Greetings, human.
From the look in your eyes, I can tell that you seek knowledge. Knowledge of how the Elder Gods could have been dominated by he who was once a mere mortal. Knowledge of how Dread Cthulhu was destroyed.
It all started three score and six years ago, when the human vessel, whose name is best forgotten, was traveling through space, attempting to reach its home system before Those of Earth destroyed it.
I was in that ship.
It had been a few months after the beginning of our... quest, when it happened: I had been sleeping dreamlessly in the men's prison quarters… until the voice started whispering to me.
That is not dead
which can eternal lie,
And with strange aeons even death may die.
Then the darkness of my mind parted, and I saw myself, grown in years, a weapon in hand, standing over a barren field, my face the one of him who has just tasted victory.
But then, It arrived. And It threw me down and consumed me.
Rage and despair filled my sleep-imprisoned mind. How could it have ended like this?
Ah, but indeed, it had not ended! The dream repeated itself a thousand times, warping my mind, sending it through the open void that is the truth, yes, the truth that is so revealing and yet so horrifying.
The realm of infinite possibilities was opened to me during that dream, but I could access none of them. It prevented me from doing so, yes, It did, the vile Thing, haunted me to the ends of this reality.
But then, the dream changed.
It seemed to me like aeons had passed while It haunted me. But now something else was appearing before me.
It was not the Thing, for indeed, it did not warp reality as the Thing did. Now the horror presented itself to me in another way, as it turned and faced me.
It was a horrible creature, beyond any description that your pathetic human mind could possibly understand.
And it spoke to me.
"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn…"
"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn…"
"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn…"
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I awoke.
All what had transpired was but vague memory, only haunting the corners of my mind, and yet…
The number of the Beast is six-hundred, three-score and six.
I glanced at a nearby digital clock. It was already thirteen hours since midnight. Apparently, my dream had kept me from awaking.
I jumped out of my bed and dressed myself, not knowing that it would be the last time I would be reduced to performing such… mundane… activities.
I left the prison soon after that, the shadow of the dream still haunting my mind.
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The number of the Beast is six-hundred, three-score and six.
It was now sixteen and a half hours since midnight. I had happened to glance at a clock on my way to the hangar bay, where I tried to perform maintenance on that useless construction I once called a "partner".
In the past three and a half hours, the vague memory of the dream had grown stronger, and I had started remembering some of the events. They now plagued my mind, threatening to take away my grip on reality.
As I fought the darkness of my mind, futilely attempting to calm myself by taking care of the mindless contraption before me, I suddenly sensed another presence behind me.
She was there.
I cannot remember her words, but I can recall her face, her tone, her smile.
After all I had seen, the loving innocence that spouted from her mouth sickened me to my very core. How could such a thing exist untouched by the endless VOID that is the TRUTH!?
I remember rising, breathing heavily, futilely trying to control myself…
Then…
"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!"
For what I deem to be around half an hour, I can remember nothing but distorted images and muffled screams. When I finally came back to myself, I found my left hand clamped tightly over the girl's neck, the rest of my body using her roughly. I looked down to where our flesh met… not a day before I had not known that was even possible, but now… now the Dream had revealed it all, and I took great pleasure in taking what was mine, reveling in the sensation of power!
In the end, I left her there, unconscious, and fled the scene, taking to the shadows. The end was nigh.
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The number of the Beast is six-hundred, three-score and six.
I needed not to check the time. Hiding in the shadows, successfully escaping from my friends, now certainly turned prosecutors, the Dream provided me with everything I needed to know.
Quickly, I left the shadows through a place I wouldn't be seen, placing myself into position, near the Pexis room. Though as I neared that particular chamber, it seemed to me that the Dream's presence became… fainter.
But still, I waited.
The number of the Beast is six-hundred, three-score and six…
The number of the Beast is six-hundred, three-score and six…
The number of the Beast is six-hundred, three-score and six…
And He came.
He seemed to me to be the epitome of perfection, though now I realize that his visage was almost one to laugh at.
As He approached, the Pexis seemed to light up, and I could hear horrible shrieks coming from the engineering room.
And yet He still came nearer…
The Pexis lit up once more, but this time, its light surpassed the confines of its chamber, striking me as He floated into attacking range.
And at that moment, the Dream fell away.
But be warned, human, this was not a moment of good, or of light, or of anything of the sort.
No, His influence merely gave way at the touch of another, infinitely more powerful ENTITY.
And This ENTITY touched me deeper than the Dream, this ENTITY revealed to me not only the TRUTH, but also the very DEPTHS of the Universe itself!
It, who was both BLIND and IDIOTIC, rose from its stupor, if only for a single, infinitesimal moment, to touch me, bind me, SHOW ME, that I could claim It, and that I ALONE would then defy the Dream.
And I did.
I took it inside my own self in an indescribable vortex of primal energy, consuming it, devouring it, adoring it.
And in the end, we were ONE and the SAME.
And now, I turned and faced him, he who had violated my very soul.
What happened after that is best left to the imagination. It is, after all, not good to dwell on the Past.
What matters now is the FUTURE, and those I will conquer.
You are one of the first. There will be more. Tremble and despair!