WARNING! This chapter has NOT been read over by TodaBruh, who is busy for a few more weeks to come!
The Abyss, Realms of Demon Lord Flauros and Yhidothrus.
Nozdormu glared at the gigantic form of the worm-like Demon Lord Yhidothrus, the twin Eldritch women and Perdition at his sides.
"This will be a hard fight. Are you all ready?" he asked.
"I am." Perdition declared, and Nozdormu tried his best to ignore the way the Space-Time Continuum shuddered and cracked at the sound of his voice.
The twin eldritch women nodded grimly, visibly less calm than Perdition, but brave and determined enough to stand their ground.
Nozdormu smiled at them all, his expression softening as he sought to once again express his gratitude.
"I understand that none of you have any personal reason to care about me and my people, but whatever your reasons to choose to help, let me once again thank you for being here."
Perdition replied with a single, sharp nod, his horse hitting the ground hard with one leg, the soil beneath him disintegrating into nothing… not that it bothered the horse, whose limbs seemingly just levitated on nothing without concern for gravity.
Nozdormu looked away- even as one blessed by an Outer Goddess, that nothing was just disturbing to peer into.
The twins, meanwhile, merely smiled, if a bit grimly. There was a story there, but it was neither the time nor place for him to seek to assuage his curiosity.
"Very well then." he sent a glance backwards, seeing his consort and child, along with the rest of his people, work quickly to bring their kin through the portal, his consort's eyes meeting his for a single second, an entire silent conversation flashing through between them before he looked away.
Yog-Sothoth be kind, they would all get to go back home in triumph this day.
If not… Well, there were worse ways to go than to die for the sake of one's future, or in this case, the dragonflight's children.
"Let us go!"
Rushing out on a balcony, his form shifted, becoming a great bronze dragon, a roar leaving his maw as he flew towards the second Demon Lord as fast as possible.
Behind him, Perdition's horse ran on nothing but air, leaving empty holes in the sky, and the white-haired twins shape-shifted, great wings of flesh and Eyes and impossible shapes and colors coming from their backs.
Again, Nozdormu tried not to look too closely… it felt like something was peering from those shapes and colors at the world beyond.
For now, he focused on what stood straight ahead. A gigantic, black-skinned worm stood tall, almost bloating out the sky with its sheer bulk, his enormous form surrounded on the ground by thousands of lesser worms. His maw was opened, showing off a seemingly endless number of teeth in rows that never seemed to end.
The Demon Lord's tail could barely be seen, but what little of it he could glimpse made him grateful for the blessing of his new patron deity, as the Lady of Time allowed him to see the unnatural, twisted nature of Time itself around and within the tail, looping and twisting and fraying into nothing and being born anew in impossible ways-
He gritted his teeth, pushing out the impossible sight for the sake of looking down at the lesser worms trying to make it within the citadel. Thanks to both the Eldritch Twins' help, and the army led by Gatcha, they weren't making any headwa-y, but it was only a matter of time before that changed.
The Demon Lord had to die, the sooner the better.
Refocusing on his prey, the Demon Lord obviously felt their coming as its eyes-less face turned to face them, pure malice radiating like a crushing wave from the Demon Lord before it roared!
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-!*
Nozdormu's eyes widened as he felt the unholy magic within that roar, and he flexed his magic, a blessing of Time spreading to his companions and protecting them just in time for the magic of the roar to reach them.
Perdition and his horse didn't react at all, but the twins shuddered slightly, before blinking in confusion.
"Did he just try to turn us to dust by linking this moment in Time with that of our deaths by old age?!" shouted Nctosa.
"He did!" Nozdormu shouted back with a dragon's gravelly voice.
"But… we're Eldritch! We're Eternal!" she shouted.
"Apparently, he didn't get the message!" he shouted back.
"He won't make that mistake again." warned Perdition.
And indeed, the Demon Lord obviously learnt from his mistake, as his next attack was far less harmless.
A second roar echoed across the landscape, and their eyes widened when the Demon Lord, despite his gargantuan body, suddenly blurred forward.
The monster, the size of a small mountain, rushed forward with unnatural speed, and any mortals who would have seen him would have puked blood at the violation of Space and Time on display. The way his body moved was wrong, but not in a way that felt Eldritch, but more as if the Demon Lord was deliberately, hatefully raping the very fabric of Reality to make it recoil and bow to his cruel will.
Nozdormu let out a draconic snarl of instinctual rage as he saw the cruel way the Demon Lord twisted the Space-Time Continuum, the sheer malice he could see offending him as one blessed by Yog-Sothoth.
He shifted, his form blurring as well before he flew out of the way of the Demon Lord. The twins followed suit, but Perdition did not.
Instead, the horse seemed to take the charge of the Demon Lord as a challenge, and he gained on speed, neither he nor his rider seemingly caring about the fact they were but ants facing a mountain of demonic flesh.
Nozdormu could almost feel the cruel glee from the Demon Lord as he opened his maw, rows upon endless rows of teeth about to come down on the fools who dared to challenge him-
And then the giant mouth closed around the horse and his rider, who kept charging straight ahead without a care in the world.
Nozdormu and the twins blinked, stunned silent as the two disappeared. For a moment, they flew in silence, expecting… something to happen, but as the seconds passed, their expressions turned grim.
Whatever plan Perdition had, it had seemingly not worked, and now they were already down one of their greatest potential heavy-hitter.
The twins snarled, faces twisting unnaturally in defiance even as the Demon Lord turned towards them, somehow managing to look cruelly satisfied even without anything more than an open maw for sole feature on his face.
The twins rushed forward, unleashing magic powerful enough to doom countries' worth of mortals into madness and death, impacting the giant Demon Lord with little more than a few flinches to show for it.
Nozdormu joined in, releasing bolts of weaponized Time and curses born from Paradoxes at the Demon Lord, flying around him and doing his best to avoid the giant maw of the monster from gulping him down in a single bite.
He peered into the possible futures, doing his utmost to both avoid his own death, but also help prevent those of his companions. With the blessing of Yog-Sothoth and her favor in this battle, he could see the future actions of the twins and act accordingly.
