33 So Far Beyond

This was it.

The dreadful Cthulhu had revealed a glimpse of it's true form, the vile transformation hastening the dimension's demise at lightspeed.

What was once a relatively normal random part of the pacific sea had been separated from reality, vaporized into a dust desert, and finally sent hurtling through space in giant fragments that were being devoured by anomalous black holes and the cold darkness of boundless space.

In regards to the cosmic giant, the five headed behemoth looked trivial in comparison. After all, what was a mountain in comparison to the entire continent it was housed on? That is correct, insignificant.

Merely a facet of the "bigger" picture.

But there was nothing "mere" about this mountain. Scales the hue of tempered steel, magical veins that shone the most ethereal of purple, regal feather-like crowns that spoke of their prowess.

Even as the cosmic being that transcended the laws of reality bore down thousands of gazes on them, not a shiver, nor a tremble, could be found.

And finally, at what seemed like the speed of thought itself, an enigma of a faintly moss-colored claw could be seen bolting through space, eager to grab the five headed beast.

With a speed unbefitting their stature, the Hydra dodged in the nick of time, giant trails of super-heated energy, resembling a comet's ion tail, radiating and thrumming from the ends of their wing's membranes.

Blazing through space in a magnificent display of speed and acrobatics, the Chaos-born weaved along hundreds of limbs and appendages with refined grace, firing colossal pillars of Chaos-infused poison as they launched an unwavering offensive.

The sight resembled a very angry child chasing an agile swallow, except both were extradimensional beings of untold power.

A shooting star that represented an unattainable wish, and the desperate being that chased endlessly for it.

Phasing out of the physical realm, the creature swiftly repositioned itself, effectively creating a natural trap for the Hydra. With limbs outstretched, it surrounded the flailing beast with a cage of flesh and claws.

" RAA A A A A HH H- RAH!!! " They roared in distorted agony, pain made ever more intense by the creature's mind manipulating power.

The Hydra struggled and writhed, the size difference spoke volumes of the creatures advantage in the situation. Bones creaked and scales cracked under the pressure, organs were failing and their minds were hazy.

A truly desperate situation.

If your body fails you, look inward. They thought in a daze.

Looking through the depths of their draconic mind, they looked toward the Chaos that they've been with since their conception.

Not gonna work.

Then they looked toward the newly-acquired domain of time...

...This could work.

And, as their physical body was crushed and their natural regeneration was actively delaying their physical death, they worked in a frenzy, minds overloaded, searching for a solution.

They scoured memories, ideas, past experiences... nothing seemed to be applicable.

The creature had them in such a fierce deadlock, that it seemed the only possible way to escape this is if it never happened... at all... WAIT!

Channeling their Time divinity with outmost fervor, veins pumping, energy rampant, they accessed the River of Time directly, and looked through their own past and future.

There, they saw the river of infinite possibilities... they saw what could happen, what will happen, and what was supposed to happen. Hundreds and hundreds of pasts and futures, each with minor and major changes separating them from one another.

A giant system of possibility! Wait... why did it stop?

Looking with their mind's eye, so to say, they saw the end of their personal river, their journey, converging into one singular point in space-time... it was a vision... of their present situation? Their death? It seemed that the River was either hazy or completely non-existent from this point on.

A most soul-crushing epiphany.

It seemed that this was supposed to happen. Always. In EVERY future.

Any other being, mortal of divine would have cried out in despair at this point. Yet they did not falter, completely unbothered by the truth before them.

Five heads thought and contemplated...

Was this the end?

The Hydra did not weep, nor rage to the heavens. That was for lesser beings, they were different.

Seconds trickled by, they could feel most of their body had been pulverized at this point. It was only a matter of time before the dreadful creature got it's claws on their beautiful and amazing soul.

Until suddenly, they felt a very warm feeling, deep within their heart. Chaos was thrumming gently within their being, as if to get their attention.

Channeling the Chaos within them, they saw...

All around them, ephemeral red strings... they twisted and turned within everything.

The red string of fate? The Hydra thought? Was this the work of fate? Destiny? Was that the message Chaos was conveying?

No.

They knew, this was not it. There was something here they were not getting. Suddenly they looked inward once more, delving into the river of time.

Five heads widened in surprise.

They had no strings! No fate! No Destiny! And especially not at their supposed death!

That meant only one thing... they can do it.

Channeling every ounce of their energy, draining their reserves completely, they wove their power as best as they can... a last ditch effort.

Without the influence of fate, nor the limitations of space-time.

With a magnificent explosion of glass like wisps of Time energy, the Hydra disappeared into oblivion... and with it, everything else. Cthulhu could only look on helplessly as it was dragged along.

Cthulhu and the Hydra reappeared in another place...

It was a splendid kaleidoscope of color, every moving, every changing. Endless possibilities, an infinite record of everything that ever has and will happen.

The true River Of Time.

The true, and literal personification of eternal time that every time deity has access to. Every life, every death, every possible life, every possible death... all of that has happened and will happen in this very River.

Cruising comfortably within it, the Guardian of Time revealed the very last "card" in their possession.

The River started churning, and turning, becoming a whirlpool of pure energy.

Crack! Churn! Crack!!

It moved and changed chaotically, solid-glass like energy paradoxically flowing as freely as water. Trillions upon trillions of futures coalesced into one giant River.

Indeed! The Hydra had eliminated every other possibility, victories, and defeats alike were converged into the current timeline. A peculiar form of time travel, one that would completely decide the fate of every other reality.

This was a gamble of the highest degree.

For their defeat could spell defeat for every future that will ever happen, yet their victory will cement it as a constant in time, resulting in Cthulhu's defeat in every instance of reality.

