The Great Arising
Chapter 26
Cthulhu lifted his monstrous bulk from his great throne. He stood upon flabby legs and thick, taloned feet. His bloated body slimmed, as he directed mass to his bat-like wings, stretching them to unearthly size. The downdraft produced by his flapping wings produced hurricane force gales as he rose from R'lyeh. He hovered in the night sky, wings nearly scraping the atmosphere, and surveyed his domain. R'lyeh was massive, a great city for a great king. He was both king and High Priest, he served Yog-Sothoth as others served him. The great temple of Yog-Sothoth stood out even among the cyclopean spires of R'lyeh. Cthulhu enjoyed the worship of mortals, but even he had no real understanding of Yog-Sothoth's desires. There were secrets concealed from even the wisest of Great Old Ones, though arguably gods, they were neither omniscient nor omnipotent. One of the sons of Yog-Sothoth, conceived via a mortal woman, (though how a mortal could carry to term such a creature and survive was beyond him), had recently journeyed to Earth as a guest of his own half-spawn, Torren-Wraeth. To the servants of The Key and The Gate, even to his high priest, this was a form of Divine Visitation, but the child was but a few centuries old and could offer little insight into his sire's wishes. He could, of course, attempt to summon his god himself, but the presence of Yog-Sothoth could damage even nigh-indestructible R'lyeh. The youth had returned to his sire with his High Priest's questions and concerns, but he had yet to receive an answer.
To make matters worse, the Nodenists and other servants of The Elder Gods were becoming more brazen, emboldened by Noden's cryptic message. They did not understand that what was a brief moment for an Elder God could be eons in human terms. This 'Reckoning' would likely take place long after they had become dust. They were puny things, but they could cause trouble by attacking his temples and worshipers, as they had in Innsmouth. Like The Elder Gods themselves, Cthulhu was unforgiving, and he remembered those who had done him harm, taking a terrible vengeance upon his enemies.
And it was one of those enemies that had drawn him from his comfortable lair. Or, to be more accurate, one of his son's enemies.
He knew who The Clown was, and his son's hatred of it was beginning to affect him as well. The latest battle, though initiated by Torren-Wraeth, had taken a tremendous emotional toll on the boy. Cthulhu had nothing against IT personally, but his son's frequent attacks on the thing were endangering both his health and sanity. The boy was obsessed with destroying an obsolete obscenity. It was a waste of time and blood, and it was time for it to end.
He began to fly toward the distant horizon. R'lyeh stretched for thousands of miles in either direction, and he lazily flapped his way toward North America.
He pondered the puny human settlements beneath him. Their greatest cities at the very height of human civilization had been mere anthills compared to the most humble dwellings of R'lyeh. The place where he was going had once been a tiny speck of wood and stone called Derry. It had been abandoned for centuries, save for the demon that stubbornly clung to his worthless claim.
Derry, Maine,
"It is time for you to abandon this useless avatar. This place has no inhabitants. You skulk about in a ruined sewer hunting prey that will never come."
The Clown had been surprised to have been summoned, no one summoned Pennywise. Why would they? Then he had realized who had summoned him, and it all made sense. Pennywise stood defiant before The Lord of R'lyeh, even though he could see no father than his bloated belly from his vantage point, "Why should I abandon this avatar? Simply because it offends your whelp? As for prey, the children will return, eventually." Pennywise laughed, revealing sharp yellow teeth, "Do you think I fear you? In The Deadlights, I am far more powerful than you, 'Great' Cthulhu. You would not dare travel to my realm, much less to confront me as I truly am."
"Because if you do not, I shall summon The Devourer of Souls. I am High Priest of Yog-Sothoth, and even you cannot stand against that kind of power." There was genuine anger in Cthulhu's voice, "I know who you truly are, and you cannot hide from The All-in-One and The One-in-All. Do you wish to spend eternity experiencing all of the ways in which you can die simply to keep this worthless form? To what end? You come, my son kills you. Again and again."
"He cheated! He called upon Hastur!"
Great Cthulhu growled at the mention of his son's use of one of Hastur's spells. "Chxixsas says that you are a masochist. That you purposely allow yourself to be defeated and destroyed. That you subconsciously defeat yourself."
"LIES!"
"I don't care. You will not return, Clown."
"Don't threaten me, squid-head!"
"I do not threaten. I simply do."
"Does your little boy know his daddy accepts child sacrifices?" The demon smirked.
Great Cthulhu concluded the argument by smashing the avatar to paste beneath a flabby paw.
In The Deadlights, IT considered the situation. Pennywise was a small sacrifice to make to avoid the horrors of The Devourer of Souls. IT had other forms, other faces. After all these centuries, why had Cthulhu taken an interest in IT now? Cthulhu was almost as bad as he was. He knew the answer instantly. He had insulted the boy's dead friend. He had hurt him in a way that mere combat never could. He had done too much damage. There were points when a child grows so enraged that their parent is forced to step in and restrain him. IT had reached that point and far beyond.
Pennywise would not return.
To be continued . . .
See, Cthulhu loves his children.
The Devourer of Souls is an avatar of Yog-Sothoth who . . . Devours souls. Then it lets them spend eternity experiencing every possible method of death.
The-All-in-One and The-One-In-All are titles for Yog-Sothoth.
Why do I write so much about a character I despise? Pennywise is the perfect villain, he has no redeeming qualities whatsoever and killing IT makes the universe a better place. This is hopefully the last we'll see of IT, though He Who Walks Behind The Rows may make an appearance at some point.
My apologies to Stephen King, though, in my defense, I did say that IT would have defeated Cthulhu in IT's home realm. He only killed a weak avatar.
Pennywise and It belong to Stephen King and are used without permission or common sense.