Trying to foresee the actions of the Demon Lord was much harder, however. Nozdormu had no doubt that the Lady of Time could do so easily, but his own Mind and Soul struggled to overcome the power of the Demon Lord. While to all watching their battle was one of magic bolts and deadly curses flying all over the place, to him it was a great game taking place on a board called the Space Time Continuum, where every move and their consequences had to be carefully considered. Over and over again did he see himself or the twins get eaten, crushed, or some other horrifying fate as the Demon Lord unleash deadly magic of Time to slow down, weaken, or even try and kill them with. And every time he had to abort a timeline, the Demon Lord gained a metaphysical advantage over him, one that was slowly but steadily growing. Quite bluntly, the Demon Lord's sheer toughness allowed him to ignore attacks that by all right he should not be able to handle, and that gave him the tools of victory over Nozdormu and his companions.
Thus, while Nozdormu played support and did his best to protect all three of them with his foresight and magic, the twins took over the offensive, flying around the enormous beast as fast as they could while striking at him constantly. Their teamwork was a thing of beauty, as their minds seemingly merged as one, ensuring they could react to each other's movement instantly.
After eons of living and fighting together, there was not a shred of hesitation and doubts in the way they fought together… And it was a very good thing, because the Demon Lord offered no mercy.
Time bent and broke around him, deadly spells and curses filled the air, and his body rippled in impossible ways as he occasionally avoided attacks by displacing himself within the Space–Time Continuum to guarantee that those seeking to strike at him would fail.
Worse, those attacks which did hit did far less damage than normal. It was as if his body was locked in Time, locked in a way that ensured that nothing but the greatest of attacks, magical or physical, could actually cause him any wound at all.
The twins did not give up, even in the face of the odds against them. Moving with inhuman grace, white hairs fluttering in the air and Eldritch wings carrying far faster than any normal wings should be able to, they kept striking at their foe, over and over again. Chaotic magic spells powerful enough to reshape the maps of countries were thrown at the Demon Lord in great conflagration of lights and thunder from the impact, and Reality itself seemingly bled as they held nothing back. Impossible colors and sound mixed with mind-breaking shapes as holes into Reality itself opened, mouths and tentacles appearing out of nowhere to try and take bites out of the Demon Lord. Curses inflicting horrifying bad luck mixed with more curious spells, such as the ones taken from something the mortal called "Looney Tunes," forcing the Demon Lord into falling into impossible pits and getting hit by impossible hammers or explosions.
But for all their combined efforts, the Demon Lord was not going down. His unnatural toughness protected him, his raw power made them struggle to not be overwhelmed, and despite Nozdormu's best efforts, challenging a Demon Lord inside his own realm was proving too much for all of them.
And then, just to hammer the point home even harder, the body of the Demon Lord rippled, and suddenly every wound he had taken, every victory paid for in blood just disappeared, as if they had never existed.
The three of them stared in stunned silence at the fully undamaged Demon Lord for a long moment, before the twins started viciously cursing.
"How the Fuck did he just heal himself like this?!" one of the two sisters hissed hatefully, a trail of blood blinding one of her eyes from a cut over her right eyebrow. Her clothes had seen better days as they were pockmarked with holes from withering curses, and her body shuddered from time to time from the efforts she had to spend in throwing those curses off herself.
"He turned back the clock on his body." revealed Nozdormu, his eyes glowing with the blessing of the Gate and the Key as he stared into the body and soul of his enemy. "Made it so he was 'never wounded' in the first place, or rather, that the wounds he took 'did not yet happen.' Then he cut off that possibility entirely, effectively 'healing' himself."
"Oh, that's such bullshit!" raged the other twin, one of her arm hanging limp after she had been in instant too slow to avoid a spell that would have turned her arm to dust if she had not quickly shattered it after being hit… though by then it was too late to avoid some damage, and now the limb hang limply, looking unnaturally thin and weak.
If she had five minutes, she could heal herself easily… but she did not have five minutes.
None of them did.
A fact proven a moment later when the Demon Lord roared again, and this time all three of them flinched in pain as the Demon Lord finally made full use of the metaphysical victories he gained against Nozdormu in their battles across potential timelines. The three shook as they felt themselves grow weaker, the curse afflicting them not strong enough to kill them outright but certainly strong enough to turn an already bad situation to grow even worse.
Nozdormu barely avoided falling on the ground, and yet he could feel the pressing weight of the Demon Lord over the Timestream, whispers of Demonic corruption now assailing his mind from potential futures where he was corrupted into serving the Abyss. The leader of the Bronze Dragonflight hardened his heart, ready to die before letting this outcome come to pass, but he knew their chances of victories were growing ever slimmer by the seconds.
The twin Eldritch daughters of Cthulhu, now left staring into the horrific body of True Evil unlike anything they had ever experienced in their long lives, found themselves digging deep in their divine birthright, both in terms of power and in terms of nobility. Cthulhu, the beloved Great Old One, the Brave One, the Honourable One, and a thousand other titles he rightfully earned, was their father- and now, more than ever, they needed to find the same inner strength that he possessed if they wanted to win this battle.
Blood dripping from their bodies, they glanced at each other, fear and growing exhaustion fighting against determination and a desire to not fail when they finally had been given the chance to make things right. To earn not disappointment from their parents, but pride.
The King of the Eldritch himself had put his trust in them. They could not afford to fail.
With matching grim looks of resolve, they looked at the Demon Lord before them and charged once more, uncaring of their dwindling reserves of power and steadily increasing wounds.
Behind them, Nozdormu did much the same. Every second of time they could gain could potentially save the lives and very souls of more of his kin. If he had to die, then there was hardly a better cause to die for.
Nctosa and her sister dodged a series of vicious withering curses, got out of the way of the lounging maw of the Demon Lord, and unleashed a continuous barrage of spells against the gigantic monster, causing bloody gouges in the monster's body. Holding nothing back, they released a stunning display of multicolored spells, each more powerful, vicious and chaotic than the last. The monster's blood gained life and turned against the Demon Lord, his flesh became twisted monsters and threw themselves at him and sought to feast on more of his flesh, the air turned so acidic it could potentially melt raw concepts into sludge and much, much more. The twins had learnt much from their eons of causing chaos and mayhem, and just as importantly, they had to learn much in order to defend themselves from vengeful gods and powerful beings in general.
And yet, this time, it was not enough.
Nctolhu screamed in pain when a curse slammed into her guts, causing her clothes to dissolve and her flesh to turn an unnatural black. In the background, Nozdormu cursed, the Demon Lord finally having gained the upper hand enough to almost completely blind his future sight, even with the blessing on his soul helping him.
