My great thanks to TodaBruh, who kindly chose to use some of his free time to be my beta reader!
Earth, United States of America, Manhattan.
I sat down at the booth of the café I agreed to meet with an old friend, along with one of his new friends.
I smiled at the sight of Alex Mercer and Yidhra, noticing that the last few months since my arrival into this multiverse wasn't without consequences on other people from my own past.
"So, how are you two doing? From what I know, you two had the time to sit down and get to know each other." I asked.
"It's still strange to encounter someone so… alike to my own existence." admitted Yidhra, Alex letting out a sharp nod in agreement at those words. "But…" Yidhra smiled, a hint of red on her cheeks. "It's… very nice."
"Eldritch Goddess or not, the fact that she isn't trying to kill me, eat me or do the same to humanity is certainly a nice change of pace compared to what we had to deal with back in the day." agreed Alex, his gaze flickering towards the windows showing the streets of Manhattan, his face twisting slightly as he did. "Seeing the city like this again… It's like a blast from the past."
"The company's better, though, right?" I joked, nodding towards Yidhra.
His lips twitched towards a smirk. "I suppose that I can't argue with that."
He shook his head. "Dana is already trying to see how different this world is compared to ours, and she has turned an entire room of her apartment into a wall-to-wall, floor to ceiling conspiracy theorist's dream room, with red strings and newspaper articles everywhere."
I laughed. "Let me guess, she found hints of weird shit all over the place?"
Alex gave me a very, very dry look.
"The last time I saw her, she gave me a 5-hours long lecture about all the supernatural events and secret organizations she had found hints of." he shuddered. "She had charts and everything!"
Yidhra looked at him with amusement.
"I have seen many humans learn about the truth of existence in the past, but I must admit that she has utterly devoted herself to learning as much about the hidden side of the world to a level far beyond what I am used to. Not even actual Eldritch cultists tend to become this obsessed with uncovering the full truth of this world."
"I knew that I liked her for a reason." I said grinning, with Alex giving me a chilling look at my words.
I waved it away. "Oh don't give me that, I don't mean it that way."
Alex still glared at me for a few seconds more before grunting once and relaxing.
Funnily, it was Sherry he should have been more careful of, not me, considering what she got up to back in the day during my stay in the combined Resident Evil and Prototype settings… Well, right now Sherry is happy with Saitama, though I know that she was slowly wearing him down about potentially marrying other women than her.
Sherry was my and Oedon's daughter, after all. I wasn't surprised that she wanted to add her old lovers back to her bed and make herself a proper harem.
The only question was if she was going to try and go for a second husband one day…
Well, time will tell.
"Still, normally I'd be a bit worried about Dana going off the deep end, as humans call it…" Yidhra trailed off when I shook my head.
"Don't worry about it. Dana is not stupid, if anything she looks into gets too dangerous she'll call for back-up… and besides, my True Self is watching over her, just in case." I reassured her.
"Thanks for that, by the way." Alex said, nodding gratefully at me.
I shrugged, but smiled. "Just looking for a friend, who also happened to be a mortal I rather respect. Her quest for the Truth is one I fully approve of."
"If only it wasn't so dangerous." Alex grumbled.
"You can't stop her from doing what she thinks is right, much like you can't stop her from loving you as her brother, Blacklight or not." I chided him gently, and Alex groaned before sighing.
"I know. She's just as, if not even more stubborn than when we were younger. And she was already pretty bad then!"
"Mortals have to choose their own path." Yidhra remarked, before looking away. "As do we." she said softly, Alex's expression softening, one of his hands coming to rest above hers on the table we were sitting around.
I smiled as both of them looked at each other for a little longer than absolutely necessary, before quickly looking away when they realized I was grinning at them.
"A-anyway." Yidhra coughed in her fist, vainly trying to hide the red on her cheeks. "I heard that you have been busy with matters beyond the Earth, my King." Then she smiled happily. "Though you still help bring back Cthulhu! Trust me when I say that a lot of Eldritch were incredibly happy at the news. He's been missed for far too long, him and his people."
"Yes, you released the ancient Eldritch God. Are you sure that was wise?" sarcastically asked Alex, Ydhra's face turning towards him in surprise.
"Alex!"
"What?" he asked, unbothered by her reaction. "You can't tell me that someone who spent tens of millions of years half-living, half-dead isn't going to have some issues!"
"Don't worry, it's fine." I reassured him. "For a Great Old One, his situation, while certainly tragic, wasn't necessarily damaging. Not in the way you're implying, at least. Do remember that he isn't human, not even remotely."
"I'm not sure if that's supposed to reassure me or do the opposite." grumbled Alex under his breath.
Yidhra let out a sigh. "I know that you're cynical Alex, but I mean it. Cthulhu coming back is a good thing, for Earth and our King as well."
Alex scoffed and crossed his arms. "Aeon's not my king." he remarked.
Yidhra sent me a worried look at his words, but at the sight of my own amused expression she relaxed, seeing that I wasn't insulted.
"He's everyone's King, Alex." she said softly. "I don't think you properly understand what that means… I don't even think I can, in fact."
Alex glanced at her, before looking me in the eyes, unflinching before the cosmic weight he saw within.
"I don't bow. To anyone." he said firmly.
I chuckled in amusement, which was the only thing that seemingly prevented Yidhra from repeatedly bowing and apologizing for his words.
"It's fine." I told them both. "Alex more than earned the right to live his life as he sees fit. I don't require him to see me as anything he didn't see me as before." I smiled. "As a friend."
Alex scoffed, but noticeably didn't say anything, a subtle smile on his lips.
Yidhra stared at us both, before promptly deciding that this wasn't her place to say anything and merely smiled at me. "Your kindness does you credit, my king." she said instead, her words making it clear that she very much saw me as her ruler.
"Well, if you want to thank me, how about you tell me what you two have been up to? I can't imagine that you just have been twiddling your thumbs for the last few months." I asked.
Alex's smirk turned colder and more fiercely satisfied at that.
"Well, it just so happened that I ended up coming across a cult of the Abyss with a doomsday plan while investigating something for Yidhra…"
"Oh boy." I said with amusement. "Should I be worried that there is one less continent on the Earth by the time you were done dealing with them?"
"It wasn't that bad." he protested.
"Didn't you almost get into a fistfight with-" began Yidhra with an exasperated look on her face, before Alex waved her off.
"That Devil had it coming, even Lucifer said so!" he exclaimed.
I blinked.
Huh, my True Self didn't tell me about that… But then again, of course he wouldn't, it's more fun for "me" to find out this way.
"... Alright." I said slowly. "You're going to have to start with the beginning with this one, because while I do know that Lucifer and Lilith are on Earth, in Los Angeles being bar owners of all things… I really want to know how you all met."
