My great thanks toTodaBruh, who kindly chose to use some of his free time to be my beta reader!
The Hunter's Dream, meeting of Gods.
"So, the matter of Alexstrasza aside, let us continue this meet and greet, shall we?" I declared, turning back to the booklet to see who was next on the Eldritch list of potential servants for me.
"Yes please, before we lose ourselves in these two's ability to seduce anything they want to bed." deadpanned Lucy.
Oedon patted her on the shoulder. "Don't be jealous, I'm sure we can convince Alexstrasza to have sex with all of us together as well." cheerfully said my wife. "We'll make a proper orgy of it!"
"That's not what I meant!" Lucy cried out.
Oedon blinked innocently at her. "It's not? Because you certainly enjoy the way Rebecca goes down on you, so I know you enjoy lesbian sex as much as if it is with a dick or tentacles…"
Lucy put her face in her hands. "Please, just… focus on what we're here for." she groaned, even as the Eldritch goddesses around looked at the scenes with varying degrees of amusement.
Taking pity on Lucy, though not without grinning at the exchange, I opened the next portal, showing… a giant humanoid bird-like goddess with red tentacles coming out of her back?
Huh.
Tiarra'tnuananx, Suffer No Enemies, announced the Booklet.
My eyes met the gaze of the Goddess, and where every other being had been deferential, this one instead looked at me for even a single hint of weakness.
My instincts flared, and my eyes narrowed, the Hunter part of me recognizing a fellow Hunter assessing me and deciding if I was prey or Hunter in my own right.
A silence fell on the gathering as the Goddess and I refused to look away, even as my power let me know that this was a downrightancientGreat Old One I was looking at… and one who could easily become an Outer Goddess had she willed it.
I could tell with a glance the kind of person she was: someone old and tough, who cared only about whether those before her were strong or weak… worthy warriors to test, or weaklings barely worthy of her notice.
This was the kind of Goddess that would charge to her death with a smile, as long as the one who killed her was a strong warrior.
Finally, the goddess nodded, visibly satisfied with what she had seen, still looking surprisingly unbothered by the weight of my gaze and the power held within it.
"I am Tiarra'tnuananx, and I grow weary of my self-imposed cycle, Lord of Azathoth. Perhaps being your shield will grant me a true challenge. Either way, I am yours, if your arms can handle this mighty shield." the Goddess spoke, with a firm voice holding no hesitation.
Kass stepped forward, sending a slightly wary look at the old goddess.
"Tiarra is a Great Old One, emphasis on theOld. She probably could have tried to become an Outer Goddess, but instead chose her own odd form of retirement: she visits inhabited worlds, wreaking havoc with her Spawnlings, but never wiping the planet's population out. She does this to weed out the weak and motivate the strong to get stronger. After she feels her part is done, she will pretend to be defeated and either hibernate or leave the planet altogether."
I gave a thoughtful look at the goddess. I couldn't say I was pleased with what was essentially a multi-genocidal goddess as a servant… but better under my service and directed at worthy targets than left free to inflict more death upon unexpecting worlds.
"Her name has two meanings, now three." continued Kass. "Once it meant that she killed her enemies too quickly to really have any. Later it meant that she had no enemies to hate, only opponents to fight. Now? Now it means that she will not allow any enemies to touch you."
Kass then grimaced. "Fair warning though, she's never really interacted civilly with mortals, so it'll take a while for her to take any mortal form… And resist killing mortal weaklings."
I mentally sighed. Well, they couldn'tallbe well-adjusted individuals who I could easily help.
That'd be way too easy.
Still, I could definitely make use of her, and if nothing else, I can keep her away from mortals she'd consider killing on the spot.
"If it is strong enemies you wish for, have no fear, I can direct you to plenty of those." I said to the Goddess watching me like… well, a hawk. "So I'll gladly take you into my service, though do understand that if you are to serve me, that means no killing those I do not give you permission to kill. You will be representing me, I trust that you can keep your weapons sheathed when needed?" I questioned firmly, my gaze unyielding as I stared into the goddess' eyes.
Again, she seemed to take my measure for a moment, before nodding. "It will be as you say, Lord."
I smiled. "Good. And fear not, I intend to give you reason to obey by proving myself in the only way you'd accept: through combat."
There was a shift in the local goddess at my words, but my gaze remained firmly upon the old Goddess, who for once seemed surprised… but pleased.
"You seek to challenge me, Lord?" questioned the Goddess, her gaze as sharp as the Burial Blade.
"I will earn your obedience by making you kneel, Tiarra'tnuananx." I replied without hesitation, my expression as cold as steel.
Again, for the first time, the goddess reacted with a new emotion: approval.
"I look forward to seeing you try,my Lord." she declared, before cutting the connection, visibly satisfied by this meeting.
"... What just happened?" questioned Shub, looking bewildered.
"Hunter negotiations." I replied, with Oedon shaking her head with amusement.
"You are sure about this, beloved?" asked Azathoth, who quite obviously hadn't expected this to escalate like this.
"I am. Don't worry, I can handle her." I said with confidence I fully felt.
A single look at her was all it took to let me know that, while certainly strong… Well, she definitely wasn't Saitama.
We might wreck a solar system or two, but honestly that's downright insignificant for me.
But it would earn her loyalty and obedience, andthathad value.
Besides, displays of power were something I needed to give to establish myself in this reality, and this worked perfectly.
Aza still gave me a slightly concerned look, but a single glance from me and a mental message consisting only of"Saitama"made her grimace but nod.
I took a moment to be amused at how Saitama unknowingly became the boogeyman for Azathoth. This was honestly hilarious to me.
The fact ahumanachieved that made me quite happy and proud, not gonna lie.
Nonetheless, I opened the booklet with a grin, opening the next portal-
I froze, my smile slipping away instantly at the sight before me.
Oedonfroze, a rare look of horror followed by rage and sorrow flashing in her red eyes.
The local goddesses froze as well, mostly because of the sudden pressure both me and my first wife emitted at this moment, our eyes burning with power as we stared at what stood beyond the portal.
Nusha'urraatst, the Mother of Feast, announced the booklet.
A pale, emancipated hand covered in blood reached towards us, blood-red eyes burning with bloodlust and madness underneath messy and dirty white hair staring at us with a mix of deep hunger… and the faintest hint of deep desperation and fragile hope.
"So hungry. Feast. Flesh. Spawn. Kill. Eat." rasped a voice, thethingon the other side probably barely even speaking much or at all in a long time, her nude, filthy and unnaturally thin humanoid body on full display. A flicker of horror and heartbreaking hope shone in her eyes as she stared at me and my first wife with the barest shred of her remaining sanity, probably gathered together for the sake of this single moment. "Help us…Help me."
The portal froze, both me and my wife acting at the same time.