"Sister!" screamed Nctosa, extending a hand towards her-
Only for three curses to hit her in quick succession.
With a shriek of pain, she fell down, crashing roughly on the ground and trashing in agony.
Nctolhu gritted her teeth, blood spilling down her mouth, as she rushed down and blocked a wave of curses from hitting her sister, though two slipped through and hit her instead, making her choke on the blood suddenly filling her throat.
She stumbled on the ground, one of her legs now a useless, twisted lump of flesh, and then crawled towards her sister, leaving a trail of blood behind her.
In the sky, Nozdormu fought fiercely, though they all knew that bitter defeat and death awaited them all… If they were lucky.
True, the twins had the King's personal promise of safety, but could he afford to personally pull them out of the Abyss with Queen Slann watching? Or would this act of compassion be the spark that would begin the war?
Nctolhu smiled grimly at her twin, who had managed to mostly break the curses on her by the time she had crawled her way to her… though that hardly made them any less doomed by now.
"We failed." Nctosa muttered sadly from where she lay in a puddle of her own blood, watching the increasingly desperate Nozdormu try to avoid more and more of the Demon Lord's magic. Her wounds would not kill her, Eldritch Gods were though, even one as weak as she was, but then again it was hardly like the Demon Lord was just going to leave them like this for long. As soon as he was done toying with Nozdormu, they were next.
"Yes." Nctolhu replied with bitter regret and frustration, her body trembling in agony as even breathing pained her. "We did."
Their purple eyes met, the same storm of emotions clear in each other's eyes, before they looked back towards the sky.
"So that's the kind of evil that our King seeks to destroy." mused Nctosa while watching the dommed struggle of their last fighting companion. "How frightening."
Nctolhu said nothing, but agreed. After eons seeing themselves at the top of Reality because of who and what they were, even if their actions made them heavily disliked, it was a harsh wake-up call to see that, in the end, non-Eldritch beings could still defeat them. All their power, knowledge and experience had ultimately earned them nothing but a pointless struggle against the inevitable.
How humbling.
How enraging.
"Is this what our father felt when his city sank?" mused Nctolhu. "Despair? Anger? Frustration? The feeling that, for all your power, you just weren't good enough, after all?"
"Have we ever been?" asked Nctosa, spitting blood before taking several painful breaths.
Nctolhu grimaced slightly. That was the question, wasn't it?
They were the children of two powerful Eldritch Gods… and yet, they had seemingly never achieved anything of worth. Their greatest achievement was how long they had been sentenced to prison.
Hardly something to be proud of, especially when your dad was seen as one of the most honorable and benevolent Eldritch God in all of existence.
And now, after so long being disappointment, they finally had the chance to lake thing right, to make their parents proud-
And they blew it.
The pain they were in was nothing compared to how utterly wretched they felt, here and now.
Their eyes widened when Nozdormu finally got hit, and their blood turned to ice when the Demon Lord's giant maw opened, ready to eat the dragon in a single bite, their doom all but certain-
And then the Demon Lord froze, before his entire body shuddered violently and he threw his head back and shrieked-
Followed by the ground seemingly exploding upwards in an orgy of blood, gore and lava.
And there, in the middle of it all, seemingly completely unconcerned by the impossibility of it all, Perdition stood on his horse, racing towards the stunned Demon Lord's head, before the horse hit him square in the face, and Reality-
SCREAMED/WARPED/SHATTERED/ENDED
-And the Demon Lord's headless corpse promptly fell on the ground, oozing blood like great rivers of crimson red carving a path through the world.
For a long moment after that, utter silence followed the impossible victory of the Forces of Good over Evil.
And then thousands of demonic worms shrieked as one in rage, sorrow and shock as their Demon Lord's death hit them in full, and they slithered away from the battlefield in a chaotic mass of demonic flesh crawling and feasting on each other in a mad frenzy to get away from this place.
The twins blinked slowly.
"... Sis? Reminds me to give Perdition a bottle of the good stuff we stashed away for one of the really bad or really good days after this. Father as my witness, he fucking earned it."
When Perdition first took a look at the Demon Lord, he knew that defeating it would be hard, and indeed, nigh-impossible.
It wasn't because of his raw power. Perdition was born from the bloodshed and death of countless Eldritch beings, gods included. He was far more powerful than the Demon Lord could ever hope to be.
No, the reason why was because something deep within the Demon Lord was… wrong. It was something deeply hidden within the Demon Lord's body, something that few others could have felt-
But he was Perdition. He was the concept of Doom incarnate.
And whatever was inside that thing, it called to him like a moth to a flame. It was something that should not be. Or, perhaps, something that should have ended long ago.
And whatever it was, the Demon Lord was connected to it, in such a way that victory against it would be near impossible… unless it was dealt with first.
So Perdition did not hesitate. His instincts, his Domain screamed at him that he needed to see to this. So, when the Demon Lord charged him, Perdition charged straight into his open maw without thinking about it twice.
To be inside of a Demon Lord was far worse than to be merely eaten by a creature of flesh and blood. The very concepts of the Demon Lord attacked him, acting like acid upon his body, his mind, his soul- everything that made him "him."
But he was an Eldritch incarnation of Doom. What did he have to fear of his own Doom?
And so, Perdition kept charging forward.
However, the soul of the Demon Lord did not appreciate the gnat inside him being uncaring of potentially ceasing to exist. It was a Demon Lord after all, it thrived off malice and the suffering of others.
Thus, the Demon Lord tried to break the will of Perdition… and it di so using the very thing it was a Demon Lord of.
Time.
Or, rather, potential times.
Perdition saw himself, leading a vast army of demons. With cruel delight, he saw to the downfall of every civilization that stood in his path. His soul rejoiced at the screams of the men dying, the women shrieking in agony as the-y were eaten by demons, the children squealing as they were roasted slowly and methodically to devour later.
He saw wise kings go mad in despair. He saw beautiful queens throw themselves off balconies to their death with their children to escape the cruelty of cultists, while their cities burned around them. He saw princes die brutal deaths at his hand, their broken corpses paraded like trophies for all to see. He saw princesses enslaved or sacrificed to him, the sounds of their voices begging him for mercy bringing him nothing but cruel joy in his blackened heart.
He saw armies slaughtered to the last, their blood nourishing the soil of countless worlds, their bodies becoming food for armies of demonic worms. He saw species throw themselves into prosternation while begging for his mercy, temples elevated in his honor across galaxies.
