As he spoke, Alaric let slip a trace of the Nyarlathotep power fragment within him, his expression deadly serious.
In truth, Alaric meant every word. He wasn't some lunatic itching to destroy the world, but he also wasn't selfless enough to sacrifice himself for a foreign one. He had no qualms about making a threat of mutual destruction.
This wasn't an empty threat either. Nyarlathotep's power might be dormant in his body now, but if it broke free, even Alaric didn't know what would happen.
As for whether he'd actually follow through... Alaric doubted he'd survive if Amon got his hands on him. If the world was doomed anyway, he'd rather take everyone down with it than let Amon come out on top.
Alaric was never a saint. No saint would try to take Nyarlathotep down with them.
The Ancient Sun God clearly sensed Alaric's resolve and the dangerous aura within him. Though still unclear on the details, the deity made a quick decision. With a sigh, he turned to Alaric and asked, "How do you want me to help you?"
"First, give him a good smack. Let him feel the weight of fatherly love like a landslide." Alaric said, pointing at Amon with utmost seriousness.
The Ancient Sun God paused, unsurprised by the request. He turned to Amon with a faintly apologetic smile.
If this were Amon's true body, the Ancient Sun God might have hesitated. But a mere avatar? That was fair game.
After all, he'd disciplined this troublesome child plenty of times in the past for his antics.
…
If the Ancient Sun God wanted to punish someone, even the current Seven Gods would likely have to take it, let alone a mere Amon avatar.
So, in just half a minute, Amon was sprawled on the ground, battered and barely clinging to life, visibly worse for wear. Even the hidden Amon avatars in the area had been wiped out, leaving only this primary one.
Yet Amon struggled to sit up, looking at Alaric with a faint smile. "Is that all?"
Amon knew this avatar was likely done for, but he didn't seem overly concerned.
To Amon, as long as not all his avatars were destroyed, it wasn't a big deal.
He even flashed a fake smile. "If you just wanted to get rid of this avatar, I'd have handed it over if you let me have a quick chat with my… father."
Alaric wasn't surprised. He turned to the Ancient Sun God, saying earnestly, "Thank you, Mr. Sun God. As a token of gratitude, I can fill you in on what Amon's been up to since your fall. You probably want to know what your son's been doing, right?"
Amon's smile froze, a rare crack in his composure.
Though an undeniable scoundrel, Amon had some self-awareness. He knew his father was, in some sense, a good person, while the things he'd done since his father's fall were anything but good.
Amon didn't think he was wrong, but like any child facing their parent with a laundry list of misdeeds, even he felt a twinge of resistance.
Resistance to his father learning about them, and to the potential… disappointment.
This resistance made Amon drop his smile, his face turning blank.
Alaric noticed every shift, grinning as he fully demonstrated the law of smiles never vanishing, only transferring. Looking at Amon, he quipped, "That's it?"
A perfect boomerang right back at Amon.
"You'd better hope I don't catch you." Amon said flatly, his cool finally slipping.
"Don't worry. If there's a next time, I'll make sure your dad comes back to give you another dose of that heavy fatherly love you adore." Alaric replied with a cheeky grin, secretly relieved.
Thankfully, it was Amon. He could summon the Ancient Sun God to save the day. This "fellow transmigrator" was, if nothing else, broad-minded and reliable.
Against anyone else, his mutual destruction threat might not have worked, and he'd have actually had to follow through.
Still, Alaric knew the Ancient Sun God only went along with his "threat" because he was a decent being, because Amon was in the wrong, and because this was just an avatar.
If it had been Amon's true body, the Ancient Sun God might've only helped him escape at best.
"Clearly, every troublesome kid has a troublesome parent behind them…" Alaric concluded solemnly, casting a pointed glance at the Ancient Sun God.
The Ancient Sun God, though unclear on the full context, had Spectator pathway abilities. How could he miss Amon's evasion? He sighed, already piecing things together.
"This is…" He began.
"Alaric Zoroast." Alaric supplied smoothly. It wasn't a secret anyway. Amon had already devoured his predecessor and would know everything... whether Alaric said it or not, Amon would've told his father.
"Mr. Alaric, please tell me what Amon has been up to all these years." The Ancient Sun God asked earnestly.
"No problem…" Alaric started, but then Amon's eyes snapped shut, and he collapsed, dissolving into a cluster of Worm of Times.
What?
"He's dodging?" Alaric gave the pile of Worm of Times an odd look, not entirely surprised. Amon was, after all, a master at shirking responsibility. Fleeing in this situation was par for the course.
But with Amon's avatar gone… Alaric glanced at the Ancient Sun God, whose form was already destabilizing without the summoning medium.
Alaric wasn't too disappointed. His spirituality was running low anyway... summoning a Shadow of Time wasn't without cost, requiring spiritual energy to sustain.
And a figure like the Ancient Sun God? Alaric could only maintain him for less than a minute.
So, he spoke at breakneck speed: "Mr. Sun God, time's short, so I'll cut to the chase. After your fall, Amon devoured nearly every Beyonder in the Marauder pathway, toyed with people left and right, and aimed to become the Lord of Mysteries while dodging any responsibility to save the world. He's the ultimate troublesome kid. I suggest you give him a few more lessons to straighten him out."
As Alaric's words fell, the Ancient Sun God's projection vanished completely.