The Hateful Sun
Shinji's boots crunched through the packed snow. While the defeat of Ithaqua had melted most of it, a few sheets of white persisted even as the temperature rose higher. Which was strange as a few weeks had passed already, but beyond that, what was strange to him was just how snow was so… weird. He didn't notice it before since he was in the Eva at the time, but there was something so serenely satisfying about the crunch of snow below your feet. Since Second Impact, snow was a thing of the past, and looking at it now, Shinji couldn't help but feel sad at its loss. With each step, Shinji realized that this was not just his first time seeing snow, but most likely it was probably the last time he would ever see snow. Perhaps in another world, and another time, there was a Shinji who grew up in a world where the greed of old men wouldn't destroy the world. Maybe that Shinji got to even see snow every winter. It was, if nothing else, a comforting thought.
Shinji observed his surroundings as he walked, attempting to see if he could detect Kensuke following him. It was morning, and there were very few people walking around at the moment, perhaps a dozen, if even that. He discreetly used his secondary eye-lids to see trace heat signatures in the more obvious places to hide, but as far as he could tell, nothing was following him, yet even still occasionally he would feel that subtle tug at the back of his mind, that inexplicable sensation that someone was staring at him. He took it as confirmation that Kensuke was there, even if he couldn't see him.
Shinji continued forward towards his destination. Toji's home. A simple apartment building not that far away from his own. Shibji doubted he would be there, but it was a good place to start. Taking the next turn Shinji made his way towards the apartment. As he made his way into the building, he checked his surroundings again, still seeing nothing. He continued up the stairs to the apartment, his foot falls echoed around the halls as he stood before the door, ready to knock before he heard the sliding of a knock and the turning of the doorknob. Shinji was somewhat taken aback by the sudden action, at least until the door opened just a bit and a familiar voice filled the air.
"There's no one here." Said Kensuke.
Shinji rose a brow as he opened the door enough to slip in and close it behind him. Then he looked to Kensuke.
"How did you get in here?"
"Well I can't exactly use the front door, the back window was unlocked."
"Were you even following me, or were you waiting here?"
"Following you… why?"
"Just… you're really good at not being seen. Far better at it than I expected."
Kensuke smiled… or at least attempted to considering his canine like jaws.
"Really? Cool." Said Kensuke.
Shinji smirked as he began looking around the room. Motes of dust were drifting slowly in the air, glowing like embers as they were caught in the warm hues of the sunrise emanating from the nearby window. A vision flashed in Shinji's mind. He saw embers rising into an angry red sky, the billowing smoke of rot and ruin as fires roared and screams echoed in the distance. Shinji closed his eyes with a sharp intake of air into his lungs as he turned away from the window.
"You ok?" Asked Kensuke.
"Yeah… just… a bad feeling." Said Shinji as he continued to look around the room.
The air was filled with a stale stench. The apartment was barren, and seemed to have been that way for a while. Shinji scratched his chin as he put his hands in his pockets and walked around the place. He fanned himself with the collar of his shirt as he noticed that it felt almost as if the temperature rose, but otherwise he ignored it.
"I don't see any obvious signs of useage. Not for a few weeks at the very least." Said Shinji as he opened the pantry, seeing that most of the foodstuff within was untouched.
"Well… he wasn't here, that's for sure. There's still food." Said Shinji.
Kensuke sniffed the air, causing his snout to wrinkle and his fangs to poke out from his lips.
"I don't smell anything either. Airs a bit stale, but no scent of anyone being here for a while... So I guess he was in a shelter when the storm started."
"Most likely." Agreed Shinji as he closed the pantry door.
"So what now?"
"Deduction. If he wasn't here, and you can't get even a scent then that means after Ithaqua was defeated and this mess was over he didn't come back. I think… the most likely explanation is he died."
Kensuke barked.
"What!?"
"It's a possibility we have to consider."
Kensuke narrowed his eyes.
"I refuse to believe Toji would go out like that. He probably just… I don't know, maybe he got hurt."
Shinji hummed as he took one last look around.
"If he was in a shelter, and did survive, he probably would be severely malnourished… he could be at a hospital."
"Then let's go." Said Kensuke immediately.
Shinji rose a brow.
"I don't think your current visage would go unnoticed in a place where there is going to be a lot of people."
