Chapter 574: Evil Gods and Eldritch Horrors Part Six
Its time.
Theyd done all they could, prepared as much as possible for the task before them all, and now they finally needed to begin. Naloth could feel his heart pounding in him at the thought, even as he used his own dark magic to help still it.
It was the culmination of his life's work about to be put to the test. Decades of study and research, reading untold books and history and legends, even going so far as to steal classified information to make his vision a reality. How could feelings not try to overcome him in such a pivotal moment?
Even as he clutched at his chest, feeling his mana seeping back into it and calming him down, it didnt change his buzz of thoughts. It needed to be perfect and all of that work had gone to ensuring it would be just so, with the brave looks of those he was leading focusing his thoughts.
Every one of his people was there because they were willing to place trust in him beyond anything theyd give to the gods, it was his job to validate that trust, and it was with that new frame of mind that he spoke up, giving them all a confident smile.
I wont ask if youre all ready, Ive seen your efforts and know you are. This is what weve worked and struggled for, what we threw everything away for. In a world that isnt willing to make the tough choices it has to in order to survive, well be the ones to bear the burden of it and claim a power even gods wont touch for ourselves. Now get to your positions, its time we start this.
Not the most elegant of speeches but it was enough. The people felt the confidence and determination in his words and all of them moved to their places in the warehouse they were practicing in, joining hands to begin as Naloth did the first of his many roles, using his dark magic to partially control the lot of them, not overwriting their will but to instead aid them in the casting of their outrageous spell as they began.
Mana was mixed and aspected by one before moving to another who repeated the process, passing it on again and building it up each time, growing the monstrous power as the effect began to leak out, making the world at the center of them all shift and crack before shattering entirely, a hole in space opening to infinity below.
Or so that was the plan, but amongst it all, something impossible to expect happened. Something started to reach out.
He didnt know what it was, but even just the tip that had come out was enough to shake the world beneath them and destabilize all of their minds to a major extent, weakening the ritual and creating the leeway for everything to go wrong.
A few souls broke free of the spells grasp and moved under a different will, not seeking to escape but instead diving into the bodies of his people, forcing them upright to carry on the spell as something else came for him, a soul greater than any other hed taken into himself and unlike the rest it had what it took to dominate him as hed dominated everything before.
With the mad cackling in his head being the last hed heard while the sight of something unnatural breaking free of the hells making up the final thing hed see, Naloths mind faded into the background and something else took center stage.
Free at last!
Yotu had known this chance would come ever since the day his idiot brother had seen fit to trap him. The universe was a big place and there were always going to be those who would meddle with things better left alone, but that didnt make the taste of release any less sweet.
Untold eons trapped within the hells of the universe, fractured beyond function and only able to process his environment in the vaguest sense of the word. The outsider that fell into his lap was an unexpected bonus in the form of a creature he hadnt even been sure was anything more than the mad legends of the void gods but was perfect for what he needed, time.
While he hadnt been able to grab any power for himself during his fracturing, he still hung onto some of what hed held before and put it to practice, both forcing the ghosts he was controlling to keep those in their thrall casting their spell while at the same time using his power to widen the whole they were creating, letting the monster within flow out to smash through the roof above into the wider world.
That in turn gave him what he needed most, a chance to escape. He had no clue where in the universe he was nor anything of the people who resided there, he needed to process the memories of his new host in an uninterrupted manner and determine what moves to make from there, so with no care for the world he landed on he let the chaos of the portal rain down as he made his way off into the night.
