My great thanks to TodaBruh, who kindly chose to use some of his free time to be my beta reader!
The Void, city of Null, capital of the Void Empire.
"Well, that's the neutral faction of the Court on our side." said Tatsumaki with satisfaction once she and Sherry made it back to their current quarters. "So where do you want to go next? We still have quite a few faction leaders we need to convince, if we want to have an unanimous vote."
"I'm thinking of Malzahar." replied Sherry, frowning in thought as she looked at the holographic portraits of the faction leaders shown through a data chip on a table before them.
Tatsumaki raised an eyebrow. "The religious fanatic? Really?" she questioned, a hint of contempt in her voice aimed at the man.
Sherry nodded. "Kai'sa and Kassadin are already on our side. The spymaster, Kha'Zix, is going to be a bit of a wild card by his very nature. Cho'Gath-" Tatsumaki's lips curled at the name of the leader of the armies of the Void who dared to call her weak. "-is one we should probably keep for last, or close to it. Which leaves only Malzahar."
Tatsumaki grunted. "Fine. Let's go see the fanatic in charge of other fanatics. Joy." she deadpanned.
"Even fanatics can be useful… if properly aimed." Sherry told her, shutting off the data chip's holograms.
Tatsumaki gave her a look, and Sherry shrugged. "Something dad told me. He'd know best."
The green-haired esper scowled, but nodded. "Whatever. As long as Aeon can get some use of them, I don't care."
Then she frowned. "I wouldn't have expected your father to say something like that, though."
Sherry shrugged lightly. "Dad can be very pragmatic at times. He's never going to support fanaticism, but he's also a great believer in Free Will. So if people are going to be fanatics, then he's going to use them in whatever ways fanatics can be useful."
"Like fighting a war against Demons." finished Tatsumaki with a nod.
Sherry sighed. "Yeah. I know he's feeling guilty about the sheer destruction that the upcoming war is going to cause, but at the same time I can see why he wouldn't budge on it. It's a matter of short-term destruction for long-term peace, prosperity and stability. Quite simply, he came to the conclusion that it's better to have a brutal, but victorious war against evil than to let the status quo be."
Tatsumaki fell silent, a frown on her face.
"That war… is it really going to be that bad? From what I understood, the demons are going to be heavily outnumbered."
"That won't matter as much as we'd all like." grimaced Sherry. "Outnumbered they may be, but the Abyss is still powerful. Incredibly so."
"But Aeon won against all of Abaddon by himself, no?" pointed out Tatsumaki. "Surely the Abyss can't be much worse?"
"It will be." grimly confirmed Sherry. "The Abyss is much stronger than Abaddon. The Four Horsemen in charge of it are powerful, but the Abyss are ruled by actual Gods. The reason that Abaddon never got conquered can be summed up like this: First, if either Hell or the Abyss went to war with Abaddon, the other realm would ally with Abaddon to wreck them. And Hell and the Abyss would never cooperate, so Abaddon never had to worry about an alliance against them. Secondly, and just as importantly, the shadow of Nyarlathotep looms large. Since she previously was the de facto patron deity of Abaddon, neither side wanted to piss off someone like that, especially when considering the first reason for why Abaddon was left mostly alone."
Sherry shook her head. "But even with the Abyssal civil war, the Abyss will not get that much weaker. It is the realm of Chaotic Evil, after all, and war only makes it stronger. Their armies will be bloodied and tested, their weapons will become more dangerous, the entire realm will be on a war footing, and much more besides. Dad did well in getting them to fight amongst each other, because it's still better to have a divided Abyss than an united one for as long as possible, but that outcome wasn't without consequences."
"And when the civil war ends…" finished Tatsumaki.
"Then, most likely, the current Queen of the Abyss will win." grimly declared Sherry. "You'd think she would lose, but the Abyss can only ever be ruled by the most powerful and cunning of their kind. Even an alliance of Gods can only do so much, when every Abyssal Gods are lesser than she is. Worse, the faction fighting the Queen will most likely lose because of one very simple reason: the ones fighting her are Chaotic Evil. Their very nature will ensure that they will fight each other almost as much as they will fight her. They will do their best to individually grasp for every scrap of power they can, even if it means harming the war effort, just to ensure that they get to be the strongest. Meanwhile, the Queen's armies will be united underneath her. Not completely, because again: Chaotic Evil, but it will still be an important factor."
Sherry pursed her lips, before speaking again.
"When the war starts, dad will be fighting the Abyssal Queen. It won't be a quick fight. The Queen will be made stronger by her victory in the civil war, and the Abyss itself will boost her power against an external foe like dad. All the chaos and destruction of the war will also fuel the Abyss, and through it, the Queen. Dad will still be stronger, but he won't be strong enough to win quickly. It will be a drawn-out duel, one that will likely last for the entire duration of the war. A clash of individuals as much as that of opposing concepts. Their every blow will ripple across Reality, twisting the destiny of countless battlefields and warping countless worlds. But we have the tools we need to win, one of which will be the greater numbers of our armies. Every demon slain is a paper cut on the powerbase of the Queen. Add enough of them, and eventually it will bleed her dry, allowing dad to properly overcome her." Sherry finished.
"And for that, having the armies of the Void will be helpful." acknowledged Taztsumaki.
Sherry smiled. "Exactly. The war itself may strengthen the queen, but demons dying in large numbers will weaken her. All we'll need to do, then, is kill enough demons to overcome the power boost the war will grant her."
"And what about the other Eldritch Gods?" questioned Tatsumaki.
"Well, it's a bit too early to say exactly…" mused Sherry. "But not all of them will directly fight. Yog-Sothoth will be more useful as support, watching out for hidden plots and helping guide our armies to victory. Shub-Niggurath will command her legions, but whether she does it as a general in the back or someone fighting on the frontline, I have no idea. The Crawling Chaos… Well, who knows with that one. Azathoth…" Sherry fell silent. "Azathoth will likely not be fighting at all. Too much risk of her wrecking large swaths of Reality if she were to directly fight."
"And Oedon?" asked Tatsumaki.
