"Who said I'd comply, you fool?"
"Do you think I'll just pick because you demand it?"
Unlike his earlier tone of frustration, helplessness, or anxious powerlessness, Roy faced the countless gazes peering from myriad dimensions without faltering. He didn't yield to the Outer Gods' expectations or make a choice. Instead, he spoke with a voice and demeanor starkly different from before.
His face bore a reckless sneer, the invisible blade in his hand aimed at his target. His gaze, fixed on Ghroth, was cold and unflinching.
For reasons unknown, despite knowing Roy posed little threat, the Outer Gods present felt an involuntary shiver.
At his words, whether it was Ghroth or the others, a sinking premonition stirred in their minds.
It's here, it's here, it's finally here…
The more they understood, the clearer it became, and the easier it was to guess what Roy intended.
Nyarlathotep let out a soft chuckle, tiptoeing to Roy's side. Her arms wrapped around his neck, lips brushing his ear as she whispered with a smile, "Figured it out already?"
"Of course."
"Careful, then~"
To Nyarlathotep's question, Roy returned a smile, undaunted by the gazes bearing down from above. He took a bold step forward.
Neither Ghroth's roars nor Daoloth's condescending stare registered in his eyes, they were as nothing.
A pillar of light capable of incinerating a planet, or an endless void tide that could rend dimensions and shatter worlds?
Meaningless, utterly meaningless. To Roy, these were no longer threats.
The gap between usable power and mere intimidation was obvious to anyone with eyes.
He plunged the invisible sword into the ground, commanding it to protect him and bar approach, then stepped forward without magecraft or defenses, into the infinite tide.
To Outer Gods, such attacks were mere greetings, but to humans, they were apocalyptic strikes capable of annihilating everything in an instant. A single hit without protection would reduce one to ash.
This applied to Roy, who'd forsaken the Third Magic and the sword born of his status.
Having shed his soul and status, he was now no different from a human, save for his ability to wield any magecraft.
If these attacks grazed him…
The consequences were for the Outer Gods to ponder.
"Don't be reckless, child."
"Calm down."
Seeing this audacious act, Shub-Niggurath moved to intervene, but Yog-Sothoth halted her with a step.
Yog-Sothoth shook her head impassively, signaling Shub-Niggurath to stay quiet and watch.
At that moment, even Ghroth's body of light and heat flared wildly, its crimson-yellow flames dancing furiously, reflecting its rage at Roy's defiance.
The piercing gaze above, condensed into a light pillar, abruptly adjusted its trajectory, veering into the cosmos to seek some unfortunate planet to reduce to glass.
Likewise, Daoloth ceased probing or guiding, splitting the torrential tide of irregular composites into two streams, diverting them to other dimensions.
Amid these grandiose phenomena, Roy stood as if blind to them, calmly facing the Outer Gods, awaiting the next earth-shattering strike.
Daoloth's rational, perfect visage fell silent. Ghroth's reckless grin froze, unsure how to proceed.
But the smile didn't vanish, it shifted, from Ghroth's face to Roy's.
The change wasn't limited to Ghroth and Daoloth.
M'shithra, watching with a spectator's amusement, froze, perhaps unaware his own smirk had faded.
Countless eyes in the void fixed on Roy, each carrying distinct emotions.
In an instant, a torrent of oppressive, bewildered, and furious sentiments surged toward him. Despite the dimensional divide, the weight of their gazes and resentment was suffocating.
The mere emotional fluctuations of these Outer Gods affected reality, cloaking the planet's skies in a thick, eerie haze.
Some, unwilling to relent, tried to cow Roy with fear, projecting power into reality to assail his face.
Yet Roy's expression remained indifferent, and he strode toward the onslaught.
In a flash, the shadowy world poised to engulf him halted mere centimeters away, unable to advance, retreating swiftly to clear a path for him.
They saw it, Roy's utter fearlessness. Not only did he not dodge, but he advanced into their power.
For a moment, Outer Gods in both reality and the void fell silent.
But Yog-Sothoth, Nyarlathotep, and Shub-Niggurath, the three closest to Roy from the start, bound by the deepest ties, burst into unrestrained laughter.
"Hahahaha…"
They said little, but the absurd situation spoke volumes.
Gods, facing a human, had retreated, had flinched.
How comical, no, how fascinating…
Arcueid couldn't fathom their laughter. Moments ago, world-ending attacks loomed, and Roy's life teetered on the edge.
She wanted to pull him back or face them together, but the invisible sword, embedded in the ground, bore another command: block Arcueid, never let her follow.
Her power couldn't defy Roy's sword, leaving her to watch as he gambled his life against these terrifying Outer Gods.
"…Kid, aren't you afraid of death?"
Seeing Roy's actions, Ghroth sighed. Its flames and gaze dimmed, the menacing aura from its debut deliberately subdued.
It understood the situation, knew it had to face Roy squarely, and realized its naive assumptions were void.
Named Ghroth, unlike Daoloth or M'shithra, it was uniquely exceptional among Outer Gods, even ostracized by them.