"It's not that big of a story." Alex said with a shrug.
Yidhra sighed. "You met one of the most infamous supernatural beings in existence and that's your reaction? Well, then again, you two actually got along surprisingly well..."
"I know a thing or two about being spiteful towards one's creators." deadpanned Alex. "That, and our views of Humanity weren't too far apart."
I hummed at that. This Alex Mercer was a very different beast from the canon timeline, after all, though he still carried enough cynicism to drown a planet with.
It was just tempered enough with his different experiences that he still, overall, believed in humanity. Just barely, but enough.
"Well, in any case, as you may or may not know my King, Asmodeus is the ruler of Hell, not Lucifer." began Yidhra. "Asmodeus found Hell first. Thus, Lucifer and his Rebellion happened later, making him 'merely' one of the greatest champions of Hell."
She smiled wryly.
"A fact that he was not exactly happy about. After all, he didn't leave Eden to serve in Hell, instead. But, out of Pride and spite towards Yahweh, he decided to go for it and take what he could. Oh, he absolutely plotted against Asmodeus, and occasionally came close to dethroning him, but it never really worked out… And then the unexpected happened when Yaweh… changed."
She shrugged. "No one knows how or why, or at least I certainly don't. But he became a lot more forgiving and… well, less wrathful. And when Yahweh changed, one of his new goals was to reconcile with all of his children. So he straight-up went to Hell... to talk to them."
Alex snorted, and Yidhra smiled wryly.
"Things, needless to say, got tense for a while. There was a LOT of angry shouting, table pounding, and it nearly devolved into all-out war several times. Except that Yahweh kept at it... and it worked. Up to a point, sure, but as it turned out, having Yahweh bury the hatchet first made Lucifer... less passionate about his desire to become an incarnation of Evil to spite his Father."
Alex grunted. "And it's not like he was making as much progress towards taking over Hell as he'd like. Nor, for that matter, did he exactly enjoy interacting with most of the inhabitants of the place." he finished with an amused smirk.
Yidhra nodded. "Thus, in a moment of realization and self-reflection, Lucifer decided to take some time off the whole 'champion of Hell' thing. And so it was that Lucifer, Lilith, and some of the more loyal of his followers, along with those more willing to listen to Yahweh, left Hell for Earth instead. To better explain things, Lucifer showed up soon after WW1 ended, in Los Angeles to start a bar, 'Lux'. And for a while, things were relatively calm, at least on paper. Hell was in an uproar, but Asmodeus was managing to more or less control the situation."
Alex smiled grimly. "And then WW2 happened."
Yidhra grimaced. "And then WW2 happened. Now, at first, things got tense. Lucifer saw the horrors of it all as evidence that Humanity truly was a mistake, and his Father really shouldn't love them so much. True, Lucifer did become fond of some humans, but overall, things didn't look good for a while…"
Yidhra trailed off, letting the implications of what would have happened if things had gotten worse hang in the air. Things could have easily led to Lucifer and his followers renewing their enmity with Yhaweh and Heaven… with everything that would imply, as an actively evil Lucifer would be a force of tremendous destruction for Reality.
But Yidhra grinned a moment later, showing that things didn't end like this.
"And then a conversation with his father caused him to try and find out if there was anything mystical behind WW2. He didn't expect to find anything, so assured he was of Humanity doing as Humanity always has, and being a disappointment, especially after WW1 was entirely Humanity's fault."
Akex chuckled darkly. "Except that is not what happened."
"Indeed not." agreed Yidhra. "Because as he searched, he started to find hints of something. And he thus started digging deeper. And deeper. And deeper."
Yidhra shook her head. "To properly set the scene, my King, you must imagine Lucifer, Lilith, along with several former VERY powerful Devils, all going on an extended adventure, across not only the Earth but several other planes as well, Hell included, all of it full of twists and turns, betrayal, secrets and vicious battles to find out the Truth."
"And the Truth wasn't something that Lucifer expected." I guessed knowingly.
Yidhra grinned coldly.
"WW2 partially happened because of Asmodeus' deliberate meddling in order to drive a wedge between Lucifer and Yahweh, and to both punish Lucifer for leaving, and get him back in Hell. Specifically, Asmodeus used the death, suffering, despair and more generated by WW1, turned it as fuel for a world-wide curse, and then sat back to watch the rise of political extremism and economical crisis start an even worse conflict than WW1."
Yidhra nodded. "It was a very subtle curse. Nobody even noticed it across the various pantheons of Earth… Except Yahweh, clearly, and perhaps Lady Yog-Sothoth, I can't say. The fact it existed, and that it influenced Humanity like this however, became an undeniable fact once the secret was out."
"Let me guess: Lucifer wasn't happy about it?" I replied with a smirk.
Yidhra snorted at my words.
"To say that Lucifer was VERY MUCH not amused would be putting it mildly. It is one thing if Humanity doom itself, it's another thing entirely when someone else is the cause. Especially when that someone else isn't named Lucifer."
She chuckled darkly.
"And especially when it is Asmodeus! AND ESPECIALLY to try and manipulate/punish Lucifer himself, both in making him hate Humanity, and his Father! If Lucifer is to hate both of those things, it will be because Lucifer chooses to do so, not because someone tries to manipulate him into it!"
"Ah." I said with deep amusement, holding myself back from laughing outright. "Pride can truly be a double-edged sword… But it doesn't always get used by the enemy. Sometimes, it actually cuts the enemy."
"As you say, my King." replied Yidhra with a grin. "Thus, Lucifer broke the curse, and almost went down in Hell to try and kill Asmodeus, consequences be Damned."
Alex laughed at that.
"In a twist of truly glorious irony, Lucifer rebelled... against Hell!" he cackled.
Yidhra chuckled as well, before smiling. "And that's the story of how Lucifer is no longer in speaking terms with Asmodeus." she finished. "That isn't to say that Lucifer doesn't keep a VERY close eye on Hell, though. Especially after what Asmodeus tried to pull off. But otherwise, Lucifer is now, more than ever before, truly Free. He isn't subservient to Yahweh, but neither does he serve Hell any longer."
She waved. "He's not a bastion of Good, but no longer does he seek to be an Incarnation of Evil either. In the end, Lucifer Morningstar is now bound to nobody-"
"-And he found himself rather enjoying that fact a great deal once he realized it. A great deal." declared Alex with a wide smirk.
"Of course he did." I said while shaking my head, a grin on my lips. "So what happened after all that?"
Tidhra shrugged slightly. "Well, turns out, Lucifer rather enjoyed post-WW2 humanity. Mankind was actually seeking Freedom more than ever before, and Lucifer approved. Lilith, too, was actually finding that equality between Men and Women was becoming closer than ever before, and eagerly began to support various political groups supporting equality between sexes. Lucifer himself actually supported a few causes he approved of, looking with an almost proud eye over the advancement of Human civilization as a whole."