Sherry hesitated. "On the one hand, I can see her focusing on helping demons eager to escape the war and seek redemption to be free to do so." she says slowly. "On the other hand… Mom does know how to fight very, very well. If she actually joins in, as a direct force on the battlefield… Well. I pity the demons of the Abyss if she decides to ignore her usual pacifism and neutrality."
After their talk, the two women left for the city district where the leader of the faithful of the Void Empire resided.
If the previous two districts were focused on food and then knowledge, this one was focused on faith… And it showed.
Everywhere you looked, priests in different robes ran around the place, surrounded by faithful. The faiths of many Void and Eldritch Gods could be found here, and there were churches and cathedrals everywhere, each one honoring a different deity than the last.
Churches of white stones mixed with ones of deep black, cathedrals full of plants praising gods of nature stood near cathedrals looking more like forges as the gods of civilizations encouraged creations of new technological marvels.
As they walked, the two women saw some faithful praising the names of gods they recognized, like a group of Deep Ones calling out for Cthulhu and Father Dagon, along with Mother Hydra.
"Cthulhu nafl'fhtagn!" they screamed in seeming ecstasy. "Cthulhu nafl'fhtagn!"
"Cthulhu rises." Sherry whispered to herself, translating the words. The air around her seemed to turn misty at her words, the smell of ocean water filling her nose.
Others still sang praises to Yog-Sothoth, or Shub-Niggurath, recommending that people pray to the first for good fortune in life or the acquisition of knowledge, and the second for fertility and good health.
"Vulgtmah yog-sothoth, llll h' ymg' ephaimgah'n'ghft hutgh!" Praise Yog-Sothoth, for she will show you the way!
"Vulgtmah shub-niggurath, llll h' ymg' ephaigoka ehiogu ahorr'eog gof'nn!" Praise Shub-Niggurath, for she will give you many strong children!
They kept moving, in between buildings which seemed to loom larger than physically possible, with shadows which writhes in strange ways and angles which disturbed their human brains, the shapes of the pillars twisting and seemingly warping every time they looked away.
They could feel the weights of the Eldritch Gods' power in this place, as if gravity itself had not only grown, but gained a will of its own… or perhaps, many wills instead.
Large gathering could be seen, with hundreds, if not thousands of people gathered together in prayer while speaking in tongues that seemed unnatural to the human ear, ephemerals lights flitting about in the air, like aurora borealis created by words alone gathering around and above the kneeling or standing figures of the many species shouting their prayers.
Atop sacrificial altars, animals of various kinds could be seen being killed by priests with jagged, occasionally glowing daggers, their blood flowing down on the ground while the very souls of the animals could be seen screaming as they were consumed by hungry maws that simply appeared in the air to feast upon their meals with relish.
The forms of the cultists around them varied immensely, as it was clear that the worship they partook in had severe consequences on many of their bodies. Here, a humanoid singing praises to Cthulhu could be seen with half his face growing long tentacles going down his neck to reach his collarbone.
There, a worshiper of a Fire Void deity was quite literally on fire, purple flames coming from his hairs, along his arms and over his legs, his eyes glowing a brilliant purple. Despite all that, he moved without any indication of pain, the fire normally capable of easily melting stone not harming him at all.
Some people were even stranger, as a priest of Yog-Sothoth was walking down the street while his body seemingly warped and shifted, parts of his body rapidly aging or turning younger. His eyes shone gold, golden dust seemingly pouring out of his body in a faint shimmer as he moved. At times, reality apparently glitched as he just appeared several steps forward or backward, without rhyme or reason.
And then, in the distance a woman caught Sherry's eye, the woman wearing black robes and holding a staff with a single, glowing yellow eye with a black line for pupil on top, the eye made of some kind of glass that occasionally shifted like water. People around her respectfully avoided her path, bowing their heads in respect. When the woman entered a large dark church, the entire building shifted, becoming a dark cave instead, a kaleidoscope of colors shining from deep within the cave, the colors moving in a pattern that made even Sherry grimace in pain at the sight.
Just before disappearing into the cave, the woman paused, turned to glance at Sherry, and underneath her hood a slight smile could be seen pulling on her lips.
Praises be unto you, beloved surrogate of the Kungur, Lord of the Eldritch. Know that the Nuclear Chaos watches over you.
The words echoed in her mind, before the woman went out of sight… and the church reappeared, as if it had not become a cave a moment ago.
"Sherry?"
Sherry blinked, then glanced at Tatsumaki, who was looking at her curiously.
"Did you see something?" the esper asked, and Sherry glanced at the church-
Only to do a double-take as, instead of a church or a cave, there now was a Motel like any you'd find on Earth standing before her.
Oceanview Motel Casino, proudly declared the sign over the entrance.
It sees you, came a whisper from her dad in her mind. If you know how, it will lead you wherever you must go.
But beware, for all that glitter is not gold, and dangers too can await behind every door…
Sherry hesitated, before turning away. This wasn't the time and place to explore an intriguing mystery, not when she had come here with a job to do.
"Come on, let's go." she said firmly, moving forward with purpose.
Tatsumaki looked at her curiously, but fell in lockstep with her, as they kept moving through the district.
They did not get to arrive at the greatest cathedral of the district before first being accosted by ten armed soldiers, warrior-priests one and all carrying weapons in hands and holy books at the waist, as if they were just as likely to start fighting as they were to start praying.
The warrior-priests marched straight towards them, Tatsumaki tensing at the sight, before relaxing when neither she nor Sherry felt any ill-will.
If anything, there was a tightly-controlled sense of awe and wonder within all of them, buried under hardened will and training.
The leader of the warrior-priests came to a stop before them and bowed deeply, followed by those behind him.
"Blessed ladies, companions of Lord Aeon, forever be his name be praised, High Priest Malzahar welcome you to this district, the homes of the Gods, and extend an invitation to join him at the Cathedral of the Void."
"That's perfect, for we were actually here to see him." replied Sherry with a smile. "Will you guide us there?"
"Of course, Lady Starlight. Please, follow us." the warrior-priest declared, before turning and marching forward, the others quickly forming an honor guard around them as they went.
Needless to say, this caught the locals' attention, as whispers quickly broke out.