Its true form was a colossal gaseous planet, rusted brown, featureless save for hill-like spherical protrusions…
From here, those protrusions weren't hills but vastly larger. It drifted lifelessly in cosmic corners, exuding an overwhelming presence, like rolling thunder…
Suddenly moving, but how could a planet's surface shift? Nor would it crack open for thousands of miles, revealing pale, glowing matter beneath.
To other Outer Gods, Ghroth's birth was a mistake, a grave error, a being that shouldn't exist in this fragile universe.
To maintain the dream-universe's stability, all Outer Gods crowded this narrow, delicate cosmos, barely balancing, daring not to act recklessly.
But Ghroth…
From its inception, it was unwelcome, unaccepted, unpermitted.
Its ostracism wasn't due to its alien form but its vast, unique power.
Its mere existence produced a shrill, rhythmic sound in the vacuum, its origin unknown even to the near-omniscient Yog-Sothoth.
Unlike the symphony stabilizing the dream, this song aligned stars correctly, risking the awakening of Outer Gods and Great Old Ones.
Worse, it could rouse Azathoth, the sleeping cosmic entity.
What would happen if Azathoth, the universe itself, awoke? No one knew, but its awakening would dwarf any Outer God's recklessness by orders of magnitude. The universe would collapse instantly.
Thus, Ghroth was banished beyond Azathoth's palace, unable to revel there like others. Even the rumored Shaggai was said to have been destroyed by an entity awakened by Ghroth's celestial voice.
For this ability, Ghroth was dubbed the "Star of Judgment" or "Herald of Destruction." None wished to approach or associate with it.
This fueled Ghroth's urgency, rage, and yearning for freedom and a new world.
Bound by the universe, shunned by Outer Gods, tormented by its innate power, it craved escape from this ill-fitting cosmos, longing to unleash itself in a new realm, to taste unfettered freedom.
As Yog-Sothoth and Nyarlathotep said, this universe was too small, too fragile. Outer Gods couldn't live or play freely, their actions confined within limits.
It was like being shackled and thrown into a prison, worse than oblivious lesser beings living blissfully.
Ghroth suffered most, its restrictions surpassing others'. Even its movement was a threat in their eyes.
If it weren't unkillable or unbanishable, it might've been sealed beyond the universe's reach.
Thus, the god was more desperate, its gaze more furious!!
"Death? Go ahead and try it."
Facing Ghroth's rage, Roy responded with calm and mockery.
"If you could or dared kill me, you wouldn't be here chatting, would you?"
His gaze held a playful glint, his smirk a genuine taunt at its folly.
"Or rather… I suggest you drop the bluster, divine sir. It only exposes your weakness and panic."
Ignoring Ghroth's fury, Roy faced all the Outer Gods' gazes, spreading his palms. His earlier caution vanished, replaced by mockery and a hint of madness on his youthful face.
"Hahahahaha!!!"
"Are you panicking? Worried I'll uncover the truth, flip the roles, and turn the tables on you?"
"Sorry, I've found the answer. The truth is out. Your lofty oppression game ends here. Time to lower your stance, divine sir."
"You…"
Ghroth fell silent. Daoloth's eyes flickered with surprise, followed by a sigh.
"Though I foresaw this possibility, things have indeed taken the worst turn…"
"Ha, hahaha… no more acting, getting serious now?"
"Lil bro, your personality is so wicked it's downright impressive."
Nyarlathotep clutched her stomach, laughing heartily.
"Right, exactly! You've got nothing to fear. From the start, we're the ones who should be afraid."
"When he shifts the dynamic, moving from passive to active, even Outer Gods can't help but fall into a reactive stance."
Yog-Sothoth spoke, as the ceremony's overseer, unbothered by adding commentary to Roy's actions.
The hierarchy was clear.
Roy was done playing tai chi with these beings. His gaze locked seriously onto Ghroth.
He saw the gaseous planet, seething and burning, harboring power poised to shatter the world.
Yet he remained composed, speaking lightly.
With a calm expression, he uttered arrogant, audacious words.
"You call yourselves gods, higher beings, toying with others' lives and fates like playthings."
"But have you ever considered that when you toy with others, you should be ready to be toyed with in return?"
Roy shifted his gaze to the boundless void, meeting countless eyes, fanning the flames with reckless mockery.
"Hey, don't you all want to reach this so-called new world? It's the endgame, why are you passengers still hiding? Miss the deadline, and there's no refund on your tickets…"
His disappointed, sarcastic words landed.
Something swelled in the world, then burst.
Darkness, eeriness, and a dense mass of entities emerged.
The artificial lake's edge was crowded with figures.
Outer Gods, everywhere, staring intently at him.
Ghroth, M'shithra, Yog-Sothoth, Nyarlathotep, Shub-Niggurath, Daoloth… too many, far too many…
Nameless Outer Gods numbered enough to fill a classroom, their gazes fixed on Roy, awaiting his next move.
But numbers meant nothing to him now.
Facing dozens of varied stares, Roy smiled faintly, spread his palms, and answered breezily.
"Welcome to my world, everyone."
"Now, I'm here to negotiate terms, Outer Gods."
"And this time, you have no right to refuse."
___
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