For a long moment, no one said anything, before I spoke.
"Oedon."
"On it, Good Hunter." coldly replied my wife, an armor of Blood coming around her form before her spear flashed in her hand.
A moment later she stepped through the portal, her face a cold mask of fury and sorrow… alongside the determination to make things right.
The portal closed behind her, and I let out a breath.
Yeah, that… that had hit way too close to home.
"Hm… What just happened?" asked Yidhra, looking quietly freaked out by me and Oedon's reaction to the latest portal.
I glanced at Kass. "If you would?"
The goddess nodded, just a tad shakily. To be fair, seeing both me and Oedon furious at the same time would intimidate anyone sane.
"That… that was Nusha'urraatst, the Blood Goddess… or what she became. She was an Elder Goddess verging on becoming a Great Old One who was ambushed and tortured, left for dead in the Abyss by an unknown foe. Vampires, as mortals know them, aren't real, all 'vampires' are an Eldritch or servants thereof. Until Nusha came around… though as you saw, things did not end well for her." she added with a grimace.
Then she took a deep breath, and continued. "Thus, you get what you saw: A gluttonous, blood-sucking, flesh-eating mad Empress. She spawns Vampire Queens from herself, something between daughters and lesser-clones, who act as broodmothers for the growing blood-hungry swarm in service of their insane deity."
Kass turned towards Yog and nodded her way. "Yog has foreseen that the first Eldritch deity to offer her and her daughters their blood can help them recover who they used to be, along with their more natural forms. The result, we hope, will be an eternally loyal and grateful Queen-Goddess who won't unleash her people upon the material universe."
There was a moment of silence, before Lucy paled in realization.
"Wait, wasn't Oedon-"
"A goddess of Blood who used to be around that level of power, yes." I said with a sigh. "And one who ended up watching her entire civilization fall to madness and an orgy of blood… Twice, counting Yharnam the Queen, and Yharnam the city. Seeing the local goddess of Blood like this… Well. And don't get me started on the fate ofCainhurstand its queen, at least before I showed up."
Lucy grimaced deeply, and I had to admit, I certainly didn't enjoy seeing the local equivalent of my wife like…this.
A broken, insane, agonized madwoman begging for help.
There was a part of me that wanted nothing more than to go hunt the bastard responsible down… But no.
This was Oedon's time to shine. Her time to heal the sick, and Hunt the guilty.
And that thought… That thought made me smile.
I was going to see my first wife actually go and Hunt an Eldritch God down.
That was going to beimmenselyenjoyable.
But for now…
I took a deep breath, and looked back at the booklet.
"Let us continue. We're not done yet." I said.And if there are more cases like this, I definitely want to know of them as soon as possible.
There was some hesitation from the goddesses around me, but I didn't give anyone time to say anything before opening the booklet.
Thankfully, the next portal showed me nothing like the last one, and in fact Aza immediately smiled brightly at the woman on the other side.
She appeared to be human, if incredibly pale-skinned, though the upper half of her face and head was hidden being some kind of mask/helmet, and her body had an ethereal quality that made her appear both human and inhuman at the same time…
My eyes narrowed, and a moment later the previously material being turned immaterial, and I felt like I was staring at a spirit.
Huh. A formless species which takes on forms both beautiful and strange to anyone watching. Neat.
Gacthaurshaaftxtt, Gaze of the Abyss, announced the booklet.
Interestingly, Gactha first turned towards Azathoth and bowed deeply, before doing the same to me.
"I am honored to serve, O King of the Unseen Truth. It shall be my honor to make into reality the designs of you and the All-Mother." she said respectfully.
"Hello, Gactha. I'm happy that you agreed to help my beloved with… all of this." Aza spoke up, sending a gentle smile at the woman.
Gactha smiled back, bowing her head slightly. "When the news of you having found a King were confirmed, me and my people knew that times were about to change. And in order to enact those changes, you would need agents to carry out your will… or as the case may be for our people, spies to keep an eye on your enemies. And so, here I am."
Lucy raised an eyebrow, glancing at Azathoth and Yog.
"You're giving Aeon your spies?"
Aza smiled, shrugging. "He is my beloved, I'm more than happy to share all that is mine with him." she paused, looking vaguely hesitant. "Though to be fair, considering his powers, spies aren't quite as useful to him as they would be for most gods."
Gactha tilted her head in visible confusion, and Aza smiled wryly at her. "My beloved is much like Yog, able to see all things across Space and Time… and beyond."
"I see." Gactha's gaze turned back towards me, but at Aza's words I shook my head.
"I firmly believe in not giving my complete faith in relying entirely on my powers. There exist beings capable of standing up against even me, after all, so an abundance of caution is never a bad thing. If you are willing to share your services to me as well as Aza, then I will gladly accept."
Gactha smiled, though Kass stepped forward.
"I think some background information might be useful to know, first, for Gactha isn't just a spy." Kass looked at me and Lucy, before speaking up again. "Gactha is a direct servant of Azathoth, her entire race is a by-product of Azathoth giving life to a specific world and selecting them as her spawnlings. Her species is actually formless and appears in a form that is both pleasing and strange to whoever or whatever is looking at them."
Kass nodded towards Gactha. "They are naturally immortal but Gatcha, one of Azathoth's favorites, is actually Eternal, and thus functionally as undying as anyone can get, for neither diseases nor battle can kill her. She leads a group better described as 'Battle-priestesses' or 'war-nuns' who fulfill Azathoth's will through assassination, subterfuge, manipulation, and whatever else needs doing."
She turned towards me. "Gactha and her people may or may not become more loyal to you than Azathoth, depending on how you treat them, but they would never outright betray her."
"For now," said Gatcha "we've decided to treat you as if you were Lady Azathoth herself."
"Understood. Well, I'm definitely going to make use of you, because I've got a feeling there's a lot of beings out there I'm going to want to deal with permanently." I told her, thinking of the whole thing with the maddened Goddess of Blood as a perfect example of a situation wheresomeonewas going to die for it. Painfully.
"Then we look forward to serving you, Lord of Azathoth." declared Gactha, bowing, and I nodded before closing the portal.
"I'd congratulate you on getting Battle-priestesses, but you already had some of those in the last world we were in." mused Lucy.
"You can never have too many Battle-priests and priestesses." I replied. "It's a big reality out there, there will always be some asshole's face to smash in with glorious holy violence." I finished with some amusement.
Also,battle-priestesses. What kind of man would I be if I didn't want many of those?!
I shook my head, then called upon the next portal.
Oh, another goddess. Humanoid, if with tentacles coming from her back and four coming from a protrusion behind her head. Grey-skinned, with two arms and legs, though with no mouth and two bright, glowing red eyes.
Shathxthfta, The Cycle, announced the booklet.