"Are they arresting them?" whispered someone.
"No, look, the way they are looking around for danger… It's an honor guard, not actual guards. They are protecting them." whispered another.
"Wait… I know the leading priest!" exclaim someone. "It's the commander in charge of High Priest Malhazar's personal guard!"
"Wait, really?"
"But then, those women are-"
"They're the envoys of the King!" shouted someone, and seemingly everybody froze.
"Please make way!" shouted the head guard, quickly seeing that things were about to get complicated. "These are guests headed to High Priest Malzahar!"
"One of the wives and the daughter of the King are both among us…" muttered someone in awe as they watched on with wide eyes.
"Praise be to the Gods!" shouted someone, and like a spark it set off a wildfire instantly.
"Praise be to the Gods!" The crowd began shouting with fervor, the cry picking up strength as it traveled across the incredibly religious city district.
"So much for a quick trip." grumbled Tatsumaki.
Sherry smiled a bit awkwardly.
"Well, it hardly worked out like that the last two times either, if for different reasons…"
People began to crowd around them, pushing each other to try and get a better look at the two women. Others merely knelt and began praying.
"Those red eyes… The daughter truly shows off the power of her adopted mother as a goddess of Blood!"
"They're both so beautiful!"
"How powerful must they be? Especially our King's daughter, I can only imagine how small we all must be in her eyes!"
Tatsumaki's eyebrows began twitching as the comments around them began praising Sherry far more than her, as if they were looking down at her for "just" being Aeon's wife. The only praises coming her way were about her own beauty, and it made her want to all call them creeps to their faces.
The fact that she could feel the people's emotions, including some of their lust, did not help.
"Bloody creepy fanatics." she muttered to herself darkly.
"Stay calm." whispered Sherry, one of her hands coming to gently rest on Tatsumaki's right arm as if to appease her. "You need to hide your strength until it's time to deal with Cho'Gath, remember?"
Tatsumaki held back a scowl, but nodded. At least she'll get to enjoy smashing that bug's face in the dust sooner or later.
Sherry gave her a smile, then they kept moving forward, at least as much as they could when the crowd was seemingly only growing larger by the second.
The news of the envoys of the King going through the religious district was spreading like wildfire, and the locals were coming out of everywhere to see them, as if they were all eager to see the divine in the flesh.
True, neither Tatsumaki nor Sherry were fully divine, but Sherry was certainly close enough to almost count.
And it certainly showed here and now, as people shouted at them to ask for blessings, or wisdom, or any numbers of things.
"Please, bless my child!"
"Please, heal me!"
"Please, help me-!"
"Please, help me-!"
"Please, help me-!"
"Are they not going to stop?!" growled Tatsumaki through a gritted smile while she tried not to show everyone how much they were all bothering her.
"And here I thought that being the daughter of the leader of ISIS back on Earth was bad…" muttered Sherry, looking rather overwhelmed for once as she took in the still growing numbers of people all around them. There were people all over the streets, but now there were also more flying in the air, or standing on top of buildings, all to try and get a look at them. "I know that we got a parade and everything at our arrival, but still!"
One of the warrior-priests apparently overhead her and decided to speak up, as they leaned towards the two women with an apologetic tone of voice. "For what it's worth, we're sorry for the inconvenience, but you have to understand, such distinguished representatives of the Outer Gods are rare to see. The Gods are ever worthy of respect of course, but to have the child and one of the wives of an Outer God coming here, in this holy place, is still incredibly rare. The closest equivalent to such a thing happening here was over 26 million years ago, when an Avatar of our Lady Yog-Sothoth was successfully summoned to help prevent a great catastrophe."
The two women blinked.
"... 26 million years ago, huh." deadpanned Tatsumaki.
"That is… certainly an impressive amount of time." slowly said Sherry.
The priest nodded, radiating nostalgia, joy and pride.
"Indeed. Ah, I remember that day, a crowd of people as far as the eye could see kneeling and praying… The raw power of the goddess spreading out across the Void… The sensation of being so infinitely small, and yet being watched over by something so infinitely greater…"
The priest seemed to shudder at the mere memory. "How incredible…" he whispered with longing and awe.
The two women stared at him for a long moment.
"I'm sorry, how old are you exactly?" finally questioned Tatsumaki.
"Oh, I'm closing in on my 500 millionth years of life in service of the gods." casually replied the priest.
The two women blinked.
"... Right. Of course." muttered Tatsumaki, a far-away look in her eyes.
Sherry's lips twitched.
Sometimes, even she could get caught off guard by just how old the locals could live.
It was one thing for Eldritch gods to be so old, but for the equivalent of mortals…
Well.
It was one more reminder that this multiverse did not operate on the rules she was used to.
She wondered how long it would take, before finding herself in the guard's position, casually declaring to be eons-old without a care in the world.
Only Time would tell… or her parents, she supposed.
Despite the still growing gathering of the faithful, whose numbers had to reach in the millions flooding all around them, they eventually made it to the Grand Cathedral of the Void, the main, greatest religious building in the Void Empire.
The first thing to know about the place was just how big it was. It wasn't quite the humongous size of the imperial palace, but the Grand Catedral could still comfortably hold a million people without issue.
A building of black and purple stone, towering high in the air as if trying to reach towards the heavens above, it was less a building and more a giant series of cathedrals and churches all built into each other, with a main spire in the middle that would put to shame the entire Vatican in sheer size.
How the Void Eùmpire had built all of this could only be explained by a mix of physics-defying technologies, incredibly powerful magic, literal divine intervention, and the fact that it was built in the Void, where the laws of Reality were far, far more lax.
Even so, the two women couldn't help but stare in genuine awe at the giant Grand Catedral. Built in a style reminiscent of the Gothic style, if with clear differences, it was an imposing monument to the glory, power and resources of both the Eldritch GHods and their faithful.
It took several minutes just to go up the stairs leading to the main entrance of the Grand Cathedral, a set of massive, robust doors with incredibly detailed iconographies all over them representing countless Eldritch Gods and their servants.
Gods of all forms and sizes were shown with such likeness as to be downright lifelike standing over countless different species, who one and all worshiped and praised them through numerous rituals.