A grand battle, but not without grand gestures! As the timelines converged, so did the collective energy and power of every single instance of the Hydra!

But with it, Cthulhu will also merge with his other versions.

The Chaos-born's energy not just doubled, not just tripled, but became totally inexhaustible, infinite! But so did the creature's...

The battle has now truly begun.

And so, the bout that would decide the fate of every version of Earth and it's inhabitants will commence once more! En garde!

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▃▃▂▂▃▃▄▄▃▃▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!!! " A mighty roar echoed throughout the radiant halls of Time!

" G̸̯͋R̴̭͙̕A̸̼̐A̵̢̩͠A̶̡̼̔H̷̬͙͒H̸̺͑́Ḩ̴͖̉!̵̮̆͘!̷̢̤̉!̷̜̽͜ ̸̤̘̆D̸̠̭̈Í̸̝̟Ȇ̵̦̗̓!̴̜̉̃!̵̛͓͠!̷̤̩̏̈ " A distorted voice rang wildly, malicious intentions clear as day!

With unfurled wings and teeth bared, the mighty Hydra charged fearlessly towards the cosmic giant as the flow of time followed closely, with each action being cemented into it's being, the blurry glass-like surface of the River becoming clearer every action performed by the two extradimensional combatants!

It looked as if Time itself bore witness to their epic battle!

Like a shooting star, they streaked past the multitude of disgusting limbs that reached out towards it, heading straight towards the enraged slit eyes of the creature!

" --B O O M !-- " A clear hit enhanced endlessly by Chaotic energy, causing untold damage.

However, the creature endured the hit with it's anomalous abilities, mostly nullifying the strike.

After this point, it was total madness. Limbs, blood, guts flew, suspended in the void. Strikes were exchanged, divinities sent in a myriad of attacks, all with the intent to kill. Like this, the battle raged on for an indeterminate amount of time... it could be minutes to eons, it was hard to tell at this point, and no one but time itself would ever know.

It was a constant stalemate, their prowess so incredibly equal that not even an infinite amount of energy given to each would show a path to victory.

Cthulhu phased in and out of reality, each time creating another copy of it's monstrous form. The Hydra responded in kind, creating similar clones that performed coordinated attacks that thwarted the creature's plans.

" ▂▂▃▃▂▂▃▃▄▄!! " They chorused, roaring in annoyance.

" D̸͖̮͌̽+e̷͚͝ a̶̦̦̔̄t̷̳͈͆́ẖ̸͖͋̉ ̷͖̮̃͝ț̸͠ơ̴̡ ̸̭̣͒͂t̷͓̊h̴͉̾͝e̶̮̟͐̓.. ̴͔̦͑s̷̤̝̔́ẹ̵̞͗̀ŗ̸̟̌́0p̷͚̽-ĕ̵̦̆n̴̥̗̆̍ṯ̵̌̃ " The creature chanted ominously in kind.

This was going terrible, yet they could never deny the thrumming of their serpentine heart! Exciting! Exhilarating!

" Fwoom! " They dodged a giant mass of shadow thrown by the creature just in the nick of time.

It was time. Everything was for this.

All this time, they had been gathering energy within their being as they stalled for time. It was pulsing strongly, eager to be unleashed upon the world.

"▂▂▃▃▄▃▃▂▂▃▂▂▃▄▄▅▅!!! " They roared in a tone of finality! Begone you foul apparition!

" D̷̟̼͆̀r̴̛̘'̸̬̌̇o̴͈̼͐-̵̦̆w̴̳̒͝ń̶̟͇͗,̵̥̱͠ ̴͚̎͝ị̶̬̈́ṇ̵̰̅͝ ̸͓̌͘f̸͈͎͐.̴̞̗͗̅ȅ̶̢͓a̷̡̔͐ṙ̵͕ " Cthulhu had been doing the same.

" Very. Well. Then. " No more words needed to be said.

Manifesting the primordial Chaos that started the dawn of creation, the beginning and the end. Five heads gave it their all, imposing their very will upon reality itself.

Cthulhu reciprocated, manifesting their most twisted desires. The endless darkness. The unending terror. A nightmare.

Ideals clashed, beliefs tested. Lights were swirling brighter than ever, the shadows were as greedier than ever. The laws of reality did not matter here, only pure strength, only undeniable power.

"-̸̢̾̏-̶͍̔̾-̸͙̘͊-̴̨̲̋̃-̵̛͚̗͠-̴̛̰̈́-̸̘̞̈̎-̵͈͋̉-̴̜̈-̸̳͝-̴̲͆-̷͍̅-̷̠̈́͝-̶̼͠-̴̥̩̉-̸̫̭̈́͋-̴̨͑-̸̞̖̀͗-̶̧̹͊-̸̮̯̒̚-̷̠̣͊-̴͆̑͜-̴̢͇͑̉-̴̡̼͝͝-̴̛͎̿-̸̢̾̏-̶͍̔̾-̸͙̘͊-̴̨̲̋̃-̵̛͚̗͠-̴̛̰̈́-̸̘̞̈̎-̵͈͋̉-̴̜̈-̸̳͝-̴̲͆-̷͍̅-̷̠̈́͝-̶̼͠-̴̥̩̉-̸̫̭̈́͋-̴̨͑-̸̞̖̀͗-̶̧̹͊-̸̮̯̒̚-̷̠̣͊-̴͆̑͜-̴̢͇͑̉-̴̡̼͝͝-̴̛͎̿-̸̢̾̏-̶͍̔̾-̸͙̘͊ "

With a mute conclusion, the world went white. The river stopped, everything did. A battle beyond comprehension.

In a place far unknown to many, so far beyond everything, two beings clashed, for their wishes, for beliefs, for desire.

...

..

.

--- To Be Continued ---

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