When Sakolomeh, Bakuzan, Bivisu, and the rest of the group arrived in the World of Myths, their appearance immediately caused a stir in the great hall.
All eyes turned toward them.
Murmurs immediately began to spread among the gathered assemblies.
— That's him, Bivisu?
— According to the reports, yes...
— I imagined him much more terrifying.
— He strangely resembles Son of God...
Discussions multiplied as everyone observed the former avatar of the Original Gods.
Only the oldest remained perfectly impassive.
The Primordial Gods, in particular, showed no surprise. Since the Ancient Genesis, they already knew what Bivisu looked like.
Sakolomeh swept his gaze across the hall before abruptly stopping on one of the central seats.
His face hardened immediately.
— It has to be him...
At his side, Bakuzan slowly nodded.
Seated with an almost provocative nonchalance was an unknown individual.
A dark and unhealthy aura pulsed around him like an invisible tide.
Even the air seemed to hesitate to approach him.
Bivisu, in turn, turned his eyes toward the stranger.
The man slowly raised his head.
His appearance was disturbing.
One could instinctively tell that this was not his true form.
He had adopted a humanoid silhouette solely to communicate.
His skin was unnaturally white, almost corpse-like.
His pupils were red like fresh blood, while the whites of his eyes were replaced by a strange dark green color, evoking an unknown disease or an unnameable corruption.
Bivisu observed him for a few seconds before slightly tilting his head.
— His essence is made of neither flesh nor bone.
His gaze became more attentive.
— Nor is it composed of the void that makes up the Chōshinku or the Super-Existences...
The stranger smiled.
Then he spoke.
His voice immediately sent a shiver through the assembly.
It seemed to come from everywhere at once.
As if it resonated within the hall while arriving from an infinitely distant place.
As if the being before them were only an imperfect projection of something that remained elsewhere.
— I do not possess a name, like the creatures of the Dream.
He paused briefly.
— But you may call me R'lyeh.
His smile widened slightly.
— It is the closest translation of my primitive Resonance.
Bakuzan immediately stepped forward.
His gaze was icy.
— What do you want?
A wave of dark mana coursed through his body.
— The situation seems to amuse you greatly for you to dare come here with such confidence.
R'lyeh slowly turned his eyes toward him.
Then he let out a soft laugh.
— The situation does not press us.
His smile deepened.
— For our invasion has already begun.
Silence was immediate.
Then the hall erupted with reactions.
— That's impossible!
— He's lying!
— That makes no sense!
— Since when?!
The murmurs turned into general agitation.
But R'lyeh remained perfectly calm.
— The Original Gods already know.
His gaze swept across the assembly.
— That is precisely why they have disappeared.
This time, even several Primordial Gods exchanged a glance.
Erasa stepped forward.
Her expression remained serene despite the growing tension.
— If the Dream still exists, then they have lost nothing.
She looked directly at the emissary of the Outergods.
— Aren't you simply trying to plunge us into confusion?
R'lyeh closed his eyes for a few seconds.
— Oh no...
He lowered his head slightly, as if reflecting.
— You raise a relevant point.
He finally lifted his eyes.
— If the Dream is still intact, then yes, the Original Gods are still there.
His smile disappeared.
— But they are in a hurry as well.
A shiver ran through the hall.
— They know that what is approaching may exceed their ability to stop us.
This time, even Erasa felt her heart tighten.
It was impossible to know whether this being was telling the truth or not.
The most troubling part was that she could not even verify it.
For some time now, her link with Mü Thanatos had remained silent.
She could still use the powers granted by her status as an apostle.
But all communication had vanished.
As if something were now blocking the connection.
Or as if Mü Thanatos herself was occupied elsewhere.
Bakuzan was experiencing exactly the same situation.
For several days, he had been unable to make contact with Kami-no-Koe.
The authority remained present.
The power remained present.
But the dialogue had disappeared.
As if an invisible wall now separated the apostles from their original deities.
And at that precise moment, as R'lyeh observed the hall with his strange smile, a thought began to take shape in the minds of several individuals.
What if this absence was not a coincidence?
What if the Original Gods were truly engaged in something far more serious than anything they had imagined so far?
Sakolomeh abruptly interrupted him.
— R'lyeh... what is truly bringing you here?
A strange silence fell over the hall.
R'lyeh slowly lowered his eyes. His hair, darker than a night deprived of stars, slipped in front of his face. For a few seconds, he remained motionless, as if absorbed in a thought inaccessible to the creatures of the Dream.
Then he raised a hand and brushed aside the strands that hid his gaze.