So perfect were the images that the two women could literally feel the awe, faith and subservience of the mortal species praising the gods through the iconographies, as it became quickly obvious that somehow, the emotions and raw faith of the worshippers of the Gods had been infused into the doors, ensuring that everyone seeing those doors would feel the cumulative weight of numerous species praying to the Eldritch gods for uncountable eons.
And once inside the building, the air became thick with power. From the moment the threshold was crossed, both women could feel the presence and might of innumerable Gods having touched this place, leaving behind but a sliver of their attention upon it… and yet those barest slivers were still strong enough to make any normal mortal man collapse on the spot, their bodies and spirits crushed under the weight of those infinitely greater than they could ever hope to be.
"I'm starting to understand why the locals are as they are." muttered Sherry, who had merely softly grunted once under the weight of the accumulated divine power concentrated here.
Tatsumaki said nothing, though there was a grudgingly understanding look in her eyes that said she did somewhat agree.
Tatsumaki was never the kind to kneel or bow towards another, but she'll give the Eldritch Gods this much: they really weren't lying when they called themselves the strongest Faction in existence.
Their attention was quickly caught by the gathering of priests and priestesses at the center of the entrance hall however, as standing in the front of the assembled people, looking pleased, High Priest Malzahar could be seen waiting patiently.
"Thank you for escorting them here, Ganhar." Malhazar said to the head guard, who bowed deeply and replied "As the Gods wills it, High Priest."
Malhazar turned towards the two women, his twin blue eyes seeming to glow a bit brighter as he did.
"Indeed." he muttered with approval. "As the Gods will it. And such is why we are gathered here today, is it not? Because King Aeon, Consort of Queen Azathoth, forever may Their Names be praised, has sent you here to see His will carried out."
He peered at the two women, his expression hidden under the red robes he wore.
"Come, follow me. I wish to speak to you two elsewhere."
Following along, the group began walking deeper into the Grand Catedral, seeing many paintings, statues and representations of the Gods, their servants and their great deeds as they went.
Their forms were as ever-changing as the seasons, as everything from insects to fishes to things beyond easy human descriptions could be seen. Almost always with many tentacles, but not always, both Gods and servant species were represented through truly awe-inspiring works of art whose sheer quality showed the absolute dedication of the artists at their work.
"Tell me, what do you two know of the many faiths of the Void Empire?" he asked.
"We know that there are innumerable gods worshiped in the Void, as it is the home of the Eldritch Court." replied Sherry. "We also know that, ultimately, the Eldritch Court is the highest authority, with Azathoth herself the leader of the Gods… and thus, the rightful divine leader of the Faiths."
Malhazar nodded, visibly pleased.
"A simple, but good description. The truth is more complicated, of course. There are countless cults, faiths and religions fighting for influence in this realm, but you are correct that one of the only faiths that is truly above such competition is that of our Queen Azathoth. Her faithfuls are naturally in charge of all others, for if the Priesthood of Azathoth speaks, the Queen is speaking, and it is our duty, no, our joy and honor, to serve."
He paused, staring at a painting of hundreds of cultists performing some manner of rituals, the symbols on the robes of the cultists showing that there were cultists from dozens of different cults… but the one clearly in charge was one with a symbol of Azathoth prominently displayed on his person.
"But now, the Queen has a King." mused Sherry.
Malhazar looked away from the painting and glanced at her, nodding in slow agreement.
"Correct. A change never seen before will sweep through this realm, as now the faithfuls of not one, but two faiths will be, by nature, in charge of all others."
"And you don't like that?" questioned Tatsumaki, crossing her arms with an unimpressed look on her face.
Malhazar chuckled. "Quite the opposite. It is my duty, and my honor, as High Priest, to see to the wills of the Gods. As King Aeon clearly has plans and a vision for Creation he wishes to make reality, I expect that I will have the chance to see to it that the Gods' will are properly fulfilled quite often in the future."
"So what's the problem?" bluntly asked Tatsumaki.
Malhazar didn't respond at first. Instead, he silently bid them to follow him as he began to head deeper into the Grand Cathedral once more.
Tatsumaki scoffed but followed with a scowl, while Sherry looked curiously at Malzahar.
The man was absolutely radiating with anticipation… but for what?
Finally, after a few minutes of walking, they arrived inside a grand hall for prayers…
One dedicated to two specific goddesses.
"There is one matter that does need to be addressed." agreed Malhazar to Tatsumakli's words at long last. "Specifically, I mentioned that the faithfuls of the Queen are usually in charge, and it is true. But she is not the only Goddess the Void Empire holds in highest esteem. There are two more who, by their nature, are considered just as much as Queen Azathoth the patron deities of our people."
His voice gained fervor, his eyes fixed on the representations of the two goddesses worshiped in this specific grand hall.
"Lady Mist and Lady Darkness, twin daughters of Queen Azathoth." he whispered, even as the faithful around him began muttering prayers. "The goddesses who predate almost every other god in existence. Older than Yog-Sothoth, older than Shub-Niggurath, older than even the Heavens and Hells themselves! They stand amongst the oldest, most powerful deities in all of the Nuclear Chaos' Great Dream!"
His voice gained strength and power, until he was almost shouting in ecstasy by the end, his arms opened wide towards the representations of the twin goddesses.
For a moment, his shout echoed across the prayer hall… until he seemingly calmed down, something close to resembling a sigh leaving him.
"However, unlike Lady Nyarlathotep, the twin firstborns of Queen Azathoth have never been too interested in mortal affairs. For eons have they existed, and in those eons, they had spent much of their time focused only on each other. From their disagreements came battles of legend that can last for ages, and from their joy come coupling whose passion can outlast stars. So occupied with one another are they, that we mere mortals are but insignificant specks of dust before them."
He bowed his head. "It is the natural state of things. What are we to such endless existences, with our mortal frailties and weaknesses? Compared to them, we are truly nothing of worth. And yet…"
He turned towards them, his voice turning hopeful.
"And yet, records make it clear that sometimes, on rare blessed days, both goddesses pause their endless cycle of mating and fighting to come share their wisdom and will upon us. To see to it that we continue to prosper, and do so in concordance with their visions for us all."
