"Hahahahahahaha!!!"
"Hahahahahahaha!!!"
"Finally, finally, it's our time to shine!!!"
A strange voice erupted in the boundless dark void.
It was a maniacal laugh, or perhaps an uncontainable, ecstatic, piercing cry. It felt like a prisoner, confined for untold years, suddenly tasting freedom, an overwhelming, unmatched joy.
Gurgle!!
Surging chaos writhed in the black void, a deep, filthy slime or viscous fluid bubbling up in the empty darkness.
Though the space lacked any medium to sustain it, this indescribable black chaos churned ceaselessly. Common sense and physical laws held no sway here; it defied definition, a phenomenon beyond human comprehension.
"It's done! It's done!! That kid has finally reached this stage!! A perfect soul and body, wielding the Third Magic as the raw material, the ark of life to escape this prison is nearly complete…"
Atop the black chaos stood a delicate girl with flowing white hair.
Her face twisted into an expression starkly at odds with her beauty, a grotesque mask of glee as she let out bizarre shrieks. Even in the endless void, her voice pierced directly into the minds of any being.
"Kekekekekeke!!!"
Her inner joy and elation poured out unreservedly through her strange tongue and laughter.
As a being teetering on the edge of annihilation, the prospect of breaking free from her fated doom, escaping death's threat, and dispelling the shadow of returning to nothingness filled even her with unparalleled delight.
This joy was genuine, beyond any mischief or toy.
"It's only been a year or so of waiting, barely a blink or a thought for us. But honestly, the loneliness and urgency were far more torturous than millions of years of idle existence! I can't contain my excitement any longer!!"
A voice, equally stirred, echoed from the writhing chaos, chiming in eagerly.
Its words brimmed with boundless sentiment.
"All awake already? So impatient…" The white-haired girl, Nyarlathotep, muttered, her beautiful face twisting into a displeased sneer. Mimicking a human, she spat, embodying her role vividly.
"Hehehe…"
"This concerns our fate and future. Did you think you'd hog the spotlight alone, Nyarlathotep? How naive." Another voice retorted.
"No rush. That boy is our collective treasure…"
More bizarre voices emerged from the unseen void, the dark plane growing lively.
The voices were chaotic, a cacophony of elders, women, men, even animalistic cries, a deeply eerie scene.
This plane could only be described as darkness. It wasn't a "place" or a "specific location." No language on this planet could depict a nonexistent site or entity. No light, no medium, no definitions or laws existed here. This singularity, stitched together by Outer Gods, lay beyond any world.
"Everyone's awake? Such a pity. I thought I could tamper with my chaotic flesh to keep you asleep for a few millennia… Didn't expect you'd all be so alert, so distrustful. Did that boy's flesh teach you the suspicion of lesser beings like humans?" Nyarlathotep said, wiping her eyes with mock sorrow, her sly smile betraying her true mood.
The Outer Gods, knowing her chaotic nature, scoffed. After eons, they understood Nyarlathotep's disorderly essence. Trusting her was folly.
They'd gained emotions, greed, desires, and ambitions but remained ancient Outer Gods, far from foolish.
"Hah, speaking of influence, you're the most affected, Nyarlathotep. You three reaped the biggest share." A discordant voice cut through the void.
"Heh, naturally. I may slack off for fun, but passing up this opportunity would be idiotic." Nyarlathotep replied. "As the instigator and key planner, I deserve the lion's share, don't I? These are my most precious treasures now. Anyone scheming against them better watch out~"
She chuckled, her expression benign, but the void trembled, the writhing chaos ready to devour all.
If any Outer God dared challenge her, she'd prove why she was the Crawling Chaos.
"Oh, come now~ No fighting. We're allies now, right, Nyarlathotep? Or should I say Nyaruko? Though that boy's deepest impression is of you, you're not quite the Nyaruko in his memory, are you? Is all this excitement necessary?" A gentle, maternal voice interjected, easing the tension.
"Shub-Niggurath, you wouldn't understand~ It's like an eternal online romance, knowing them but only watching from afar, like a sweet, long-awaited meeting. You, always playing the mother, could never get it. And his strongest memory is of me. Of course I'm thrilled~"
"Unlike you, stuck with that image dredged from his bad memories. Aren't you afraid of scaring him? Talk about a living black mark."
"Heh, beauty is all that matters. Isn't that the essence of life and procreation? I think he'll be delighted to see me, not you~ Shall we bet?" Shub-Niggurath teased.
"You take 'awful' to new heights. Is your motherly act something humans can even accept? With that boy's style, you'd be lucky if he doesn't blast you with a magic cannon." A low voice rumbled into the dark plane.
"And you're just as excited, Shub-Niggurath. If we hadn't restrained you, you'd have rushed to Tiamat's dragon form, proclaiming yourself the true mother. We're the three pillars, yet only that bothersome one stays rational." it added, referring to Yog-Sothoth.
