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(A/N: Thanks for sticking so long, Rockstars <3)
"It's the end of the road for you, Alice." Achilles said, hisbhands glowing as he prepared on putting a stop forever to Alice's growing threat.
Roxanne looked at this with unease and worry, this seemed truly legit and this bastard was seriously threatening to kill her source of happiness and relief !
Remembering that she got powers, Roxanne points her hand at Achilles, the latter's eyes tilts to notice the sudden shift of demeanor, from the helpless brat who easily got manipulated to being kidnapped– to a force of nature whose eyes gleam like that of a beast.
"I wish for your death, Achilles." She said.
Suddenly, Achilles fletcher a shockwave run through his body which propulsed him to the wall behind him, crashing to it. Albeit the clear moan of pain in his voice, the latter was very far, faaar away from being dead like Roxanne wished.
Confidence was quickly being recycled in her mind as Roxanne couldn't understand why her wish didn't work, or more precisely, why it didn't function correctly.
Abruptly, Alice catches Roxanne's hands and shouts, "Get OUT of here baby he's after you!!"
"Oh it's so fucking over for you brat!!" Acgilles shouts in anger as he unglued himself from the wall and ran towards Roxanne head first.
"Eu–Euh ah... HA!!" Roxanne, stressed out, wishes for the first thing that comes to her mind, which was the crumbling of this building.
The pillars broke and the walls cracked as the ceiling fell on their heads. Achilles was uninjured and a protective layer was defending him from all sorts of projectiles.
Meanwhile Alice required her daughter's assistance to move forward in the grumble.
Achilles raised his hand, dark energy swirling ominously as he prepared to unleash Erasure, the forbidden spell that could end Alice and Roxanne once and for all. The room trembled under the sheer weight of his power.
Alice growled, stepping protectively in front of Roxanne, her crimson eyes blazing with rage. "You dare threaten my child? I'll rip you apart before you even finish that spell!"
Achilles smirked, his voice calm and cruel. "You think you can stop me? This is the end, Alice. Goodbye."
Just as the vortex of destruction began to form, a sudden, blinding light filled the room, engulfing everything in a radiance so pure that Achilles' spell faltered. He staggered back, his confident smirk replaced with confusion.
From the light emerged two figures: an old man clutching a glowing cube in his hands and a young woman standing beside him. The old man's expression was calm yet sharp, his eyes studying the room with a knowing gaze. It was Howard and Jessie, having used the cube to track the immense energy to this very location.
Achilles' eyes narrowed as he took in the scene. His gaze landed on the cube, and his composure cracked, a flicker of greed and curiosity crossing his face. "The cube…" he muttered. "What is that? Its energy feels… ancient."
Howard smirked, his grip tightening on the cube. "Ancient and beyond your understanding, Achilles."
Achilles frowned, his piercing gaze shifting to Howard. "And who might you be, old man? I don't recognize your kind."
"I'm trying to read you... But your code is undecipherable! Are you perhaps a Crosser like Alice ?!" He says.
Howard's grin widened, filled with an eerie confidence. "Oh, you wouldn't. But I know exactly who you are, Achilles. Azathoth spoke of you—a power-hungry wretch unworthy of the title of a deity."
Achilles' expression darkened, but as he raised his hand to attack, his power fizzled out before it could even form. He froze, his brows furrowing in disbelief. "What is this? Why can't I…?"
Howard chuckled, holding up the cube. "You can't touch me, can you? This little wonder protects me from your nonsense. Looks like your godhood isn't so all-encompassing after all."
Achilles' confusion gave way to anger, his voice a growl. "What is that thing? Tell me!"
He raised his hand, the ground trembling under the weight of his power, when a calm, commanding voice cut through the chaos.
"Achilles, stop." Howard commands.
The words were spoken firmly yet quietly, but they carried an undeniable authority that made the entire room fall silent. Achilles froze, his powers dissipating in an instant, leaving him stunned. He turned, bewildered, to face the old man holding the glowing cube.
"What... what did you just do?" Achilles demanded, his voice trembling with anger and disbelief. "How dare you- how can you stop me? You're just a mere mortal!"
Howard stood his ground, his calm demeanor unshaken. "A mortal? Perhaps in appearance, but you know better than that now."
Achilles' expression flickered between fury and confusion. "Who are you?! Answer me!"
Howard took a slow step forward, his gaze unwavering as he stared directly into Achilles' eyes. A smirk tugged at his lips as he uttered the words that sent a ripple of shock.
"I am, your Father."
...
"What kind of sick joke is THIS ?!" Achilles says, snapping his fingers doesn't have a single effect. He was powerless.
Achilles froze, disbelief plastered across his face. "What nonsense is this?! I was forged by Azathoth and the Outer Gods! You're just a mortal!"
Howard's smirk deepened. "Ah, Azathoth, Cathulhu, Nihila… Yes, they all like to pretend they're supreme beings, don't they? But the truth is, you're all my creations. It was my insanity—my cursed brilliance—that gave you form. You, Nihila, and… what was his name again? The other one? Ah, never mind, he wasn't important."
"Lies!" Achilles bellowed, slamming the ground, cracks splintering beneath him. "You're nothing but a lunatic!"
Howard tilted his head, amused. "Am I? Then tell me, why can't you erase me? Why do your powers falter before me? It's because you're tied to me. Not Azathoth. Not any god. Me."