The High Priest suddenly bowed, along with all the others with him.
"Thus, my request to you is such: Find a way to bring the two goddesses currently fighting back to the Void Empire, so that they may share their will with us. If it is indeed their wills to support the King's vision for Reality, then I swear that the Faithfuls will not be found wanting. I shall see to it that every act done by us is in accordance with the wills of the Gods. This I swear!"
The Hunter's Dream.
"... and this is the end of my report on the current state of things, father." declared Rwandelux, the Pleroma of Light and Darkness.
I nodded, satisfied that things were proceeding as I wanted them to. As the Pleroma of both Light and Darkness, he had a number of duties, one of them being to ensure that the elemental planes of both opposing forces were as peaceful and safe as possible.
For the Light side of things it was pretty easy, as the so-called Positive Energy Plane was naturally welcoming for the most part, but the other side of the coin was a very different matter. The Shadow Plane was full of dangers, though it also held many wonders.
The biggest problem there right now was the corrupted god Zon-Kuthon, the God of Pain, the fallen half-brother of Shelyn. Ever since he escaped his prison, the God had worked hard to make the entire plane of shadows a worse place to be in, starting wars with its more morally neutral or even Good-aligned inhabitants, like the local humans known as the Fetchlings, or the insectoids D'ziriaks.
A number of Othaoses working under Rwandelux have made contacts with those forces, creating valuable alliances in order to push back against the Dark God's sadistic servants.
I was even starting to have temples built in my name in the Shadow plane, which was nice. There were few benevolent Gods to be found in the Shadow plane, so I was going to have my work cut out for me in building a better realm.
There was also the curious matter of a human from Earth called Alan Wake who ended up there, fighting off some lesser minion of the Dark God who was trying to consume the Earth, along with his own personal Shadow self acting like that minion's herald.
Thankfully, from what I could see Alan Wake would ultimately triumph, so besides monitoring the situation there was little need for more personal involvement.
Then there was the Void, but the Void was a matter currently being dealt with by Sherry and Tatsumaki.
"You're sure that you don't want to help that human more, father?" asked Uldatrex while taking a drag of his cigar. "I know that you like Earth, and a human fighting for the world's sake against far greater odds is right in your alley for people you really respect."
I smiled wryly. "You're not wrong." I acknowledged. "But that is precisely why I want nothing more than to monitor him and give him only limited support. The man is doing good work by himself. Yes, he thinks he's stuck in the Shadow Plane, but-" I glanced at Amnique and Zaldroct, the Pleromas of Destiny and Time respectively. "-we know that he's going to get out eventually. It'll be a bit of a mess, but it'll work out in the end."
Uldatrex gave me a look, but nodded. "Fine then." He sighed, smoke filling the air for a second as he did. "And as for the matter with the local Eldritch Goddess of Blood, we are still leaving it up to Oedon?"
"Correct." I confirmed. "The mad Eldritch God who caused her to go mad too is soon going to show up, and she'll deal with him then."
Uldatrex gave me a smirk. "You sure that you don't just want to enjoy the sight of your hot wife kicking ass and taking names while looking sexy, old man?"
"Brother!" Rwandelux shouted.
"Oh, don't give me that crap." scoffed Uldatrex, looking amused. "We all know how the old man is."
My children all looked at me, and I shamelessly shrugged "Guilty. Oedon will look awesome while going 'Goddess smash!' on someone, of course I want to see it."
"Should we be hopeful for new siblings soon, then, dad?" asked Phygmi with a grin, the Pleroma of Life almost vibrating in her seat at the thought.
I chuckled. "Not yet, dear. Give it time."
She pouted, then glanced at our current guest who had been watching everything with fascinated curiosity.
"Are you sure that you can't help me convince dad to finally go for it, Shub? Surely he can't resist us both at the same time!"
Shub-Niggurath smiled in amusement, our current guest to this meeting shaking her head slightly.
"You father has his reasons to wait, I'm sure. Though it is also my understanding that once those reasons are gone, he's not going to hold back on giving you many, many new siblings." she said, giving me a questioning glance.
I grinned. "You are correct, Shub. Having many children is something the Eldritch are renowned for, and I'm not going to hold back on it. But, all things in due time."
Phygmi pouted harder, though she was radiating eager anticipation for the future.
Interestingly, Shub was looking somewhat thoughtful as well, and I could tell she very much approved of me wanting many children.
Heh. Shub-Niggurath had a breeding kink a mile wide, how shocking.
Not.
Still, those were matters for the future. For now…
I glanced at Phygmi curiously. "Are things going well with Pharasma? No issues with her or her subordinates?"
"Some, but nothing truly worth mentioning." she replied brightly. "Just some occasional chaos and confusion about jurisdiction over souls, but we're working things out. If anything, most of Pharasma's servants seemed really happy about getting reinforcement against Astral-demons and the likes. Considering how rarely those people get support in their wars for the souls of mortals, I can understand."
"Surely the Heavenly realms help them?" questioned Altryxna, the Pleroma of Science and Magic finally looking up from a thick tome she was reading to ask a question for the first time in this meeting.
"They couldn't in the past." gruffly replied Uldatrex. "Not without the Infernal Realms throwing a tantrum and escalating things into all-out war. So the numbers of Heavenly beings who could support Pharasma's servants were always limited."
"It all came back to the fragile balance of power between the Heavenly Realms and the Infernal ones in the past." Phygmi agreed with a sigh. Then she grinned. "At least until dad came in and took a hammer to it all."
"Pretty much." calmly agreed Uldatrex, though the fierce satisfaction he radiated showed his true feelings. "Right now, the Abyss is sealed, Abaddon is under control, and all that is left are Hell and various lesser factions. In short, the servants of Pharasma not only have less enemies than ever, they also got Phygmi's lesser Aeons to help too. So needless to say, a lot of very evil beings are very unhappy right now." he chuckled darkly. "Or very, very dead."
"It seems that you are already making Reality a better place, Aeon." declared Shub, giving me a bright smile.
"That's the plan." I replied with some humor.
