Unfathomable. That was the only word that was appropriate to this unbelievable situation.
Hydra, Jailer of Time, Child of the Chaos from which everything originated.
And,
Cthulhu, The Great Dreamer, a mysterious cosmic entity from beyond the bounds of reality.
With a great boom that spawned an impact so devastating it evaporated the deep sea from which the creature hailed, dreadful claws ripped through scaled necks harder than the most divine metal.
Mute roars and growls rang, the headless Hydra was in great pain. Their senses were overloaded to unimaginable levels, turning even the cool breeze of the midnight wind agony, most likely an ability of the anthropoid creature.
Pumping Time energy through their blood, five colossal heads reappeared in an instant, biting down on the disgusting rubbery scales of the creature.
" Ŕ̶̯̘̄ ̶̱̐̚a̵̙̰͘͝h̴͒ͅ ̴͖̿͝a̸̯̒̏ ̷̤͝A̶̞̗̕ ̸̤̋̃͜ȁ̴͓̗ḫ̴̃Á̸̘̖ ̷͉̬̾ " It cried ominously, though it was unclear whether it was from rage or pain, assuming that the thing felt it anyway.
Ripping apart the creature's physical vessel viciously, the Hydra breathed poison point blank into it's exposed flesh. Before it could impact however, the creature disappeared... like it was an illusion that was never real.
The Hydra pulled back, sensing the complete disappearance of the creature. Looking around at the surrounding that seemed darker and murkier than ever, they contorted their arms and transfigured them into majestic wings and took off, laying waste to the ancient arena even more with the tremendous gales generated.
Seeing that the creature was still veiled from reality, the Chaos born decided that if it wouldn't show itself.. then they would make it. Enhancing their wings greatly, they took off higher than ever, right into the borders of the dimension, and fell like a meteor.
Falling.... falling... falling..
As if they were a blazing meteor, the Hydra enchanted their being with their divinity, masking their actions from certain future. Now with an unpredictable trajectory, they sped down, having long broken more than just the sound barrier.
Falling... falling... falling?..
Suddenly, as if it was a cruel prank of the senses, the Hydra did not impact the earth as they thought to, nor did they find the soil that they were supposed to land. Instead... there was nothing at all.
The creature... it converted the dimension as if it willed, turning it from a destroyed, ancient trench in the Pacific Ocean into a dark void. It was completely empty, and everything seemed fuzzy, the beast felt serene... and extremely threatened.
This was wrong! This space... it was not real! A dream! A charade! They roared, divine energy rampaging wildly. They had now lost the homefield advantage, stuck in the cold void beyond everything. In a way, it was similar to the in-between... except that it was different, a fabrication of the mind.. an ideal.
It was Cthulhu's ideal. The creature yearned for a void, where everything in it was lost, inconsequential, and absolutely terrified. To be the puppet master, and the world, a marionette.
Divine beings were not just strong... not just powerful... they WERE power, they were strength. They perfectly personified their domains, representing the foundations of the world, serving as their own will. That was why they fought not with 'energy', not with muscle, not teeth and claw... but with belief, and ideals. To be strong, the divine must believe they are strong, to shape the world, they must envision it, and will it to life. That is their will, that is their essence.
Flying.. down?.. endlessly, they had enough and spread their wings, coming to a halt despite the absence of wind or drag. Here, they felt small... like a little speck of rock in the middle of infinite space.
WRONG!! How could a child of Chaos cower in the voids of space?! Exactly! They won't! They can't! Manifesting Chaos, they bent reality to their will, shrinking the ever boundless void of darkness infinitely, completely destroying the fabricated reality by making it implode on itself.
This was supposed to be completely impossible, for this fake reality had no 'laws' that would make it's demise possible. However, turning possibility on it's head was their job, no, it was their duty. Besides, when did the laws of reality matter to the Chaos that created it?