He saw himself, more powerful, more respected, more feared than any other being in existence.
He saw himself… triumphant. Doom incarnate, his name whispered on the lips of every mortal and immortals alike with terror and reverence.
And why shouldn't he? He was the embodiment of Doom, who could ever dare to stand in his way?
Indeed, it was his right to kill, destroy, despoil, ravage to his heart's content. He was Doom. That was why he was born. To kill and annihilate all before him!
Doom came for all, even the Eldritch, for was he not born from their blood? From their death? From their rotting corpses, a living testament to the superiority of Death over even the so-called Eternals Eldritch Beings?
From the moment of his birth, he had wondered his purpose in life. What was the point of an incarnation of Doom, in a reality where Eternal beings lived? What was the point of his life, when Creation itself was as Eternal as its Creator?
Why… Why did someone like him exist, in a reality which fundamentally denied him his very existence?
But of course, that was foolish. Doom came for all things, he knew that better than any others. He was the Embodiment of the End of all Things. Even the unkillable could die. Even the Eternal could End. Such was his birthright. Such was his destiny!
So why should he, Perdition, bow before-
Dark eyes, blacker than the darkness of night.
Before-
A darkness beyond any others even he had ever encountered. A Void deeper than any others he had ever thought could exist.
Before…
And yet, a sensation of peace unlike anything he could have ever believed possible. Calm. Quiet. Serene. Eternity, without conflict, or pain, or suffering.
Before…
Emptiness. Non-existence. A True, absolute Void stared into the depths of his soul, not with Hunger… but with perfect Tranquility and serenity.
… Who are you?...
[EX NIHILO]
[KING OF THE VOID]
[MASTER OF UNREALITY]
… For one such as you to exist… Do you not wish for the end of [Creation]?
Why should I?
Are you not the embodiment of Unreality?
I am. But to [Desire] is to [Exist]. If the [Void] can [Desire, then by default it is not empty. If such a paradox can be accepted, then [Creation] has the right to exist. If not, then the [Void] cannot, by default, [Desire] the cessation of [Creation].
… Then is it alright to cherish [Creation, even as one is meant to [End] it?
The Void seemed to smile.
What do you think?
There was silence for a long moment, before-
… I see. I do not know if I can ever achieve such [Serenity/Inner Peace, but until then… I will accept my love of [Existence]. If it is not wrong to [Desire]... Then I want to [live!]
The vision ceased.
Blinking, Perdition suddenly stood deep, deep within the body of the Demon Lord-
And right before him stood the source of his power.
His eyes widened at what stood before him: the decaying core of the power of an universe, consumed by the Abyss long, long ago.
Somehow, someway, this core of power had been found by the Demon Lord, who had consumed it. Even after so long trying to consume its power, only a fraction of it had fused with the Demon Lord, but it was enough to give him some Dominion over Time, the first concept of Creation.
Perdition stared at the core of power before him, before his horse turned its head towards him.
Their gaze met.
For a long moment, it seemed as if horse and rider communicated with each other, though no words were uttered.
And then Perdition smiled.
"Perhaps all things are, indeed, destined to End… But I am no mindless beast of Destruction, foul spawn of the Abyss. I can choose."
His horse lunged forward, biting into the core of power, reducing it to smaller than an apple-
And then it stomped the ground with a hoove.
A hole appeared, this one, for once, not leading to The Void- but to the Material Universe.
And then his horse spat the core into the hole.
A gigantic explosion of Light bursted from the other side, as the conceptually infinite realm accepted the raw power of the decaying core of a dead reality.
Both horse and rider stared at the release of energy heralding the birth of many new galaxies with something resembling satisfied pride-
Before the hole closed.
And then the rider looked up, and ordered his horse forward- straight through the walls of flesh of the Demon Lord, and the layers of molten rocks beyond.
It was at this point that the Demon Lord discovered that, without the constant link with the core of its true power, he was definitely no match to the Eldritch embodiment of the concept of Doom.
Especially when said embodiment had chosen to wreck his day, in particular.
Summer Rose, born on Earth and dimensional twin of her silver-eyed sister, grimaced as the Demon Lord successfully punched her twin with a fist bigger than her sister's body, a shockwave erupting from the point of impact.
That probably wouldn't be enough to kill her, Hunters of the Dream were damn tough, but that was definitely going to hurt. A lot.
And as the Demon Lord turned towards her, her jaw clenched as she prepared herself to have to survive fighting the Demon Lord by herself.
"Aeon, My Lord and God… watch over me, as I make a stand against Evil in your Name!"
Her right eye glowed, her left eye's pupil turned a deep black, and she charged forward.
Coming here, in this reality, had changed the god she loved a great deal. More specifically… He had somehow fallen in love with the Creator Deity of Existence, and vice-versa.
A part of her, much like the rest of his lovers (except Lady Oedon, who took it in stride, as if that was to be expected) had felt shocked at the news. They knew Aeon was powerful, they knew he was destined for greatness… but becoming Ruler of Existence as a whole? King of the Eldritch Gods?
That had come as a shock to them all.
Even Tatsumaki, for all her pride, had been left silent at the news. Delighted, yes, but visibly stunned all the same.
Ultimately, it was Aeon who pointed out a very simple truth: his rise as god-king changed everything…
And yet, at the same time, it changed nothing.
"Does it matter, truly?" he had told them. "You choose to become the lover of a God powerful enough to rewrite Reality. You all knew I was going to become one of the most powerful gods in existence, sooner or later. That I became Ruler of Creation is a shock… But with my power, I was always destined to rule. Perhaps, the scale of my Rule is far greater than we all expected… But I already had the power to rule over countless multiverses. Can any of you truly say it changes much for you personally, whether I rule multiverses, or the Omniverse as a whole?"
The answer, after thinking about it, was no. No, it changed little. Certainly, it put some more pressure on them all, to be the wives of the Ruler of Existence… but to that, Aeon once again pointed out some Truths calmly.
"I never asked you to be anything else than who you are." he had said lovingly. "Those of you who fight for justice, keep fighting for it. Those of you who enjoy research and discovery, keep learning and discovering. So what if the scale of it all changes? As long as you continue to stand for what you believe in, you will continue to find happiness in your lives. We are all destined for greatness if we strive for it, that is what I believe. The fact I succeeded beyond my wildest dreams is not something to be feared. Instead, let us all strive ever onwards, to create a brighter tomorrow for all of us. With the power that is now ours, we can change Reality as a whole for the better. And aren't we all people who fought for such a Dream? Let us rejoice, instead… for we are on the verge of succeeding!"