"Honestly, seeing you work like this with your children is wonderful." she mused, her smile softening to something more thoughtful, almost nostalgic. "It reminds me of my own children… Not my Dark Youngs I mean, but those I had with Gods… Like Yog." her expression shifted, a storm of emotions flashing through her eyes at the name before she kept going, though I could see the Pleromas all caught it as I did. "There is Nug, Cthulhu's father… And Yeb, Tsathoggua's father…" She let out a sigh. "Honestly, It's been a while since I saw either of them. They became 'Worlds Cleaner' a while back, focusing on removing all hostile lifeforms on worlds that various Eldritch want to colonize for themselves. It's a good job, and they have a lot of Eldritch who owe them as a result, but it still means they constantly travel, and I haven't seen either of them since before R'lyeh sank in the seas…" she trailed off, looking sad, much like any mother who hadn't seen her children in a long time would be.
I quickly glanced towards Sydnotra, the Pleroma of Knowledge (and my secret spymistress) not even glancing at me when she still acted on my will and spoke up.
"If you want, I could tell you where they are?" she declared, and Shub was torn off her sad nostalgia as she quickly turned to look at my daughter, who smiled back at her. "As the Pleroma of Knowledge, knowing things is literally why I exist. And of course knowing where the family of Azathoth's Court are is an important thing. So after this meeting is done, how about you come visit my office and we can talk about what I know?"
Shub positively beams in joy at the offer, a bright smile on her face. "I'd be delighted to accept!"
"And I'm happy to help." simply said Sydnotra.
"There is the matter with Ithaqua, too." I spoke up, and Shub turned back towards me, her expression shifting as I mentioned the daughter who sank R'lyeh into one of renewed sadness… but with a gleam of hope in her eyes.
"Ah, Ithaqua…" she whispered softly, but perking up, her expression turning determined. "My King, I know what she did, but-!"
I raised a hand, a gentle smile on my face. "It's okay, Shub. R'lyeh has returned thanks to me, and while all will not be forgotten, I have some ideas on how to ensure that she will be freed soon. She will be given the chance to get her redemption, and help ensure the prosperity of the Eldritch Kingdom along the way."
"Really? Oh, thank you so much!" exclaimed Shub with yet another bright smile, almost bouncing in her seat in joy. Honestly, the goddess was incredibly cute while happy like this. It was like having an excited kitten… except goat-themed.
I nodded, before turning more serious. "A warning however, I'm thinking of having her join the armed forces. We'll need all the warriors we can get in the future, and Ithaqua would make for a powerful warrior… and possibly an excellent general, in time. Are you fine with your daughter being sent to fight?"
Shub grimaced at my admission, a conflicted expression on her face.
"I'd like her to be safe, but…" she trailed off, staying silent for a minute or two, then sighed deeply. "As long as she willingly joins up, it's not my place to say anything." she finally declared, even if it visibly tore her up on the inside to acknowledge that.
I smiled. "A brave thing, to push past your fears of her getting hurt for the sake of her happiness. I can see why you are renowned as the greatest mother of the Eldritch." I teased her, and her cheeks darkened at my words. Before she could protest my words, I kept going. "And for what it's worth, it's the best path forward. Her military victories will help get her a reputation, and I'm going to be working in the background to help boost her reputation. Eventually, it is my hope that the sinking of R'lyeh will be nothing but a distant memory in the minds of everyone, in favor of all the good she will be doing in the name of the Eldritch Kingdom. One day, the Omniverse will speak the name of your daughter with awe and respect if I have anything to say about it."
After all, everybody loves a war hero. If I play my cards right, I can even say that the sinking of R'lyeh was an unfortunate accident from her trying to gain control over her immense potential power, and that what she needed all along was simply the opportunity to safely achieve her full potential.
Nobody will ever know that the truth was that UIthaqua wanted to show off to Cthylla, and it horrifically got out of hand.
"Aeon…" Shub looked at me with pure gratefulness in her eyes. "Thank you. So much. We Eldritch Gods might be powerful, but it does not mean we are necessarily happy. With the way you're helping everyone…" She smiled at me. "Aza truly got incredibly lucky when she met you."
I chuckled and smiled back at her. "I appreciate it, but please, keep your thanks until after I've successfully done as I said I'd do. Then, you can properly thank me for keeping my word."
"Yes." she mused, a thoughtful gleam in her eyes as she stared at me. "I'll have to properly thank you then…"
I ignored her words and the implication, or rather decided not to show that I had some ideas of what exactly she was implying. This wasn't the time or place.
Though by the way my children were all smirking at me, they were absolutely tattle about how Shub had promised to "properly" reward me to whoever would listen, the cheeky little brats.
To be fair, I wasn't lying when I said that I had big plans for Ithaqua. An Eldritch goddess of Cold like her could become an extremely powerful servant with the right training, because if I taught her to freeze things like Time itself for example… Well.
Imagine an army of Quantum Time-locked individuals who couldn't be harmed but could still move and fight freely. Or Ithaqua just waving an arm and freezing entire worlds in either ice or Time…
Well. There were options. And considering her loyalty to me would be beyond question…
Oh yes, I had every reason to keep my word.
As always, I loved it when the right thing to do was also the pragmatic one. It made things so much simpler.
As I previously promised, it didn't take long before I started training both Yad and Yog on their powers over Time itself.
Obviously, training powers bound to such a powerful concept wasn't something done lightly, but the advantage of being… Well, me, was that I could help ensure that it was as safe as it possibly could be.
On top of that, I also needed to adjust the training program to the fact that the two women's levels of power were very different. Yad was "merely" an Elder Goddess, which meant that, while incredibly powerful by mortal standards, she definitely was but a speck of dust compared to Yog.
Thus, the current state of things: all three of us were overseeing a timeline where things seemingly kept going worse for everybody, and their goal was to try to bring about better outcomes for as many as possible.
"Dammit!"
… It was a work in progress.
I peered through time, raising an eyebrow at what I was looking at.
"Wow." I muttered. "I rarely saw a nuclear war start because someone choked on a cough drop of all things before, but there we go."