Kensuke's shoulders slouched as he looked down to his claws. His stared at them for a moment before they fell to his sides.
"That just is not fair."
"Few things are… still… maybe we can do something about it."
Kensuke turned slowly to Shinji. His eyes squinting while the rest of his face was otherwise somewhat blank.
"Shinji… I don't think there's a cure for being a creepy hairless werewolf… hyena… wendigo… thing." Said Shinji.
Shinji shrugged.
"You know, I was God once, anything's possible."
Kensuke blinked
"Wha..?"
"Remember when everyone melted into LCL in the alternate timeline… yeah that happened because I kinda was God."
Kensuke quirked his head.
"Is that what happened? I thought someone spiked my drink with LSD and I had a nervous breakdown and a sudden case of schizophrenia."
"Nope."
…
"Don't become God Shinji… apparently you suck at it."
"No arguments here." Said Shinji with a shrug.
Kensuke nodded before immediately looking back to his claws.
"Well… if you do find a cure, you let me know, but I won't be holding my breath. Still if Toji is in a hospital, you can still see him. I can wait till he gets out."
Shinji frowned, something about that sentence made him feel as if there was some cause for concern.
"You sure? I mean… you have known him far longer than I have."
"I really don't have much of a choice. It's fine, just tell him I'm worried about him. All this… stuff happening is bad enough, but his sister is dead. He's not in a good place right now. He's gonna need us, because we're probably all he has left."
"You do have a point… are you're sure Kensuke."
"I am… I think I'll wait here. The sun's too bright anyway. Plus the freezer went out, there was meat in there, it smells rotten, and I am starving."
"You seem nonchalant about eating spoiled meat." Said Shinji without a hint of judgement, but rather curiosity.
Kensuke shrugged.
"Trust me Shinji, if you could smell what I do, you wouldn't be saying that."
Shinji exhaled while fanning himself off. It was brutally hot outside, even comparing with the standards of before. The temperature had risen to an irritable level. Sweat drenched his clothes and clung to his hair. The sweat even stung his eyes as it poured down his face. Harsh rays of sunlight shone down over the city, heating the asphalt below, and causing a heat haze that made the shimmer and the city appear to wave and bend like water.
Shinji continued walking, right towards the hospital. It was strange to see that even still some if the snow from before persisted, even in this sweltering weather. He assumed perhaps that it wasn't normal snow. It was indeed melting, not like the statue, but it was melting far slower than it should have been.
"It's merely an echo."
Shinji turned to see that Nyarlathotep was walking alongside him.
"Huh?"
"The snow, it melts slower because it hold an echo of Ithaqua's essence within it. Though as with echoes they are fleeting things, it won't last much longer. Especially not now."
"I see, but I take it you didn't come here to answer my mild curiosity about the snow."
Nyarlathotep smiled.
"You would be correct. I'm here for a different reason, my little investment. Merely something to inform you on. The power of words. A power you will soon need."
"Power of words?" Asked Shinji in genuine confusion.
"Are you familiar with the saying Sticks and Stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me?" Asked Nyarlathotep, even though Shinji knew that the Outer God already knew the answer to that question.
"Yeah." Said Shinji.
"Indeed, well that saying is factually incorrect. Words can indeed break bones, and they can do so much more."
That… was a somewhat alien concept to Shinji. Beyond enabling the spreading of ideas and communication, Shinji couldn't think of Words beyond a method by which information is passed from individual to individual. Words having power themselves just sounded… wrong.
"And yet it is true. It matters not if one speaks Japanese, English, Russian, or the Eldritch Tongue, so long as words can be spoken, they possess power, you can imbue any word with power. It merely requires the word itself be spoken in the proper context. What makes the Eldritch Tongue as powerful as it is is the fact that it strips words to their absolute most literal ideal, as such each word spoken in the Eldritch Tongue always is spoken in the proper context."
"Ok… weird but ok." Said Shinji.
"It goes beyond this Shinji, Words can break, bend, cut, and shape reality for they are indistinguishable from reality. The planet upon which we stand and the universe within which this world drifts were and are shaped by an endless stream of words. The universe was created with a Word, and the universe shall end with but Word. Words are only limited by the one who speaks them. Every word in every language is a gift, a curse, an idea, and most importantly a weapon. Once a word is spoken, if it is spoken correctly, will manifest. The universe wraps around you, your existence bends space and time around you, and when you speak, the universe listens, for Yog-Sothoth hear all and sees all."