And indeed, Aeon had done exactly as he said. He had created the Aeons, created Damelone, and set up an alliance across the greatest supernatural powers of Existence. He had wasted no time changing Reality forever, refusing to be intimidated by the power he now wiledded, but instead determined to use it for good, to help the people of Creation live better, happier lives.
As one of his lovers, Hunter and worshiper, she could not be more proud of him, and she knew the others were no different.
In the end, they all reaffirmed their conviction to stand by the man they loved. If he could work hard to change reality for the better, then why couldn't do the same, in their own ways?
And so, here she was, with her twin, fighting an honest to the gods Demon Lord, for the sake of a species of dragons.
Sometimes, Reality could truly be stranger than fictions… and Summer wouldn't have it any other way.
So it was with a challenging smirk on her face that she rushed forward, fearlessly charging at the giant Demon Lord.
The Demon Lord tried to stab her through with his massive spear, but she Quickened at the very instant, running on top of the giant spear towards him.
With a snarl, a rush of demonic power courses through the spear, forcing her to jump off of it, seemingly trying to strike right at his face.
The giant Salamander sneered, before his throat glowed a bright red and he spat out a massive stream of lava straight at her-
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!"
-only to quickly scream in pain instead, as the illusion of herself she had created disappeared, revealing that she had struck him right in the chest, instead.
Stumbling backward, she pumped her Blood in his body for as long as she could before he tried to crush her, forcing her to Quicken away from him.
She grinned fiercely as he glared at her hatefully, one hand over his chest, the Blood of her God burning him from within, striking at the very essence of his existence and weakening him.
With a burst of raw demonic power, he purged himself of the divine blood in his veins, but she could tell he had paid the price of it.
"I will enjoy roasting your flesh, mortal." he rumbled darkly, his voice echoing like thunder from his sheer size and power.
She smirked at him, twirling her weapon his way mockingly.
"Please, you'll have to catch me first! And you can't even see me to begin with!"
The Demon Lord scowled, his eyes glowing with malice. "I noticed what you did, mortal. Mere mortal illusions would not have worked on me- you channeled your god's power to make it work. But for how long can your body endure the power of the King of the Outer Gods? Your mortal frailty will see you dead, as surely as my spear!"
To his obvious surprise, she laughed at his words.
"You have seen my twin's power, haven't you? Her Light? I do not have that power. But what I do have-" her entire body glowed, a halo of pure Light and Darkness flickering in and out of existence above her head. She grinned, feeling the might of her God course through her, feeling his power hug her very soul lovingly.
"-Is faith. And that is all I need to win!" she shouted, her voice echoing with power.
With a shout, she charged again, bringing her weapon down against the Demon Lord. His eyes widened at how much faster she suddenly was, but above all a measure of fear flickered in his eyes as he brought up his weapon to defend himself… and cracks formed in his spear where their weapons met.
With a burst of power, she struck at him again, and again, and again. Seeking to pierce his flesh over his heart, his lungs, his throat. Her blows blurred into a seamless whole, a masterful combo of pure skill backed by inhuman power. Reality broke before her, as she started using the sword skills taught to her by her god.
From a single strike, a dozen blows were struck. Time shattered, Space bent, colors leached out of her and her body seemingly turned distorted in unnatural ways.
"I am a Hunter of the Dream of my God!" she shouted, space crackling at the sound of her voice echoing across dimensions. "I fear neither death, nor pain! I am his Wrath made manifest, Beast! If my body is to burn to ash to ensure victory, then so be it! From the moment I became a Huntress, I learnt not only how to kill for my God, but how to die for him! For as long as He watches over me, I do not fear death! Tell me, Demon, can you say the same?!"
Flauros gritted his teeth, pouring demonic power through his spear to stop it from shattering under the divinely-enhanced blows from Summer's own weapon.
"Do you think your God will save you, here, in the Abyss?! Even if you can channel his power, it won't be enough! This is my Realm! I am a God here!" he roared, a second before he warped Reality, commanding the heat around them to rise so high it would challenge the power of a sun.
Summer barely even blinked as the air became fire, as heat enough to match a star suddenly engulfed her.
If anything, her eyes gleamed dangerously.
"If you like the heat so much, then try this for size!"
With those words, she pulled back, a hand going over the symbol of her god-
And then the entire Realm shook, as a new star was born where Summer was.
Channeling the might of her God, she called upon his Light, his fury against Evil, his Hatred of Beasts, and his Dominions over the Stars of the Cosmos. In an instant, she found herself at the center of a newborn star, incinerating everything demonic in a thousand kilometers radius.
Summer screamed wordlessly as she poured her love and Faith towards her God, and received a fraction of his might in return.
At every second that passed, the power of the Star she created grew, the Demon Lord Flauros roaring in agony and hatred as he used his power to try and contain the Holy Star suddenly burning his realm to ash. Demonic and Holy Divine power clashed for supremacy, a clash witnessed by outsiders as a giant demonic flame roaring its wrath and defiance against a burning star which seemingly kept only growing stronger and brighter by the second. So great was the power unleashed by both that their biological forms disappeared, replaced by the representations of their very souls. At the center of the Star, if one could see beyond its divine light, they would see a burning rose, slowly shedding its petals as kindle for the fire around her, yet remaining majestic even with its slow death… or perhaps, because of it.
The clash was so great that all within the realm slowly stopped fighting, mesmerized by the sight of that roaring flame struggling against the growing Holy Star. Even the dragons, both those still corrupted and those who weren't, stared in silent awe as the battle of will and power grew by the second. In the distance, the group who fought, and ultimately killed, the second Demon Lord stared as a champion of the Divine poured her soul into fighting against a champion of the Abyss.
Soon, it was as if the great demonic realm was split in two, between the raging inferno that was the soul of the Demon Lord, and the Holy Star that was still growing in power, one slowly burning petal at a time.
The Summer Rose of Earth did not possess the silver eyes of her twin. Instead, she had focused on channeling the power of her god as much as she possibly could, slowly accommodating her body, mind and soul into an open doorway for him to act through.
And now, it was paying off, as the Holy Star she was helping to create slowly overcame the power of a Demon Lord inside his own realm. The roaring demonic Inferno representing the Demon Lord raged in fury, and growing terror, as the light of that Divine star became to overcome the entire realm, burning everything demonic it touched-
And then, she acted.