Alex snorted. "Not that he would ever actually say so. He's Lucifer, after all, praising Humanity would let his Father win, he can't have that!" he remarked with a grin, before continuing where Yidhra left off.
"The end result is that Humanity is actually doing a bit better than the one in my world, because both Lucifer and Lilith, along with a few of their allies, have been supporting causes they approved of, in a way that benefited Mankind, while eagerly smashing any plots of Asmodeus, and any other Infernal beings, over Earth they so much get a hint of." Alex finished.
I nodded. "So basically Yahweh is most likely very proud of his children, even if both Lucifer and Lilith are most likely being absolute Tsundere about the whole thing, and Lucifer is enjoying watching over Mankind for the time being. Maybe he'll do something else later... But he's got the freedom to do whatever he wants, now, and that- that is something he is very, very Proud of." I concluded.
"Exactly." Yidhra agreed.
"Huh. Well then." I mused on what 'I' learnt, even if my True Self obviously already knew it all, before shrugging and summoning a bottle of alcohol in my hand. "To Lucifer, Humanity, and the freedom to tell others to fuck off while choosing our own paths!" I declared, before summoning three glasses and serving us all.
""Cheers!""
Earth, Realm of Cthulhu, city of R'lyeh.
I looked at my surroundings with no small amount of satisfaction.
The once dead city had regained its former life, houses once again filled with the sounds of families living their lives, market places echoing with the cries of merchants selling their products, and temples glowing with eldritch power filled with the prayers of the faithful.
I was looking at a city that was recovering extremely quickly from the tragedy that once struck it, something that was shown in the way that the markets were full of merchants plying their trade, in the temple filled to bursting with people, and above all in the sheer numbers of different species I could see walking across the city's streets.
The rise of R'lyeh was a miracle that had become known far and wide, and with it came countless curious individuals, researchers, historians, diplomats, priests and of course pilgrims.
It would still take time for R'lyeh to truly take back the once influential place it held in the local sector of the cosmos, but it was clear that, eventually, it would do so… and perhaps go even further beyond that.
"I don't think I can ever fully repay you for this, no matter how many eons pass." said the Great Old One standing by my side, Cthulhu being in human size this time as he watched over his city with the same pride and satisfaction at the sights before us than I did, his arms crossed over his chest.
"Eternity is a very long time." I replied with a kind smile. "Fear not. If your honor requires you to pay me back for my help, I'm certain that you will find ways to do so."
I glanced at where a giant temple was being built. So far, only the barest foundations had even been made, but once it was done it would be a temple so colossal that it would give the entire Vatican a run for its money.
Cthulhu had originally wanted to make it entirely in my name, but I convinced him to change the plans for something that would honor all the Eldritch Gods affiliated with Earth in some way, with me and Azathoth still getting the place of honor as the rightful rulers of the Gods.
As nice as having a giant temple built sorely for me was, I was King of an immense pantheon now, and I couldn't, and refused to be, selfish about things. For all my power, there was strength in numbers, in cooperation, and as a former Human I knew this better than most.
Mankind, for all its lone heroes, has always achieved great things because people worked together. Even my journey through Bloodborne wouldn't have been anywhere as straightforward as it was without Oedon, Gerhman, and the others I met during the long night of the Hunt.
Besides, what kind of King would I be if I couldn't even recognize the greatness of my own people?
Cthulhu saw the way I was looking at and smiled.
"It will be the grandest temple to the Gods ever built on Earth… Or, well, near Earth, since this is a separate but linked realm." he declared proudly.
I nodded. "A monument to the Gods… but also to the mortals who built the temple. That's why I want it built by mortal hands, even if I could do it instantly. I want it to be a symbol of what mortal kind can achieve in our names. Of the greatness we can inspire them to reach for."
Cthulhu glanced at me. "Few of the Gods would see it that way… Eldritch or otherwise."
"Foolish." I swiftly replied. "There is no shame in recognizing the greatness of one's people, quite the opposite. It elevates us, as Gods and rulers, even higher if our people are recognized as equally great in their own ways. For how great must a god truly be, for them to be the gods of a great people?"
Cthulhu fell silent, staring at me for a few seconds before he began chuckling.
"A very unique point of view, but I can find no fault in it."
He turned back towards the sprawling city, taking in its physics-defying architecture, the arcane green flames giving off lights during night time, but also the numerous aircrafts, spaceships, and other vehicles coming and going as more and more people came to trade, visit, and see the power of the Gods with their own eyes.
A gathering caught both our attention however, as they were of a species that currently had my attention.
"How are things going with my request to meet and gather as many of the Shoggoths as possible?" I asked.
"It's going faster than I expected, thanks to guidance from both your greater self and that of Lady Yog-Sothoth." respectfully replied Cthulhu. "However, it's still taking time. The Shoggoths are a wary, suspicious people. Even with my people knowing when and where to contact them, only a limited number of them are willing to come to R'lyeh, fearing a trap. Still, it shouldn't take too long before the required number of representatives are here, my King. Despite their caution, they are too desperate as a species to not grasp for the hope that you represent to them all."
"Good." I said with a smile. "The Shoggoths are a very hardy and capable species. I'm honestly shocked that no other god has ever tried to get them under their banner… but their loss will be my gain, as I'm more than happy to claim them for myself."
"I talked with some of them." mused Cthulhu. "And I must admit, I think that I might have done what you are about to do if you weren't already planning on helping them. They are a tragic people, and one who truly needs help if they don't want to slowly die out across the eons to come."
"To be fair, you and your people don't have the best history with their former masters." I pointed out.
Cthulhu's face darkened slightly. "Indeed not. The Elder Things were not exactly the friendliest of species at the best of times. Though in the end, their own creations saw to their downfall."
A hint of a cold smirk touched his green lips. "How very appropriate."
I nodded. I had no love either for a species who created a slave race and tried to wipe them out when they grew to be more than mindless tools and inevitably rebelled.
"There was something else I came here to talk to you about." I spoke up, making Cthulhu turn towards me with curious red eyes.
"Ithaqua."
Cthulhu winced, before slumping slightly.
"Please don't be too hard on her, my King." he said softly, his emotions a raging storm of ancient fondness, sorrow, guilt, and more. "What happened to R'lyeh was a tragedy, not an act born from malice."
"I know." I said gently. "But simply freeing her after her long stay in prison isn't enough. She won't be trusted by anyone if I just free her and let her do her own thing."
A hopeful glint appeared in his red eyes at my words. "You seem to already have a plan, my king."
