Prologue: Ripples of Reverie
-???-
There was no horizon to mark the boundary, no landmark to signal arrival. One simply was there, where all paths, no matter how they twisted, ultimately converged. This was the Shore of Finality, the last destination any moment would ever reach.
A humanoid figure sat in silent meditation, thousands of metres tall, carved from reflective crystal that captured not images but truths. A mianguan rested upon Their head, ancient and unmoving. Behind Their head, a luminous lotus of crystal bloomed, its steady radiance impossible to ignore.
To gaze upon Them was to be undone. Past and present, cause and effect, flooded the mind at once, with every memory, every atom, every choice across the universe collapsing into a single instant. No mortal could endure such a totality.
Then, a change occurred.
From the silent, monumental form of this crystalline God—for what being could dwell upon the Shore of Finality, if not a deity? And even that title felt too small, too limiting—fragments began to detach.
They fell like frozen tears, slivers of divine corpus shedding from the whole. Yet these fragments no longer bore the crushing weight of all universal memory. Compared to the severe, absolute truth of Their origin, they seemed almost softened, their usual stark luster diffused by a faint, lingering warmth of pink.
They were uniform in size, all save one: a central fragment slightly larger than the rest, around which the others slowly orbited.
In the next moment—if such a linear concept could be applied here, at the End, where all sequences concluded—the cluster of fragments abruptly shot away.
To say they traveled into the distance was a concession to mortal understanding. Distance, as a meaningful concept, held no sway upon this Shore. There was only Here, and the Elsewhere. And in the Elsewhere of this terminus, only one thing could truly exist: the vast, churning upstream flow of the River of Time itself.
The fragments arrowed toward it.
Why?
If this god-like entity wished to influence the past, why not traverse the river Theirself?
Perhaps…for all Their immeasurable power, bound to the Shore of Finality, They were yet limited? The End of Time was both Their throne and Their confinement. Terminus was absolute, even for Them.
…Or was it?
The crystalline cluster pierced the veil of the absolute End, hurling itself into the ceaseless flow of what was, seeking a point of insertion in the grand story of existence.
Whether the turbulent currents of the River of Time would scatter these kindred fragments across different eras, or deposit them together upon a single, shared shore of the past, was an uncertainty known only to the River and the Crystalline God who gazed backwards in Time.
….
-General PoV-
Milky Way Galaxy, Moon
What do people think of when they look up at the Moon?
Some see a guiding light in the darkness. Others perceive a symbol of mystery and wonder. Romantics think of love, longing, and quiet nights. Dreamers imagine possibility and distant worlds. Scientists consider craters, gravity, and exploration. Poets reflect on change and the passage of time. Lonely souls find silent companionship from afar. For bored or playful minds, it's nothing more than cheese, a face in the sky, or an old joke.
There is no single correct answer. Different people respond with different feelings, ideas, symbols, or experiences.
As for Zac—no, that name wouldn't do, given his current appearance. Astolfo would.
For Astolfo, in this instant, he really wished he could look at the Moon with such optimism.
Because the celestial body called the Moon was currently drowning in a crimson sea. The once-pale sphere now boiled with the color of blood, and at the center of the natural satellite loomed a colossal winged female figure composed of stacked reproductive organs.
"Aiyah~ 'Fuli' really loves his adventures and dramatic moments, huh?" Astolfo forced a smile as he regarded the most 'beautiful' being he'd ever seen. "Lady Goddess, you know, I've always admired you. For us to meet here could only be called Fate. Yet as you know, Fate is a fickle thing, and even the most fateful encounters must come to a close."
Feeling those breathtaking crimson eyes scrutinizing him, the pink-haired femboy didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He could accept the change in appearance and the tweak in his personality, after all, two of his exes were strange like that. One was obsessed with anime, so cosplay became normal between them, and the other seemed to enjoy roleplay a little too much during sex.
Stepsister and Stepbrother. Cop and Criminal. Experienced and Virgin. Seducer and Resistant partner. Stepdaughter and Stepdad. Cheerleader and Jock. Nurse and Patient. Boss and Employee. Landlord and Tenant. Principal and Student…
You name it, he'd probably done it. That's how intense his second ex was. So yeah, a personality tweak toward something more libertine and unrestrained—like Astolfo from Fate—wasn't too bad. It at least saved him from brooding over being thrown into this clusterfuck of a universe where the wrong thought could get him pregnant.
Speaking of pregnancy, the one with a notorious streak of serial impregnation stood before him.
Mother Goddess of Depravity.
The instant Her name crossed Astolfo's mind, the blood sea surrounding them—covering the Moon—boiled as if hearing him.
