Bliss spent another night of failed sleep staring at his ceiling. He seemed to do that a lot lately. It brought him some sort of comfort, confirming that there wasn’t another green anti-death ray shining down on him. It was embarrassing how much a simple healing light crushed him. It was even worse that Crux knew about it.

  But it won’t be here again. Not above the bed. Crux doesn’t hate me that much.

  He forced his eyes closed. Maybe he’d see the green light again, but not in there, not that night. His arm drifted to the side and rested on Sorebel’s back. Gentle purring helped lull him to sleep, the one comfort he was not ashamed to indulge in. No one was weak for cuddling a cat, not in the Old God’s galaxy.

  Sleep always started gently. A brief escape from consciousness. Darkness hanging over his head like a weighted blanket pushing bad memories back where they belonged. Every night was a gamble for that feeling lasting. It was one of the few nights where it did.

  A rough tongue brushed against his nose. He opened his eyes to find Cromble standing above his head. Her nose was almost touching his eye as she sniffed him. She chirped at him and followed his motions as he got out of bed.

  “You must miss your mommy, huh?”

  Did he really just say mommy? Yes, he did. Cromble certainly was a clingy cat, always seeking out affection from the nearest person. Sometimes she looked at one of his potted plants and cried for a bit. It was probably the saddest thing he’d ever seen. Sadder than his relapse into Onder’s arms the other day. Sadder than his entire childhood.

  He took out his CellPulse to videotape the tragedy. Lunai had to see it for herself. Heartbreaking and adorable. Bliss could get used to having two cats.

  [PRIORITY PSY-PING ALERT]

  The sudden shriek in his mind made him flinch. Priority messages were the bane of every senior hero’s existence. It was of the only things he and Surfrista could commiserate over.

  Gah! So fucking obnoxious. I swear Crux treats our minds like free real-estate.

  He read the message within his mind. Whoever sent it would have hell to pay if it wasn’t an absolute emergency.

  [Dr. Crux]: Agent Bliss, we have an interesting situation. Please meet me in my office. I promise this is relevant to you. It’s Old God business. You’ll want to hear this.

  [Agent Bliss]: k.

  It definitely wasn’t an emergency, but Bliss was interested nonetheless. The Old God may have been haunting his thoughts, but he was just an old man. Bliss could break him if he just had the chance. Unfortunately, he had no way of knowing if that would actually free him from his prophetic obligations. If it did, he could finally turn his thoughts off for good.

  It’s at least worth a try.

  He flew back to the familiar elevator hidden on planet Ammini. This would be the first time in a good while that Bliss was summoned to Crux’s office when the man wasn’t totally pissed at him. He hoped Crux wouldn’t bring up the incident in Onder’s holding cell. Bliss had already punished himself enough for that.

  Crux was sitting at his desk like it was any other day. Pictures of gracious refugees hung around him. He looked up at Bliss as the hero walked over and took a seat in front of him. Bliss gave the ceiling one cursory glance, remembering the green light that descended from it previously.

  Crux politely placed his arms on the desk. “Thank you for coming in on such short notice. I know you’re supposed to be taking a break right now.”

  “It doesn’t feel like a break.”

  “Of course. I know you’re very ‘dedicated’ to the demands of this job.”

  Crux knew him way too well. The job wasn’t just a distraction from his mind. It was an infinite well of pain and distress Bliss could use to block out the worst of his memories. He just had to get the conversation back on track.

  “What’s our old buddy doing this time?”

  “Honestly, I’m not too sure of that myself.” Crux projected a video feed from his CellPulse into the air. A human-looking man with light-brown skin cloaked in golden robes stood peacefully on a barren planet. “He’s just been standing here. I don’t know when it started, but I’ve been watching him for forty hours now.”

  Bliss took a good look at the video. The Old God only ever appeared to him as strange blurry vision. He could finally put a face to the belligerent voice in his head. He scanned the divine being from head to toe, noting every detail and pattern on his outfit.

  “Is he barefoot?”

  Crux actually laughed in response. “Yes, he is. You know, I talked to him once a long time ago. He’s very in touch with his ancient traditions”

  “Is he immune to tetanus?” Bliss asked with an innocent smile.

  “Bliss, I did not show you this so you could murder him.”

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  Bliss crossed his arms. “Then you are just torturing me again.”

  “I see you’re back to ruminating on your constant paranoia.” Crux cut the video feed. “I brought you here so you could talk to him. We’re both going to go see him, so don’t get any ideas.”

  “You want us to talk things through?”

  “Not necessarily, but I’m sure he’s there for a reason.” He dared to put a hand on Bliss’s shoulder. “I assure you he usually means well.”

  “Oh, and you know that after meeting him once like a thousand years ago?”

  Crux didn’t bother responding. He simply stood up and walked towards the elevator. Bliss started following him, already hooked on this new mission. Speaking with the Old God would be better than nothing, and it wasn’t like Crux could actually stop him if the situation just happened to escalate.

  Bliss had the pleasure of sharing a two-person ship with Crux. Their little excursion needed to be as subtle as possible. No one else could know that the Old God was just presenting himself to the galaxy on a random rock. Bliss wasn’t the only pissed off alien out for his head.

  The ship consisted of two seats in a column. Bliss sat painfully close to Crux in the backseat. There were no rooms to escape to. No empty space Bliss could hide himself in. He was stuck with his thoughts and the back of Crux’s head. It was enough to cause a panic attack if he didn’t have any self-control.

