Up to 20 Advanced chapters + comissions on patreon.com/skyfall12 !
X―x―X—x—X―x―X
(A/N: Thanks for sticking so long, Rockstars <3)
Akira knelt down, pulling Roxanne closer. His trembling hands gently pinched her small, soft cheeks. His eyes brimmed with tears that threatened to spill over.
"R-Roxy... My... My daughter..." His voice broke as he tried to speak. "It's been whole months… Yet your face… it looks like it's been whole years…"
Roxanne's wide eyes glistened with tears of her own, and she whispered, "Dad..."
Akira pulled her into a tighter hug, his tears streaming freely now. "I missed you so much… so, so much… I thought I'd never see you again." His voice cracked, and he buried his face in her hair, as if trying to assure himself this wasn't a dream.
Roxanne sniffled, hugging him back with all her strength. "I missed you too, Daddy… I always hoped you'd come back."
Alice stood nearby, her expression softening as she watched them. Despite the chaos surrounding them, this moment seemed frozen in time—a fleeting fragment of peace amidst the storm.
Azathoth's voice broke the silence, annoyed. "Touching reunion, but, uh, reality is still unraveling here! Can we please focus?"
Akira laughed through his tears, still holding Roxanne close. "Just give me one more second," he said, his voice trembling. "I've waited too long for this."
Akira's eyes locked onto Alice, and for a moment, the chaos around them seemed to fade. Without hesitation, he crossed the distance between them, his voice raw with emotion.
"Alice…" he breathed. "I've waited so long for this."
Alice stood still, her usual composure faltering as her husband's arms wrapped around her. Then, he kissed her. It wasn't gentle or restrained—it was fierce, passionate, and filled with all the longing of their time apart.
Alice closed her eyes, surrendering to the moment, her hands gripping his shirt as if afraid he'd vanish again. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, she allowed herself to feel vulnerable.
"AH~ OH FUCK~! WE HAVE A WORLD TO SAVE AND YET THESE TWO DARE TO AROUSE ME LIKE THAT~ HAAAH~" Nyarlathotep muttered from the side. With an exaggerated tone, she sauntered over and placed her hands over Roxanne's eyes.
"Hey!" Roxanne protested, trying to pry his fingers away. "What's going on? What are they doing?!"
Nyarlathotep grinned mischievously. "THAT'S SOMETHING YOU'LL HAVE TO FIND OUT ON YOUR OWN LITTLE ONE, HAAH~'" She moaned.
Azathoth rolled his eyes. "Really? Now? Of all times? There's an interdimensional nightmare brewing, and you two are making out!"
Breaking the kiss, Akira rested his forehead against Alice's, his voice soft. "I missed you so much…"
Alice smirked, wiping a tear from her cheek. "I missed you too."
Nyarlathotep, still covering Roxanne's eyes, snorted. "Alright, lovebirds, save it for later. We've got apocalypses to stop."
Azathoth pointed at the newly formed being that emerged from the fusion of Nihila and Howard. The entity floated above the shattered remnants of Nexus, its form extraordinary—perfect, yet incomprehensible.
Azathoth placed his hands on his hips, tilting his head as he examined the divine fusion. "You look so much better like this, Dad," he said with an unsettling grin.
The casual remark sent waves of tension through the group. Alice instinctively moved closer to Roxanne, shielding her with one arm while keeping her eyes locked on Azathoth.
"What did you just say?" Alice asked, her voice low and sharp, her every muscle coiled.
Azathoth turned toward her, clearly amused. "Oh, come on. Did you think Howard was just some mortal genius? He's the reason I exist—the one who gave me life in his madness."
Howard—or rather, the being he had now become—let out a booming laugh that shook the air. "HAHA! AND YOU, SON, LOOK FAR WEAKER THAN THE MAN I RAISED!"
Azathoth's grin widened, but his fists clenched at his sides. "Careful, old man. You might've created me, but don't think for a second that means I'll bow to you now."
The sky above cracked with lightning as the tension reached its peak. Howard's omnipotent gaze swept over the group, a knowing smirk crossing his face. "Then let's see if you've truly learned anything, boy," he said, his voice challenging and absolute.
Alice suddenly collapsed to the ground, clutching her chest as a wave of excruciating pain coursed through her body. A guttural scream tore from her throat, halting everyone in their tracks.
"Mom!" Roxanne cried, rushing toward her.
Akira dropped to his knees beside Alice, holding her trembling form tightly. "Alice! What's happening? Talk to me!" he pleaded, fear evident in his voice.
Alice gasped, her body glowing with an ominous, fluctuating energy. "The link..." she whispered hoarsely. "The link between Athena and Nexus... my powers are... returning. It's... tearing me apart!"
Azathoth stepped forward, observing the scene with a smug grin. "Ah, yes. Painful, isn't it? That's the price for fragmented power being forced back into its rightful vessel."
