SHADOW BEFORE CREATION

Death

"Finally… you decided to show yourself."

Arthur spoke in a low, terrifyingly calm voice as he stared at Atlach-Nacha standing in the sky.

Arthur's eyes pierced through thin, nearly transparent threads that stretched across the entire world before rising to pierce through space itself.

Those were Atlach-Nacha's threads… the threads of a Great Ancient.

Ancient legends told that these threads connected reality to the Dreamlands, and that their completion meant the end of the world itself.

Atlach-Nacha stood upon his threads, his spider-like body suspended between the sky and the void, staring at the bloody, suffering creature before him with anger and hatred.

{Where is my daughter?}

"Where is my son?"

{How would I know anything about your son, you bastard? Where is my daughter?}

"You… you insignificant insect… you poisoned my son."

Arthur's voice grew quieter, his tone lowering as he looked at the ground beneath him.

"And because of that… because of that very thing…"

{So your son committed suicide?

What an unfortunate incident… damn you.}

He fell silent for a moment, then continued coldly:

{And now… where is my daughter?}

Arthur slowly raised his head and looked at Atlach-Nacha, then spoke in an eerily calm voice.

"Let everything go to hell."

Arthur opened his mouth with terrifying force, to the point that the corners of his mouth split all the way to his ears.

His mouth stretched open from end to end in a disgusting and horrifying manner.

Then he screamed—a scream that shook the world itself—and a terrifying aura exploded outward, crushing the earth and sky together.

Arthur knew…

This world was protected by Azathoth's laws.

The heavens would not interfere.

No one would stop him.

No one would prevent him from releasing everything he possessed.

Therefore—

He unleashed his power without restraint.

He merged his energy with Bokrog's power, then took a bottle from the storage necklace.

The bottle radiated energy beyond human logic… the entirety of Baston's power.

{Baston…

This is Baston's power.}

Atlach-Nacha's eyes widened with greed.

{Hand over the bottle, lowly human, and perhaps I will kill you qui—}

He did not finish.

Arthur opened the bottle… and consumed the entire power within it.

Atlach-Nacha's eyes widened in helplessness and disbelief as he watched what was happening before him.

The energy surged within Arthur's body, sweeping through his bones, his blood, and his soul, until a magnificent heavenly light began radiating from every cell within him.

His body began to grow…

Grow…

Until he became the size of a massive building, then even larger, gradually increasing until he reached an astonishing size.

He stood like a god above a broken world.

{I will kill you… you bastard!}

Arthur's scream shook Atlach-Nacha's planet from its very roots.

And at that moment—at that exact moment—

Atlach-Nacha knew fear.

True fear.

For the first time: when he faced the High Priest Cthulhu, who tested him and crushed him, then later granted him the title of a Great Ancient.

For the second time: when he faced the entity whose name was spoken only in whispers… Azathoth.

It had not truly been a confrontation.

He had merely witnessed his existence and become so terrified that he wished for death.

And the third time—

Was now.

The spider's body trembled.

His soul screamed.

{I…

I am the great Atlach-Nacha!

God of Spiders!

The One Who Wanders in the Darkness!}

He screamed madly.

{I fear a human?

No… a thousand times, no!}

Despite knowing with certainty that he was stronger than Arthur, his fear caused him to begin absorbing the power of his remaining soldiers, then the power of the world itself.

His body distorted, grew, and changed.

He transformed into a gigantic spider.

From below: a colossal spider body.

From above: a split human chest, an elongated head, and human arms ending in long fangs instead of fingers.

{I will kill you, lowly human!}

He charged toward Arthur.

Arthur raised his hand toward the sky.

His hand sank into the clouds.

A sound of mourning rose…

Along with the sharp sound of something being cut.

Then—

A gigantic hand descended from the highest reaches of the sky, striking with death.

Atlach-Nacha stopped and veered away at the last moment.

The hand struck the planet.

And the world split… into two halves.

At that moment, Atlach-Nacha realized the truth.

He was not Arthur's equal.

He never would be.

At first, he had believed himself stronger than Arthur.

And after consuming the power of his soldiers and his world, he became certain within himself that he was stronger.

But now he understood.

He was not truly stronger.

No.

Arthur was supported by the power of darkness,

the energy of two Great Ancients,

and his roaring rage.

All of these things confirmed to Atlach-Nacha that he was no match for Arthur.

He raised his head toward the sky and shouted in a strange language:

{Αδερφέ σε παρακαλώ σώσε με}

Space trembled.

A portal opened.

A hideous, distorted entity emerged from it, impossible to describe.

It looked at Atlach-Nacha with contempt.

{What is it, little one?}

{O Abhoth… O God of the Moon…

Save me!}

Abhoth smiled and clapped his claw.

{Since I am still alive, that means King Azathoth has permitted my presence.

Then who do you want me to—}

He did not finish.

A hand emerged from the center of the sky.

A gigantic dark hand, capable of folding the heavens and the earth beneath its absolute might.

It struck him with tremendous force, then another hand seized him.

A bloody aura wrapped around the gigantic hand.

And within seconds—

The hand opened…

And Abhoth's body evaporated into nothingness.

{{Nothing…

And no one…

Will save you.}}

Arthur roared with heavenly fury, then waved his hand.

Space split open.

Behind Arthur's gigantic hand, Atlach-Nacha's body was split in two as well.

His consciousness and soul remained.

That strike had torn his body apart, yet he was still alive.

This human is strong… strong.

I have to escape. I have to recover my strength and fight.

But before Atlach-Nacha could act, Arthur raised his other hand and seized Atlach-Nacha in his palm as though a god were holding an ant.

He squeezed—

Then opened his fist.

Atlach-Nacha's body evaporated…

And disappeared.

An inevitable, certain death that ended within a fraction of a second.

Arthur had killed two Great Ancients just like that.

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