The goddess stared at me for a moment, before bowing her head. "I have played God for eons. Now, I will be your Demiurge." She spoke through telepathy.
Kass stepped forward, waving towards the goddess.
"Shathxt is a rarity. She is technically all three of the various forms of Eldritch Gods. She goes through space as a great mass of many-faced flesh, searching for a planet mostly or completely devoid of life, at which point she crashes onto the world to instigate a hyper-genesis, rapidly forming and spreading life while accelerating evolution. As her new world begins to fill with life, she emerges as a Great Old One, culling and encouraging her choices of creatures. Her new form will then 'die' to boost her favored race. From her own corpse, she will come as an Elder to finish her work, taking her new creations as her new cultists, before returning to the cosmos to heal and seek a new world."
Kass nodded at the goddess, before focusing on me.
I idly considered that it was a shame that she wasn't wearing a school teacher uniform, it'd fit her at this point.
"She still needs time before she is able to do her next hyper-genesis, but she is an expert flesh-sculptor. She will see herself as an instrument of your will, making lowly mortal creatures into your desired image. She takes, even desires criticism and directions, as she knows she's too used to following her own whims on these matters. She also doesn't judge you for what you ask her to make, so don't worry about embarrassing yourself."
"Right then." I mused, looking at the red-eyed goddess. "I'm going to welcome you, no doubts about that, but to be honest you're most likely going to spend a lot of time with my first wife. She's the life-focused deity of us two, after all, so she'll definitely want to 'talk shop' with you."
The goddess' gaze turned towards Lucy, but I shook my head. "My first wife is currently busy, as she's dealing with the whole matter with the maddened Goddess of Blood and her insane Queens."
Shathxt nodded. "Very well. Though do you not have any desire to create life yourself, Lord?"
"Oh, definitely, I'm just not as conceptually focused on it as my wife. My focus is more on elevating lifeforms through Knowledge and Enlightenment, and protecting it all from Evil. In short, my wife enjoys creating life, I enjoy making it grow, developing civilizations, and more." I replied.
Understanding flashed through her red eyes. "One to create life, one to guide it. I understand."
"Hmm, I'd like to join in, if possible?" spoke Shub, the subject matter personal enough for her to break her respectful silence as I was introduced to my potential servants.
I smiled at her. "Well, the more the merrier, so I'm sure Oedon will be happy to have your input, if you're willing to give it."
"I am." Shub said hopefully.
I nodded. "Then feel free to talk to her about it once she's done with saving her local counterpart."
I turned back to Shathxt, exchanging farewell and well-wishes before closing the portal.
"Right then, the next one is-"
I opened the portal, only to stiffen, my eyes turning a deep darkness resembling the Void for a second.
"Ah." I spoke, staring at the incarnation of the concept of Doom and Ruin on the other side. "Well, that's certainly quite the servant you're sending my way, Aza, Yog."
On the other side of the portal, a humanoid being sitting on a mutated abomination of a horse stared at me with two burning eyes, the two beings, humanoid and horse, connected to one another by red tendrils of flesh.
La'gusuun, Perdition, announced the booklet.
"I am Perdition, the Ruin of Worlds. What are you, my Lord?" asked the incarnation of Doom, his gaze piercing and visibly eager for an answer.
I stared at the being for a moment, my eyes still remaining as black as the Void, before Ianswered.
"EX NIHILO, THE END OF ALL THINGS."
The goddesses around me shivered, instinctive terror seizing them even as my words were for Perdition alone to hear and understand, though Aza swallowed at my words, and I had a feeling that she had heard atleastsome of that, the most fearsome of my Names and Titles.
The part of me that, if I wanted to, could act as the Incarnation of the Death of Creation, the Antithesis of Existence itself.
Needless to say… that was one part of myself I kept dormant at almost all times.
The mere mention of that name turned our surroundings lifeless and gray, light itself seeming to dim and die as a concept, emotions dampening and a feeling of inevitable End settling upon the hearts of the Deities around me.
Aza bore it the best, merely flinching slightly, but the other goddesses paled and shook as a nameless, incomprehensible dread took hold of them.
The only one to barely react was Perdition and his horse, who merely stared back at me for a long moment before Perdition bowed deeply.
"I recognize your Lordship, O Incarnation of the End. I will serve and obey."
"And I acknowledge your oath, Perdition. Whenever that part of me is ever required, I will call upon you and your faithful mount, and as you ride at my command, so too will civilizations fall." I replied solemnly.
"So mote it be." said Perdition, and with this encounter finished, his horse leaned forward and outright ate the portal, annihilating it instantly.
"I'm sorry to have to say this again, but… what just happened?" asked Yidhra, wide-eyed.
I remained silent for a moment, before looking at Kass. "First, why don't you inform everyone whothatwas?"
Kass swallowed, but agreed. "That was La'gusuun, which literally translates to 'Perdition' in every language in existence. In other words, he's an incarnation of Doom itself, and the result of too many Eldritch attacking the same place at the same time."
Yog spoke up next, her gaze fixed straight upon me. "Perdition found you interesting in a familiar sense, as both of you rose up from nothing and took powers from the death of Eldritch beings. He had, in his own unique way, an emotional investment in seeing for himself what you had become… And it seems that you answered his question to his satisfaction."
"So, again…what was that?" asked Yidhra, still trembling slightly.
I pursed my lips, but answered. "As a god, I embody countless concepts. I am unlike most deities, as gods tend to be focused on specific facets of Reality. I, however, am far more broad in what I hold dominion over. What you heard was the Name, the Title or, if you prefer, theAuthorityof one such Dominion. One that I call upon very, very rarely."
"So… what you are saying is that an Aspect of you resonated with Perdition so much that he instantly recognized you as its Lord, and swore to serve you with loyalty forevermore." Yog said, her gaze no less piercing than before.
I met her gaze without flinching. "Yes."
Yog paused. Then she sighed. "Well, that's going to terrify a lot of people."
I smiled wryly. "I am well-aware that beings associated with conceptual Ruin and the End of all Things are feared, Yog. Still, you do not need to be afraid, for I have, quite literally, embraced Reality, and I wish no harm on Aza."
"Even so, a lot of people are going to be afraid of that." warmed Yog.
"True. But contemplate this: I can bring the End of civilizations… but I can also choose to push it back. How valuable will be the ability to declare that the prophesied Doom of civilization will not actually come, or at least not for a long time?" I shot back.
I could see the local goddesses freeze at those words, and I did not need to read their minds to see the implications. Every pantheon tends to have prophecies of Doom. To hold the power to push those prophesied Apocalypses back further in time, or change fate entirely…
Yog sighed first, accepting that there was little anybody could do about things anyway at this point.