Before Akira could retort, Howard's voice cut through the tension like a blade. "Azathoth!" he bellowed, his voice laced with authority.
Azathoth's smug grin faltered slightly as he turned his attention to Howard. "What is it now, old man?"
Howard glared at him, his presence commanding. The cube in his hand hummed ominously as he raised it slightly. "This isn't about her. This moment isn't yours to gawk at, boy. Quit stalling, and face me like the god I created you to be."
Howard and Azathoth vanished abruptly, leaving the others bewildered.
"Where did they go?" Akira asked, his voice tinged with concern.
Roxanne scanned the area, confusion evident.
"THEY LEFT TO THE DIMENSIONAL GAP." Nyarlathotep responded.
"Maaaa~, they're really going to agree somewhere very far away just to avoid us troubles~. What lovely father-son relationship they have~" Shub-Niggurath comments, giggling.
"We must do something to help!" Cathulhu adds.
As the Outer Gods assembled, Achilles, who had been observing from the beginning, suddenly erupted in madness and lunged at Akira.
"DAD!!" Roxanne shouts.
The Outer Gods attempted to intervene, but Achilles, exerting his control over the plane, froze time for himself and Akira.
"WHY THE FUCK DID SHE FUSE WITH HIM?! WAS THAT YOUR PLAN ALL ALONG?!" Acgilles asks, shouting and pinning Akira to the ground.
"The fuck... you on...?" He says, trying to break off his emprise.
"YOU!! EVERYTHING, ALL OF THIS IS BECAUSE OF YOU!!!! IF YOU HAD NOT BEING BORN, AZATHOTH WOYKD HAVE REMAINED POWERLESS AND UNABLE TO CROSS OVER!!!" Achilles says.
"You... You know that death is a cycle and even if I was not born, catastrophy would have still found a way to your plane...!" Akira explains.
Achilles gritted his teeth.
"YOU BASTAAARD!!!" Achilles shouted, delivering a powerful punch to Akira's face.
For the first time, Akira experienced true physical damage; the impact from another Outer God caused his face to disintegrate into a writhing mass of black tentacles and darkness, struggling to regenerate the lost form.
The confrontation revealed the deep fractures and mistrust among the Outer Gods, threatening to unravel their tenuous alliance.
As tensions escalated, the very fabric of their reality seemed to tremble, foreshadowing the chaos that lay ahead.
Akira manages to unpin himself and get on his feet. His gaze fixed on Achilles.
"Achilles," he began, his voice calm yet firm, "this conflict serves no purpose. Let's set aside our differences and work together to restore balance."
Achilles sneered, his eyes blazing with defiance. "PEACE? AFTER ALL THAT'S TRANSPIRED? I REFUSE TO ALLY WITH YOU."
A flicker of anger crossed Akira's face. "Your stubbornness blinds you," he retorted. "Perhaps I should skewer your head and add your power to my arsenal."
Akira moved faster than the eye could track, his hand shooting out and wrapping around Achilles' throat. He squeezed tightly, the sickening crack of broken bone echoing in the air as Achilles' neck snapped with a simple twist.
"You DUMBASS!" Achilles roared, his voice dripping with contempt. "You think that killing this body is enough to abstract me?!"
Achilles' body went limp, collapsing to the ground. Akira stood above him, a smug grin on his face. "You've completely underestimated me."
A dark chuckle escaped Akira's lips, "You know, Achilles... Experience is what forges a man." He starts.
"In my life, I had the amazing opportunity to fight two Outer Gods at once before even becoming one myself. And thanks to that little battle… 190 Chapters ago," Akira's voice carried weight, a sharp edge to each word, "I gained enough experience to know how to abstract an Outer God."
Achilles' eyes widened, his face draining of color as realization hit him. Akira, without a care, summoned a parchment with a swift motion.
"NO!" Achilles bellowed, his fury rising. "You can't possibly—"
Akira smiled coldly. "As long as you're weaker than me, I can use this parchment. It'll be more than enough to finish you off."
Achilles hissed, struggling to rise, his rage barely contained. "HOW DID YOU ESTIMATE THAT I'M WEAKER THAN YOU, AKIRA?!"
Akira's laugh rang out, mocking and full of malice. "Simple. Because I'm the main character, and this moment? It's the one where you die."
With a swift, final motion, Akira unleashed his power, and Achilles was consumed, his struggles nothing more than a fading echo in the aftermath of Akira's absolute dominance.
The parchment gets filled with runes, Achilles was abstracted inside the parchment. Killing him was impossible but abstraction was a great alternative. A sub-plane where only HE can roam in, powerless.
Time resumes, and the Outer Gods all look at Akira, whom held an ominous looking parchment.
The next moment, the parchment fused with Akira.