The battlefield was a swirling maelstrom of chaos, where warriors clashed with
divine forces, and the sky itself seemed to scream in protest. The monstrous Caterpillar of
the Old God loomed over the battlefield, its immense, eldritch form blotting out the heavens. Cosmic tendrils lashed out, distorting reality wherever they touched. Mouths
opened along its writhing body, shrieking in ancient tongues that rattled the souls of those
who dared to face it. Zaiytus, the fusion of Talus and Zaiyal, stood at the forefront,
golden energy crackling around his form. Beside him hovered Hermes, her eyes alight
with divine foresight. Tatu, Daniel, Ungar, and the Wandering Jew, Joseph, floated beside
them, their auras merging into a single beacon of defiance against the monstrous entity.
"It's over, monster!" Zaiytus roared, his voice booming across the battlefield. "You have
deceived us for over a thousand years. Your treachery ends now!" The Caterpillar's
laughter was like a tremor in the very fabric of existence. "You fools. I am beyond time,
beyond gods, beyond your feeble resistance. I will drown this universe in eternal
silence!" With that, the horror unleashed a surge of dark energy, a cascading wave of
entropy that sought to erase all existence in its path. The warriors barely had time to react
as the energy tore through the battlefield, consuming all in its wake. Hermes, foreseeing
the attack, chanted an incantation that summoned a barrier of luminous glyphs. The wave
crashed against it, sending shockwaves through the fabric of reality itself, but the shield
held.
Joseph wasted no time. He streaked through the sky like a comet, a blade of
celestial energy forming in his hands. He slashed at the tendrils reaching for the earth,
severing them in bursts of eldritch ichor. The Caterpillar roared in pain, its countless eyes
locking onto him. From its body, a storm of razor-sharp wings burst forth, slicing through
the air like living scythes. Ungar charged forward, his massive form radiating raw power.
With a mighty roar, he grappled one of the cosmic limbs and, with Herculean strength,
tore it from the beast's body. The heavens shuddered at the act, the sheer force of Ungar's
might sending tremors across the battlefield. Zaiytus clenched his fists, gathering an
immense amount of energy. "Everyone, together! Strike it at once! We have no time, his
energy is too powerful, if we fool around for just a few minutes this universe is finished."
Tatu and Daniel nodded, their bodies glowing with divine energy as they joined hands,
forging a massive spear of celestial light. Hermes channeled her prophetic magic,
enchanting the spear with fate itself. Joseph added the final touch, his blade merging with
the weapon, granting it the power to sever even the mightiest of entities. With a unified
battle cry, they launched the spear toward the Caterpillar's heart. The eldritch entity
screamed as it sensed its doom, but its cries were drowned out by the weapon's impact.
The spear tore through its grotesque form, a fissure of light erupting from within. The
beast convulsed, its form unraveling as reality rejected its existence.
The sky began to clear, the oppressive darkness retreating as the Caterpillar of the
Old God disintegrated into nothingness. The warriors watched in exhausted triumph as the cosmic horror was no more. The battlefield was silent, save for the heavy breaths of
the victors. Zaiytus turned to the others. "It's done. The nightmare is over." But Hermes,
still gazing into the void left behind, murmured, "For now." The battle was won, but the
war for reality would never truly end.
Over 6 months later...
Back at the Imperial Commisar's office: Nova blew another puff of smoke from
his cigarette. "I really have no excuse, what I did was unforgivable. I was lucky that the
monster stopped me when it did. If it hadn't. I don't know if I could stop myself.
Everything you say is true though. I am a traitor." The Commissar huffed: "Well the King
Al-Jihad because of Hermes' plea to spare you is pardoning you for your behavior. I don't
love it. But it's the law." The Commissar stamped a document and Nova walked outside
of the building he was greeted by Qayyim holding two children, Zaiyal and her child
Zaiyal VI and the little version of her the past-self. Some time had passed and Qayyim
realized that Karen was actually a figment of her imagination, she discovered that the
immense trauma of her dying wouldn't allow to accept the reality of the fact of her death.
Hermes had been having prophetic dreams: where she was on campaigns spreading
true Monotheism through means of peace and violence: in one of them she was
raiding a Kingdom of Idol-Worshipping Ogres. Her role as a Prophet would soon
become very important, it wasn't a question of it but of when. Altogether: Ungar, Zaiyal,
Talus, Qayyim with the two children and Hermes were there.
Nova took a deep breath, the cool air outside feeling heavier than it should have.
The weight of his guilt, though legally absolved, still clung to him. His eyes met
Qayyim's, and for a moment, neither of them spoke. The children in her arms stirred,
their innocent faces untouched by the horrors of the past. "You really made it out,"
Qayyim finally said, her voice softer than he expected. "Yeah," Nova exhaled, flicking
the cigarette away. "Still figuring out if I deserved to." "You didn't," Hermes interjected,
stepping forward. His golden eyes held no malice, only the burden of wisdom. "But you
were given another chance. Don't waste it." Nova nodded, unsure of what to say. The
others stood in quiet understanding—Ungar with his arms crossed, Talus with his usual
unreadable expression, and Zaiyal gently holding her child close. They had all suffered in
their own ways, yet here they were, standing together in the aftermath of everything.
Qayyim adjusted her grip on the child and gave Nova a look—one that was neither
forgiving nor condemning, just tired. "Come on," she said. "We've got a long way to go."
Nova glanced back at the Commissar's office one last time before turning away, walking
beside them into whatever uncertain future awaited.