"I still don't understand. How can words themselves have power?"
"Because all words are the same. They are fragments of a greater language. You see Shinji there is only one language, but as with any living thing it can be broken down and it can mutate, but it's still the same entity."
"Wait… are you saying that Language itself is alive?"
"Not only is it alive Shinji, but it has a name, currently it goes by Magnum Innominandum or as most know it, The Nameless Mist. It is called Nameless Mist for convenience. Its Name is not lost, its Name is every letter, word, sentence, song, and beyond, all strung together to form an entity who personifies all that is, for words and reality are indistinguishable from one another. All language is a part of his name and from it came its progeny, Yog-Sothoth, who is space and time. All words are apart of Magnum Innominandum, and when Yog-Sothoth hears his fathers name, even just a fragment, he makes it so, for reasons entirely his own. There are words your kind have yet to discover, but all words are the same. Whether they are spoken or not. So long as they can be understood."
The mere idea boggled Shinji's mind. That all language was a creature whose sole purpose for being was to personify everything that exists. An entity who was every word, in every language. Spoken or otherwise. It was a ludicrous idea, but Shinji still wondered.
"So I think I get it, but how do I use words to do anything meaningful? Cause I'm not going to lie that sounds very useful."
"Most go mad from the power that words possess. Are you sure you're willing to risk it?"
"Eh, sure. Maybe it's just me, but I don't get this whole existential horror at the unknown that drives people insane. The existential horror of insignificance isn't all that horrifying, being pretty easy to ignore and all that. Personally I think those who do go insane have an inflated view of themselves and can't stand the idea of not being special."
Nyarlathotep smiled much… much wider than his face should have been able to contain. The corners of his lips seemed to be behind his head, but it only lasted for a moment before Nyarlathotep once more assumed a normal human visage.
"I knew I chose right when I picked you, regardless, to contextualize a word, you must first strip it to its absolute meaning. For example, the word "Fire". Think of the feel of heat in your skin, think of the warmth it can bring, think of the smell of ash, think of the feel of being burned, think of everything only associated with Fire, clear your mind of any other mental noise that could interfear. When your mind is only focused on fire, and nothing else, then you speak the word, and it becomes."
"If it were that simple, then how come no one has figured this out before?"
"Oh, some have, but humans can only just barely clear their minds. Some get close and even manipulate reality, but they don't even notice because the word they used wouldn't have any obvious effects noticeable to them. It is difficult for a human to fully dedicate their mind to a single idea that would have tangible results, but it isn't impossible. This is why many human sorcerers use the eldritch tongue, for it is closer to the true name of the Nameless Mist, but it is merely a crutch in this regard, and even it requires some context to work properly. You wouldn't want to speak the word 'Fire' and unintentionally combust."
"I think I could do without burning to death. Thank you very much."
Nyarlathotep nodded.
"Such is the dangers of the Eldritch Tongue, it's a language very open to interpretation if you aren't fluent in it. Regardless, you have an advantage with using words as power. Your mind does not function as other humans do, but you are always thinking of other things. You allow your mind to wander, but you can do it much more easily than most. Just remember, when you are at the end of your rope, and you feel like there is nothing left you can do, simply clear your mind, and speak."
Shinji was about to ask something else, but as sweat flowed into his eyes, he closed them and began to rub them. When he finally was able to see again, he saw that Nyarlathotep was gone. Shinji sighed as he continued on his way to the hospital. He wiped the sweat from his brow, moving onward as he thought on what he had been told.
Upon some introspection, Shinji stopped walking and went to a pile of snow. He pulled a handful out from it and closed his eyes. Focusing only on the sensation of cold on his hand and the almost pleasant burn it left in this blistering heat. He thought of the chill from before when Ithaqua came. He cleared his mind of everything else. Unconsciously he loosened his grip as snow and water slipped between his fingers. He continued to focus, thinking of the chill of ice, even as he suffered in heat. He stopped for a moment, but he didn't open his eyes. He just kept thinking. He ignored the heat, pushed it from his mind. Focused only on the ghost of a feeling he had from the ice that was once in his hands. He thought of that feeling and the cold. He thought of how ice could burn and sting and freeze and kill, but also how it could bring relief on a hot day. He then opened his eyes.