"Fine. Just do me a favor, please make sure that damn horse of Perdition stops eating parts of the Space-Time Continuum, just because I can fix it doesn't mean I like to do so!" The Goddess of Time heartedly requested, showing that it must have been a long-time issue for her.
I snorted. "Okay, I supposethat'sfair enough. Anyway, next portal!"
Not letting anyone else comment on what happened, I forcibly moved things along by opening the next portal…
And Lucy immediately smirked at the sight.
I stared at the…dog-like plant elemental.
On the one hand,dog.
On the other hand, I had nothing against plants…
Gugurshaguastghuug, Dog of the Goatswood, announced the booklet.
I looked at Shub. "You're giving me the ancient guardian of the place where the Thousand Youngs grew up?"
Shub gave me a gentle smile. "It has been guarding the sacred woods where some of my cultists gather on Earth ever since I got better at raising my children. If you can give him a better job than merely guarding a forest, I don't mind him being in your service."
I looked back at the plant elemental, thinking of how good of a Hunter something like that could become.
Gugur bowed towards me. "Hail, Master of my Mistress! I am but a Hound. I guard and Hunt. If that doesn't interest you, then I am afraid I will be of little help to you."
Shub grimaced slightly, before giving me an apologetic smile. "He's also quite blunt, so please excuse him for his honesty."
"It's fine, I'm a God of Truth as one of my primary Domains. I appreciate honesty." I replied, before hesitating for several long seconds… and then sighing deeply.
"Oh,fine. A plant elemental would make for a great Hunter, no doubt about it. I won't say no to more Hunters, that'd be stupid." I grumbled, mentally sighing over the fact my pragmatism will always win over my dislike of dogs.
At least he barely looks like a dog. And he isn't on fire. In fact, he probably hates fire! Good enough.
Lucy blinked in surprise at my side. "Uh. I almost expected you to say no."
I gave a quick glare. "I'm not petty. I won't reject someone coming to me in good faith just because I have a dislike of their species… And he's a lot more plant elemental than he isdog."
Shub blinked. "You dislike dogs?"
"I dislike being set on fire and burning to ash." I replied with a deadpan. "Unfortunately, a certain dog on fire I fought in the past did just that. Repeatedly. And that's without mentioning the maddened, mutated regular dogs that got me when I first started out at Yharnam…" I trailed off, sighing. "But I'm not one for pettiness and pride, so fuck it, I'm not going to be an ass to someone who did nothing to me and wants only to help."
On the side, Aza's eyes lost focus for a moment as she thought back on my memories, before she flinched and grimaced.
"Oh. Yes, that… I can see why dying so painfully and repeatedly would leave its mark." she muttered, a disturbed look on her face at the memories of me dying.
"Meh. Pure murderous intent carried me through, in the end, and the supplex I caught the bastard in that second time was incredibly satisfying, so it's fine." I told her, shrugging, before turning back towards Gugur.
"Anyway, you're in! Just give me some time to finish things up here, and I'll get you set up as a Hunter of the Dream soon enough. As I said, I can always use more Hunters."
"Then I look forward to Hunting in your name, Master of my Mistress." said Gugur, before I closed the portal.
"... You know, I'm starting to really be interested in whatexactlyyou got up to in the past the more I hear about it." said Kass, with the other Goddesses nodding.
Lucy and Aza grimaced, though, since they knew all too well what I went through.
"Long story. Let's talk about it later, we've got all eternity to get to know one another after all." I pointed out, before focusing on opening the next portal.
Which showed me an octopus-looking God in a swamp, one whose' translucent body had to be very acidic because there were bones of various beings, animals and humans, showing being eaten away through his see-through body.
Tghanlhu, the Cthulhu of the swamp, announced the Booklet.
The God stared at me, before… speaking in a surprisingly posh accent?
"Welcome, your Highness, and please make yourself at home. Forgive the stench, I'm not sure if it is myself or the swamp. I'm unsure how to greet Royalty properly, but to my understanding, you're still getting used to being Royalty. I'm afraid of being of little use to you in the grand scheme of things. All the same, I hope to make your acquaintance further in the future. Good day. Oh, and mind the natives on the way out. They taste terrible."
I blinked at the torrent of words being sent at me. Well, he certainly was quite friendly?
And apparently thought that human beings tasted terrible, which was good, certainly.
Yog took over Kass for this one, smiling as she spoke of him.
"Rumored to be the recently hatched bastard son of an ancient affair that Cthulhu had with a swamp creature, Tghanlhu is a relatively young Eldritch that lurks in the swamps of South America. While he feeds indiscriminately on humans and animals, he is in no way evil or malicious. He is also very weak, barely an Elder God in power yet. That said, he is surprisingly well-mannered when not eating and can speak twenty languages (learned by those he devoured) including English. And Klingon, if you can believe it. While his options are limited, he does love to read."
She paused, looking at the bones floating in the God's body. "He can limit his diet to small animals and can stick to the sewers if taken out of the swamps. His greatest power is that it is impossible for anything to hide from him, even another Eldritch. That and his miasma will blind anything below Great Old One for a short time while killing anything mortal in minutes."
She looked back at me, though not before glancing at Aza. "Aza and some others have been looking for a good foster parent for him as Kass has her hands full with her own children and Cthulhu is a bit stuck… And he's not really convinced that Tghanlhu is his to begin with. Which is fair, because he's not the only Octopus-Eldritch. If you want to help him, feel free, but please keep him off the Internet for a long while yet?"
I peered at him, before frowning.
"I mean, I don't mind helping him out, but he really is a Child of Cthulhu, so I don't want to get in the way of that."
Kass and Tghanlhu visibly paused at those words, before Kass spoke up, visibly surprised. "Truly?"
"Yup. I…" I pursed my lips, hesitated, thenspoke.
"DATA."
The deities all around me, Tghanlhu included, blinked or stiffened at my word.
"Oh, wow. That's some very nice True Speech. Perfect mix of sound, ideas, concepts, and more into a greater whole." Yog said, recovering first, her eyes looking at me thoughtfully, though the other goddesses weren't far behind.
I shrugged. "It's one of the best methods of communication I know of, when you have to give a lot of information in a perfectly clear and efficient manner quickly."
I looked back at Tghanlhu, and smiled at him. "Well, either way, I think the best way I have of helping you out is simply to reunite you with your dad. So give me some time, and I'll get to bringing back Cthulhu and his city… without causing chaos to Humanity, that is."
"Wait, what? Can you really do that?!" exclaimed Kass, wide-eyed.
I shrugged. "Meh, as far as I can tell it's just a matter of creating a pocket dimension capable of containing him and his city while holding back the psychic backlash of his return, anchor that dimension to various places on Earth for ease of travel, and bam, Cthulhu can have his own personal realm while at the same time being free to come and go on Earth at will."