I grinned. "Ithaqua will want to serve me. My help in saving R'lyeh and you have seen to that."
He nodded. "She will be utterly devoted to you for it, my King. You did so much more than merely help save us all. You truly did do so, all by yourself."
I could tell that Cthulhu was just as utterly convinced he owed me as Ithaqua was, so I chose to not argue. R'lyeh would inevitably be freed, I just sped things up, but Great Old Ones could be… stubborn, as I've found.
"Well, either way, Ithaqua is strong. In time, she has the potential to be an Outer Goddess, easily. And it just so happens that I am in need of someone I can absolutely trust to act as the supreme commander of the Eldritch Kingdom's military…" I trailed off with a grin, Cthulhu's eyes widening at my words.
"I won't just give her the job, though. Ithaqua is strong, but she lacks military training to truly act as my Warmaster… Or rather, Warmistress. Besides, no one would take her seriously like that, they'd just see her as one of my pawns. But, if she was to join the military the old fashioned way, join the best military school in the Eldritch Kingdom, graduate as an officer with full honor, and then make a name for herself in the coming wars against the allies of the Abyss, then it would be a very different story, wouldn't it?" I slyly remarked.
Cthulhu stared at me for a long moment, before he smiled widely.
"Thank you, my King, for giving her a chance to prove herself." he told me with a mix of joy, relief and gratitude. "I was going to offer her sanctuary when she was freed, but I feared that she wouldn't find it in herself to return to R'lyeh after… everything. But thanks to you, she will truly have a chance to get her life back."
He sighed, his expression turning nostalgic. "She was so bright, did you know? She and my daughter Cthylla used to be such good friends… They used to be mischievous and delighted in making pranks across R'lyeh. The city rang with their laughter, once…" He fell silent, a far-away look on his face as he thought of older, happier times… though things were finally becoming better.
Then he looked back at me and bowed his head. "Please, do what I could not and help her find her path in life. Hastur once sent her to me, as he thought that someone with control over water would help her, a Great Old One of Frost, better than himself as an Eldritch God of Wind, but now I can only respectfully request for your help in finally letting her achieve her full potential."
I put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Don't worry, I fully intend to help. Not only is it the right thing to do, but I'm going to get a future Outer Goddess fanatically loyal to me in the bargain. I'd be an utter fool to turn her away."
Cthulhu relaxed, a grateful smile on his lips.
"Thank you, my King. I'm once again in your debt for helping to make right what I could not."
I shook my head. "No debt necessary…" I squinted at him. "Is what I'd like to say, but you won't accept that, will you?"
"I'm afraid not, my King." he replied, an amused gleam in his red eyes.
I groaned. "Fine, just… do what you believe is right, I suppose."
I looked back to the city, thinking of all the work still ahead of me. There were a lot of people I still needed to go talk to before my coronation…
"I'll leave you be for now. There's a great many things I still need to take care of before my rise to the Throne." I told Cthulhu.
"Of course, my King." he replied respectfully, and I could tell that, when he called me his king, he fully meant it. "Feel free to return at any time, R'lyeh's gates will always be open to you."
I smiled. "Thank you."
I took my leave, Cthulhu staring at my back thoughtfully.
Cthulhu, Great Old One and master of R'lyeh, master of the Earth (at least the Eldritch side of things) by the wills of the Gods, looked thoughtfully at the spot where his King had left R'lyeh from, his godly intellect working hard at a question that had posed even him trouble to answer.
What do you give to a God who already has everything, when you want to show him your gratitude?
Any artifact or riches he could get his tentacles on would be insignificant in the eyes of such a powerful Outer God. His personal loyalty, along with that of R'lyeh, was already secure, but it was not good enough.
He needed something sufficiently unique to have worth to an Outer God, but also be something that a Great Old One like him could access…
"Daddy?"
Cthulhu smiled as his little mollusk, Cthylla, came to join him as he overlooked his city.
"My daughter, I could use your advice on an important matter." he told her, hopeful that together, they might be able to think of something.
"I'm always happy to help, Daddy!" cheerfully said Cthylla, before straightening, trying to appear more serious… and only succeeding in looking utterly adorable instead.
"Alright, I'm ready for anything!" she declared, the beautiful blue eyes of her human form narrowed in focus.
Cthulhu reached out, head patting his cute little mollusk, unable to hold back from the cuteness overload.
"Daddy~!" she cried out, pouting at him. She tried glaring at him, but he had seen wet kittens look more intimidating.
Though to be fair, it was never wise to underestimate cats in the Dreamlands…
"Stop that! Do you have any idea how much work taking care of all that hair requires? If it wasn't for how much I like the feel and look of them, I wouldn't bother having any in my human form." she grumbled.
"I apologize, my little mollusk." he told her, though the way he was chuckling only made her pout harder. "I really do need your help with an incredibly important task."
"Really?" she asked, blinking. "I'll gladly help, but are you sure that I'm up for it, if it's so important?" she asked hesitantly, and Cthulhu had to hold himself back from flinching at her self-doubt. It was yet another failure on his part, yet another mistake that had forced Cthylla to be kept like an animal in a golden cage for 300 millions years, just to ensure his emergency rebirth ritual could work.
Still, there was no time to feel guilty about that.
"You'll do fine. All I wanted was to ask you if you could think of anything that I could give to King Aeon to show my gratitude to him." he explained, Cthylla's eyes widening at his words. "After everything we owe him, our loyalty alone isn't good enough a reward, especially when he already had that by becoming Queen Azathoth's beloved. And that's not even going into his plans for Ithaqua…"
Cthylla perked up, her old friend's name catching her attention.
"What's that about Ithaqua?"
Cthulhu explained what happened, and Cthylla smiled brightly. "So she's going to be free? That's wonderful to hear!"
"Indeed it is." he agreed. Despite everything, he didn't hate Ithaqua. He had accepted to help her when Hastur sent her to him, and it was his failure to properly train her that led to the tragedy that followed. "But that only shows my point even more: King Aeon deserves to be properly rewarded, and I can't think of anything to give him..."
Cthylla's face scrunched up adorably, her human features contorting as she thought deeply on the matter.
He let her think in peace, his own mind turning in circle as he contemplated the question-
"Does he have any maids?"
Cthulhu blinked, caught-off guard by the suddenness of her words and the words themselves.
"Does our King have maids?" he reformulated. "I… don't think so?" he said slowly.
He knew what maids were, he had more than ample time to learn a lot about humanity while he was imprisoned with R'lyeh, with nothing but time on his tentacles, but what did that have to do with-
"Really? But I thought every powerful human male had those." Cthylla frowned deeply, before nodding to herself with determination. "Very well then. In that case, I'll just have to become his maid!" She cheerfully declared, her blue human eyes gleaming with delighted joy at the thought of being able to help, and a bright smile filling the room with warmth from her innocent joy.