"Cold." Said Shinji.
He opened his eyes, and still felt very hot. He closed his eyes and sighed. Completely oblivious to the visible breath vapor that escaped his lungs. Shinji opened his eyes as he continued towards the hospital, idly noticing that the sky seemed to be a slightly more orange color.
Then, the lights in every building began to flicker, and the already unbearable heat rose just a little bit more. Shinji froze as he felt a strange presence intrude into the day, an oppressive and hateful feeling of utter disdain that invasively gnawed at the back of his mind. Flashes of a charred and scorched landscape filled his mind as sweat poured from his skin. Every breath he took burned his lungs and after a moment he found his eyes began to sting. A fog fell over the land, a dry all encompassing fog that smelled faintly of smoke. It was only after flakes fell onto him that Shinji realized that this was not a fog, but falling ash.
Shinji dropped everything as he headed towards the nearest NERV entrance. He had no doubt in his mind that something horrible was invited to this world, and was following in the footsteps of Bokrug and Ithaqua. He could only pray that he could get there in time to stop it before it destroyed all he held dear.
Ritsuko made her way to the bridge as fast as she could as the lights flickered around her. The automatic doors opened as she crossed the threshold.
"What is going on?" She yelled.
"Solar Flare. It is messing with the electronics, not enough for a full on blackout, but more than enough to cause a brief disturbance world wide." Said Maya.
Ritsuko took a sigh of relief. It wasn't exactly good news, but a comparatively mundane solar flare was much, much more preferable than another one of those things. Ritsuko at the very least knew what to do in this sort of situation.
"Hold on… um Doc, I'm getting elevated temperatures from down town… like really elevated. I think it's on fire." Said Aoba.
"On fire? Are the cameras up yet?" Asked Ritsuko.
"Hold in a moment. They're rebooting...aaaaaand we have a visual. I'm bringing it on screen now." Said Aoba.
The screen lit… and the room fell silent.
The screen displayed an aurora borealis of only orange that filled the whole sky and bathed the world in amber. The air around it simmered in the most unnatural way, almost like the very air itself was boiling like a liquid, and at the center was the fire. A massive ball of flame that hovered in the air, moving in ways fire could not. Flames so high that they looked like they licked the sky above. Below it were long squirming bands of fire that moved like tentacles. It was while they were staring into that fire that they saw the images in those yellow and orange blotches, the momentary faces that appeared in the flames. Faces of glee, faces of hate, and faces of agony hidden in the swirling inferno.
As its flaming tentacles passed under it, the horrid groans of heated metal bellowed out as the metal supports of skyscrapers melted and they slowly began to fall. The brickwork itself seemed to catch on fire as flaming rubble fell to the ground. No one ran, those trapped below were already dead from suffocating as the flames ate the oxygen in the atmosphere. Some were still alive, their hands to their throats as they tried and failed to get fresh air into their lungs, only to take in choking smoke that blacked and roasted them from within. Looking carefully, those who were choking had their chests and throats glow orange as their blood boiled in their veins and the flames devoured them from the inside out. The fat on their bones ignited as they flailed around in unimaginable agony. Becoming little more than fuel for the growing fire. Then the massive orb of fire fell, spiralling around the falling skyscraper like a flaming tornado as everything it touched was ignited and scorched by the alien conflagration that drowned its surroundings in an ocean of flame.
Before anyone on the bridge could say or do anything, a word filled the air, a word that was only partly made of sound. It was a deep crackling, sputtering, snapping, roaring, popping, and sizzling sound with a noticeable reverb, but beyond these sounds the word was also an alien sensation, like the feel of pop rocks on the tongue or the sun's harsh heat on raw blistered skin. The vocalization even reminded Ritsuko of the burning feeling she had the one time she tried, and failed, to put a cigarette out on her tongue. It was an alien vocalization, but it was unmistakably there. It was tangible, and it was clearly a word, albeit one that gnawed at the back of the mind in the most unpleasant of ways. A word filled with an abstract sense of hate and malice and scorn, but without any real direction or meaning. A single word that filled the air and proved that whatever that fire was, it was undoubtedly alive, and everything it saw looked to it like kindling.
"BURN!"