I paused, then smiled. "Also, that way if he ever decides to go to another world, or needs to leave once the Sun dies or something, he can just create anchor points to another world, through local cults for example, close down the anchor points on Earth, and he'll be golden. That's the advantage of having a dimension connected to the local Space-Time Continuum, with the right skill you can anchor it pretty much anywhere."
The goddesses stared at me, dead silent.
I hummed in thought. "Of course, he can also personalize his dimension, put as many defenses onto it as he wants, etc. I'll give him some basic stuff by default, of course, but I suppose that he can always commission me for more later on, if he wants to. Or just ask me to teach him, that's fine as well."
"And… How long will it take for you to do that?" questioned Kass, looking… rather stunned.
"An afternoon, I guess?" I replied, tilting my head in thought. "Honestly, if we use telepathy to communicate, Cthulhu and I should be able to set everything up pretty quickly, it'll take longer to plan it all than to create everything, really."
I laughed. "I mean, it's not like you're asking me to create a quintillion multiverses, each with their own laws of physics, magic and more planified down to the last atom, you know! That'd require my True Self to do it, this is just something I can do with-" I looked down at myself. "-this simple avatar of my True Self. Hardly a challenge."
I looked up, blinking at the stunned faces staring at me, though Lucy had her face in her hands and Aza was grinning widely at me.
"What?" I asked.
Before anyone could say anything, Aza spoke first, golden eyes twinkling merrily.
"I think that you will find that most people aren't able to casually create a pocket dimension capable of containing a Great Old One and his entire city in an afternoon, beloved." she said with amusement.
"Really? Surely there's a whole bunch of Outer Gods capable of easily doing that?" I replied, looking at her in surprise.
"Not in an afternoon's worth of work, no." deadpanned Yog-Sothoth, the other goddesses around her looking very much in agreement with her words.
I paused, then shrugged. "You think that there would be Eldritch Gods interested in having their own personal domains out there?" I asked Aza.
"Oh, most certainly." she replied, still highly amused.
"Well, I'll have to keep that in mind." I mused, before looking at Tghanlhu. "So, if you ever want your personal realm, don't hesitate to call me!" I said cheerfully.
"I shall keep it in mind, Lord." respectfully said the "young" Eldritch God.
With that, a few moments exchanging farewell and I was ready to open the next portal.
Though I did hear Kass muttering to herself about "An afternoon" several times with a stunned look on her face.
Then I opened the next portal, and her focus snapped instantly towards the two figures on the other side, the goddess freezing in place with a storm of emotions on her face.
Two young nagas women with white hair and red eyes stared back at me, though I caught their gaze glancing at Kass for a second, their own storm of emotions flashing through their eyes before they refocused on me. From what I could see, they were both imprisoned in a very wide, well-furnished cell… but a prison cell all the same.
Nctosa and Nctolhu, Twins of Cthulhu, announced the booklet.
Well, would you look at that, I thought with amusement.Speak of the guy, and more of his children pop up.
"Will you let us out, sir?" "Mother told us to be good for you, sir." "We'll be very, very good to you, sir." "May we please play, sir?" They spoke one after the other.
Kass stepped forward, her hands trembling only slightly as she looked at me with a desperate hope that she tried very hard to hide.
"The twin daughters of… of Kassogtha and Cthulhu, they are currently locked up in the Eye of Jupiter, the Eldritch community's equivalent of a juvenile prison. They were sent there after causing too much trouble, even for us, but I…" Kass swallowed thickly, blinking back tears. "Their motherhas been pleading a case for their freedom for eons. They've currently taken the form of Nagini, likely out of boredom."
Kass looked at me, expression firming. "They are very mischievous and free-spirited young Eldritch, but they will obey you and accept any punishment to avoid being locked up again. Due to being twins and former trouble-makers, they come with a two-for-one deal." She took a deep breath. "Azathoth will get you cages or even a dimensional room to lock them in time out if you want."
Yog caught my eyes, her mind reaching to me when our eyes met.
'Via ill-conceived pranks, they are directly or indirectly responsible for the destruction of five worlds, six spawnlings races, one elder god, three Avatars, ten cults, and two dozen world's worth of Necronomicons. Please keep them on a short leash.' she informed me.
I said nothing, merely staring out at the two "young" Eldritch within their prison.
Then I smiled. "Are you sure about this, girls? Because I'm a father myself, and as my adopted daughter can tell you, I can be quite creative when I want to teach someone a lesson."
Somethingin my gaze made them shiver, but to their credit they didn't back down.
"We'll be good, sir." promised Nctosa. "We won't cause problems, we promise." agreed Nctolhu.
I nodded. There was a complicated mix of emotions within them, but I could tell that, at the very least, there was a big part of them that did want to make their parents proud, instead of disappointed.
I could work with this… And Oedon would have never refused their pleas, anyway.
"Very well then. I will help you." I finally declared.
Kass almost collapsed in relief, but restrained herself to closing her eyes and sagging on herself, sighing deeply.
The twins smiled, gratefulness shining in their eyes.
A moment later they shapeshifted intohuman women, though still with white hair and red eyes.
"Thank you, sir." "You won't regret it, sir." they spoke together, bowing towards me.
"I'll come to get you two soon. For now, I need to focus on finishing things here. See you later, girls." I replied, before closing the portal.
Then I stepped towards Kass and put a hand on her shoulder, my expression kind. "Hey, it's okay." I said gently. "I'll get them to shape up, I promise you."
Kass swallowed, blinking back tears before looking away, taking a deep breath, and exhaling deeply.
Then she looked back at me and smiled, the sheer relief and hope in her eyes almost painful to see.
"Please. I… did everything I could think of. I… I just…" she let out a trembling breath. "Please."
I nodded, gently hugging the woman who looked like she really needed it. Considering her whole life story seemed to be filled with tragedy, it's not surprising that she was so desperate for help.
Kass took a moment to recover, but seeing hope for the first time in far too long for her daughters visibly shook her. Adding to it my own words about helping someone she once loved, Cthulhu, and it definitely took her a bit of time to recover fully.
Still, she eventually stepped back, looking faintly ashamed of her moment of weakness, even if all goddesses present only looked at her with sympathy.
"I… Thank you." she took a deep breath, using magic to wipe away all signs of what just happened. "We should keep going." she declared, her voice still weaker than normal.
I gave her a look, but after a moment I nodded, and opened the next portal.
I blinked at what stood on the other side, as a naked, beautiful harpy with white hair and blue eyes stared at me with a despondent look. My vision broke through her beauty, showing a terrifying harpy monster with tentacles coming out of her mouth underneath her humanoid form.
Ftu'gurshanattanga, Bird of the messenger, announced the booklet.