  I miss Lunai.

  He was ready to admit it. His intern really grew on him. Entropi just had to go and steal her from him. He wouldn’t be surprised if she petitioned Crux to stay with her instead of going back to working with Bliss. Crux would let her too, she was already his golden child. She was just naive enough to fit that role, too. He could hardly blame her. On days where he wasn’t ignoring her he was yelling at her. When he tried to teach her it just came out as sarcasm and amusement at her failures.

  I dragged her to that gala. I almost got her killed. Maybe she should stay with Entropi.

  She’d make Lunai a better hero than he ever could. All he had to offer her was his fame. That was probably the only reason she and Argalax even stuck around as long as they did. Entropi had enough fame to make up for losing his.

  “Bliss, we’re here.”

  He opened his eyes and saw Crux staring down at him from outside the ship. His self-loathing actually got him through the whole journey. It was impressive and useful!

  He hopped out of the vehicle and saw the object of his burning hatred standing in the distance. The man looked just as puny and fragile as Bliss did. Crux took the lead as they walked closer to the divine figure. His eyes were closed as they approached him. He looked relaxed with his hands pressed together.

  Try to hide it all you want. I can smell your fear.

  He finally opened his eyes when Crux settled in front of him. Bliss stood to the side, hiding any emotion on his face. The Old God glanced at him and bowed, then repeated the motion towards Crux.

  He addressed the CEO first. “Welcome. It’s good to see you again, my friend.”

  “It’s hard to refuse an invitation from you, Lugal. I was worried when I saw you standing here.”

  Bliss didn’t realize Crux was on a first-name basis with the Old God. Bliss didn’t even know his name until now, and the guy spent a good amount of time fucking with him. It was insulting.

  “Lugal? Am I not good enough for first names?” Bliss asked with an exaggerated pout.

  The God chuckled. “You are one of my dear subjects. It would not be appropriate.”

  Those were fighting words. Crux placed his head in his hand. Lugal wasn’t helping to diffuse any tension between him and his favorite punching bag. Bliss was ready to strangle the pompous prick. He could feel his arms reaching towards the unprotected neck.

  “Crux, there’s something I need to discuss with you. Not with this one around.”

  Bliss could see the veins pulsing under his skin. It would be so easy to open a void right there and suck all of his blood into worlds unknown, but there was a better way to handle a desperate God.

  Bliss put his arms down and smiled. “Oh, you’re talking about my dad coming back.”

  Crux went still. Lugal looked at Bliss with wide eyes and an open mouth. The God didn’t realize what he gave away when invading Bliss’s mind. It was one of the most satisfying moments of his life.

  “Here’s some advice. If you can’t take the heat.” His finger moved to poke Lugal’s forehead with every next word he spoke. “Stay-out-of-the-void.”

  “How long do we have?” Crux got straight to the point.

  “There’s time. Less than I would like, but some.” Lugal let his smile stay buried. “He’s just starting the journey back. It should be at least a year or two.” He pointed towards the stars in front of him. “That’s where he’s coming from. This rock we’re standing on is right in his path.”

  Crux shakily cleaned his glasses. “I see. Thank you for letting me know.”

  “I know you survived his last tour through the Milky-Way. I hope your agency will continue to thrive.”

  “Why does this mean I have to die?”

  It was a genuine question. Bliss didn’t want to see Zihatzik again, but he wasn’t going to kill himself just to avoid the man. If he was some sort of conduit for his father’s powers, he’d want to know about that.

  “Lugal, what is he talking about?” Crux asked.

  “Can’t a God have his secrets?”

  Oh he’s in for it now. Crux may despise me but he still needs me for the time being.

  “No he can’t! One of my employees thinks you want him dead. I need to know why.”

  Lugal shrugged his shoulders. “All I can say is that it is what’s written.”

  “You’re the one who writes it!”

  Bliss felt like he was watching his abusive mom and dad fighting. It was different than Onder or Entropi telling Crux off for his abuse. Neither of them cared about him at all. They were arguing over how to best use him before he could be disposed of safely. It was much more amusing than watching someone genuinely fight for his wellbeing.

  “Look, agent Bliss still has a lot of work to do with the agency. I can’t allow you to interfere with him like this.”

  “We don’t have that kind of time!” Lugal was starting to raise his voice.

  “Do you even know how to kill him? Is your plan to just keep asking until he says yes?”

  Oh no, don’t break up over little old me. I could never forgive myself for tearing such an elderly couple apart.

  The initial fun wore off soon enough when the argument dragged on for far too long. Bliss lost track of how many circles they talked around each other. If Crux’s face wasn’t already blue it would’ve been after yelling for that long.

  Enough was enough. Those two deserved each other, and Bliss was happy to let them have each other. He quietly disengaged from the conversation and walked back to the spaceship. He climbed into the front seat and slowly closed the hood. The ship had the GSA’s headquarters in its autopilot directory and he selected it without hesitation. It started up and carried him away from the rock, leaving the old men to work out their differences alone.

  He couldn’t see Crux’s face as the ship blasted off, but it must’ve been good. He’d let Lugal have that pissed off rock all to himself. He had better things to do. His cats were waiting for him at home. Zihatzik was a problem for another day.

  Character Art:

  Lugal / The Old God