06-15-2015, 09:49 AM
Early morning. Dew sits upon the crimson specked leaves like shimmering hitchhikers with nowhere to go. A primordial sun rises over frost-caked mountaintops, and a cool mist permeates the valley floor. Behemoth creatures shamble through the fog, picking at the ripest leaves available on the primitive trees. A lone figure stands among the herd, clad in a brown robe, a scythe in its bony hand. The blade shimmers with an unearthly light, and at this being's feet, there lays the body of a young woman. Her blonde hair is dyed blue with the blood that has recently burst from a gash in her neck. Begging eyes look up and the robed figure, but only soulless yellow orbs stare back. In a few moments, she passes from this world, her soul migrating into the aether beyond this physical realm. The enigmatic figure sighs. Another successful hunt. His master will be pleased. The brown-robed man takes a few steps in the opposite direction the herd of monsters is traveling in, before seemingly melting into the mist. There is no further reason to linger.
A lone dragonfly alights on the dead woman's nose. She makes a sufficient perch, for now.
Back in the diamond city, Nealaphh pulls his brown hood down from his head, revealing a sullen, yet youthful face. His eyes still glow a solid yellow, and his skin has ritualistic scars carved into it. A shaven head, with only a thin black ponytail sprouting from the nape of his neck denotes him as an acolyte of the Crawling Chaos. The sunlight of Vega shines heavily down through the crystalline towers, and rainbows dance across all surfaces with scintillating beauty. Nealaphh, the enigma, approaches the Master's temple. He should have no reason to fear the coming conversation, but still, his steps hold a reluctance that betrays his true emotions. That woman, the immortal...he knew her. Walking up the two-hundred steps to the grand onyx tower, Nealaphh kneels before the heavy stone doors and utters a simple prayer to the Primordial Instinct. Withdrawing a knife from his cloak, the enigma pulls his left sleeve up to his elbow and carves a bloody rune into his forearm. The mark of another successful mission in the name of thermodynamics. Once this ritual is complete, the stone doors pull themselves open, and Nealaphh enters the pitch darkness beyond.
Inside, the chapel resembles the beauty of deep space, with red-tinted points of light glowing in all directions. Thousands...millions of tiny beacons in the darkness. But Nealaphh knows better; he is the Master's head priest. Those are not flames or points of energy. They are eyes. Hefting his scythe into the air, Nealaphh summons light into this dark place and reveals the horror. Wriggling tendrils of black ichor writhe across the stoney inner surface of the chapel, with beady red eyes bursting from the black flesh like luminescent tumors. These thin tentacles spiderweb their way all across the floor, walls and ceiling of the chamber, meeting together at the center of the ceiling where a slavering maw awaits. There come tiny screams of terror as Nealaphh walks to the middle of the floor, squishing eyeballs and tentacles as he does so, but there is no reason to be concerned that he may anger the abomination. It feels no pain. The words begin to come, and the tattooed scars on Nealaphh's dark brown skin begin to glow a soft blue-green.
"Yes." Nealaphh says. His voice is heavy and deep, filled with purpose. More words come.
...
"It was easier than usual. Trust does that."
...
"I don't see why not."
...
"I am honored by your words."
...
"I would prefer we didn't linger on that thought."
...
"Again, you honor me. No, I will be fine."
...
"Serving you is its own reward, but...I shall listen, as always."
...
"I don't understand."
...
"How is such a thing possible?"
...
"So it is true...I suppose congratulations are in order."
...
"If you feel if that is what is best, then I will obey."
...
"It doesn't matter. Let it begin."