Cthulhu, lord and master of R'lyeh, a powerful Great Old One capable of matching entire human pantheons by himself in raw power, commander of countless legions of Eldritch soldiers and possessing an inhuman intellect worthy of his divine status-
Blinked.
Then blinked again.
Then he threw his tentacled face back, and roared in laughter so hard the entirety of R'lyeh heard him laugh.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! It's perfect!"
He took Cthylla in his arms and laughed harder. "You're the best, Cthylla!"
"Haaaaah?! Really- I mean, of course I am!" she laughed with him, and Cthulhu hugged her harder.
Oh, his little star-spawn was a genius! Surely, his King would love having a reminder of home… and if it just so happened to let Cthylla finally live beyond the sheltered life he had forced her into until now, even if she had been fully willing, well, all the better!
He did wonder if his new king would love his new maid in more… physical ways, too. It was no secret that his king quite enjoyed having beautiful females around him to mate with, and Cthylla was rather attractive in her human form by human standards…
If only he hadn't made a mistake with the ritual for his rebirth! It wasn't originally supposed to require the female bringing him back into the world to be a virgin, but his mistake had added that condition, forcing him to hide her away from others for far, far too long. Bless her gentle heart, she had never hated him for it, but that just made the guilt worse.
Well, if that happened… So be it. He was free, and so was R'lyeh. As long as Cthylla was happy, that was all that mattered.
I opened a portal leading straight to Ithaqua's prison, easily passing through the wards over it, since they recognized my kingly authority to come and go as I pleased.
The moment I appeared, Ithaqua stiffened, her head snapping towards me instantly.
"My king." she greeted, bowing her head as deeply as she could within her bounds. Her words carried something that wasn't there last time: a truly colossal amount of gratitude, joy and devotion.
As expected, saving R'lyeh and Cthulhu had some rather spectacular repercussions on her mental and emotional state.
"Ithaqua." I nodded in greetings. "Give me a second, there's someone else I need to bring for this talk."
She nodded, clearly curious but obediently waiting all the same.
I waved a hand, opening a new portal… this one leading to Anga, the living incarnation of Ruin currently sunbathing on a tropical beach with a cold drink in hand, a rather sexy red two piece swimsuit on her that did very little to hide the impressive curves she possessed, and a pair of shades on her nose.
I could see her tense at the sudden portal opening… before she noticed and recognized my presence.
In a literal blink of an eye, she had taken off her shades and was suddenly kneeling before me, her head kept deeply bowed.
I was deeply thankful I could control my body well enough to not pop a boner right then and there at the sight, because holy shit that ass.
Now there's something I would love to ruin…
"My King. I am ready to serve." she instantly declared, her voice as hard as steel, matching with the sheer conviction and devotion in her heart.
"Rise." I commanded, Anga doing as ordered and finally looking at me, her expression resolute and focused… and utterly uncaring of the fact that she was still in a swimsuit.
Actually, the slight hint of red on her cheeks made it clear that she knew… but her emotions told me clearly that she didn't mind me taking a peek.
Quite the opposite.
I smiled. I had taken my distance from everyone I had rescued when Yog and the others made their reports about potential recruits, mostly because I didn't want to take too much advantage of them at a time they would be immensely emotionally vulnerable.
Still, several months had passed since then, and while Anga's eyes burnt with the same fanatical zeal to serve that they originally had, they were calmer now. Less driven to a desperate need to pay me back for saving her, more… in control.
I nodded at her, then looked back at Ithaqua… and waved a hand, instantly unlocking everything that kept her shackled, even the blindfold around her human eyes falling away. She was clothed in a tattered white dress that was most likely already old when the dinosaurs were still roaming the Earth.
The Great Old One fell on the ground, shocked at her own freedom, so utterly unused to it after so long, and for a moment both me and Anga stared at her in silence… but after several seconds of shock, she quickly moved to kneel just as deeply and respectfully as Anga did. I could have helped her up… but no. Something like that needed to be done by herself, there was a symbolism to standing up by yourself after countless years of imprisonment that I wasn't going to mess with.
"My King. You… have freed me?" she asked, a measure of uncertainty in her voice.
"I have talked to Cthulhu. He asked, almost outright pleading with me really, to take you into my care and give you a second chance." I told her, Ithaqua stiffening at my words, a mix of shock, guilt, gratitude, love and sorrow flashing through her heart.
"Of course, I was already planning to do that, so I happily accepted." I informed her, making her head snap up to look at me in surprise, ice blue eyes staring up at me wide in surprise.
"My King-"
"Rise." I ordered, and she instantly did as commanded, her gaze catching that of Anga, a hint of a sympathetic, understanding and joyful gleam appearing in her own eyes as the two women exchanged an entire conversation with a simple look-
Before both turned back to me, standing at attention so perfectly they looked frozen in place.
I smiled at them both.
"Now, I personally am a great believer in both Free Will, and the freedom to choose your own path. So if either of you wants to enjoy your newfound freedom to the max, be free to do and be anything you desire at long last… Then go through the portal leading to Anga's vacation spot, and I will not bother either of you two again, satisfied that some ancient great wrongs have finally been made right and happy to leave it at that."
""My King-!"" Both goddesses spoke up as one, both of them with the exact same defiant, passionate look on their faces.
They stopped, glancing at each other in faint surprise, though with a certain amount of recognition and understanding, both women being so in-tune with each other's desires that they both smiled at each other.
Ithaqua bowed her head, and Anga looked back at me, her expression just as zealous as I expected.
"My King, you have brought freedom and happiness to us both that we thought impossible. We will not shy away from the debts that we both owe you. If we must dedicate the rest of our eternal lives to you to make up for it, then so be it." she said firmly, Ithaqua nodding just as firmly by her side.
My expression softened. "You have both spent a very, very long time in bondage. Do you truly wish to put new chains around yourselves, even if they are metaphorical rather than physical?"
"To serve the god who saved us is no bondage, it is an honor." Anga replied with steel in her voice and expression, Ithaqua nodding again just as firmly.
"You have done far more to save R'lyeh and those I cherish than I thought even possible." declared Ithaqua, her ice blue eyes staring at me with all the devotion of a zealot mortal staring at their god. "I have spent millions of years desperately thinking of any way I could make up for what I did, and you just… fixed everything in an afternoon, and even granted Cthulhu his own realm to rule from."
She knelt again, head deeply bowed.
"I will serve you in any way you desire, and do anything you request of me without hesitation, my King." she declared with pure determination in her voice despite her submissive posture.
