Chapter 1059: Those Born in Darkness
"The creatures from The Abyss are located in the region where the dead galaxies lie..." Hela gestured with her hands, and a representation of a galaxy being destroyed was shown.
This representation showed the processes by which a galaxy was destroyed. When a galaxy meets its end, the destruction caused can leave behind many stars, especially those located at its core. Many of these stars may explode as supernovas, scattering heavy material across s.p.a.ce and possibly creating a new beginning.
In other cases, the core of the galaxy, often a superma.s.sive black hole, can be exposed and continue to influence the environment around it, attracting matter and emitting intense radiation.
In this specific case, when a galaxy reached its true "End", all that was left were dark environments centered around superma.s.sive black holes that may or may not be active.
Life did not exist, Time did not exist, s.p.a.ce did not exist, and even the Concept of "Void" did not exist. In mundane terms, the "s.p.a.ce" left behind was the Universe"s trash.
"When the Primordials divided the Universe into Sectors so that Beings like you would not take advantage of weaker existences, they did not care much about protecting the dead galaxies."
"After all... Why would anyone want to go there? All that is there is a dark place, with no life, filled with black holes."
"... But they were wrong to do that... Some Beings... No, some creatures thrive in that kind of environment. Creatures that are born from darkness... From True Darkness." A representation of the contractor she used in the War of Asgard was shown.
At first glance, its form was undefined, like a ma.s.s of liquid darkness that writhed and shaped incessantly. There was no fixed structure to its Being, just a constellation of dark tentacles that extended and retracted as if searching for something invisible. Its skin, or what pa.s.sed for it, had a viscous and translucent texture, similar to a mix of gelatin and slime, reflecting an iridescent light that resembled oil on water.
Azathoth, even imprisoned, could interfere in Creation, and many of the Beings that sought Power ended up in her sphere of influence. These Beings were formed from fragments of the Powers of his Wife, and as Eldritch Beings, they thrived in the darkness of a dead galaxy.
Scattered randomly across its body, eyes of varying sizes blinked and moved independently. Each emitted a cold and unnatural light, piercing the darkness around it and casting distorted shadows that danced to the rhythm of its movements. Small mouths appeared here and there, filled with sharp teeth. The presence of this Being carried an ancient evil, an ancient evil that Victor knew very well, an evil so familiar that he could even call it "brother".
"Or more precisely, a subordinate... As I thought, these Beings were born from the influence of Azathoth." Victor thought.
Azathoth, even imprisoned, could interfere in Creation, and many of the Beings that sought Power ended up in her sphere of influence. These Beings were formed from fragments of the Powers of his Wife, and as Eldritch Beings, they thrived in the darkness of a dead galaxy.
[Why didn"t the Primordials clean them up?] Roxanne asked after hearing Victor"s thoughts.
[It"s because they are part of Creation.] Amara replied and continued: [Just like Darling, they were Beings created within this creation, they were accepted by The System, and incidentally, they became part of The System... When a Galaxy is dead, the remaining Energy is absorbed by these Beings, thus preventing the aged Energy from spreading to other Sectors... These Beings, they are the perfect trash depot.]
Victor said nothing, and his silence was more than enough proof that what Amara said was completely correct and that he was thinking the same thing as her.
"The very presence of the creature did not seem to destroy Reality," Victor remembered the War. As someone who had absorbed some "lucky" G.o.ds from that Pantheon who experienced the War that Hela waged, he had the exact viewpoint of an "outsider."
When Victor or Yol lightly accessed their Nightmare Form, Reality distorted merely with their presence, and gravity became unstable, causing rocks and branches to float momentarily before falling back to the ground. Time seemed to flow erratically, with seconds dragging like hours and minutes pa.s.sing in the blink of an eye.
Those who approached the Eldritch horror were seized by paralyzing terror, a primordial fear that went beyond reason and logic. It was as if their bodies and minds were invaded by an overwhelming darkness, a sense of insignificance in the face of the vast and incomprehensible cosmos. Sanity was a fragile Concept in front of such an Ent.i.ty, and many fell into madness from gazing at them for too long.
These creatures did not seem to cause this effect as strongly as Victor and Yol.
[You"re making a very absurd comparison, Victor,] Roxanne reminded. [You are an Eldritch Horror born from Chaos. You are the very leader of the Eldritch Pantheon, and you hold the same status as Azathoth, the supposed "Creator" of them. Yol is your Daughter.]
[In terms of hierarchy, you and Azathoth are the Chaos that created everything, and Yol is a Primordial G.o.d that you created.]
[Comparing yourselves to this thing is like comparing an elephant to a microbe; it makes no sense.] Amara continued.
[Not only that... Even we must have more hierarchy than it because we were "contaminated" with the Energy that came from you.] The "we" Roxanne spoke of was referring to Victor"s entire Family.
While Victor argued with his Wives, he did not interrupt Hela"s explanation.
"After discovering what that place had become... The whole place became the Domain of Primordial Death, and he was tasked with overseeing everything."
By "overseeing," it was clear she meant supervising and ending them if necessary. Although they became a part of The System, they were still dangerous if they went to galaxies with life.
"And because it is the Domain of The End..."
"You can access it." Victor finished what Hela was about to say.
"Exactly." Hela nodded. "And I can do it more efficiently because I channel the Energy of The End differently than my brothers. For example," She glanced at her Staff.
That"s when Victor and his Wives understood what she meant. Beings like Fenrir, Typhon, and Jormungand channeled the Energy of The End through their bodies, making parts of them, such as claws, fangs, and skin, completely imbued with said Energy, consequently making them genderless Beings who cannot "initiate" any Life. After all, they embodied The End of Everything.
Hela was not exactly born with the Powers of The End. She was, however, born resistant to it from being in the same womb as her brothers, and she channeled those Powers through her Staff, allowing her to use these Powers in a more "creative" way than just to "End" everything.
She could use it as an Energy in a way very similar to how Primordial Death uses it. Hela"s hair floated lightly, and she pointed the Staff forward; however, before starting anything, she looked to Victor, asking for his permission to begin.
Victor nodded lightly while gesturing for his Heralds to stand slightly behind him but not too far back. Completely trusting in their Creator, they accepted the orders and watched everything, ready to intervene at any moment.
Seeing Victor"s confirmation, Hela immediately began to use her Powers. A dark Energy emitted from the Staff and struck the "s.p.a.ce" in front of her, immediately causing a hole in Reality to form.
And as that hole was made, a hand with a similar description to Hela"s Contractor appeared.
"...He is different. He is not my Contractor," Hela warned as she tried to close the portal.
"It"s okay, leave it open."
"...But." Hela was about to protest, but then she remembered who she was speaking to, The Dragon Emperor, Victor Elderblood.
"...But even he can"t handle this kind of Being, right? And this one seems to be even older than the one I contacted." Hela thought.
...And she had no idea how wrong she was.
Accepting Victor"s request, Hela did not interfere and just stepped back, continuing to observe. A few seconds pa.s.sed, and the creature seemed to come closer to the portal as hundreds of thousands of distorted eyes whose very presence could drive someone mad were seen.
"Heh, it seems you are older than the others."
[The older these Abyssal creatures are, the more they acquire the characteristics that you and Azathoth have.] Amara spoke.
Sharp teeth began to appear among the eyes, creating an even more horrific sight, but for Victor and his Heralds, it looked cute.
After all, Victor"s Form was even more horrific.
The "hand" of the creature moved toward Victor with a clearly hostile intent... No, there was no hostility for these Beings; it was just a primordial need, a need to feed.
"They are indeed products of Azathoth." The sensation the creature was giving him was just of extreme hunger.
They felt nothing, just looking at Victor, and wanted to eat him because he had a lot of Energy inside him. To these creatures, Victor was like a walking feast.
Yes, "they". It might seem like one creature, but that was wrong. Each of those eyes was a separate creature, and they set aside their rivalry just for the great feast in front of them.
