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Legend:
'Thoughts' — Inner voice.
"Speaking" — Verbalizing voice.
Narration — Story events, descriptions, etc.
--Thoughts — Narrator directly addressing the Main personality.
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A dark feeling suddenly grips and disgusts my very being to the core
"HM!? This is?-
Right! The alarm. Someone will arrive soon..."
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'How considerate of them — to wait a few... hundred? Thousand? -ish years before dropping by.
Honestly, I expected either an immediate visit — under The One Above All's command — or for them to take their sweet time.
Strange thing is... it doesn't feel like much time has passed at all.
Hm.' My golden mandibles twitch, ever so slightly, betraying amusement.
Low chuckles escape my mouth as I muse 'Maybe they DO care.'
Already floating within my Distorted Realm, and not willing to risk endangering my siblings, I decided to receive them here, outside of Not-Catachan.
'According to the alarm's vision, The Living Tribunal, Lady Death, Infinity, and Eternity are coming. Oh — and the Phoenix Force is, of course, following Lady Death.
This promises to be... interesting. Especially since they are all arriving in their omniversal forms — all except Eternity, for some reason.
Which makes sense, I suppose. My own omniversal form remains bound within my realms and universe.
Thus, visiting me in anything less — as Eternity dares to do — is both insulting and stupid.
Especially considering the previous Oblivion's... aspirations.
Yes, let's go with aspirations.'
As my thoughts settle, Narrator informs me that the Pillars of Reality — and the Phoenix Force — have arrived, just beyond the boundary of my realms.
With a mere thought, space distorts, and a portal pulls them inside, warping them before my presence.
Their reactions are priceless. The Living Tribunal remains unreadable, as expected — but the others? The flicker of surprise in their eyes and countenance is almost... endearing.
"Welcome to my Distorted Realm.
I would bring you to the Oblivion Sanctum, but I do not wish to accidentally erase any of you.
Thus, warped and dangerous, unstable and shifting space will have to do for our first family meeting."
I say with a straight face, trying my luck at both formality before the Living Tribunal, and slight humor before my family.
Which seemed to have worked, going by the slight chuckles of Lady Death, the amused smirk of the Phoenix Force, and the still stunned looks of Infinity and Eternity.
--If you wish to know their thoughts, Lady Death and The Phoenix Force both caught on to your attempt at humor.
While Infinity and Eternity were further shocked that you not only planned and allowed life to flourish around you — even if with clear malicious intent — but that you actually warned them of danger.
Not only that but a danger that the previous Oblivion would have relished seeing them fall into, especially as they are here in their true forms, and within your domain. Except for Eternity that is.
Their only plan was to rely on the Living Tribunal, but they are quickly noticing the power discrepancy, just from proximity alone, and are not liking their odds.
'Huh, well given the previous Oblivion, they should indeed be afraid.'
My mandibles curve ever so slightly upward, betraying my amusement, as I choose to introduce myself formally before my Abstract siblings.
"It is... an experience, to meet you all at once — and within my domain, no less."
With deference I address my brother's butler — and technically my superior, at least employment-wise.
"Living Tribunal, I am pleased to make your acquaintance. I believe we will be seeing each other frequently in the future."
He answers with a slight nod, his face as expressionless as ever, well his main one. I don't bother paying attention to the side faces.
Now looking at my previous self's daughter/creation/offspring/connected/offshoot?
The one I am most connected — in a positive way with, in the family.
I speak up, with clear, unhidden familiarity and warmth.
"Lady Death, it is a pleasure to finally meet you. You do not know me as I am now, yet I can feel my previous incarnation thought of you rather fondly."
Her surprise is unmistakable — and I cannot blame her for it. Oblivion may have held her in higher regard, yet he was never the… socializing type.
Showing such clear familiarity and warmth, undoubtedly caught her off guard, but the softening of her features, and smile adorning her face, undeniably depicted her acceptance, and happiness.
Looking next to Lady Death, I spot the Phoenix Force, whom I address next.
"Phoenix Force, to be completely honest, I did not expect you to appear with the pillars of reality.
Regardless, I have to admit — I am a fan of how you rest in a mortal, break all their limits and memory blocks, then proceed to destroy the core of a universe, only to restart the process all over again.
All because a bald, invalid creeper could not keep his mind to himself."
I can see the corners of her flaming beak twitching violently, while she simply nods in acceptance.
Sweeping my gaze back towards the direction of the Living Tribunal, I lock eyes with Infinity, noticing her growing curiosity, and constantly softening features.
"Infinity, truly the one I am most connected to of all present.
I will be the first to admit, that my previous self had quite a dislike of you"
I said as her countenance fell, and she seemed to accept reality for what it was... that is until she hears the rest of my words.
"Yet I am not my previous self, I not only do not view you as a mortal enemy, but an intrinsic part of myself.
You see, I am not merely the Abstract Lord of Nothingness and Nonexistence… but also the Abstract Lord of Matter and Antimatter."
I say as the light returns to her countenance and all my siblings are visibly stunned, including the Living Tribunal for once, though he IMMEDIATELY schools his expression.
Infinity simply smiles, noticing I have not finished welcoming them all to begin proper exchanges.
My gaze finally settling on Eternity forms a frown, which I can tell unsettles him, even without Narrator's guidance.
"I do not understand why you would visit me in such a lesser form, brother Eternity.
Whether it stems from trust or contempt, I will warn you nonetheless."
I notice his face tighten, as if a galaxy has been compressed upon it, as he stares warily toward me.
"Do not mistake my warning for malice — but you should never set foot in Not-Catachan in your current state."
Before being allowed to continue Lady Death and the Phoenix Force, both seem to recognize the name and laugh loudly, which makes me smile a little, before continuing.
"Again I mean no harm, yet to protect myself, I have covered my core and hidden it within this planet... called Not-Catachan-"
Before I can finish, Lady Death speaks up.
"Excuse my interruption, but you are not seriously thinking of calling your base of operations — your home world — 'Not-Catachan' right?"
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Thinking it over, yeah, that name might be fun for now — but it will wear off, and I can't have my base be a joke.
So it needs to have something to do with my concept, and also the most dangerous planet ever created.
Oblivion... is too obvious, and the Sanctum is already named after him. So how about instead of Oblivion... Obliviate.
Yeah, that sounds exotic, and it is also the name of the memory charm incantation in Harry Potter.
It also means to erase or to forget, which is precisely what reality will do to anyone unfortunate enough to fall victim on this world, regardless of how it happens.
Snapping out of my high speed thought process, I addressed my now clearly amused siblings.
"You are correct, dear sister — that was merely a joke name. The true name of my base world is Obliviate."
She and the rest of my siblings nod in acknowledgment.
"Returning to my warning: I would advise that none of you set foot in Obliviate if it can be avoided — especially you, Eternity.
Off the top of my head, I can name at least five species that can and WILL have you for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if they get you, especially in that weak form.
Since this is my base for the entirety of the Omniverse, I made every species within it powerful enough to pose a danger not only to Omniversal entities, but even — and especially — Eldritch beings.
That, and Princess will literally tear you apart, effortlessly, with nothing you could do to stop her."
Beads of cosmic dust scatter like sweat across Eternity as he replies.
"Thank you for the warning... brother, but who is this 'Princess' you speak of?"
"Princess is my guard — an Eternal Hydra. Annihilator is her partner and mate, though he hunts with his Void Toads following him all over Obliviate.
Princess remains at the entrance of the Oblivion Sanctum, tending her eggs and protecting the entrance from any time-based threats.
As you are literally the embodiment of Time, and so much weaker in this form than she is, you would be utterly helpless before her."
And as if to prove my point, before the conversation can go any further, we all feel a temporal disturbance emanating from the entrance of the Oblivion Sanctum.
From here, we can see and hear everything unfolding down below.
Kang the Conqueror's POV:
"Another day, another BORING, harmonious multiverse. Sometimes I do wonder... should I restart the war?
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Nah, that'd be too much, but mayb-"
A shattering noise erupts in the distance.
Eyes widening in disbelief I mutter "Impossible... today was a normal, boring, uneventful day! WHAT HAPPENED?!"
Teleporting outside, my eyes light up with manic intensity, locking onto the distance where I see something both horrifying and utterly disturbing…
"The Void barrier... it's gone, and Alioth-"
I couldn't finish my mumbling as I was about to teleport to him, but instead decided to sprint as he seemed... contaminated by something.
Alioth had multiple white spots, something was consuming him. "Impossible, I've seen it all NOTHING can EAT Alioth!?"
I reach him just as he severs all the white infected spots and half of the remaining grey clouds, ensuring he's free from whatever was consuming him.
Which is good — now I can teleport us both out of here and plan what to do next.
Reaching him, I activate the teleportation device in my suit, only for it to sound every doomsday alarm about temporal paradoxes and whatnot, ignoring which Alioth and I disappear.
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Appearing above hard Jungle ground, we crash down, landing in front of what appears to be a mausoleum.
I notice a giant lizard looming over the mausoleum protectively, I also notice Alioth vibrating in horror for some reason.
"I'll be the first to admit I did NOT see this coming, but since we're playing games, will whoever set this up show themselves… please?"
I say before noticing that the lizard has a collar with the name "Princess" engraved on it, yet that is far from peculiar, I have Alioth after all.
No, what unsettles me is the unchanging, familiar grin that seems carved on the face of this monstrous lizard.