The Origin of Evil arched a delicate eyebrow in response, then frowned the next instant at the lack of Her corruption taking root. Yet even that displeasure carried an undeniable, terrifying beauty. "Who are you? Why are you not corrupted?"
All beings in the cosmos, unless at Angel level or above, would be instantly corrupted upon such an encounter. The ability to traverse the cosmos meant the being before Her was at least an Angel. Yet direct corruption from a Great Old One—face-to-face, no less—would overwhelm even a True God, their will no longer their own.
Even if they were already corrupted by another Outer Deity, it wouldn't prevent Her from layering Her own influence upon them.
The Sovereign of the Physical World did not recall birthing any Outer Deity whose Symbolism could produce a being like this…
Her crimson eyes flickered the next instant as She recalled two such beings She did not birth, and who were Pillars like Her.
Celestial Worthy and Primordial God Almighty…
But Their arrangements were centered on the blue planet below, not the cosmos…
"Astolfo is my name, Lady Goddess," the pink-haired man smiled cheekily. "This is where I'd kiss your hand, My Lady, but as you can see, your loving embrace is a little… well, too loving—!!!"
Suddenly sensing a wave of foreboding, Astolfo quickly added, "The Future Creator."
Hearing the title, the Mother Goddess of Depravity's pupils constricted. Her activation of the New Life authority paused instantly.
The Emanator of Remembrance seized the pause and spoke unhurriedly, with an expression of reverence, "My Lord is the Crystal God of Remembrance. He is The Sky Father at the End of Time; The Luminflux Swimming Upstream in the River of C̵̰͋̚å̶̦u̸͚͒s̷͕̙͒a̵̗̫͛̉l̸̨̾î̵͔̈t̴͉͖͂̌y̴̲̽ͅ Time; He is The Future Creator; The Master of Anāsrava, Lord Fuli."
The Origin of Evil did not stop him from uttering the Honorific Name of this Outer God. Not only would it reveal His symbolisms and authorities to Her, but She was, after all, The Indestructible.
Reality is the foundation of the universe. Unless everything ended, reality would eternally exist. Thus, the Soul and the body of Mother Goddess of Depravity possessed the characteristic of Indestructibility.
And from the Honorific Name of the Crystal God of Remembrance, She discerned that Destruction or Decay was not His symbolism—nor could He likely directly influence the present—
Thrum!
A low thrum reverberated throughout the galaxy. In the next instant, a thousand-meter-tall figure made of reflective crystal manifested in the local solar system, alarming every Outer Deity inhabiting Their respective planets.
The Master of Anāsrava, however, paid Them no mind. His gaze fell upon the Sovereign of the Physical World. No words passed between them, only a beam of light, faster than light itself, delivered information directly into the Mother Goddess's mind.
Split Persona of the Original Creator. The symbolism of Sky Father at the End of Time makes Him an immovable observer of the universe's Memories until the universal endpoint is reached. So He sent a Dual Pathway True God down the River of Time to collaborate with the Great Old Ones in the present….
Information flickered continuously in the Mother Goddess of Depravity's mind, and She could only think one thing of this Sky Father: Bold.
Yes, He may have already thoroughly corrupted this "Astolfo," but to fight against His own Godhood instincts and separate His Uniqueness and Sequence 1 Characteristics…
It was reminiscent of the Primordial God Almighty's confidence and the Celestial Worthy's bizarreness.
Especially inconceivable was how the mere True God in Her grasp could not be corrupted. The thought of using him to threaten or demand concessions from the Sky Father did cross Her mind, but She decided against it for one simple reason:
Reintegration. The Crystal God of Remembrance possessed the authority of Reintegration, which He would use to instantly allow Her to accommodate Her Sefirah, the Brood Hive.
The only thing He wanted in return was for the universe to reach its endpoint, so the End of Time became the present, enabling Him to intervene directly.
Mad!
Even for a Great Old One, this plan was absolutely insane! The Origin of Evil almost denied His proposal outright, for the only way to reach the endpoint was through the birth of the Fourth Pillar of Termination or the awakening of the Original Creator.
Before either being, The Indestructible became destructible. Under the symbol of Termination, even the three Pillars would perish completely, Their spirits extinguished, everything returning to chaos. The hidden Fourth Pillar would meet the same fate shortly after, or rather, Their self-destruction would bring about all termination. As for the Original Creator, the instant He awakens, all things converge upon Him, and only He exists until He splits once more.
The only reason the Mother Goddess did not refuse outright was because the Master of Anāsrava claimed He could prevent Termination from fully manifesting, for if it did, He would return to His current stagnant state after recreating the universe, something He did not desire.
All these thoughts flashed through the Mother of All Things' mind in less than a second, and yet, it was enough for reality to shift.
The red planet in the solar system, the fourth from the sun—Mars—shook, pulling the attention of the Great Old Ones away from the Crystal God. A dark vortex revealing bared white teeth and a chaotic liquid encompassing all colors rose from the surface.
Primordial Hunger; The Symbol of Devouring; An Insatiable Convergence; The Cleanser of All Things!
He fixed His attention on the Crystal God of Remembrance who had appeared moments ago, His Convergence and Devouring instinct demanding He try consume this new Outer God.
The Great Old Ones on other planets were unsurprised by this course of action. Primordial Hunger had once tried devouring Them as well, stopping only when His self-preservation instinct kicked in.
So, They watched the impending clash as one observes animals behind glass, eager and curious about the newcomer's symbolism and authorities.
In the next moment, a beam of prismatic light shot from the Moon toward the Crystal God!
"The Uniqueness?" Having also received information from his main self, Astolfo played his straight-man role to perfection, acting as though he truly contained a Uniqueness. "My Lord! Oh, Great Master of Anāsrava, to be of use to you… this is the meaning of my life, ahn~!" The pink-haired femboy moaned, face flushing as he squirmed in the Mother Goddess of Depravity's grasp.
Internally, he was grinning from ear to ear, laughing his head off, Heh! Changing 'my' appearance and personality is one thing I can accept. Even throwing me before the Higher-Dimensional Overseer or Supernova Dominator I could have handled. But Miss Moon here? Totally~ unacceptable! Before Her, my anus is as defenseless as Rin Tohsaka's! So, get used to seeing this memory of 'yourself' in the archive, because when we fuse in the future, you'll get a firsthand replay! Hahaha~!
Mother Goddess of Depravity glanced at the being in Her grasp with a strange expression. Even Her most devoted, corrupted followers were not this unhinged. Her attention snapped back to the cosmos as, in the next instant, the Crystal God of Remembrance appeared before Primordial Hunger!
Convergence!
Multiple abstract stomachs and teeth formed across the Cleanser of All Things' body, and an irresistible attractive force erupted from His maw, like a black hole absorbing all existence!
Devour!
Fuli was yanked irresistibly toward the vortex that was Primordial Hunger's mouth. Yet just as He reached the all-consuming maw, a change occurred.
The devouring force ceased, but the sound of chewing spread ceaselessly throughout the region.
Memory!
This authority was a direct expression of the Remembrance symbolism, granting the Crystal God of Remembrance absolute authority over Memory in all its forms: conscious, subconscious, genetic, planetary, cosmic. They could read, copy, edit, transfer, erase, or fortify any memory.
They could also weaponize Memory, consciously overloading an enemy's mind with memories in a manner similar to the Hermit Pathway's Knowledge Injection.
And as the Sky Father at the End of Time, Fuli possessed a partial symbolism of Omniscience. Just as the sky overlooks all earthly happenings, Fuli's perception—rooted in the conclusive archive—encompassed all that had transpired. This was a passive, all-encompassing awareness of concluded events, distinct from active scrying or prophecy. They could not perceive the indeterminate future, but for any event that had reached a definitive conclusion anywhere in the cosmos, its entire causal history became a perfectly clear, accessible entry in Their archive. Against Them, completed actions could not be concealed.
Thus, as the witness of all things in the universe, the Memories He possessed were immeasurable. Even the Symbol of Devouring would find it impossible to overcome a continuous Memory Overload, for every second, another Memory was recorded in Fuli's archive, creating a continuous loop of devouring and overloading.
And so, much to the astonishment of the watching Great Old Ones, Primordial Hunger was neutralized in an instant.
"Ah~ as expected of my Lord! In just a few moments—" Before Astolfo could finish glazing 'himself', a prismatic beam of light struck him in the head, making him recoil.
Following that, Fuli—still positioned before the subdued Primordial Hunger—glanced once at the Mother Goddess of Depravity before His projection vanished from the galaxy, returning once more to the Shore of Finality.
The Origin of Evil's dazzling eyes returned to the pink-haired True God. Now She understood His use to the Crystal God.
A symbolic connection to manifest in the present, even if in a weakened state.
She had believed She would have to follow through with the suicidal plan of re-accommodating the Brood Hive. But if He could manifest in such a manner and help Her Reintegrate… did She truly have to uphold Her end of this contractless bargain?
With a heart-stopping smile, the Mother of All Things released Astolfo.
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A/N: This plot bunny had me in a chokehold preventing me from writing about the Great Dog Almighty, Susie. So now that it's out of the way it's time to return to Dog Almighty!