The entire realm seemingly started bleeding tears of blood as the Queen of the Abyss channeled her power through Flauros, as if in a mocking, twisted parody of the Holy Miracle that Summer Rose was performing. Where the Light of Aeon coursed through Summer like a soothing river of power, the Darkness of Queen Slann carved a path through Flauros's soul, making him squeal in utter agony as his soul slowly splintered to pieces.
And yet, it worked. Divine Light met Unholy Darkness, in a clash as old as Time, and both forces met their match. Constrained as they were by the vessels they used to fight one another, neither could gain the upper hand.
All beings that were still alive within the realm shuddered as whispers of Eldritch Truths seemingly fought a war against Unholy Revelations, a battle of concepts and Truths slowly ramping up as both sides fought a conceptual battle as much as one of raw power on a level far beyond the comprehension of mere mortals… or even most immortals.
To their eyes, tentacles of writhing, twisting Light clashed against slithering, unnatural Dark shadows, gaining or losing ground as Omniversal secrets and Truths were weaponized against one another.
How long that battle took place, none could say. Time itself seemingly lost all meaning as a consequence of the Divine clash taking place. Illusions of events and people long gone mixed with possible futures in the eyes of the mortals present, where armies each more impossible than the last fought in vicious battles that shattered the very fabric of reality.
Perhaps the Queen of the Abyss was enraged by the continued failures of her legions. Perhaps she sought to make use of the fact that Aeon was physically fighting an entire Infernal Realm in a giant one vs all a dimension away to try to challenge him. Perhaps she simply sought to learn more of the God who had so boldly challenged her and the entirety of the Abyss.
Whatever the case, the battle of Gods kept on going, the life of Summer Rose and the soul of Flauros burning away as kindle to the raging fight between both deities, leaving only a single question to be asked in the mind of all present: who would break first? The mortal champion, or the Demon Lord?
However, that state of affairs was exactly what the new King of the Eldritch sought.
For, as he always liked to say: it is when one devotes everything to attacking, that they are most vulnerable to defeat.
SQUELCH!*
The sound of a halberd penetrating the body of the Demon Lord in his back, through his flesh and biting deep in his heart, could not be heard by all present.
And yet, all present that day would swear they heard it all the same.
For Summer Rose of Earth was not alone… and in the clash oàf Gods, all had forgotten her twin sister, struck down but by no means killed.
All, except the Star God and his champion, who had baited the warriors of the Abyss with the big, obvious target they represented.
The Darkness of the Queen of the Abyss seemingly recoiled in shock and rage, but by then it was too late. The Old Blood-covered halberd unleashed its deadly payload into the heart of the already dying Demon Lord, and the Holy Star gained the upper hand, quickly overwhelming from both within and without the power of the Demon Lord and his backer.
With a final scream of pure fury, the Queen of the Abyss retreated, her power disappearing as quickly as it had appeared… leaving behind the shining Holy Star, free to shine upon the entire Demonic Realm at last.
Every remaining demon and cultists were instantly incinerated, while every remaining corrupted dragons were instantly purified.
Then, and only then, did the Holy Star die down to reveal Summer Rose once more, blood falling like rivers from her nose, mouth, eyes and ears.
She fell on the ground, feeling her strength disappear along with the power of her God.
For a long moment, she gasped for air painfully, before she coughed blood and smiled through bloodied teeth.
"Did I do good… my love?" she whispered towards the sky above.
Where once the sky was choked out by the smoke coming from all the volcanoes of the realm, now the sky was a bright, clear night sky, with countless glittering stars shining above.
It may have been her less than perfect state making her think so… but it felt like those stars were dancing and singing in the heavens.
Dancing and singing… for her.
"YOU DID."
A tall man appeared by her side, smiling a soft, loving smile towards her underneath a hood whose shadows couldn't hide the light of a single, glowing eye.
An eye glowing like a star.
The man bent down, his lips lingering over her forehead to leave a gentle kiss upon her brow.
"I AM INCREDIBLY PROUD OF YOU, MY LOVE. REST NOW. YOU'VE EARNED IT."
Summer smiled, her heart fluttering at the deep respect in her god's voice, while faintly registering a solemn-looking silver-eyed Summer Rose suddenly appearing at her side, staring at her with a mix of awe, pride and concern.
"Good. Good…" she whispered, before she closed her eyes, her body shimmering for a second before disappearing, recalled back to the Hunter's Dream for rest and healing.
Nozdormu thanked the healer working on him with a smile, then turned back towards the others present in the great hall of the demonic fortress they had first arrived in.
The battle hadn't been without cost, as many dragons and quite a few of the battle-priestesses of Gatcha had been wounded or killed by the end of it.
Even he and those who had followed him to fight against the Demon Lords had not come out of the fight without some wounds to show for it…
Well, except for Perdition. The Eldritch embodiment of Doom seemed no worse for wear, one of the few in the room who could boast of such a thing.
Ironic, considering he was not only one of the two who had killed a Demon Lord, he was also the only one here who had been effectively eaten by said Demon Lord.
And yet, here he stood on his horse, seemingly without a care in the world for the stunning victory he had managed to claim at the last second.
The other Demon Lord slayer was the silver-eyed Summer Rose, who looked rather overwhelmed both by how the battle against the demons ended, and by the fact that her sister had apparently been sent back to Lord Aeon's realm to rest and recover.
Something that Nozdormu fully supported, because the woman had more than earned her rest after the miracle she pulled in order to fight off the Demon Lord Flauros… and Queen Slann herself, when she acted through him.
Even now, if he closed his eyes, he could almost see that glowing star, shining with Light and warmth and Holiness, fighting off against the darkness of the Abyss and its ruler…
"My friends." he said towards the heroes gathered before him with a mix of exhaustion, warmth and joy. "We did it. The last of my kin has made it back home safely, and we can now leave this unholy realm behind forever."
Not that the demonic realm was exactly fully unholy anymore. Large sections of it had been almost bleached clean with Holy Light, and while the Abyss would inevitably reclaim its lost power in this place of the Damned, Nozdormu doubted that anything short of Queen Slann herself corrupting this place would taint it back quickly.
And the Queen most likely wanted nothing to do with a place that would forever stand as a reminder that she had gambled against the new Lord of the Eldritch… and failed miserably.