"You are to be my new master. Yet, you were mortal, as was I once. Fate made me a servant, and you a king among the Gods. Interesting how that works." she muttered, staring at me with a complicated expression.
Kass took a deep breath, then stepped forward, falling back into her previous role.
"Ftu'gursha was once a priestess in Ancient Egypt, until Nyalathotep converted her under the guise of the god Set. She is an excellent spy and has dropped many a warrior's guard with her pleasing form before exposing her other one. She was removed from Nyarlathotep's services after the incident with Infesta. Thanks to the Crawling Chaos' general disposition and treatment of her, Ftu'gursha is a very depressed person lacking much hope. Being kind will help some, but how you rule at Azathoth's side will be the ultimate factor in how she changes, numb to the cosmos or relieved that reality isn't as terrible as she had thought."
I looked at the ancient priestess, before smiling as I answered her. "And yet, here you are, free of that which changed your life for the worse, and now about to enter the service of the king that was once mortal. Who knows, perhaps things can get better, in the end? What do you have to lose, by daring to hope? If you need proof that Reality isn't as bad as you thought, then I will prove it for you." My expression turned more solemn. "The night, and the nightmares, were long… But dawn always comes, Ftu'gursha. And I intend to show that fact to all of Reality, one day."
The priestess stared at me for a long moment, then shrugged. "We shall see, I suppose. Do not expect me to believe you."
"I do not." I replied. "For I ask only to trust your eyes, as I work to make reality a better place, day after day."
The woman said nothing, but I could tell she would watch, and whatever shred of her still had faith in a brighter tomorrow would hope. A fragile, flickering ember… but hope, all the same.
Closing the portal, I opened the next, and with one look could already tell that it was going to be a very different encounter.
The red-skinned humanoid woman with red smoke coming out of her head relaxing on the ground of a dream-like realm, her emotions feeling much like someone getting high on the good shit, kind of gave it away.
As did the sudden blush on Aza's face and the spike of embarrassment and slight guilt she felt at the sight of her.
The woman grinned at me, waving a hand in my direction.
"Ahh, consorting-King of marrying-Thoth! Pleasure is all mine, but please have some. Come, relax with me, I do it best."
Tnukauragat, Smokes of Ages, announced the booklet.
I glanced at Kass, a dry look on my face.
She smiled in amusement back at me.
"Tnukau is one of several dozen spirits, for lack of a better word, that inhabit a dream-like realm that is exclusively for people experiencing visions and hallucinations. They are the ones responsible for all the weird things people see when they get high… All the things not induced by Eldritch influence and/or madness, of course. Unsurprisingly, they can reproduce the effects of most recreational drugs."
Kass sent an amused look at Aza, who blushed harder, before looking at the red-skinned woman.
"As for why she is here? Well, she lost a bet and had to have an arm-wrestle contest with Azathoth. You might have heard of punching Cthulhu, but try getting tossed around by Azathoth herself. That left Tnukau tangible and unable to return home. Despite Tnukau being very… chill about all of this, Aza feels responsible for this and would deeply appreciate you watching after her while we all try to fix this. Feel free to sample or figure out how to recreate Tnukau's smoke in the meantime."
I stared at Tnukau, then looked back at Aza with deep amusement.
"An arm-wrestling contest." I repeated, with Aza turning bright red.
"She challenged me! And I thought it could be fun, and… Well, I didn't expect that I would end up throwing her across dimensions when she lost." she finished with an adorable pout and blush while looking away.
"Hm-hm." I hummed in amusement, teasing her for a moment before looking back at Tnukau.
Still, as funny as it was, she was still stuck unable to go home, and that was just not right.
I looked at her through Cosmic eyes, piercing beyond her form to the power of Azathoth clinging to her.
A moment later, I stepped forth, through the portal to lay a hand on the woman's arm.
"What are you-"
"Supreme Logos."
An explosion of power surrounded me and Tnukau, the goddesses behind me crying out in shock as my form glowed with power, power that I shaped to my will and wielded against that of Azathoth.
It fought back, trying to keep the woman constrained in her tangible form, but I didn't let it.
This was but a mere fraction of my new soon-to-be-wife's power, it held nothing against me.
With a thought, I focused my power… and unleashed it.
"Truth."
A shockwave of power echoed across countless dimensions, focused on the woman I was touching, my power banishing all hints of Azathoth's power away from her, cleansing her of all that was not "her" instantly.
Then I called the power back into me, satisfied as I watched the now intangible woman stare at me in shock.
"There. Now you can go home." I said calmly.
"What… What did you do?" asked Kass, but Yog answered, eyes wide.
"He called upon his Authority as Ruler of Creation to separate everything that was conceptually [Azathoth] away from [Tnukau]. And he did that without accidentally burning her away to nothing, which isdefinitelywhat would have happened if any of us had tried the same."
I stared at the wide-eyed goddesses, and sighed. "Theydefinitelyneed a lot of training."
Lucy, naturally, looked at me somewhere between amused and resigned, shaking her head to herself and mumbling about "better them than me."
I looked back at Tnukau, smiling. "Anyway, as I said, problem solved. Just don't try to challenge any Outer God again, okay?"
She stared, then nodded sharply.
"Great!"
Then I turned around, walked back home, and waved. "Until we meet again!"
And I closed the portal.
"Right then! Let's see the next person on the list, shall we?" I said brightly.
"So… Shouldn't we talk about all the impossible things he's doing, first?" questioned Yidhra.
Aza patted her on the shoulder with a sympathetic look on her face… betrayed by the amused glint in her eyes.
"I know the feeling, but he's on a roll, and I'm very much enjoying watching my beloved pull off miracles left and right, so let him be."
Yidhra sighed deeply. "As you wish, Lady Azathoth."
Ignoring the by-play, I opened the next portal.
And stared at the mutated, misshapen thing in the very, very vague form of a wolf on the other side, staring at me silently with bright orange eyes on his twin faces.
His limbs were all over the place, he had tentacles coming out of its body at random, and his two mouths were glowing a bright orange like his eyes.
Ghuftrshasg'unkt, Wolf That Drinks, announced the booklet.
The wolf did nothing, said nothing, merely kept staring at me in utter silence, not moving an inch.
The look in its eyes… I was pretty sure it had no real sapience, it was more like a robot than anything alive, for all that it was organic.
Kass stepped forward, looking curiously at the thing in the very vague shape of a wolf.
"Ghuft is an odd creature, created eons ago by Nug and/or Yeb. No one remembers which. Gift has a slot where a soul should be that allows it to be bound, unbound, and rebound to different Eldritch Gods. It has no real personality, existing much like a robot in a way."
She glanced at Yog. "It has gone through various owners over time. The latest, Yad-Thaddag, offered it to the mate of Azathoth. It should be noted that Yad might just be Yog pretending to be an Elder God for fun… Or Yad is her past self, for all we know."
