Chapter 3: The Blighted Realm

So, because of the veil on this entire area, and on the dimension that I was carried to, Death was just a suggestion; a mere concept, if you would. Inside the veil, Death cannot exist. 

And so, I wake up, screaming and clenching my side. The air that I breathe in is thick and consists of a pungent smelling miasma. I felt like I could puke at any moment; I felt like I was slowly succumbing to madness… My attention shifts to the nightmarish landscape around me; And above me. 

It was a twisted and nightmarish amalgamation of grotesque shapes and alien geometry that was constantly shifting and warping in an eternal dance of chaos. It was truly a land in which physics had ceased to exist as we understand them… The altered fabric of reality… The redefined possibilities of the universe. Now, I'm no man of science but I couldn't help but imagine the extent of reach we could have in the universe if we could access this place and study it. If, of course, we even begin to comprehend it.

The reality shifted every now and then; There was no stability or predictability… Objects in this space would spontaneously transform, shift in location or shift in form. The concepts of time and space had already lost their traditional meaning from when I was in the veil. 

I could see a distant object up in the sky; A tower resembling an icicle; Falling down and resetting from its place of origin countless times without end. And sometimes, skipping the falling part completely and disappearing and reappearing at its point of origin. Multiple other objects were also going through this phenomenon…

The space was, at random coordinates, distorted. Wormholes, portals and some places where you take a step and traverse vast distances instantaneously exist. Meaning that in very few places, there is no space.

The boundaries between imagination and reality were blurred… This allowed thoughts and desires to manifest directly into the fabric of existence. This bewildering thought seemed too good to be true. To the point where it was terrifying. Creation and Destruction could truly take on new dimensions…

I could feel myself changing by the second. It certainly was not pleasant but I had no control over it. So, I accepted that my time had come. Unfortunately, for me, that wasn't the case. My mind —my consciousness— was undergoing a radical transformation. I screamed my lungs out. I felt myself —Versions of myself— getting torn apart.  I… could hear the screams I  had let out; Countless times. Overlapping each other. At this point, I didn't even know what 'I' —or who 'I' was.

After a minute or two of that painful transformation that felt like an eternity, I could feel that my cognition was better; I was perceiving changes around me better. Time seemed to flow slower. It was as if I had surpassed the biological constraints of humans. And that, I did. 'What… is happening to me…?' I asked myself; Not hoping for an answer.

I balanced myself on my feet. Moved forward. I walked and walked and walked and walked and walked some more. For days upon days… I was never hungry; I was never thirsty; I was never tired. With no purpose, I tread the infernal realm, with flimsy shoes that wore out on the first day. My feet kept getting pierced by the multitude of phalanx-like needles of miniature size but in the midst of the pain there was sudden relief. My body was healing at an anomalous speed.

I'd finally arrived; A city—beyond human comprehension—. It was known as R'lyeh. This ancient and accursed city, submerged beneath a body of stagnant and brackish multi-coloured slimy substance, is the dwelling place of a malevolent and incomprehensible entity, known only as Cthulhu. Cthulhu is an ancient god-like being, an embodiment of cosmic terror, with a form so monstrous and alien that the human mind recoils in horror at the mere glimpse of it.

I'm now at the shore of the vast body of the substance. My… mind was fragmented; And I could comprehend things on a higher level now. For the major amount of time, I'd been trying to challenge the limits of my body and understand what I could accomplish with this newly acquired body. 'Just try it, peasant! If you won't listen to us, you'll come to regret it. If you're not willing to try it, I certainly could. Just let me take over your body, eh? How about it?' a voice in head...

I forgot to mention, but now there's this stupid voice in my head that keeps telling me to try and manipulate gravity, like an absolute moron. 

'How did this happen…? Why is this absolute buffoon inside my head'

'I can hear your ass, y'know. We're one with each other now! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH'  it spoke again.

'Could you please shut up? I can't remember the last time I've asked someone to shut their trap this politely'

'Now, now! You would've been aaaall alone if it weren't for me, right? Learn to appreciate things a little more; How about that?!'

'Geez, I get it. Just keep your voice down. My head hurts'

'The host is quite peculiar, indeed. For someone who was dragged from their freshly killed corpse, I would say that my mind is pieced together better than you who is not even an undead. What could have caused such a reaction, I wonder? Thankfully, I have come to a realisation that this place is most certainly(-!) not Earth. Oh, how grateful thou must be; To have thines truly as conference!' another voice spoke.

'Who the f- I mean-! Who might you be?'

'I see that the host is a rude, preposterous brat! Art thou certain that I should lend help through my vast wisdom to thy undeserving self?'

'I… didn't really ask for your help though'

'...'

As you can see, these pricks are freeloading my mind, giving me a brain aneurysm and are testing my patience. These bellends are versions of myself(Apparently) from different timelines and dimensions. And as for the reason as to why they are in my mind: I really have no idea. Yeah sure, I might've survived a lot of mystical bullshittery and gained arcane knowledge, but this… This is different. I can't delve into different dimensions and timelines by myself. Although there is a method through which I could, at one point in time, get information about the different versions of myself from every single timeline and dimension. But, that is a story for another day.

"Do you guys have names?" I began to speak out loud so that I don't lose the ability to conversate.

'I was known as Lucifer, no need to state your name, peasant! HAHAHAHAH!'

'I shall enlighten thou with the name of thines truly. Thou shall call me Raphael! Lord Raphael!' 

"Huh… How ironic. Lucifer and Raphael… So what do you want me to do, Lucifer?"

Lucifer: 'It's simple, really. Just concentrate and try to alter your surroundings to initiate some Magic. In this case, try to make a field of gravity and push it down through the lake to disperse it and make a way through. You can imagine a lot of other things and it will take form in this world… Is my guess since the laws in this world seem… amiss. Now, don't even think that I'm doin' this 'cuz I don't want you to die! I don't but if you do die, then my guess is that so will I!'

"Whatever you say, man. Guess I'll give it a try although it seems like a scam and pretty damn stupid. I could bombard you with questions but I'll try and trust you since I've got nothing better to do either way."

I then proceeded to do as told. To my surprise, it worked. I activated this Gravity magic Lucifer spoke of. But the scary thing was that I barely even tried. I just thought of it; Imagined it; And it took form and altered the world around me. If such was the case in the normal, overworld, it would be chaos…

The ground in a 5 metre radius of me was crushed down and compressed at least 10 centimetre below ground level. Of course, the area where I had set my foot was unaffected. I took a few steps forward and the ground shattered beneath me. I raised my hands and clasped them together and split the ocean of the alien substance. 'That was cool—you can't tell me that wasn't cool.'

--END OF CHAPTER 3--