.
As Zephyr and Thyel got closer, Kahlos did look up. Their telepathic link kicked in, and Zephyr immediately worked out why Kahlos had hidden away.
“Ugh, those bloody Justar assassins…”
“You seem pretty damn certain that they’re from the Justar!” Phovos, the Life Goddess, exclaimed.
Zephyr turned to Phovos. “Our buddy is the only son of THE Truthtalker. And that bastard hates the fact that Kahlos is out here, living his life and doing his own thing.”
Kahlos sighed at that statement but didn’t say anything. Thyel though did. And Litvir also picked up on those odd thoughts.
“What do you mean by that?” Thyel accidentally said out loud.
Kahlos grunted.
“No, seriously, tell me what you mean by that, before I tell Litvir and the two furry gals and get angry.”
“Kahlos, please, you need to be honest, because we’re worried about you!” Zephyr changed track. “You got hurt and ran away! We’re your best friends, we’re bound by spirit and blood, and we’re scared for you!” Zephyr suddenly turned to the Phovoses. “Was he hurt when he got here?”
Voidborn Phovos nodded “Someone had stabbed him really badly in the arm, like they were trying to cut off his armour.”
“And has he been… non-talkative the whole time?”
“Yes. Litvir had to coax him out of his ship. We had to stop him from leaving completely the moment we fixed him up, and when we asked him if he was going back to you guys, he didn’t answer straight away.”
“You were considering not coming home?” Thyel hissed. “Kahlos, come on! What is wrong? We’re desperate to help you and you are not letting us help you!”
Kahlos sighed but still didn’t speak.
“Kahlos…”
“FINE!” Kahlos suddenly shouted. His voice echoed unnaturally, catching everyone off guard. “I do not want help! Because I do not want you all to get hurt because of my sins! I do not want the Justar to turn their wrath towards you!”
“But why?” Life Goddess Phovos asked. “You were fine for ages, apart from the odd assassination attempt, now you’re clearly absolutely terrified!”
“Because…” Kahlos hesitated. “Thyel has family soon. Zephyr makes new friends, Zarian friends. I cannot get you hurt. Because father will hurt all to unmake me.”
No one spoke at first. Kahlos sighed, then wrapped his arms around himself.
“Question…” Phovos eventually spoke. “You said “unmake”. You didn’t say “die”. What’s the difference?”
“It is… complicated…” Kahlos’s voice wavered slightly. It briefly lost its echoey reverb. “All Truthtalkers are pulled from original Truthtalker. Pulled then altered. I was not altered right. I was made wrong. So he wishes to unmake me.”
“Has it always been like that though?” Litvir asked. “You said that he originally wanted to kill you. In fact, he saw you in person, last year, at that stupid party he hosted. And although he threatened you, he did not act or anything… Granted, it would have been insane to attack you with so many other important beings present, but clearly something has changed recently.”
Kahlos thought for a moment. “Perhaps Leoalitheon is getting weak. Needs to unmake and absorb other Truthtalkers to regain power. Unmaking and absorbing adds their strength back to Truthtalker Himself. I am second strongest after Leoalitheon. I would give most power. And allow Leoalitheon to make new heir.”
Thyel and Zephyr glanced at each other, looking very concerned. Thyel quickly turned to Litvir, a demand on his lips.
“Alright, you Thantir are going to have to look after Kahlos! Because I know Zephyr and I are
Kahlos’s trio buddies but like 80% of our power comes from Kahlos. We can’t protect him the way you can.”
“I do not want protection. I do not want to hide.”
Zephyr floated up and put a hand on Kahlos’s shoulder. “I get that, I really do, but you might not have much choice. At least for now. Let the Thantir keep an eye on you until your father gives up for a bit. Because we can’t protect you as well as they can, they have way more people on hand and, well, we know that your father won’t openly mess with Litvir, Retvik or Arkay.”
“I… I do not want to hide here though…” Kahlos sighed. “I want a duty. I am a protector. I wish to have a duty or I will stagnate.”
“We can offer you a job here?” Phovos suggested. “Heck, we can give you three full membership, you can become members of the Thantir.”
“Yeah, no, not doing that…” Thyel muttered. “That doesn’t feel right. And I don’t think any of us want to leave the Ventra Expanse.”
Litvir thought for a moment, then shrugged. “I can offer a compromise. I can speak to Vick and Letharus, and Kahlos can stay near them. Maybe not with them, but if he gets into trouble, he can go straight to them, and they are close enough that they can get to us if needed. We also send someone to check in on Vick and Letharus once an ev, so we can check in on Kahlos too.”
Kahlos hesitated, then frowned. “That… that is acceptable.”
“Okay, sure, but I don’t want Kahlos to be on his own!” Phovos exclaimed. “I mean, you two didn’t see just how much blood there was! At the very least, that wound needs to be checked every few days to make sure it’s not affected or poisoned or anything.”
“I would prefer being on my own.”
Zephyr sighed. “I get that, friend, but we can’t leave you on your own all the time. But I’ll check in on Kahlos whenever I can, as much as I can. I’ve been helping the Pentathax lately but I can put that on hold to make sure Kahlos is healthy and safe.”
“Alright, good…” Litvir grunted. “But for now, my dear Phovoses, can you check Kahlos over and show Zephyr what happened. Thyel, I would like a word with you. In private.”
Thyel blinked, then smirked. “Sure thing…”