Yog merely smiled smugly, visibly amused by her ignorance of the Truth of the matter.
Of course, I knew the Truth of it, and it was neither. Closer to the second, but not quite.
Yad was a paradox, a version of Yog created when she was far less skilled and ended up creating a lesser version of herself after meddling with Time without properly understanding what she was doing…
But that was a matter to address another time.
Kass looked back at me, finish her report. "Ghuft is an excellent weapon in many situations. He can murder entire towns if needed, track something across the cosmos, and can absorb his victims into himself. He needs to do this if damaged, but it can also be used to grant him new abilities and to harvest knowledge from an enemy's mind, which he can relay like a recording."
I hummed, hesitating for a moment, before beckoning the wolf to come forward.
He did so instantly, obeying much like a puppet on strings, going through the portal without hesitation.
I pursed my lips, but a moment later I sighed and sent him to rest under a nearby tree.
I had some ideas on what I wanted out of him, but I'd wait until Oedon returned.
She would definitely want to see what I had in mind happen with her own eyes.
Closing the portal, I opened the next one, putting the wolf out of my mind… for now.
On the other side of the portal was a humanoid woman, shoulder-length pale blond hair, golden eyes, gray skin, a long tail coming from her back, and wearing very little clothes… though the clothes were actually rocks fashioned into something resembling a bikini more than anything else.
Tthiaftlsu'ftaftugh, Sculptor from Below, announced the booklet.
The woman looked at me with thoughtful golden eyes, before speaking up. "Tell me, have you tried sculpting the heavens yet, Lord of Ancients? I want to know if it's anything like how we carve our cities below."
Kass spoke up next, waving towards the woman. "Long ago, a group of humans journeyed deep underground to escape the frozen grip of an Ice Age. They worshiped the Earth, or rather, the slumbering Outer God in the core of the Earth. She goes by Terra these days and has no intention of freeing herself. She didn't intend to become a planet but takes a motherly joy from it. Tthia's race became chthonic and live in the Earth's mantle, becoming the basis for stories of demons living in palaces of obsidian and molten rocks over lakes of lava. They are utterly immune to heat and fire, but sensitive to the cold. Cryophobia is somewhat common amongst her kind."
Kass smiled. "Tthia herself is an expert miner and sculptor, who has created stunning work of art and beautiful homes for the upper and lower classes. She hopes to be your servant and plead her case for her people to be allowed on the surface. Unlike Ftagxu and her spiders, Tthia's people might be able to live in peace with the humans. Her people have a bad history with the spiders though, so do be aware of that."
"Ah, the spiders." I mused, before looking at Tthia. "Just so that you may be aware, I intend to actually let the spiders go colonize a different world altogether. I take it that a similar arrangement wouldn't necessarily be acceptable for your people?"
Tthia paused. "How do you intend to let them colonize another world?" she questioned, frowning.
I snapped my fingers, a portal appearing next to her opening up on an alien world. "Like this."
She stared at the portal, carefully waved a hand through it, before looking up at the sky of that alien world for a long moment, a storm of emotions flashing through her face at the sky and its shining suns.
Her hand rose again, trembling slightly, as if to try and grasp the heavens above…
Then she let out a trembling breath and shook her head, taking a step back, a look of deeply conflicted denial on her face.
"I… would let your offer be known to my people, but we worship the Earth. To leave it would be…" she trailed off, but I understood.
However…
"And what if it was another Earth, an Earth from another dimension? I'm willing to let your goddess spread her consciousness to that Earth too, if it helps. There would be humans there as well, but… Let's just say that I would have more control over them, enough to ensure no war took place as a result of your people's arrival." I proposed.
Lucy frowned at my words. "Wait, which Earth-"
She froze.
"You're thinking of-"
"The Earth of Yharnam." I agreed. "If any Earth would be able to welcome an Eldritch-touched version of humanity, it's that one."
Lucy fell silent.
"I don't see Oedon disagreeing… And honestly, once you return there, it would be pretty easy for you to assume rulership over that world…" she muttered.
Aza tilted her head in confusion. "Isn't it very far from this reality, though?" she asked.
"For now." I replied with amusement. "But I intend to change that."
Aza and Lucy stared at me. "You intend to-"
"Bring Yharnam to this reality, yes. It is the rightful seat of my power and legend, it deserves to exist in the Prime Reality if I am to rule Creation." I nodded.
Yog blinked. "Wait… you intend to drag an entire planet across one side of the Omniverse to its center? Without destroying it and the people on it?!"
I shrugged. "I've got the Hunter's Dream linked to both sides, it's actually a lot easier than you might think."
Every goddesses, and Tthia, stared at me.
I glanced at them, then smiled wryly.
"You know, Oedon would barely even bat an eye at this."
Lucy opened her mouth… then closed it with a sigh.
"She wouldn't, at that. I swear, you're both crazy."
"I think the words that you're looking at are 'crazy awesome', my dear." I said smugly, before refocusing on Tthia.
"Alright, so I'm more than willing to accept you, but for the whole 'going to the surface' thing, we'll have to negotiate things over time. I'm not necessarily against you going up to the surface of your Earth, if need be, but that will shatter the current human civilizations' beliefs about what they think they know of the universe's history, the existence of the supernatural, and more. That's something I definitely need to talk to a lot of Gods about, so for now we have to put a pin on things to revisit later. That's fine with you?"
"As long as the idea is properly considered, my people will appreciate the help." replied Tthia, before she hesitated. "As for your offer of going to the surface of another Earth instead, I'll have to talk to my own people first."
I nodded. "Fair enough. Very well, we'll keep in touch then. Farewell for now, Tthiaftlsu'ftaftugh."
I closed the portal, looking thoughtfully in the distance as I considered the ramifications of this latest encounter, before shaking my head.
I could do that later. For now, there were still more people to talk about, and no doubt more issues to be taken care of.
I opened the next portal, looking at… a humanoid purple-coloured bird man, with bird cages on his back and in his hands?
"Good day, sir." respectfully bowed the bird-man. "What would you like today? Rare wines, exotic meats, a green-skinned humanoid of the female persuasion?"
I blinked.
Thuftftahsu, The Collector, announced the booklet.
Kass nodded towards the bird-man.
"Thuft has a complicated yet simple history. The complicated part is explaining why and how someone threw a bird at the Nameless Mist. Current bets are the Twins or Nyarlathotep. The simple part is everything after he emerged from it: Thuft is, as his title says, a Collector. A Collector of just about anything and everything. He's a Hunter and tracker like other servants, but his expertise is live capture. He can find just about anything in the cosmos you could want and bring it to you in a cage if need be. Or even if not needed, sometimes. He likes bird cages, ironically."