With those final, fateful words, the black tendrils leap from their writhing stupor and cling to Nealaphh's body like horrid leeches, and grow tiny, razor sharp teeth. Nealaphh grits his teeth as he tries to bite back the screams as the tentacles worm their way into his flesh, tearing chunks of his body free with tiny cries of triumph. Agony does not begin to describe the pain, and Nealaphh lets loose a howl of anguish. The slavering maw over head lets out an empathetic roar of its own, and the chamber is filled with maddening screams. Piece by piece, Nealaphh is savagely torn asunder, his black blood splattering to the ground in great gouts. Now blinded by pain, Nealaphh can only listen to the terrifying sound as a thick tentacle eats its way through his spine and bursts out through the front of his chest, his still-beating heart clutched in its unhinged jaws. This too, disappears down a horrible gullet, and the last thing Nealaphh hears with his mortal ears is the sound of a great elasticity, as the monstrous jaws on the ceiling descend to claim their prize...
...
Silence follows. The chamber is slick with blood and drool, and the giant mouth picks pieces of flesh from its needle-teeth. A few moments pass, and light begins to course through the black tendrils, like veins in a luminescent heart. The onyx chamber rumbles in protest of the foul energy that now courses through it, and the million-eyed monster within begins to curl up into itself, forming a brain-like black ball that wobbles and spits in furious protest. Outside, the diamond city is collapsing. Perhaps it would be a tragedy if it weren't for the fact that its sole remaining inhabitant had not just been consumed by Chaos and Madness. Giant, refracting towers smash to the valley floor, sending violent shockwaves the perpetuate into the mountains that surround the crystalline metropolis. Trees fall, and avalanches rage down the mountains. Great, flying creatures take to the skies, their panicked squawks heralding the coming darkness. The shockwaves begin to shake the entire planet, it's purple-gold fields of snake grass shuddering under the immensity of this moment. From orbit, vast volcanic fissures open on the face of its largest continent. Three, giant eyes, two level with each other and a third below the leftmost ocular, formed by geysers of molten rock denote the harsh reality; the planet is now alive. Inaudible from the void of space, horror upon horror is revealed as the entire planet begins to compress and fold in on itself, entire landmasses crumbling like scabs over a fresh wound. With a final burst of energy, giant plumes of plasma shoot from the core of the world, denoting the presence of an infant black hole, the newest member of an intergalactic family of such fell beings.
With ravenous cause, the black hole that is Nealaphh swiftly devours the remaining planets and stars within the binary system. It grows swiftly to meet its new purpose. A mortal mind cannot comprehend the power that it holds now, and as such, Nealaphh's mind expands to fill with a newfound understanding of the cosmos.
The God-Mind cometh.
Hail the Crawling Chaos.
Nealaphh is.
A lone dragonfly alights on the dead woman's nose. She makes a sufficient perch, for now.
Back in the diamond city, Nealaphh pulls his brown hood down from his head, revealing a sullen, yet youthful face. His eyes still glow a solid yellow, and his skin has ritualistic scars carved into it. A shaven head, with only a thin black ponytail sprouting from the nape of his neck denotes him as an acolyte of the Crawling Chaos. The sunlight of Vega shines heavily down through the crystalline towers, and rainbows dance across all surfaces with scintillating beauty. Nealaphh, the enigma, approaches the Master's temple. He should have no reason to fear the coming conversation, but still, his steps hold a reluctance that betrays his true emotions. That woman, the immortal...he knew her. Walking up the two-hundred steps to the grand onyx tower, Nealaphh kneels before the heavy stone doors and utters a simple prayer to the Primordial Instinct. Withdrawing a knife from his cloak, the enigma pulls his left sleeve up to his elbow and carves a bloody rune into his forearm. The mark of another successful mission in the name of thermodynamics. Once this ritual is complete, the stone doors pull themselves open, and Nealaphh enters the pitch darkness beyond.
Inside, the chapel resembles the beauty of deep space, with red-tinted points of light glowing in all directions. Thousands...millions of tiny beacons in the darkness. But Nealaphh knows better; he is the Master's head priest. Those are not flames or points of energy. They are eyes. Hefting his scythe into the air, Nealaphh summons light into this dark place and reveals the horror. Wriggling tendrils of black ichor writhe across the stoney inner surface of the chapel, with beady red eyes bursting from the black flesh like luminescent tumors. These thin tentacles spiderweb their way all across the floor, walls and ceiling of the chamber, meeting together at the center of the ceiling where a slavering maw awaits. There come tiny screams of terror as Nealaphh walks to the middle of the floor, squishing eyeballs and tentacles as he does so, but there is no reason to be concerned that he may anger the abomination. It feels no pain. The words begin to come, and the tattooed scars on Nealaphh's dark brown skin begin to glow a soft blue-green.