Achilles staggered back, his face pale. "No… this can't be…"
Howard's voice hardened. "Oh, it is. Every fiber of your being was born from my madness. I didn't just create you. I created Azathoth, Cathulhu, Nihila, and the rest of your pantheon. You are nothing more than figments of my broken mind, given form."
Alice, watching, clenched her fists. "You're saying you created the Outer Gods? You're responsible for all this chaos?"
Howard glanced at her, his smile cold. "Indeed. My insanity didn't just shatter reality; it rewrote it. And now, Achilles, you stand here, a god trembling before his maker."
Alice stood tall, her presence commanding the room. Seeing Roxanne's smile after such an ordeal reignited her confidence. With Howard by her side and the cube in their possession, she felt unstoppable.
She turned her steely gaze to Achilles, her voice cold and unwavering. "Achilles, bring Nihila. Now. We need to discuss."
Achilles growled, his fists clenched in defiance. "You think you can order me, mortal? I answer to no one!"
Alice took a menacing step forward, her tone sharp as a blade. "Then consider this a polite request... before I make you regret every breath you've taken in this world."
Achilles clenched his fists, his jaw tightening as Alice's demand hung in the air. "I won't call her," he hissed.
Alice tilted her head, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "Oh? And why is that, Achilles? Are you afraid of her?"
Achilles scoffed, his voice filled with venom. "I'm not afraid of Nihila. I'm afraid of what will happen if she sees him." He pointed sharply at Howard, his glowing eyes flickering with barely concealed fury.
Howard raised an eyebrow, his arms crossed. "Me? What could I possibly do to scare a Cathulhic Deity?"
Achilles snarled, pacing back and forth like a caged animal. "Nihila… she's different. She's not like me or the others. She was crafted with a purpose, a flaw. She has… attachment. Weakness." He spat the last word like poison.
Alice's patience was wearing thin. "And? What does that have to do with anything?"
Achilles stopped pacing and turned to face her, his expression twisted with disdain. "Because if she sees him, if she realizes who he is—what he represents—she'll give you exactly what you want. She'll grant you the pathway. She'll hand over the Nexus without a fight."
Alice's smirk widened. "Sounds like that's exactly what I want to happen."
"You don't understand!" Achilles bellowed, his voice shaking the room. "If Nihila breaks, if she submits, the balance will tip. The Nexus wasn't meant to be controlled, not by you, not by anyone! You'll rip apart the foundations of every plane in existence!"
Howard chuckled darkly. "Balance, schmalance. Seems to me you're more worried about losing your leverage than saving your precious plane."
Achilles turned on him, his teeth bared. "You have no idea what's at stake, you deranged mortal!"
Howard stood silent for a moment, his gaze flicking between Alice and Achilles, assessing the situation. With a deep sigh, he turned to face the glowing cube in his hands. He muttered something under his breath, the energy swirling around him as the cube hummed with power. "Very well. I'll do it."
The cube began to pulse, its light intensifying as tendrils of energy snaked out, swirling like a storm ready to tear through the very fabric of reality. Achilles' face twisted in panic as he realized what was about to happen. "No! You don't understand—"
But it was too late. The cube erupted with blinding light, and in an instant, the air seemed to warp and twist. A crack appeared in the fabric of space, growing wider and wider until it tore open, revealing a dark, swirling void beyond.
From the darkness, a figure emerged—a woman whose presence felt as if the very air around her was being suffocated by her power. Nihila, the Cathulhic Deity, materialized before them, her eyes glowing with an otherworldly light, her form both terrifying and beautiful.
She looked at Alice first, her gaze unyielding and calculating. "You summoned me," she said, her voice an echo of the void itself.
Alice smiled, her confidence unwavering. "Yes, Nihila. I did."
Nihila's eyes flicked to Howard, and for a moment, something flickered in her expression—recognition, perhaps, or wariness. "Howard…" she whispered, her voice colder now, tinged with an emotion Alice couldn't place.
Howard gave a slight nod, holding the cube carefully in his hands. "Yes. I summoned you. And we have something to discuss."
Nihila's gaze turned icy, and she stepped forward, her eyes never leaving Alice. "You're playing a dangerous game, human. Summoning me, trying to control the Nexus. You have no idea what you're dealing with."
Alice's eyes narrowed, her voice firm. "I know exactly what I'm doing. And I'm not here to play games. I want the pathway to the Nexus, and I want it now."
Nihila's expression twisted with panic as she shouted, "The pathway will never be created! Do you understand? It's too dangerous!"
Reality around them warped, warping in impossible angles as the fabric of space itself began to tear. The ground trembled beneath them, and the air thickened with unnatural pressure. Objects shifted erratically, gravity becoming unstable, and the walls themselves seemed to pulse.
Nihila raised her hands, her voice trembling with urgency. "You're tampering with forces beyond comprehension! Stop, before everything collapses!"
Howard, calm amidst the chaos, held the cube steady in his grasp, its energy crackling with power. "It's already done," he murmured, barely acknowledging the chaos.
Nihila's eyes burned with fury and fear, but her power seemed to falter as the distortion enveloped her. She screamed in frustration, but her form flickered—reality itself was starting to unravel around her.
"You don't understand!" Nihila shouted, her voice breaking. "You cannot control this!"
Yet, no matter how she tried to resist, the power of the cube and Howard's unwavering focus kept it stable. The swirling rift continued to expand, and the pathway to the Nexus began to form.
This was the start of the big finale.