Having had enough, I decide to act.
"Humph, well, it seems that whoever you are, you don't want to be a good host — so I see no reason to be a good guest."
With that I fire a blast of time energy to transport the lizard to the Void.
Only to belatedly realize two things:
One: that the weapon sparked and failed, alongside the very recent memory of Alioth and I escaping frantically from the Void — meaning I have no viable way to prune timelines anymore.
Two: that every system in my suit started to scream at once — temporal anomalies, paradoxical errors, and above all, one word blaring and flashing in bold, blood-red letters: DANGER!
Too late to react — my vision darkens, and every sense disappears.
Except for the distinct impression of being pulled apart, though my body remains perfectly still.
Some imperceptible surrounding seems to be rushing toward me, yet I feel no movement at all.
Then, without warning, the world distorts into place. Sound, balance, sight — all warp back at once. My surroundings blur, while before me looms a figure with twin protrusions rising from its torso.
First my ears adjust, the ringing fading into the distant calls of creatures retreating, while two distinct, slow, deliberate breaths send shivers down my spine and set alarms ringing through my suit.
Then my balance returns, stabilizing me, curing my dizziness and allowing me to focus once more.
Finally, my vision clears, and there it is — the same damned lizard, "Princess" engraved in its collar — except now it grins at me with two heads, both so close I can feel its breath pushing against my suit
Panicking, I trigger my suit's short-range teleporter — only to go through the same disorienting experience all over again.
Landing in front of Princess, she waits. Wearing her collar on the middle head, and having two more heads, all grinning a human's suspiciously vile grin.
The right yawns lazily, clearly bored by my struggle.
The middle gurgles low, a bubbling laugh that rattles the air.
Finally, the left head tilts outward, leering at Alioth with clear desire and drool dripping from its maw.
Sweat pours down my face and back as I stumble away, utterly devoid of temporal support for the first time in ages.
"What the hell are you!" I scream with everything I have. I have never met a creature like this — never seen it, never heard of it, nothing.
"Where did you come from?!" Suddenly, I notice the architecture it is protecting. I can even see the swamplands this creature clearly occupies.
Furthermore, there seem to be carvings on the mausoleum, as if it were the resting place of some god or ancient power.
"This makes no sense, I have never encountered any similar civilization..." I trail off, noticing the lizard. In hindsight, it's clearly some kind of twisted time hydra — and it's moving toward me.
"No, stay away, you monster!" I scream, unleashing my entire arsenal of weapons — only for my senses to disappear, reappear, and "Princess" to have more heads.
Realizing too late that even if I don't move from right in front of it, it will simply wait for me to attack while wagging its multiplying tails, I already have no ammunition, no weapons, no tools, no energy reserves.
Princess now has six heads and six tails — and the sight finally reminds me of the trembling Alioth, whom I command in desperation.
"Alioth, attack! Consume this hydra — show it our power!" And that's the last straw. I finally understand what's happening.
As Alioth charges-
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Nothing happens. He simply stands there.
Well... nothing, except that Princess now has SEVEN HEADS!?!?
It bites into Alioth, injecting some purplish-black substance, and then just watches as Alioth's guttural wail shakes the swamplands — and me — to the core. Yet "Princess" and the mausoleum remain unaffected by it all.
It then tears into Alioth and consumes him completely once the wailing stops.
Growing noticeably more powerful, its breath now mirrors Alioth's composition, yet with the color of whatever it injected him with.
Finally, satisfied, it turns to me and begins stalking over, like a cat on the hunt — yet unmistakably toying with its prey.
I try to turn and run, but the moment I do, I once more appear in front of the seven-headed hydra, completely disoriented and terrified.
"STOP! YOU FOUL BEAST! DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?! I AM KANG THE CONQUEROR! I AM ETERNITY'S MASTER, CONQUEROR OF DEATH, INFINITY IS MY PAPERWEIGHT, AND OBLIVION MY TOOL!!!"
It stops just before me, its eyes widening in apparent recognition and terror, so I continue.
After all, this charade might just get me out of here alive.
"Now, you shall release me from this paradox, and return Ali-"
Before I can even finish my sentence, the middle head — the one with the collar engraved with "Princess" — snaps toward my shoulder and bites me.
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It is now I know true pain. Every instant across every timeline from my source universe has every Planck of time in which my consciousness exists summoned and stuffed in my body all at once.
Feeling the worst, most horrifying pain I could previously not even imagine.
Then feeling it exponentially worse as every conscious moment is fused and painfully multiplied, until the only thing left is pain — my current reality.
Thus I am now pain itself in the flesh, as I feel and think, and can do nothing but experience pain, horrifying existence erasing pain.
"IT HURRTTTSSSS!!!...
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