— I am the one who has been designated to carry the word of the Outergods.
His voice echoed throughout the assembly.
— And my message is simple.
His smile widened.
— We can proceed with a total contamination of the Dream... without killing anyone.
The murmurs immediately ceased.
— On one condition: that you all agree to become extensions of the Outer Substance.
— NO!
Salomeh's response burst through the hall before anyone could react.
She had leapt to her feet.
— Never!
R'lyeh slowly turned his head toward her. A faint smile revealed abnormally sharp fangs.
— Rather die than become your puppets! she continued.
The messenger of the Outergods slightly tilted his head.
— You refuse without even thinking?
His gaze swept across the assembly.
— You creatures of the Dream are utterly outmatched. Even the weakest of the Outergods possesses power comparable to that of an Ineffable.
A shiver passed through the hall.
This time, the reactions were immediate.
— Impossible...
— That's absurd...
— He's lying...
Voices multiplied.
Only the Primordial Gods remained impassive. They already knew. For a long time.
R'lyeh spread his arms.
— And yet, we are showing great generosity.
His smile became more unsettling.
— Instead of erasing you entirely, we offer you the possibility to survive. Simply allow the Outer Substance to reshape your existence.
Ravena spoke.
— And what would become of those who are contaminated?
— Their identity would disappear.
His response was immediate.
— Their memories. Their desires. Their individuality. Their history.
He raised his eyes toward the ceiling.
— All of that would be dissolved until only one thing remains: the Original Void.
— They would become fragments of the Primordial Nothingness.
Ravena slowly lowered her eyes.
— I strongly doubt that anyone here would accept such a proposal...
R'lyeh let out a deep laugh.
— As if you truly have a choice.
The atmosphere abruptly changed.
An oppressive pressure filled the hall.
R'lyeh rose from his seat.
His gaze suddenly became fierce.
— You are nothing but aberrations.
The walls seemed to tremble.
— You should never have existed.
A cold hatred permeated every one of his words.
— The Original World was pure. Intact. Free of all conceptualization.
His red pupils shone brighter.
— Then you appeared. Concepts. Identities. Stories. Individualities.
He slowly clenched his fist.
— You defiled what was perfect.
A heavy silence followed.
Then Sakolomeh sighed.
— You said that even the weakest of the Outergods possess a level comparable to that of the Ineffables. Is that correct?
R'lyeh immediately turned his gaze toward him.
— Obviously.
His smile returned.
— But that is not even what should worry you.
He took a few steps.
— Among us exists an entity far more dangerous.
Bakuzan frowned.
— Which one?
R'lyeh raised his eyes.
— The one we call...
His voice seemed to echo from several places at once.
— Nythraka, the Crawling Matrix of the Outer Chaos.
Even the Primordial Gods seemed slightly attentive at this name.
— Nythraka is of my rank.
He paused.
— Like me, she belongs to the higher factions of the Outergods. Those that have been slightly touched by conceptualization without ever fully accepting it.
His gaze drifted into the void.
— Her existence oscillates between being and non-being. Between diseased conceptualization and total absence of conceptualization.
R'lyeh slowly shook his head.
— She possesses no true form.
— No structure.
— No limits.
— Even speaking of her size makes no sense.
His voice grew darker.
— Nythraka crawls through the planes of existence.
— She traverses realities.
— Dimensions.
— Narratives.
— Dreams.
— Concepts.
— Laws.
— And everything she touches is absorbed into her chaotic mass.
Several individuals felt unease rising within them.
— The worst part...
R'lyeh formed a disturbing smile.
— Is that she gives birth.
The murmurs ceased.
— She produces countless offspring.
— Secondary Outergods.
— Less powerful than her, certainly.
— But powerful enough to rival your most formidable deities.
He slowly opened his arms.
— Each child she creates carries a fragment of her chaos.
— Each child becomes a new source of contamination.
— Each child spreads the Outer Substance.
His gaze swept across the assembly.
— Everywhere.
— Without end.
R'lyeh's smile disappeared.
For the first time, genuine anger crossed his face.
— When you understand that...
He clenched his teeth.
— You understand why we were on the verge of winning the war during the Ancient Genesis.
His voice resounded like a rumble.
— If that cursed Retrogenesis had not annihilated my sister's children in the lower planes...
The shadows around him stirred.
— If those damned Original Gods had not pushed us back...
His red eyes flared violently.
— Then the entire Dream would have already become ours since eternity.
A heavy silence fell over the hall.
And for the first time since the beginning of the meeting...
Even the most confident began to grasp the magnitude of the danger that was approaching.