Yad gave me a dirty look, and I chuckled at her. "Look on the bright side, this world's timeline managed to survive 5 more years than normal thanks to your meddling!"
She scowled, glaring at the timestream like it personally insulted her and her entire family.
"It's not enough." she grumbled. "Seriously, what is wrong with those people? It's like they want nothing more than to rush to their deaths!"
I snorted. "Welcome to Cold War Era Humanity. And this timeline's humanity is not particularly wise either, even by Earth standards."
I glanced at the Timestream as Yad went back to trying to keep the world going, a deep scowl on her face.
The funniest part of all of this is that she didn't even need to worry about having to stop various supernatural doomsdays scenarios on top of it. No, she just had good old Humanity to deal with… And it was still a clusterfuck of near biblical proportion.
The saddest part of all of this was that while she didn't notice that I was the one repeatedly fucking up her efforts to save the timeline… I really didn't have to do much to fuck everything up.
Someone choking to death here, someone being a bit more crazy there… and everything else fell like dominos. I barely had to keep nudging things in order to continue bringing about the doom of human civilization, to the point that even Yad didn't suspect a thing. She still fully believed that humanity was 100% fucking itself over despite all her hard work, because frankly it was almost true.
"Why does this keep happening?!" she growled when her latest effort to keep humanity met an explosive end when some random maniac decided to blow himself up along with the leader of the USSR.
One man's madness ended a world, just like that. It could be funny if it wasn't so sad and horrifying.
"Because Evil always finds a way to return." I said wisely. "And thus, it is up to Good to always triumph…" I waved at the burning world. "Or else."
Yad's scowl only grew, and she began cursing in a number of Eldritch languages while beginning to try and stop this latest doomsday scenario.
I wondered how long it was going to take her to find out it all happened because the madman's mother died after breaking her neck in the shower and he ended up radicalized when going to the orphanage…
Ah well. I'm sure she'll figure it out eventually.
I glanced towards Yog, who was doing her best to prevent an intergalactic war-
"Fuck!"
-without any more success than Yad, by the looks of things.
I peered at her own work, and blinked.
"Did the war seriously start because the wives of the galactic leaders had a disagreement over the best colors for lipsticks? Goodness, that's impressive!"
I couldn't help but be amused by how perfectly similar Yog's glare was to her twin. It was logical of course, but it was still funny to see.
"These… these harpies-" oh wow, that's quite a lot of anger in that single word! "-keep fucking everything up by being the most vapid, vain, vacuous bitches inimaginable!" she hissed in sheer frustration. "I have seen literally quintillions of actual demons and devils less disgusting than these pitiful mockeries of cosmic sparks of space-time!"
"Surely you've seen more vile people in your long life." I calmly stated.
She huffed. "It's not even the fact that they are cruel, it's that they are dumber than actual moss growing on rocks! No actually, I know for a fact that there are moss out there smarter than these two! How those two are intelligent enough to remember how to breathe is beyond even my comprehension!"
I laughed, which only made Yog glare at me harder.
Then I shook my head, and smiled. "Well, you know how it is. Einstein said it best: there are only two things that are infinite, the universe and human stupidity. And he wasn't too sure about the former."
She grunted. "They aren't even humans, but they certainly are that stupid!" she growled, before sighing and slumping.
"And I don't get why you want me to not kill them. Is it just a challenge?" she asked while grumbling at me.
I smiled, saying nothing. As ever with Outer Gods, they can see the big pictures, but miss the details.
Like, for example, the fact that those two have been brainwashed into being that horrible, specifically in order to create diplomatic incidents… Well. Point was, it was a whole thing, and one she had missed because, for all her power and ability to see outcomes, she struggled to see details. And the hidden conspiracy was going to die without anyone even knowing they existed as a collateral of the very war they would create, ensuring nobody knew they were the real masterminds behind everything.
In short, I wanted her to take the time to properly see that moment where they were unknowingly brainwashed, so that she could see the real reason behind that entire war.
And those two women, when not brainwashed, could actually help better guarantee peace for decades to come.
"Keep at it." I encouraged her. "Find the answer, and you'll get why I wanted you to do that."
She gave me an annoyed look, her sheer frustration easily overcoming whatever hesitation she might have about glaring at her own king, before refocusing on the timeline.
Stepping back, I let her work, turning back to Yad, to see her frown hard at the sight of some hardliner soviet making a speech that would see the world come one step closer to nuclear war.
"I know that there is a human joke about lemmings and rushing to your death, but frankly it feels like humans are so much worse." she grumbled, waving a hand and ensuring that cooler heads would manage to de-escalate tensions… for now.
Unfortunately, those cooler heads would pay for their overreach and a boomerang effect would hit, causing tension to rapidly rise once more-
"Aaaaaaaah! Fucking damn it!"
-Oh look, the Cuban missile crisis happened, except worse than in most timelines.
Aaaaaand… Yep, there goes World War 3.
I patted the fuming goddess on the shoulder, grinning in amusement. Goodness knows that dealing with Humanity at its worst was an absolute pain in the ass.
"How about we all take a break? If things keep going like this, you'll actually help the world get blown up, rather than the opposite." I said with sympathy.
"Please." gasped Yad, slumping tiredly. "This is just insane. Why are these people so eager to die?!"
"Ghhh. You're telling me." groaned Yog, looking just as absolutely done with her own band of crazy. "It's not the worst I've ever seen, but by everything holy in Azathoth's Dream this is seriously getting ridiculous."
"Come on." I told the two miserable-looking women. "I baked you some cakes to help you out, and we have tea!"
"Please!" Suddenly shouted Yad, a hungry gleam appearing in her eyes. "Your cakes are the best I ever ate! They give literal heavenly cooks and their work a run for their money!"
"I'll admit, I'd love some as well." said Yog, trying to be more collected and mostly failing miserably by the sheer hunger in her expression. It was especially funny considering that Yad is always the more serious of the two.
Chuckling, I summoned a table and the cakes along with the tea, both women almost drooling in delight at the sight of the strawberry cakes full of cream.
They eagerly dug in, which-
"Hmmmm!"
"Sho good!"
-resulted in some downright lewd moans of bliss escaping them.
Yad blushed slightly at the look of amusement I sent them, but Yog only grinned and kept eating, digging in with seemingly downright ravenous hunger.
"You know, if you weren't king, you could have become the personal cook of the Eldritch Court. We'd have approved of your job application in a heartbeat." joked Yog.
"Best decision we'd ever make." agreed Yad, the woman trying to gather her dignity back by going slower… and mostly failing as she took large bites that made her cheeks puff up like a hamster.
"Ah, but you see, it's all part of my master plan!" I said grandly.
"I'm suddenly worried." deadpanned Yog, lips twitching in amusement.
"You should be." I replied with a wise nod. "After all, my master plan to seduce you through your stomachs is working exactly as intended!"
"Pfffft! Hack! Guh!"
Yad choked on her next bite, swallowing wrong and coughing until she cried, her eyes turning red with tears.
Yog's eyes bulged, and she half-coughed, half laughed while leaning over the table as she struggled to breath.
"Shit." weakly joked Yog, "He got us good!" she declared, though to my amusement the way her eyes flickered towards the cakes with longing made it clear she was far more truthful than she intended to be, here.
"The cake is a lie!" Yad gasped while staring at me with pure betrayal and teary eyes. "How could you be so evil?!"
"Ah, but I'm a god of truth!" I said grandly. "Thus, it's so much worse than that!"
Yad froze. "Worse?"
I leaned forward, a shit-eating grin on my face.
"The cakes are real, and you'll get to keep eating them for the rest of eternity… if you accept to be my wives!" I revealed grandly, relishing in the horrified expressions on their faces.
"Yog… How could we have not seen this coming?!" Yad bemoan in despair.
"We got blindsided by his devilishly good looks and seeming benevolence, Yad." Yog declared sadly. "Alas, it is already too late for us…"
Yad looked conflicted at the remaining cake in her plate, then took a reluctant bite, her eyes closing in surrender as she moaned in bliss.
"Temptation… has never been so sweet!" she morosely whispered.
Then Yog started snickering, then Yad, and then we all started laughing.
"The memes were wrong after all!" laughed Yog. "Cakes are not lies, for they are how the Dark side corrupts you, not with cookies!"
I snorted. "The Summer twins beg to differ on that one."
"Ah, those two." mused Yad, eagerly taking another slice of the cake before her and bringing it to her plate. "Honestly, it's interesting to see what is essentially the same person from two different multiverses interacting like this. It very very rarely happens, after all."
"True." agreed Yog, not hesitating to reach out for more cake too. "It can happen sure, people from one multiverse ending up in another is more common than one might think, but for them to also interact with a local version of themselves retroactively created by their very arrival… Yeah. Very rare indeed."
"And both ended up in our King's bed." pointed out Yad.
"Well, they are essentially one and the same, just… Constants and variables and all that." shrugged Yog, negligently waving a hand.
I gave her a look. "Did you just quote Bioshock?"
Yad scoffed. "Yog is an anime fan, of course she also plays video games."
"Like you don't do it too!" Yog shot back.
"Not as much. Some of us have work to do." flatly replied Yad.
"Ooof. Shots fired." I laughed.
Yog's eyes narrowed, before a gleam entered her eyes. "Oh really now? Because from what I know, you've spent quite a bit of time lately looking up porn involving tall, muscled men who just so happened to look like- Mmmmpph!"
A blushing, red-faced Yad almost instantly put one of her hands over Yog's mouth, her eyes looking everywhere but at me.
Then she leaned towards Yog and hissed quietly.
"Don't start, I know where you keep your own porn, I'm still technically you Yog, and we both know what you added in there recently." she threatened, which made Yog freeze.
Funnily, Yad erected a barrier to try and prevent me from hearing this… But she definitely forgot I was an omniscient god.
Yeah, I totally caught it all anyway.
Both women glanced at each other, a silent agreement to avoid a M.A.D scenario quickly being agreed upon before Yad pulled herself back to her chair, trying to make it like nothing interesting happened.
Naturally, I decided to smash any hopes of them regaining control by doing the equivalent of unleashing a nuke in the conversation.
"So anyway, I think I'm making some progress in seducing Shub-Niggurath."
""PPPFFFFFFFFFFFF!""
A quickly raised mana shield stopped the spitakes of both goddesses from reaching me, and I smiled widely, relishing in the stunned shock on both women's faces.
Ah, truly there was nothing quite like being a God of Truth. Speaking of which…
"On a totally unrelated matter, what are your thoughts on a foursome?"
Oh wow, that was actual steam rising from their faces! Incredible!
I took a sip of my tea and smiled.
"Don't worry, we'll wait a bit before I try to see what Shub in a leather dom outfit and a whip in hand looks like when given free reign to do whatever she wants with you two."
I blinked.
… Oooops, I think I just broke Time.
I don't think turning into an actual supernova is normal, after all, even for Eldritch Goddesses.
Well… What was I supposed to do now?
"So… Do you want to see the sex dungeon to mentally prepare yourselves for that day?" I asked.
Nailed it!
A.N: Alright! Here is the next chapter in which we continue the events of Love Azathoth!
The first part was some elaboration about the future war, though keep in mind that even Sherry does not know everything, so things might still end up differently than she expected them to.
Then we get the entire part about visiting Malzahar and his people. In the end, the religious fanatic wants to see his goddesses returned to the people… Because of course he does. Though to be fair, it's not easy to be the High Priest when two of your most important patron deities spend all their time either fighting or fucking each other…
Then we get to see Aeon interact with the Pleromas a bit more, along with Shub-Niggurath! And he's setting up his foot in the door for eventual seduction of said goddess. The groundwork is being laid out, now he just needs to do the actual work and uphold his words…
Then finally, Yad and Yog. As a reminder, neither goddesses can actually foresee Aeon's future, or his actions, unless True!Aeon deliberately let them. Which obviously means that Aeon gets to bulli those two with delight, as they are absolutely not ready for it. Those poor goddesses, their defenses are weak since they used to always foresee everything… Well, not this time!
Still, with all that being said, I hope you all enjoyed this update! Next time, more Void Empire, and more Eldritch Goddesses!