"Yes." Nealaphh says. His voice is heavy and deep, filled with purpose. More words come.
...
"It was easier than usual. Trust does that."
...
"I don't see why not."
...
"I am honored by your words."
...
"I would prefer we didn't linger on that thought."
...
"Again, you honor me. No, I will be fine."
...
"Serving you is its own reward, but...I shall listen, as always."
...
"I don't understand."
...
"How is such a thing possible?"
...
"So it is true...I suppose congratulations are in order."
...
"If you feel if that is what is best, then I will obey."
...
"It doesn't matter. Let it begin."
With those final, fateful words, the black tendrils leap from their writhing stupor and cling to Nealaphh's body like horrid leeches, and grow tiny, razor sharp teeth. Nealaphh grits his teeth as he tries to bite back the screams as the tentacles worm their way into his flesh, tearing chunks of his body free with tiny cries of triumph. Agony does not begin to describe the pain, and Nealaphh lets loose a howl of anguish. The slavering maw over head lets out an empathetic roar of its own, and the chamber is filled with maddening screams. Piece by piece, Nealaphh is savagely torn asunder, his black blood splattering to the ground in great gouts. Now blinded by pain, Nealaphh can only listen to the terrifying sound as a thick tentacle eats its way through his spine and bursts out through the front of his chest, his still-beating heart clutched in its unhinged jaws. This too, disappears down a horrible gullet, and the last thing Nealaphh hears with his mortal ears is the sound of a great elasticity, as the monstrous jaws on the ceiling descend to claim their prize...
...
Silence follows. The chamber is slick with blood and drool, and the giant mouth picks pieces of flesh from its needle-teeth. A few moments pass, and light begins to course through the black tendrils, like veins in a luminescent heart. The onyx chamber rumbles in protest of the foul energy that now courses through it, and the million-eyed monster within begins to curl up into itself, forming a brain-like black ball that wobbles and spits in furious protest. Outside, the diamond city is collapsing. Perhaps it would be a tragedy if it weren't for the fact that its sole remaining inhabitant had not just been consumed by Chaos and Madness. Giant, refracting towers smash to the valley floor, sending violent shockwaves the perpetuate into the mountains that surround the crystalline metropolis. Trees fall, and avalanches rage down the mountains. Great, flying creatures take to the skies, their panicked squawks heralding the coming darkness. The shockwaves begin to shake the entire planet, it's purple-gold fields of snake grass shuddering under the immensity of this moment. From orbit, vast volcanic fissures open on the face of its largest continent. Three, giant eyes, two level with each other and a third below the leftmost ocular, formed by geysers of molten rock denote the harsh reality; the planet is now alive. Inaudible from the void of space, horror upon horror is revealed as the entire planet begins to compress and fold in on itself, entire landmasses crumbling like scabs over a fresh wound. With a final burst of energy, giant plumes of plasma shoot from the core of the world, denoting the presence of an infant black hole, the newest member of an intergalactic family of such fell beings.
With ravenous cause, the black hole that is Nealaphh swiftly devours the remaining planets and stars within the binary system. It grows swiftly to meet its new purpose. A mortal mind cannot comprehend the power that it holds now, and as such, Nealaphh's mind expands to fill with a newfound understanding of the cosmos.
The God-Mind cometh.
Hail the Crawling Chaos.
Nealaphh is.
And, we dream of home I dream of life out of here Their dreams are small My dreams don't know fear I got my heart full of hope I will change everything No matter what I'm told How impossible it seems We did it before And we'll do it again We're indestructible Even when we're tired And we've been here before Just you and I
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued