Fragmented Ascension

Among the mighty beings of the vast creation, a whispered rumor has always persisted. It speaks of a hidden abyss, concealed somewhere in the fabric of existence. Within this abyss lies a being of unfathomable power—a great entity whose very nature defies comprehension.

The rumor claims that all of creation—the stars, the swirling nebulae, and the teeming life across the cosmos—are but the manifestations of this entity’s dreams. Those who dare approach this being will never return, for in the instant they glimpse the truth, they are consumed by it, becoming one with the entity itself.

The few who know of this legend call the being Azathoth, the Monarch of Existence.

Though no being has ever dared to seek out this truth, the great lord Azathoth has always slumbered in the abyss, while the universe—everything that is—remains nothing more than his dream. Yet, once, in an unfathomable age, something strange occurred. By a stroke of pure chance, a ripple of emotion—loneliness—flared across life in the cosmos, and in that fleeting moment, the great lord stirred in his sleep.

In that twitch of unconsciousness, the excess of this emotion gave rise to a new creation: a fate. A fate capable of transforming mortals into beings of immense power, beings who could rival the great lord himself—if only to ease his loneliness.

Yet, no one in all of creation has been deemed worthy to understand, let alone possess, this fate Yet.

Ancient era, at the edge of outer chaos.

“Junior Stormfury, remember. It is you who have been seeking death. Did you really think trying to infringe upon my divine authority would end well? I have come to slaughter your family!”

An odd creature with two legs and four tentacle arms proclaimed with derision. This is no ordinary abomination. A mortal cannot see this being at all. With mere contact, they will die in body and soul. However, a god can see illusory angry faces appearing and disappearing on its skin. Those who met this being and survived may know that they were the angry souls of inner gods it slew before.

In front of this being stood a middle aged man. He can be said to be exceedingly handsome, but frown and concern can be seen in his expression.

The odd thing was there was a glowing halo behind him. In it, one can see endless storms, seething with fury. It is none other than a lord god halo, something a being only at the peak of the inner gods can hope to materially manifest.

“Senior, I don’t know who you are. I have offended you unintentionally. I ask you to spare me and my family; I can give all of my divinity to you. Have mercy, and this junior will be polite! But if you refuse, I can only ascend now!”

In fact, his real courage is in the primordial array he arranged with the help from the outer god of peace. But this hope was squashed,

The odd creature— The divine being— laughed. “That peaceful menace, huh. You speak well because you are in the protection of the primordial array. But do you really think I have no choice but to wait for you to ascend? Fool! See what is happening to your array!”

As the man was alerted, he suddenly got a bad feeling. He did not hesitate to use the essence of his divinity to see the array. “Impossible! The array is crumbling! How can the outer god of peace abandon me?” He exclaimed, his expression changing into that of sorrow and fear .

This was the first time his voice was heard down the continent below. Desperation started to be seen among his descendants, and they could only resort to praying for him, if only to increase his faith energy a little.

Being a peak inner god, Stormfury is intelligent enough to process the information. It is likely the case that what the God of Peace promised him is false. This is most likely a test to find out something about the entity before him, and he was at most a bait— a mere pawn. "Before the outer gods, everyone is an ant…" he thought bitterly, yet he refused to surrender.

“Lord from Outer Chaos! I will ascend now! Then we can see who is who!” Gathering the last bit of his courage, he shouted as a golden light enveloped him and space warped.

However, just as suddenly as it came, it was gone! The body of the man dissolved into liquid, and then disappeared! His soul started being attracted towards the devilish being, and he can only barely resist, it too rapidly fading.

“Stormfury, you are constrained with too much mortality. Why do you think other gods live in seclusion? If you can reincarnate, I would advise you to not indulge in your mortality! Unfortunately, you met me. I am afraid your only choice is to become one of the higher faces in my divine body of fury!” It laughed uproariously.

The soul of a middle aged man sighed. “Senior, I may not be fated to become an outer god. But I will never become another god’s divine slave!” ‘Ten thousand soul children!’ he whispered, as his soul split into ten thousand parts, each launching itself across the cosmos with a speed so great that even the outer god can't hope to follow. What neither of them noticed was how the technique had undergone a mysterious mutation.

“Wilful junior… To think he would know a primordial technique that can only belong to us outer gods…” after annihilating the continent below to vent his anger, the bizarre being left in disappointment. Not much can make his emotions fluctuate at his level, and plotting of his peers is one of those. The god Stormfury thus met his fall, signaling the end of an era.