In spite of her words, her intent wasn't even truly sexual. Oh, she would absolutely serve me sexually with a genuine smile on her face if I told her to drop her clothes, but in this case she really meant that from now on, she was mine to command as I wished.
I could feel a build up of power from her, and my eyes widened at her next words, filled with power and resolve.
"I swear upon Azathoth's name that I will serve-"
"Stop!" I commanded, the divine authority in my voice making her and Anga freeze in place, both of them now staring at me in shock and awe from the sheer power I suddenly exuded.
The very walls of Ithaqua's prison, which had endured for tens of millions, if not hundreds of millions of years without a crack, suddenly splintered slightly from the raw power contained in that single word alone.
My expression softened and my next words came out gently, but firmly.
"Not here, not yet." I told them both. "I have plans for you both, once you have fulfilled them, then I will accept any oaths you wish to make."
Both goddesses bowed their heads, shame and guilt clear to see anyway, and I sighed.
"Don't beat yourselves up. I understand, even appreciate the thought, but if you truly want to do this… Then we might as well do this properly."
"What is your will, my King?" asked Anga.
I straightened, staring hard at both goddesses, who stiffened and stared at me with serious, but eager expressions.
"Anga, Ithaqua. War is coming, a war started by my own decisions and actions, and one that I will see won by any means I see necessary. If you truly wish to serve me…" I trailed off, letting them have one last chance to black off, but neither so much as blinked.
Very well then.
"... Then I command you to join up with the greatest military academy of the Eldritch Kingdom, graduate as officers with full honors, and then serve with distinction in the military campaigns against the allies of the Abyss. To you, Ithaqua, I task you to earn such renown and respect that when the last of the allies of the Abyss fall, you will come before my throne, swear yourself to my service, and I will elevate you as supreme commander of all armed forces within the Eldritch Kingdom and Pantheon, and have that announcement be met with nothing but the full support of the military who will recognize that you rightfully earned that position." I commanded, Ithaqua straightening, her ice blue eyes widening in shock at the enormity of the task I was giving her.
To become so respected and influential as to become the supreme commander of the armed forces of the greatest, strongest nation in the omniverse was no small task, after all, even for a Great Old One like her.
And yet, a moment later, her expression hardened, a look of pure, absolute resolve taking over as she looked unflinchingly into my cosmic eyes.
"Your Will be done, my King." she swore.
I nodded, satisfied. "As a bonus, I also request that you train yourself such that you reach the Outer God level of power by that time. I do not demand that you reach the heights of beings like Shub-Niggurath or Nyarlathotep, but all must recognize you as worthy of being called an Outer Goddess."
She bowed her head deeply.
"Consider it done." she swore again.
I turned towards Anga, who met my gaze without flinching despite knowing the enormity of the task I just gave Ithaqua.
"Anga, Goddess of Ruin. You will join Ithaqua in her military studies, but where Ithaqua will be my general, you will be my weapon of terror and destruction. You will bring-" my lips twitched in amusement. "-Ruin to my enemies, whether they are Dark Gods or entire civilizations. Learn to master your powers in every way possible. Discover every means inimaginable to do everything from ruining a single mortal man's life, to the mightiest of Deities and civilizations. Reality is a place full of wonders… but also horrors, and if I declare such horrors to be unworthy of existence, if I do not wish to erase them myself, then it will fall to you to do so. You will be feared by countless. Your name alone will make pantheons tremble in terror. But you will be respected as my weapon, an instrument of my wrath and Judgement."
My voice softened, a measure of regret and guilt in my eyes as I stared at both goddesses before me.
"The Omniverse will look upon you with distrust and fear, and few will ever welcome you with open arms. You will be cursed with an eternity of slaughter, and the oceans of blood that comes with it. But I will always be there to welcome you home, and where others will fear you, I will always respect and cherish you. Now and forevermore, know without doubt that I will always be thankful for the sacrifices that you will endure in my name."
I looked into the unflinching eyes of both goddesses. With my words, I condemned them to eternal horrors and suffering from the battles and wars they will have to fight, from the decisions they will have to live with.
"Do you accept the duties I give you?" I finally asked.
""We do."" they both declared without a moment of hesitation, their expressions utterly resolved.
I bowed my head to the innocence I was killing with my decision, to the death of whatever shreds of it remained in both women.
But I was King, I had duties I had to see to now, and I had given them both the chances to back out several times.
"So mote it be." I solemnly declared, before glancing at the still open portal to the tropical island. "Then go, both of you. In a week, one of my Aeons will transport you to the Military Academy, and from there it will be up to you to succeed or fail on your own merits."
The two goddesses relaxed, before bowing their heads. "Thank you, my King, for giving us a chance to serve." said Ithaqua, and I scoffed. "I'd be foolish to pass up the chance to recruit two goddesses that will be powerful Outer Goddesses in the future. Even without any moral reasons to help, sheer pragmatism alone would dictate that accepting you both is in my best interests."
"My king… You really need to learn to accept the gratitude of those you save." said Anga with some amusement, earning her an agreeing nod from Ithaqua.
I mock-scowled at both women, who for all their zealous loyalty to me apparently weren't completely above snarking at me.
Then I paused, and glanced at the chains that previously bound Ithaqua.
My expression turned thoughtful.
"My King?" asked Ithaqua, following my gaze to see me staring at her own shackles.
Anga did the same, her eyes gleaming in curiosity as she peered harder at them. "Those chains… They are filled with power. A lot of it."
Ithaqua hesitated… then nodded at me. "If you want them, feel free. I never resented them, and I agree, they could be forged into powerful artifacts."
I hummed. "They would make for perfect weapons for you." I agreed, making Ithaqua freeze, before I nodded with a mischievous grin on my face. "I even know what kind of swords I'll turn them into!"
God of war style Blade of Chaos, except with Ice-themed powers instead!
"My King, that's not necessary!" quickly said Ithaqua, her pale cheeks reddening. "True, I would love- I mean, appreciate a gift from you-" Anga gave her an amused, knowing look at the slip of her tongue, "-but there is no need to-"
"Nope." I cheekily interrupted.
Ithaqua blinked.
"Nope?"
"Nope." I said again with a firm nod. "I have decided to make you weapons, and you will get weapons. That is my prerogative as a King! I already look forward to seeing your brilliant smile when I give them to you! Goddess of Frost you may be, but I am certain your smile will warm my heart at the mere sight of it!"
Ithaqua flushed, while Anga stifled a laugh, though there was a measure of envy in her eyes-
"Oh, and I'll do the same for you, of course, Anga." I continued without skipping a beat, making Anga freeze and Ithaqua suddenly gained a mischievous gleam in her eyes. "I'm sure that your own shackles will do the tricks just as well as Ithaqua's."
Again, God of War style blades, but this time based on the concept of Ruin… Ooooh, that sounded like it could get really powerful! I was going to have fun creating their weapons!
"That's an excellent idea, my Lord. She is to be your living weapon, after all, and it would shame you if she wasn't armed with the best weapon possible." Ithaqua cherfully approved, earning a horrified, betrayed look from Anga at being thrown under the bus as well.
Ithaqua leaned towards her and smirked. "I saw the way you were laughing, turnabout is fair-play." she told her, ice blue eyes gleaming in satisfaction at the way Anga promptly looked away with a blush at being caught.
I grinned.
I had a good feeling that those two were going to get along like a house on fire!
My enemies' house, that is!
Also, as a man of culture, having a blue-haired, blue-eyed woman and a red-haired, red-eyed woman both potentially becoming good friends with one another, until the day where they both eagerly jump into my bed, would make a wonderful "Ice and Fire" theme threesome!
Plans within plans! Witness my work and despair, ye mighty!
Muhahahahaha!
I stood near the great tree where me and Gehrman fought to the death, staring into the night sky filled with stars of the Hunter's Dream.
There was a lot of work left to do before my coronation, a lot of people to contact and give orders to…
But at least for this moment, I was enjoying some peace and quiet.
Soon enough, I would be King in truth. I would, quite literally, have the weight of the omniverse on my shoulders.
To someone else, it would be a crushing weight, making them buckle and break underneath it.
For me…
It was a natural outcome of my choices ever since becoming the Good Hunter.
Someone needed to stand and fight for Reality. Someone needed to administer the Eldritch, to ensure that a repeat of Yharnam would never happen.
And as a certain model of a Salarian scientist put it, it had to be me. Someone else might get it wrong.
Hell, I could get it wrong, for all I know. I was just confident enough in myself to believe I could do a good job making Reality a better place.
With the power at my disposal… It could be done. It will be done, if I had anything to say about it.
Was it hubris, to believe that I could change the entire omniverse for the better? Madness?
But then again…
My words to Ludwig echoed in my mind.
Better to be mad and dare to hope, than the opposite.
Better to be a fool with hope, than a wiseman broken by despair.
The war with the Abyss will be the greatest source of change the omniverse has seen in eons. To say nothing of the war with Hell, that will inevitably follow…
"Brooding, my King? Perhaps I can… distract you from your morose thoughts?"
I felt two arms hug me from behind, before two very large breasts pressed themselves against my back. The words spoken with a female voice echoed with a thousand different tongues and languages, from a thousand different forms.
Moreover, they dripped with sensuality, with inner darkness and maddening passion, with ill intent and maniacal joy alike.
"Nyarlathotep." I greeted calmly, a small smile on my lips, though my eyes never left the stars above. "Bored with watching me from the shadows?"
The giggle that followed could make any mortal man instantly get a rock-hard boner, and any woman dripping wet from the sheer sexuality contained within it. It held the outward appearance of innocence and fondness, but the truth beneath was one of pure madness and Chaos, of maniacal desire and insane lust.
"Ooooh, Master~!" she purred, her lips so close to my ear that I could almost feel their warmth upon my skin, and I could definitely feel her hot breath tickling my neck. "I so do enjoy watching you at work. Manipulating the Heavenly and Infernal Realms for your own selfish whims, setting up the pieces of the greatest war… or is it wars? In the Omniverse's history… and even having the time to seduce women left and right into your bed. If you hadn't already claimed me, I would have knelt to you here and now." she purred, the sound echoing with the moans and screams of bliss and agony of quintillions souls across the cosmos.
My lips quirked up in cold amusement.
"I take it that you're thoroughly enjoying manipulating both Devils and Demons in order to prepare a civil war with the first, and make the second far more bloody that it would otherwise be?"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Nyarla's laughter was maniacal, a grinding sound of billions of inhumans mouths cackling in madness and unholy glee. It was only the fact that we were in the Hunter's Dream that Reality around us didn't shatter from the power and insanity contained within those maddening sounds, which could make even Greater Gods tremble in terror.
"Do you even need to ask?" she replied, her blood red eyes dancing with the fires of trillions of battlefields where, right now, uncountable legions of demons were violently slaughtering each other. Her smile held the cruel delight of countless Devils plotting and conspiring against each other, lives broken and enslaved within their deadly battles of influence and manipulation, where every smile was calculated and every word spoken yet another dagger aimed at your heart.
"I hadn't had so much fun in eons!" she declared with maniacal glee, delighting in the screams of every damned soul caught in the plans of those infinitely greater than they were, in the despair, terror and rage of innumerable souls fighting, deceiving, killing for the sake of their own selfish desires.
"The previous, oh-so-precious balance has been smashed to pieces!" she laughed harder, the echo of countless Heavenly armies marshaling for war filling the air, the sounds of merriment and joy within the plains of Elysium now being filled with the sounds of people training together to ensure the destruction of entire civilizations.
"The very Gods themselves are nothing but puppets in your hands!" Visions of Gods, Heavenly or not, all training and readying themselves for war, bracing themselves for conflicts they know they cannot avoid, whether they like it or not. War is coming, by the will of a God far mightier than they will ever be, and they can only hope for the best, for to whom can the Gods pray in time of uncertainty?
"Oh, My King, my Master, my Beloved." Nyarlathotep purred the last word with mocking sarcasm towards the way Azathoth spoke it, and yet there was no denying the earnest delight within it, the genuine respect and adoration, the maddened obsession and the maniacal joy. "I would have been satisfied with a mere handful of galaxies being shaken to their core by your existence and rise to power, but you truly are someone who loves to go far and beyond any common sense, aren't you?" She spoke the words with twisted relish, finding terrible joy in the way I had shattered every rule and tradition by my very existence and decisions. For she was Nyarlathotep, The Crawling Chaos, and nothing delighted her more than change, than Chaos, and the repercussions they inevitably bring.
I finally looked away from the stars, peering fearlessly in the twin red orbs of pure madness that were the windows to her soul. She was a monster, a sadistic deity who delighted in the shattering of Dreams, in the death of Hope, in the breaking of sanity and the dying gasps of Innocence.
She was truly a monster… But she was loyal. Even now, every plot that filled her mind and that she acted upon throughout Reality was done with the ultimate purpose of furthering my own goals. Every death, every act of destruction, every crushed dream and every broken life was a sacrifice, an offering done in the name of my ambitions.
Thus, much like with Anga and Ithaqua, I would always cherish, respect and love her, for she was my monster.
And my very nature pushed me to lead all who choose to follow me towards Utopia, even damned souls like hers.
My inner core as a Savior would allow nothing else.
I smiled. "What can I say? I always was a perfectionist. I can never be satisfied with anything but my best."