Kass paused, then shrugged. "He has a natural ability to be unseen by 99.99% of mortals unless he attacks. Many Eldritch pays him small fees for various requests that keep his collection going, but Yog has arranged a regular payment towards said collection if you pick him. Fair warning, he will likely get obsessed with games, movies, comics, anime- Earth culture in general if you unleash him upon that world."
I looked at him thoughtfully. I wasn't exactly someone interested in that kind of service, being more of aDeadthanAlivekind of Hunter, but…
Hm. Oedon might use his services to get various animals and the likes from across the Cosmos, and it might be wise to keep an eye on him, if he goes after sentient and innocent targets as his last words suggested.
"I believe that you might actually want to talk with my first wife, more than me." I honestly told Thuft. "She might be far more interested in your services, at least on a regular basis. As for me… The odd commission from time to time is not impossible, though rarer."
Thuft did not seem disappointed, merely nodding calmly.
"Very well. I presume that she is otherwise busy right now, if she is not one of the ladies present?"
"I'm afraid so, yes. Nonetheless, I'm sure we can find a time for a meeting-"
A bit more back and forth, and I gave my farewell before closing the portal.
Aza looked at me curiously as I did. "You know, I think it's the first time I saw you actually tell someone that you weren't really interested. Sure, you didn't accept everyone, but usually that's because you helped them out directly or something like that."
I shrugged. "As the Good Hunter, I seek the deaths of my preys. Someone focused on capturing things alive isn't really my focus."
Oedon, on the other hand, might be interested in getting someone willing to go out and bring exotic animals for her to look over. Goddess ofLife, after all.
Putting that aside for now, I focused on opening the next portal.
I promptly blinked, staring at the giant red and gray woman in the waters of some ocean on Earth, surrounded by dozens, maybe hundreds of giant red and gray tentacles.
She had some kind of mask-like growth over the upper half of her head masking most of her features except for her mouth and jaw, though the part of the mask at the level of her eyes was glowing a bright blue.
Rashunftattaxa, The Fathomless Eye, announced the booklet.
"You? The mate of the Nuclear Chaos?" her voice was visibly shocked, but a moment later she gathered herself, sounding slightly sheepish. "Forgive my disrespect, but the universe has changed much since I last awoke. Even the seas have changed."
I glanced at Kass, who looked at Rashun with sympathy and some fondness before looking back at me.
"The Great Old One Rashun is a Great Old One and cousin or inlaw of Cthulhu that moved to Earth during the big family move from Xoth. She was in a coma and buried at the ocean floor after R'lyeh sank. She's only recently come back to the waking world, so Cthulhu is still getting her up to speed."
She waved at the goddess. "Whereas Cthulhu merely appears as a tsunami with his cloaking capabilities, Rashun can, in fact, cause any form of sea events: tsunamis, whirlpools, hurricanes, etc. Capable of shape shifting, her lower half can be anything she desires: tentacles, human legs, crab legs, etc. She currently can't leave the planet since she's still recovering. That said, she would be the best for getting new Eldritch cities started as she was part of the planning crew for creating the various cities. She's also a surprisingly good motivator, and yes, I mean without using threats or violence at that."
She fell silent, and we glanced at the goddess, looking at me like I was some kind of strange creature beyond her understanding.
Kass smiled wryly. "If she stares at you strangely, well, remember that before her long sleep humans were still in the Neanderthal stage, if that. Just give her time to adjust, please?"
I held back a snort, at the mental image of an Eldritch Goddess waking up from her nap, taking a look around, and wondering why in the name of Azathoth there were hairless monkeys fuckingeverywhere.
No wonder the poor girl was in shock.
"It's fine." I replied, eyes dancing with laughter. "If I took a nap as long as hers, I dare say I'd wake up quite confused myself!"
I was still never going to forget the tale of the Eldritch goddess who went to sleep and woke up surrounded by hairless monkeys, though. It was too funny not to.
I shook my head, then looked back at Rashun. "Anyway, I certainly could use your help, since I have a lot of work ahead of me. And there's the matter of getting R'lyeh back to prosperity… So yes, I'll gladly welcome all the help you can give me."
Rashun stared at me, then smiled. "Well, if you ever need my services, feel free to contact me. Especially about getting R'lyeh back, poor Cthulhu and his people have been stuck where they are for far too long already."
"That they are. Fear not, helping him out is one of my priorities." I honestly replied.
And for many reasons, too. Beyond being the Eldritch God nominally in charge of Earth, and someone respected by all eldritch beings I've talked so far, bringing him back and getting him on my side would really help my rise to power.
I do so love it when therightthing to do is the same thing as thewisething to do. It makes everything so very simple.
Either way, I gave my farewell to Rashun, before a whisper from my True Self made me look at the next servant in the booklet-
And I stopped, blinking and gaping in shock.
"What do youmeanthe patron goddess of the Hindu pantheon is anEldritch Goddess?!"
A.N: Alright! Here is the next chapter in which we continue the events of Love Azathoth!
First, yes we'll get to see Aeon and Oedon with Alexstrasza, along with Oedon dealing with the mad goddess of Blood and the one who caused that. I'll just leave it all to after I'm done properly introducing the setting… or theEldritchside of things, at least.
Also, anyone willing to help me get the pictures of the characters I can't find myself would get my thanks, because my google-fu is weak, alas…
As an aside, one thing that is complicated is the power level of Eldritch gods… or rather, their capabilities. I mean, they are the most powerful gods in the setting, but I still have to explain things like the fact that they can't help Cthulhu out, even when they have enough power to casually wipe out multiverses. Yog, for example, would have barely blinked at the idea of creating a quintillion Multiverses… she balks, however, at the idea of creating it all perfectly down to the last atom. And that's something you'll see again and again. Create a galaxy? Snap of an Outer God's fingers. Create it down to the last detail? Impossible. Accidentally turn someone tangible when they should by right be intangible? Sure. Deliberately fix it without accidentally burning the person up to ashes? Impossible. Either they don't have the power to contest Azathoth's power, or they don't have the skill needed to do it without consequences on the mortal creature cursed to tangibility. And it goes on, as several more servants will show. As a result, you end up with Eldritch gods, again and again, being shocked not by the power, but the skill at using that power that Aeon is displaying.
Also, True!Aeon is of course aware of that, but finds it funny/more useful for God!Aeon to find out the true extent of that problem for himself. Thus God!Aeon thinking that what's he casually doing in his current form isn't impressive, when it really, really is by Eldritch standards.
Well, most Eldritch standards. There's one, glaring exception butHe'san exception in every meaning of the word…
Still, with all that being said, I hope you all enjoyed this update! Next time, we get to continue Aeon building up his retinue of servants, while meeting evenmoreEldritch ladies along the way