First Demonic Dragon-Chapter 1009: Death

It is a part of their punishment that those dwelling behind the gates to the dark world cannot die.

Death and it’s aspects have no reach here, and without their influence over this plane, those inside are cursed to maraud against each other with no chance for peace.

And that is how things were always fated to be, until today.

"Come on, love...You can do it. This is who you are."

Audrina stood behind Lillian with her hands on her shoulders, whispering sweet and comforting words to lift her confidence.

Lillian’s tentacles squirmed across the ground from nerves. No matter how hard she tried to concentrate, her powers weren’t obeying her the same as they did outside.

If she had to put it into words, it felt like a wall of rubber had been erected between the limitless energy inside of her and the outside world.

Puncturing through the veil was tricky for someone like Lillian, who wasn’t a fighter like the rest of her family and had come into being without ever having to train her powers.

She was death. She took beings to the next stage at their appointed time.

Few have tried to fight her, and even fewer had managed to do so for long.

She was born powerful.

But now, the greatest difficulty she was facing was coming from within.

And in the meantime, her loved ones were paying the price...

The battle between Abaddon, Seras, and Nyarlathotep had been going on for a long time now. Too long.

Seras’ initial grand attack was great enough to catch the horror off guard and send him into a state of disorientation.

The bad thing was, Seras’ stamina wasn’t what it was on the outside. She had visibly slowed down after launching that initial attack.

Abaddon had increased the pace and intensity of his own assaults to give her the time needed to recover, and a few of the others had stepped in to join the fray as well.

Lillian couldn’t be the only one who was struggling to pull her weight. Not when the others were trying their damndest.

Nyarlathotep had to be made mortal.

The realm would keep trying to revive him as long as he was inside of it, but with her power, Lillian could keep that from happening.

...At least, she was pretty sure.

Lillian was feeling no small amount of anxiety.

This was the first time that her powers had failed her. Her mind was filled with words of self-doubt and internal frustration.

And try as she might’ve, Audrina was not enough to help her loved one fully gain control of herself.

"Let’s try together, Drina..."

Eris went to Audrina’s side, and together the two of them stood behind Lillian supportively.

They gently placed their hands upon her stomach and Lilli felt a calming feeling wash through her.

"This place can’t take anything away from you, dear. Everything that you had before we stepped in here is still inside of you, but you just have to bring it out." Eris said gently.

Lillian wanted to say that Eris made that sound far easier than it felt. But she was beginning to grow frustrated with her own complacency.

She could do this. She just had to put forth a little bit more effort.

"Are you ready to try again?" Audrina asked.

-

Abaddon felt fat again.

After literally two lifetimes removed from living as an overweight human on earth, he was once again getting serious ptsd from those days.

All of his movements felt so much slower than they should have been.

He was actually growing winded and tired, as if he weren’t used to breathing the air. And this body didn’t even have any lungs!

The fight wasn’t so much dangerous as it was humiliating.

If they were still on the outside, just one of them would have been enough to put this ugly old bastard away.

But here, they were relegated to trading blows with a creature that they could not kill and that also could not kill them.

It was insulting. Humbling. Infuriating.

More than anything else, it made Abaddon think of potential problems.

There wasn’t any part of their fight that had been particularly subtle.

The longer this dragged on, the more of a chance there was for other horrors to find them.

And who knew what special kind of hell that would have turned into...

’Maybe I should have listened to Eris this time.’ He thought with a wry smile.

"Hahahahaha! Weak! So weak! These great dragons have become toothless worms before me!"

Nyarlathotep’s laughter reverberated through the air and charged it with a malevolent energy.

Unlike the Tathamets, the shapeshifting creature had full control of his form and powers in this wasteland.

He had already changed himself into an odd umbral force with more eyes and mouths than what could be reasonably counted.

He spoke through all of them at once. He kept his unnerving gaze directly tied to theirs.

And he never seemed to stop laughing. No matter how much time went by.

Abaddon could have sworn that he hadn’t been this annoying before...

’Damn this realm.’

Abaddon had forgotten that this place was in fact a prison not designed to be comfortable.

"Everyone, move!"

Lillian’s shrill voice instantly snapped her lovers out of whatever exhaustion they were feeling.

Without waiting for an explanation, they quickly lunged away from the site of the battle and got as clear as they could.

The next thing they knew, an updraft of dark wind came from the cave opening where the others were waiting.

Nyarlothotep felt the chilling force against his being, but paid it no real mind. It didn’t hurt.

He realized all too late that just because the attack was devoid of pain, it was not lacking in significance.

The creature’s eyes started to become heavy. It had difficulty holding its form together.

Thinking back, Nyarlothotep had never experienced something this upsetting before.

His mind was beginning to go. And yet, he was also seeing flashes of his miserable life go by.

’Is this... death..?’

His last fleeting thought as his form evaporated was of just how unfair this all was.

With his dissipation, the realm nearby returned to normal.

One by one, the others dropped out of the sky to surround Lillian.

They were so ecstatic that they could have kissed her.

"You did it!"

Bekka rushed to scoop Lillian in her arms and gave her face a long lick.

"Babe... you have no idea just how disappointed I am that you don’t have a mouth right now."

Lillian’s cheeks tinged with an orange blush.

"E-Easy, don’t go breaking my concentration now... It’s not as easy keeping that one down as it should be."

Lillian had killed Nyarlothotep. But factors were conspiring not to leave him that way.

Both the realm and the creature’s natural biology were contributing to an attempt at his revival.

Were Lillian to take her foot off the brake for even a moment, the car would start rolling downhill again.

"We need to move quickly then." Valerie decided. "You can let him go when we’re far enough away."

Lillian grabbed her arm. "You were panting as you said that... you need to take a beat and rest for a moment- you all do."

Her concern, while appreciated, was never even considered.

"I’m afraid we cannot, my love." Abaddon shook his head. "We have to keep moving. Complacency here will be dangerous."

"It’s not complacency, but making sure we’re prepared before running off from one battle to another. Things aren’t normal here, we can’t count on your stamina regenerating until we’re fully acclimated!"

Lillian tenderly placed her hand on her husband’s chest.

"I can hold him down for as long as I need to. As long as it is helping the people I love get better."

Abaddon was almost swayed. Almost.

But there was yet another reason why they could not sit and wait to recover.

"My love... we have to get out of here as quickly as we can. Izanami cannot stay here."

Their eyes drifted over towards their slumbering death goddess, who was bundled up in Lailah’s gentle arms.

Her face was pale and sweaty. She was twitching slightly in her sleep.

Abaddon’s heart nearly broke at the sight.

"Actually..."

Valerie stepped towards her lover. Her form was like that of a bipedal, slender insect woman. With her wings being twice as large as normal.

She held up her bladed hands and a faint golden power shone on her fingertips.

"With my powers working again, I think I can make her something to keep her a bit more comfortable. And we won’t have to keep drugging her either.

Valerie held out her hands over Izanami’s body. Taking a moment to steady herself, she began envisioning a perfect way to protect the woman whom she loved.

And with a flash of gold light, it was so.

Valerie wiped her brow of sweat and backed away.

Smiling proudly, she gestured to her latest handiwork.

"Well? How does she look?"

Everyone looked down at dainty Izanami- bundled up nicely in her own oversized spacesuit.

Her breathing had evened out, and a bit of color was returning to her cheeks.

"...Sexy." Bekka held up two thumbs of approval.

Everyone else nodded in agreement and held up two thumbs of approval as well.