They were like hungry sharks that did not care that they were sharing the food because there was too much food.
...But, unfortunately, they chose the wrong opponent this time.
"War."
"Yes." The most loyal Herald stood in front of Hela and spread his arms widely as if protecting her.
The other Heralds also acted by staying close to War and spreading their wings widely, but unlike War, they were isolating the area.
[Amara, help me here. Don"t let any Energy particles escape.] Roxanne ordered seriously.
[Working on it.] Amara was already working on it even before Roxanne spoke.
When the hand of the creature was inches from Victor"s face... Something happened.
Victor"s existence distorted for a mere second... Specifically speaking, 0.2 nanoseconds.
The time of a blink of an eye. In those nanoseconds, the complete Eldritch Form of Victor was seen, felt, understood, and feared in that nanosecond, which, from the creatures" perspective, seemed to last an eternity.
A higher-level Eldritch horror descended into existence. In that nanosecond, each of those creatures understood for the first time in their existence of eternal hunger, fear, and, most importantly, respect. Their entire existence completely changed in that nanosecond.
When a Being encounters a true Cosmic Horror, it is changed forever, no matter the type, or how short, the contact is; these words were the purest truth.
It was only thanks to the efforts of Roxanne, Amara, and the Heralds that Creation was not distorted in a way that would attract the attention of the Primordials.
It was thanks to War that Hela did not go completely mad. Unlike The End, she had no resistance whatsoever to Victor"s complete Form.
The "hand" was retracted and went back into the portal. The creature"s eyes stopped moving and just continually observed Victor attentively as if they were waiting for orders, which indeed they were.
"Show me your home." Words were spoken, but these words were not in the Draconic language, nor an ancient language like that of the G.o.ds, nor even the language of The System.
This language was unknown, foreign, and corrupt to those who tried to speak or understand, a language that all of the same species shared, a way to express intention, the language of an Eldritch G.o.d.
After those words were said, Hela completely lost control of the portal. Hundreds... Wrong, thousands of hands grabbed the s.p.a.ce in all directions and literally tore it apart to a size large enough for Victor to pa.s.s through.
"What...?" Hela couldn"t understand this development. Even though she was a powerful G.o.ddess, she didn"t comprehend what had happened in front of her.
And it was better this way. After all, she wanted to live a long life, right?
[Victor, don"t tell me you"re going there?]
[Why are you asking the obvious, Roxanne? Of course, he is.] Amara rolled her eyes; it was as if Roanne didn"t know their Husband.
"Keep the portal open," Victor ordered. Even though there were hundreds of ways to get back quickly, he didn"t want to risk it.
Victor walked towards the darkness and the moment he pa.s.sed through the portal... The sight of... Emptiness welcomed them.
With his senses, Victor could see hundreds of thousands of Beings spread throughout the place.
Up, down, left, right, he was completely surrounded, and yet Victor didn"t feel threatened... In a way, it felt like home, but not as comfortable as home.
Just expanding his senses, he saw that there were millions of extremely low-level EldritchBbeings and several hundred similar to the one Hela had come into contact with.
Looking at the upper levels of the hierarchy... There were only about 7 Eldritch Beings that had enough Power to catch his attention.
"The number 7 again." Victor thought about this coincidence that had always accompanied his life. 7 h.e.l.ls, 7 Celestial Heavens, 7 Deadly Sins, 7 Virtues, 7 High-Level G.o.d-Kings, 7 Primordial Beings. When it wasn"t the number 7, it was the number 3, or in rare cases, the number 6.
He didn"t know what to think about it. He knew that every form of expression had Power, but he didn"t know why Creation was always "7".
"Gentlemen," Victor spoke without emitting any Eldritch Energy. After all, it was the territory of a Primordial Being, so he couldn"t act strangely because he was sure that the Primordial knew he was there.
"I wish to make a contract. Who is willing to do so?"
Literally, all the eyes he could sense shone with desire.
"That"s interesting." Victor continued acting.
.....
Edited By: DaV0 2138, IsUnavailable
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