The Verdict
..
...
Falling..
..
Once more..
...
How familiar..
..
The Hydra did not know how long it was like this.. That clash alone had took so much from them... the stakes were so high, the consequences were irredeemable, reckless and foolish.
But it was okay. They would never regret their decisions, ever.
Victory was theirs to savor at last.. yet it left a bitter taste in their tongues..
...
-- ??? ago, River of Time --
..
"-----̸̢̾̏-̶͍̔̾-̸͙̘͊-̴̨̲̋̃-̵̛͚̗͠-̴̛̰̈́-̸̘̞̈̎-̵͈͋̉-̴̜̈-̸̳͝-̴̲͆-̷͍̅-̷̠̈́͝-̶̼͠-̴̥̩̉-̸̫̭̈́͋-̴̨͑-̸̞̖̀͗-̶̧̹͊-̸̮̯̒̚-̷̠̣͊-̴͆̑͜-̴̢͇͑̉"!!! "
An otherworldly sound roared and roared like an unyielding tempest! Thus signaling the conclusion of a glorious battle.
It was an abyssal space. Absolutely nothing reined supreme here, except one thing. Right where there was supposed to be a radiant system of glassy rivers and streams, lay a single, massive highway, stretching to the beyond.
It twisted and turned, often serene, other times churning violently, the glassy look of the ever-flowing river looked ethereal, yet one would notice a bit more, if they looked a little further..
Like a misty haze, one could see images, projections! No, memories.. they swirled and danced, preserving every minute detail.
The surroundings were serene, as calm as it was barren. Yet, if one looked a little farther, just down.. along the riverbank.. one would find a very, very worrying sight.
Giant.. colossal.. repulsive limbs strewn carelessly, they were suspended in space, like a puppet on a string.
And if one walked much farther, it got worse. Scales, organs, heads, all manner of gored entrails littered the atmosphere. It was clear that this was leading somewhere.
And indeed it did, for if one walked to the very end, they would find the most haunting sight, yet glorious all the same.
A Hydra of myth and legend. Five heads gilded in the toughest of natural armor, expressions marred in determination. The being was currently giving it's all repelling the vile creature in front of it.
An abomination, it seemed. The monster certainly did not look as if it belonged on Earth, or any planet at all really.
Five super-charged beams of the purest of Chaos energy.. unleashed in a deadly barrage of poisonous fire, the sheer scale of it illuminated the lightless void around them, creating a marvel of a display.
The receiver however, did not take very kindly to this. It was fighting back with everything it had. As it phased in and out of reality, attempting to escape or conjure another one of it's nightmare creations I'm sure, it was currently being ravaged by the very energy that started everything.
"▂▂▃▃▄▃▃▂▂▃▂▂▃▄▄▅▅!!! "
Pure Chaos, originating in the pure pillars of light impaling the anomaly influenced the being as it pleased, turning it's repugnant power against itself.
Cthulhu itself was struggling, it's previously extradimensional form being actively rejected and banished from this reality by Chaos itself. Poison ate at it's being as the the Hydra's divinities rendered it's struggle null with righteous fury! That was not all however, as the foul creature was currently being banished to non-existence.. via a portal that directly lead outside of reality, a non-existent void, a limbo, that only beings like it could endure.
Cthulhu was above death and mortality, as was the Hydra, so they could never be permanently killed. A seal was the best option.
No, it was the only option.
This Cthulhu had merged with every other version of itself, meaning that it's banishment would mean that they had rid of the anomaly in EVERY timeline.
Still, what better seal than one created personally by a Chaos-born and Guardian of Time? And so, as the creature wailed and flailed, denying it's failure even after it had merged with it's infinite selves, it was slowly pushed back by the unwavering pillars of energy cast by the serpent.
One step back, 4 claws forward, one step back.. nowhere to go.