And with a pop! The dream ended. Shifting back into the real world, the Hydra adjusted once more to their senses. They saw the creature, it was on it's knees, huffing within the darkness. Despite it's large stature comparable to the mountain-sized Hydra, it was somehow still able to blend into the dark recesses of the dilapidated dimension. It seemed as if conjuring that dream took much out of it.
With a mighty flap of their luminous wings, the five-headed beast flew like a bright winged star! Their presence was so majestic that it seemed to grant color into this dark world. Streaking across the sky like it was the herald to an age of Chaos! They promised pain and destruction!
The anomalous creature tried to shift out of reality, obscuring itself from the physical realm. However, that did not work, as Chaos existed in all planes of existence.
" B O O O O O M ! ! ! " Two huge beings clashed, further laying waste to the battlefield. Nothing was recognizable at this point, the stormy sea was gone, replaced by a dark desert of rubble and dust constantly veiled by fog and smog.
" G̴̷̸̴̷̸̶̵̴͔̼͓̅̇͜R̸̶̶̷̴̷̷̸̶͓̯̓̕͝͠R̴̸̴̶̵̶̸̴̷͙̯̘͆̾͜R̶̴̵̵̸̗̈́Ä̶̶̶̴̸̶̯̞́À̷̶̵̷̸̵̸̵͎̬͇̩H̷̷̸̶̷̵̷̵̩̠̹̖͠H̷̴̴̷̶̷̴̶̶̵̵͇̹̟͋̓͑͐͜H̷̴̵̷̸̷̵̷̶̴̨͉͈̅̒͠͝ " Their cries were distorted, as if they did not travel via sound.
The creature was knocked into the ground, making large indents into the Earth. Five heads bit down, injecting vile poison into the thing's physical vessel. They did not believe for a moment this form was it's true form. The Hydra could feel it, this was the 'real' body.
And that was not a good thing, Cthulhu was a being of the mind, an unfathomable being of cosmic terror. This thing was restricted by reality, the laws of the world boring down on it, forcing the creature to adjust to the laws of reality. Therefore, the real body was not the true one, this was not it's true potential.
They tore into the creature, mercilessly clawing and eating at it's repulsive being. As they were about to unleash another colossal dose of poison, they felt another presence behind them.
" RAAHH!!! " Two heads looked back, and did not hesitate to fire poison into the mysterious assailant.
" R̶̴̵̵̸̗̈́Ä̶̶̶̴̸̶̯̞́À̷̶̵̷̸̵̸̵͎̬͇̩ !! " It was the creature again! But, this one... not real! Suddenly, they felt the disappearance of three of their heads. Looking back, the creature was gone!
" Tricks! Coward! " Two remaining heads sneered, speaking for the first time. They did not receive an answer.
Swipe!
From the inky depths of the darkness, a monstrous claw held onto their right wing, but before they could dispose of the annoyance, they felt another... and another... and another!
Now they noticed. The shadows... the darkness.. throughout the skirmish, it had been getting closer and closer, and from it, came hundreds upon hundreds of inky claws.
How the turned have tabled! Indeed, now it was them that was facing the onslaught of claws! It was a fight between an unfathomable darkness and mythical regeneration. Scales scratched, limbs and necks ripped, wings torn endlessly.
This could not go on! Channeling Time in a glassy burst of ephemeral light, ferocious and greedy limbs stopped abruptly.
Taking the opportunity, Chaos pumped in their glowing veins, overloading their body, regenerating it in an instant.. as well as causing them to emit a light so bright and ethereal it drove away the darkness. The light was the epitome of sensory overload, it was smothered and glittering in thousands and thousands of hues, combining and shifting infinitely.
The dimension was bathed in light, and was even being strengthened by it, further decreasing the possibility of the thing escaping. This battle was unlike anything before, and the stakes were much higher than just a tyrant continuing his rule. The world's natural balance was at stake, this anomaly would not hesitate to mess with it as it pleased.
And thus, the clash between higher beings began once more.
--- To Be Continued ---
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