No, more likely than not, it was going to take centuries, maybe millenia before this part of the Abyss returned into a demonic hellscape.
That was a thought that made Nozdormu grin fiercely, even with the remainder of his wounds making his body ache slightly. For once, it was the demons who had to deal with a "corrupted" land, and he had no doubt they would absolutely hate every second of it.
It was about time that someone used their favorite tactic against them, for a change.
He smiled at the group standing before him. Summer Rose looked tired, worried, and thoroughly done with this day… but there was an undeniable glint of pride and joy in her silver eyes at his words.
The Eldritch twins, meanwhile, now stood fearlessly by the side of Perdition, no longer holding the slight wariness towards him they had at the start of the day. They too looked tired and in dire need of a long nap, along with a hot meal and equally hot shower, but they also looked… thoughtful, and held a quiet sense of determination that indicated that clearly, their defeat against the Demon Lord Yhidothrus had not impacted them too negatively.
And as for Perdition himself, the Eldritch deity stood calmly on his horse, a strange sensation of almost… serenity surrounding him.
Nozdormu had learnt of what the source of power of the Demon Lord had been, and needless to say he was very glad that Perdition had been there to handle it. Even with his blessing from Yog-Sothoth, Nozdormu wasn't sure if he would have had the raw power and skill necessary to do what the god did.
He suspected, though obviously had no proof, that Lord Aeon had sent Perdition here with them specifically because he had known he would be needed. That would rather fit the actions of a god apparently as good as seeing the future as Lady Yog-Sothoth herself.
The blue-eyed Summer Rose must have been a contingency, a trump card specifically there to ensure that, if Queen Slann tried anything, she would end up failing. And with her silver-eyed twin there as back-up on top of that…
Nozdormu mentally shook his head. He could think about that later. For now…
He waved towards the portal towards his world, a smile on his lips. "Come, my friends. Let us go home in triumph, celebrate, and make merry. After all…"
His expression hardened. "The other dragonflights still need our help. Our war isn't over… not yet. And I intend to be there for them, now that we can."
"What about the dragons we rescued?" asked the remaining Summer Rose.
Nozdormu smiled. "My consort and heir, along with our people, will see to their well-being. But someone needs to answer the call for battle alongside the other dragonflights, and I am the most qualified amongst my people, especially after receiving my blessing."
"Won't the demons risk attacking your home as retaliation if you and many of your people aren't there?" asked Nctosa.
Nozdormu chuckled. "Oh, fear not, my people are far from defenseless, even without me here. And besides…" his expression turned grim. "From what I could see through the river of Time, the demons are principally striking at the home of the Black Dragonflight. What probing attacks on our city they will make will be easily repelled."
"They're really concentrating everything they have on the Black Dragonflight?" questioned Summer Rose.
"Not everything." Nozdormu warned sternly. "But much of it, yes. The Black dragonflight has proven to be the greatest thorn in the side of the Abyss on our world, the Abyss seek more than simple victory over them by now, they seek a crushing blow that will shatter them forever and also serve as a warning to all the others seeking to defy them to surrender and submit instead."
"Then we'll have to stop them." Summer Rose said firmly, silver eyes hardening with resolve.
The white-haired, purple-eyed Eldritch twins glanced at each other, then nodded as one.
"We'll help, of course."
"And so will I, if you'll have me." rumbled Perdition.
Nozdormu nodded. "Then we are in agreement. We shall have a short rest, then we'll head towards the stronghold of the Black Dragonflight at the best possible speed."
"Do you think that Queen Slann will try something again like she did this time, but with the forces fighting the Black Dragonflight?" asked the silver-eyed Hunter of the Dream.
"Possibly… but perhaps not. This latest humiliation will nor be forgotten… but neither can it be easily overcome." mused Nozdormu. "Queen Slann had to have lost a lot of fear and respect with her latest failure. And in the Abyss, weakness means death. She cannot afford even more failures."
"Even if that means losing completely?"
Nozdormu shrugged. "Queen Slann is patient. I can see her choosing to pull back for now, and trying to invade again a millennia from now. Time means very little for immortals such as her."
"Can you foresee it?" asked Nctosa.
Nozdormu blinked, frowned, then tried to focus on what the future showed…
But came up blank. "I can't see it, sorry. Someone like Queen Slan is just too powerful for me to foresee her actions like this."
Nctosa nodded, looking unsurprised by the answer.
"So. Once more into the breach, then?" asked Summer. She chuckled. "Aeon wasn't joking when he said the reward for good work was more work…"
Alexstrasza looked at Malygos, their faces equally determined.
"You're sure that you're done dealing with cultists in your home?" he asked her.
She nodded with fierce satisfaction.
"They've been dealt with. We've been thorough in hunting down both those loyal to the Abyss and the spies of Hell. Neither Queen Slann nor Asmodeus will have a foothold in my lands any longer. And what of you, my friend?"
Malygos scowled. "Without Neltharion corrupted, the Abyss instead sent legions of shadow demons at my people during the night, in order to try and tie us down. They even backed the assault with a grand ritual to ensure no light would touch my people's land, even after the sun rose in the morning. It worked."
Then he grinned coldly. "For a time. Dealing with them was bloody work, which is why I wasn't able to come help Neltharion until now, but I've finally shattered their ritual and forced the legions of the Abyss back into the pits they came from. Ultimately, the only thing the attack really did was to bloody my people enough to enrage them, and make them eager for payback."
Alexstrasza smiled. "Good. Because we're going to need our people at their best for this."
They both turned, looking in the distance at the fortress city of the Black Dragonflight.
Legions of Demons surrounded the place, and no small amount of the city was quite obviously on fire, great storms of smoke and ash rising from burning buildings. The air was also filled with quickly moving dark shapes of dragons and demons fighting it out, with anti-air batteries from both sides only adding to the bloody struggle going on.
Even as far from the city as they currently were, they could still see the flashes of explosions, of powerful spells being unleashed, of artillery on both sides reaping a bloody toll on both armies fighting for domination…
"That's a lot of demons." grimly mused Malygos.
She nodded, just as grim. "Agreed. From what I learnt, once it became clear that we were all far more prepared than anybody expected, many of the demons were recalled to focus on Neltharion's people. Not all, of course, but most of them."
And amongst those who had not gone to fight the Black Dragonflight had been some of the demons who had planned to capture her and torture her to turn her to the Abyss.