" Ḻ̵̶̴̸̸̷̵̸̵̶̶̶̴̶̴̶̶̸̶̵̷̴̶̴̴̴̷̷̶̷̴̸̷̸̴̶̵̵̵̵̴̴̵̶̵̵̶̷̷̸̡͐̐͘E̴̷̴̷̴̸̵̸̷̴̷̷̷̵̶̴̴̶̴̷̷̷̵̷̸̴̴̴̷̵̵̶̵̷̵̸̸̵̸̸̸̸̵̴̵̸̸̴̸̷̯̙͑̐͝T̵̴̵̶̸̵̸̸̷̴̴̷̷̸̸̵̴̵̸̵̵̶̵̷̷̶̷̴̷̸̶̸̴̷̷̶̴̸̶̷̴̶̸̷̸̶̸̷̷̸̢̻̽̑͝ ̵̵̵̵̴̸̵̶̶̸̷̶̸̵̶̶̷̷̶̷̵̴̶̴̸̵̶̴̴̴̶̸̵̸̸̵̴̴̷̵̴̴̵̢̟̠̆Ḿ̴̴̵̵̷̴̴̸̸̷̸̵̶̷̸̵̷̵̴̶̸̴̵̶̴̴̸̴̴̷̶̷̵̵̴̷̸̵̴̴̴̸̶̴̴̷̴̶̵̷̛͚̖͋E̷̷̴̸̶̶̸̴̵̷̴̵̷̶̷̶̸̶̷̸̸̸̷̶̷̴̸̵̶̶̴̵̴̴̶̷̫̓̈ ̶̵̶̶̷̶̵̴̶̷̵̵̸̶̸̷̴̸̶̸̷̴̴̸̷̴̵̴̴̷̴̷̷̷̶̴̴̷̷̵̵̶̶̧͎̠̚Ģ̶̸̶̶̷̷̷̶̸̴̷̴̶̷̶̵̶̶̶̵̶̸̸̶̸̶̷̶̷̷̶̷̴̴̷̶̵̴̷̴̴̵̶̴̵̵̵̶̸̵̬͖͊͝O̷̶̶̶̵̶̵̷̴̵̴̴̶̷̴̴̶̸̷̸̶̷̶̶̸̸̵̴̵̸̶̵̵̵̴̷̱͔͐ ̶̴̴̶̴̴̷R̷̴̷̸̶̴̶A̶̸̸̵̸̴̶.̴̵̶̴̶̵̷=̴̵̸̴̴̵̴A̷̵̷̷̵̸̵a̷̸̴̶̴̵̸,̵̷̶̶̵̶̸-̷̸̸̷̴̶̸=̷̸̶̸̷̸̵a̴̷̵̶̴̴̸a̶̷̶̴̷̴̶a̴̶̴̴̶̵̴a̶̴̷̶̴̵̷.̵̶̶.̴̷̵.̵̷̷ " And with a shrill otherworldly scream, the creature was banished... and they,.. they had won..
Slump!
Five heads instantly dropped to the ground limp..
With the sudden unconsciousness of it's host, the River of Time dispersed into the nothingness, returning to it's previous duties.
The space broke into millions of pieces, and the abyss was expelled. Familiarly hurling once more, exiting the Time construct and re-entering the degrading dimension, streaking past the dying world, the slumbering beast flew off into nothingness.
--- Now, actual nowhere, ---
A well deserved rest, truly.
They felt content, and satisfied. They had done their duty, and accomplished it with blazing colors! Now all that was needed to be done was to return.. home.
Where was home?
Home was Earth, where everything they had ever known, tolerated, and brutally dismembered and eaten lived their normal, single-brained, lives in peace..
Their body was completely spent, having regenerated thousands of times within the span of that entire battle. It was agony, regeneration did not null pain, yet they endured. It was unbefitting of them to succumb to such a mortal problem. Pain was their friend, a constant reminder of their survival.
The real problem however, was their damaged soul..
For divine beings, a physical body is merely a vessel, the death of their flesh meant nothing to them. The only way to kill a higher being, a divine, a deity, was through their soul. The true core of their being, as well as the core of every other living thing. It encompassed everything the life was living for.. emotions, memories, beliefs and ideals.. all of that and more, made up one's soul.
Steam expelled continuously from their nostrils, breathing extremely laboriously. The usual exuberant glow was nowhere to be found, only a dim light that merely showed the vast expanse of space they still existed.
The wound on their soul was not permanent, but it would take years to restore. Souls follow a similar mortal concept, which states that energy can neither be created or destroyed, only converted from one thing to another.
Of course, only the divine could ever hope to restore their souls, yet it would take time. Souls were made of emotions, memories, beliefs and experiences, to lost a part of that, is to lose a part of yourself. That was why the method of healing a soul was so time-consuming, it required experiencing more things, learning and strengthening your beliefs, or in other words, one must discover thyself, and grow as a living being.
To lose a part of your soul is to dim the "fire" of your life, to heal it is to re-ignite it once more.
Hmmm... it seems all this time floating and resting allows for much contemplating. Chuckling? Growling? The Hydra closed their eyes, merely enjoying the weightlessness of their being, drifting off into a deep slumber once more.
" You fought well, brother. " A feminine voice rang in praise.
It was Gaea, except her form was hazy.. like a projection. It was natural, she was a primordial planet, hence she would be safest and strongest on her own celestial body.
" I'm bringing you back home. Then, you can truly rest. " She smiled fondly, genuinely thankful that the Hydra had fought against the anomaly so valiantly, even risking their soul for victory. Gaea was many things, petty and vengeful were only some of her traits, but she was not inherently evil. She was wronged, by her children and Ouranos.
To finally have a real sibling, it was refreshing to say the least.
With a spark of magic, the Hydra was set into motion.
...
..
--- To Be Continued ---
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