"Huh? Was that a thing? M'ssiskha, did your endless feud with Yog-Sothoth fry your brain? My memory's fine, and I don't recall that." Shub-Niggurath retorted.
"Haha, here we go again. Since Shub-Niggurath's transformation, she's been adding random traits, altering reality, even denying words spoken seconds ago. No self-awareness, just acting on whims. You're a headache, but that's our privilege, isn't it?" Another voice chimed.
"I recall it happening, but mentioning it might earn her wrath." Another added.
"The Time Lord's as bold as ever, provoking Shub-Niggurath. But you've already crossed Yog-Sothoth, so what's one more? When we separated the Daughter of Fate, the boy's growth met our expectations. The Seventh Singularity, Tiamat, Tezcatlipoca, why not let them vanish? Waiting so long is tedious."
"Even that boy's feared Alien God, Goetia, is a minor squabble. A flick of our hand could end it. Nothing on this planet, save that boy and the Root's girl, catches my eye. Magicians, Brunestud, ORT, irrelevant."
"Nyarlathotep, you don't hide your bias. You've said not to disrupt Yog-Sothoth's predictions, yet you'd casually toss aside Tiamat and Goetia? The boy values his little game of fixing the Human Order. It's trivial to us, but if it makes him happy, I'd do it anytime. Disrupting Yog-Sothoth's foresight, though, is trouble." Another voice, Daoloth, said.
"You're as rational as ever, Daoloth, even as a near-human. You're right, Yog-Sothoth's predictions mustn't be disturbed, nor should the boy learn his truth too soon."
"We've taken so much from him…"
"But he won't mind, right? Becoming like us would be worse than his current life. He's found things to love, to pursue. Isn't that more ideal than being an Outer God, constrained at every turn?"
"True, but you explain it to him, M'ssiskha."
"Get lost, Nyarlathotep. You do it."
"Haha, maybe, but we'll need to help the boy with some things first to earn his forgiveness, or the plan won't go smoothly."
"What do you think? Shall we pick sides for the next steps?"
"Feasible."
"No objections."
"Sounds fun."
"Hehe…"
More voices emerged, more figures and Outer Gods materializing from the void's chaos.
"Oh, playing dead until it's time to pick sides? Since gaining emotions, you've all taken after my love for chaos." Nyarlathotep teased.
"We just hadn't tasted this delight before. Now we're catching up to you, Nyaruko~" Another replied.
"Tch, just crude imitations. My emotions are…" Nyarlathotep began.
Crack! Crack! Crack!!
A sound interrupted their chatter.
"He's taken the bait!" The Outer Gods exclaimed, eyes gleaming, halting their discussion. They turned their gazes to the boundless void, then…
They raised their hands, clenching and pulling back.
Boom!!
The black cosmic plane was torn apart by a force beyond this world's limits, like a curtain ripped asunder.
The temporary void world, hidden in the planet's shadow, collapsed without a ripple, everything dissolving into nothingness.
"Oh? Still trying to escape? Playing with time and space before me? Foolish…" A middle-aged man's voice sneered, as the Time Lord's terrifying authority seized spacetime.
"Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg."
If time and space were converging rivers, Zelretch, Magician of the Second Magic, was a fish swimming through their gaps, traversing parallel worlds.
To M'ssiskha, spacetime was a mere stream before his door. A hand dipped in could catch the fish, as he did now.
In blinding white light, M'ssiskha's immense spacetime power formed a massive hand, seizing the fleeing fish, the utterly stunned Zelretch, his eyes questioning reality.
Gone was the grandeur of the Wizard Marshal. His gaze twitched, facing countless figures, his heart sinking, his composure shattered.
He'd detected a small singularity on Earth from his office. With a casual thought to investigate and fix it, he used the Second Magic to breach the node. Seeing what lay within, he was dumbfounded.
Good Kaledioscope! What kind of monstrosities are hiding here?
An Outer God signatures filled his view.
Fix a singularity? Time to run!
Without hesitation, Zelretch turned, using the Second Magic to flee through parallel worlds.
But an entity far surpassing him in spacetime mastery caught him in an instant, leaving no escape.
Thud…
Facing the grinning Outer Gods, Zelretch's face turned ashen, speechless.
He knew he'd kicked a steel plate this time.
Forget fixing the singularity, his survival depended on the whims of these ancient beings, inexplicably gathered in Earth's shadow.
"Not bad, not bad. A mere whiff of our presence hooked the fish. Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, your senses are sharp for a human. Should we praise you? Though, even if you hadn't come, we'd have found you. Your Second Magic is a pesky fly."
"?"
Zelretch sensed something amiss.
But the scene offered no chance for questions; the Outer Gods continued.
"For the boy's sake, we won't kill you, just bench you for now. What do you think of this warped singularity compared to your office in the time rift? We're heading to reality. It's family business. You outsiders should step back, lest you disturb our touching reunion."
"Of course, we're not asking your opinion."
- Volume 5: Exiled Gods
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