Alexstrasza was not a cruel person by nature, but she took a great deal of satisfaction in burning them all to ash and making their blood boil inside their bodies when they foolishly tried to trap her as they had originally planned.
It hadn't even been much of a battle. With pre-warning on her side, she and her people had ambushed her would-be captors and slaughtered them like cattle.
"Any news from Ysera and her people?" asked Malygos.
"The Demon Lord leading the forces of the Emerald Nightmare is dead." she replied with satisfaction. "The Eldritch Goddess that Lord Aeon sent to back her up killed him. She got badly wounded in turn, but she's expected to make a full recovery."
Malygos raised an eyebrow. "He was strong enough to badly wound an Eldritch Goddess?"
She nodded. "I'm not fully sure of the details, but apparently he had some kind of trump card that she had not seen coming. It didn't save him, but it did manage to wound her."
Malygos grunted, his brow furrowing.
She looked at him with concern. "Malygos?"
"Our enemy is not stupid. Prideful and surprised, yes, but not stupid." he said. "And yet, here we are, ready and able to help Neltharion with our armies." he waved behind them, where the forces of the Red Dragonflight were mixing up with those of the Blue Dragonflight to form a cohesive whole. It was hardly the first time their people would fight together, and it would most likely not be the last.
"It's too easy." he said bluntly. "You barely had anything threatening you while you and your army traveled here, and the shadow demons, for all their deadliness, hardly threatened my people."
Her own brow furrowed as she saw where he was going with this.
"You think the demons are using Neltharion's city as a trap?" she asked him.
Malygos said nothing for a long moment, silently staring at Neltharion's city for several seconds, before finally speaking up.
"The Gods spoke of a magical weapon that the Abyss had crafted against us. And yet, we have neither seen nor heard anything indicating it had been used yet. Why do you think that is?"
Alexstrasza turned grim.
"They want us in that city."
He nodded. "As many of us as they can get away with before using their trump card."
"So what's the plan?" she inquired.
He smiled. "Don't you know? Never interrupt an enemy when he's making a mistake! If they want us here, then they'll get us."
"Is that wise?" she asked, concerned.
Malygos chuckled. "I've been thinking about all of this while making my way here with my army. Whatever artifact they have, it had to be specifically created to work on dragons. Except…"
His smile was all teeth. "Who is to say it'll work on dragons blessed by Outer Gods?"
Alexstrasza blinked.
Then, she started laughing.
A.N: Alright! Here is the next chapter in which we continue the events of Love Azathoth!
The current story Arc is slowly drawing to a close, with only a few chapters left.
In this chapter, there are quite a few character development moments, as even Eldritch beings can still learn and grow. Also, Aeon is hard carrying in the background, as everything going on in the Abyss in this chapter was more or less planned by him.
Nozdormu was never going to win against the Demon Lord of Time. He's still new with his blessing, so he has less experience and raw power to use than a full blown Demon Lord of Time… especially one possessing the hidden trump card this one had. As for the Eldritch Twins, they are above all the equivalent of eldritch pranksters. A full-on battle with a Demon Lord was not something they ever had to do in the past, and their lack of experience in having to fight something stronger than them with their lives on the line meant that they weren't able to win either.
Which Aeon had foreseen, both through peering through Time, and simple logical reasoning. But he still sent them to fight for a few reasons. First, it was an excellent wake-up call for them both, not only to see that they weren't all-powerful despite being Eldritch, but also to confront True Evil in person. Forced to experience what it means to suffer at the hand of a more powerful being, they had no choice but to mature and learn some painful lessons.
It also ensures they would have personal reasons to hate the Abyss and demon-kind, which is all good to Aeon, who plans to convince the Eldritch Pantheon to go to war against the Abyss eventually. Having the daughters of two powerful Eldritch Gods support such a war is very useful to him.
And of course, Perdition. When I first read up on the character, I couldn't help but think about the kinds of issues that being an embodiment of the concept of Doom for the Eldritch can create. I mean, what's the purpose of someone like that, for gods who consider death as a mild inconvenience more often than not (besides Cthulhu)?
So I had Perdition eager to meet Aeon because he wanted to see if he might have an answer to give him. And he did. This chapter showed what exactly happened when those two met, from the point of view of Perdition this time. As it turns out, being the embodiment of the Void/Unreality means your words carry a great deal of weight towards lesser gods conceptually linked towards destruction… like Perdition. And Void!Aeon is someone who, despite his nature, sees beauty in creation. He's also someone who has no problem waiting eternity to do his job, especially when he knows that most multiverses aren't conceptually infinite, which means that the Void doesn't have to lift a finger to "win." He can literally sit back and wait.
As for Summer Rose, Earth version… She's not just a Hunter of the Dream. In a very literal way, she's a Saint of Aeon. Where her silver-eyed twin doubled down on her inborn abilities and being a Hunter, the version of Earth embraced the idea of being the instrument of Aeon's will. As a result, she can channel Aeon's power far better than most other mortals could ever hope to. However, she's a Saint of AEON. And because of that, she's a very pragmatic woman, who embraces the idea that being cunning is a good thing.
Thus, instead of trying to defeat the Demon Lord through Aeon's power, instead of wielding her divinely-granted powers like a hammer- she deliberately turned herself into a big, shining bait, so that her twin sister could literally backstab Flauros. And I think that's a moment that perfectly embodies Aeon's followers: They don't hesitate to use even the divine power of their god as bait in part of a larger plan. They do hold reverence towards Aeon, but above all else results matters more than mindless reverence towards their deity.
Also, Aeon himself is a tricky bastard. He deliberately challenged Abbaddon while the dragons were attacking the Abyss as a way to intimidate Slann and her demons. Moreover, he also forced her to consider the fact that, if she tried anything in response to the invasion of the Abyss by his forces, forcing Aeon to focus on her instead, ALL of the demons of Abaddon might get pissed at her for getting in the way of their fun. Also, if Aeon failed his challenge towards Abaddon, then Slann would benefit from it… so it was arguably better to let things be, sit back and hope that Aeon failed his challenge, than to respond to the invasion of part of the Abyss with her full force. And by the time Aeon's challenge was won, the battle in the Abyss was won by the good guys in a way that was the equivalent of a slap in the face of Queen Slann, who gambled and lost spectacularly.
Still, with all that being said, I hope you all enjoyed this update! Next time, we will see how other people from across the multiverse are reacting to everything happening, along with a better view on how the fight between all of Abaddon and Aeon went down…