She grinned, red eyes staring at me with all the intensity of a trillion Neutron stars exploding, the insane love of an Outer Goddess of Chaos shining bright within her gaze.
"Then I promise you, my Lord and Master, you shall always have nothing but my best as well in my eternal servitude to you." she swore, and there was no doubting the earnest truth of her words.
I was perhaps the only one she would never bother to lie to, simply because she found it far more intriguing and fun not to.
Also, it was chaotic of her to choose to always be truthful to me, and really that was all the reason she needed to do so.
"And speaking of which…" she knelt, her red eyes turning mischievous and lustful. "Let me show you how well I can serve." she purred, her fingers quickly working at my belt.
My smile grew.
To nobody's surprise, the Crawling Chaos was very very skilled at sex.
And I was more than happy to let her show just how eager to serve she truly was.
Being God-King did have its perks, after all, and I was man enough to enjoy them thoroughly and shamelessly!
This is the Omniverse's way of punishing me for my hubris, I just know it.
I stared, along with all of my wives and lovers, at the three figures at the foot of our bed.
We had spent hours during the night having sex, just like every other night, before going to sleep…
And waking up to the incomprehensible sight before us.
Okay, that wasn't entirely fair. Two of the three people before me really were the kind to do something like that.
It was the third that was making my blood pressure spike.
Cthylla, along with the twin daughters of Kassogtha, Nctosa and Nctolhu, were standing in our bedroom, thus ensuring that all three daughters of Cthulhu were currently in my bedroom…
While wearing French Maids outfits. Which had to be at least slightly modified precisely to show off their boobs, because I refused to believe those plunging necklines were normal.
Also, both Nctosa and Nctolhu were blushing while looking at all of us in the rather massive bed we were in, which was rather easy to spot considering their very pale skin, and their eyes looked everywhere but at me. The way they were fidgeting with their clothes also showed that it might not have been their plan to be inside the room when we woke up, which was… surprising, because in that case…
I looked at Cthylla, and promptly blanched harder at the sight of the fascinated gleam in her blue eyes when she looked at all of us in the bed. Oh, Cthulhu, please have mercy, I swear that I'm not the one who set this up and started corrupting your daughter!
"Hi, girls. Already at work, I see!" Cheerfully said Azathoth, which got everyone to turn and stare at her.
"My dear, beloved Aza." I began slowly, my words making her blush, though the tone I was speaking them with clearly sent alarm bells ringing in her head. "Why exactly do we have the three daughters of Cthulhu, in French Maids outfits-"
"With extra plunging necklines!" cheerfully pointed out Nyarlathotep without hesitation, and with a shit-eating grin on her face for good measure.
"With extra plunging necklines, currently in our room when we're all just waking up?" I smoothly continued, my expression making it clear I'd like answers. Yesterday, preferably.
"Oh, huh, well-" Aza hesitated, clearly uncomfortable under the sudden heavy stares from everyone in the room… especially the more human members who clearly had enough common sense left to question whatever this was.
"I would like to know as well." dryly said Lucy, her ever-shifting coloured eyes narrowing dangerously towards Aza.
"I, for one, am entirely fine with this." calmly declared Oedon, not even bothering from hiding her naked upper half from view of the three uninvited guests in our bedroom. Most likely because they were females and that, by the amusement I felt radiating from her, she found the entire situation hilarious.
"Hear hear!" shouted Claire, not even trying to hide the way she was leering at the maids' exposed tits on display through their necklines. "I want to wake up with that view every morning from now on!"
"Is there anything wrong with maids performing their duties and greeting their master in the morning?" asked Alexstrasza, showing her rich and powerful mindset by being clearly confused at why this sight was unnatural.
Nusha, my and Oedon's newest lover, nodding in agreement with her didn't exactly help the more human member of my lovers be any less bewildered.
"Aeon, can I blast these perverts out of our room?" flatly asked Tatsumaki, the whips of dark green energy around her making it clear that she dearly want"ed to do exactly that.
"Maybe we should just ask them?" boldly declared Rebecca, who was not so secretly enjoying the sight before her just as much as Claire was.
"Daddy wanted to show his gratitude to Lord Aeon, so he asked me for advice, and I told him that powerful humans had maids to serve them!" cheerfully said Cthylla without hesitation. "And since apparently you did have any yet, I thought that I might become your first! Daddy agreed it was a fantastic idea, and then my sisters learnt of it somehow, and decided to do the same, so…" she beamed happily at us, her sheer innocent joy almost blinding to look at. "Here we are!"
For a time, we just stared at her, and at an equally cheerfully nodding Aza.
"I want only the best for you Beloved, and if it's tradition for powerful humans to have these maids, then I want you to have the best ones possible!" Aza declared passionately.
"... They are serious. What the fuck." numbly said Jill.
"And Cthulhu is okay with me having all three of his daughters acting as my maids?" I asked, because seriously-
"Yep! Daddy said it was okay!" Cthylla happily said, with Nctosa and Nctolhu nodding in support.
I almost shed a manly tear. Cthulhu, you God of bro! Not only giving me maids, but your own daughters no less? Two of them twins? Can a man be more of a Chad? Can his Greatness ever be matched?!
"... Why is Aeon crying?"
"Well, Claire is crying too and muttering about this being the best wet dream ever, so…"
I swear it Cthulhu, I'll have to find a way to have you surrounded by beautiful women too!
Your throne will be groaning from the weight of all the naked women trying to climb on your lap and ride you to paradise!
"Oh, and now Nyarlathotep's cackling. We're all doomed…"
A.N: Alright! Here is the next chapter in which we continue the events of Love Azathoth!
And with this chapter, we focus once more on more Eldritch gods and beings in general, finally starting to develop more of the actual Love Azathoth storyline!
Yidhra is having a slow but earnest relationship with Alex Mercer in the background, while having their own adventures!
I finally dropped some background lore bombs about Lucifer and Lilith!
And I made some progress on the Cthylla storyline, same with the twins, Ithaqua and Anga!
Which ended up with the last two going to military school before eventually going "Rip and Tear" against everything in their way, while the daughters of Cthulhu have thought up a wonderful idea to thank King Aeon for all his help!
Cthylla is completely ignorant of all the sexual connotations of her situations… The twins are definitely not.
And neither is Cthulhu, who is both doing some CK2 pairings while also ensuring his daughters' happiness and making his King very happy.
Let it not be said that Cthulhu didn't learn a thing or twelve since his imprisonment.
The end result is that Aeon gets three new and beautiful maids, who are very eager to serve his every need. And we haven't even gotten to the Shoggoths maids yet…
Still, with all that being said, I hope you all enjoyed this update! Next time, Aeon continues to set the pieces for his Ascension to the Eldritch Throne… by talking to people! And seducing women.