After wrapping up with Roselle, Alaric didn't dive straight back into work. Instead, he opted for a night's rest to recharge.
The next morning, after a refreshing sleep and a simple breakfast, Alaric summoned his "Lucifer" avatar.
"Jack's buried in studies, Lucifer handles work, and the main body rests... everyone's got a bright future," Alaric mused, multitasking with his avatar. His true self stayed put, picking up a novel to read.
It was Fors' latest work, a tale about Detective Sherlock and a doll girl, blending mystery, the supernatural, and romance. Alaric planned to skim it, and if it was gripping, he'd share it with a certain Fool playing Medici in a border city.
While his main body read, Alaric directed his Lucifer avatar to head out, soon arriving in the Astral World to visit two of the Seven Gods.
First was Eternal Blazing Sun, to work on his treatment plan.
Second was the Evernight Goddess, mainly about Antigonus.
Eternal Blazing Sun was clearly prepared for Alaric's visit. As soon as Alaric reached the border of His divine kingdom, a passage opened, and Aucuses appeared, dressed as usual.
His gaze scanned Alaric's side, likely searching for the Sun God. Noticing Alaric was alone, Aucuses seemed a bit disappointed but still offered a smile. "Good day, Your Excellency Lucifer. Thank you for coming."
His tone was notably deferential, which wasn't surprising. Though proud, Aucuses knew better than to act arrogant with someone like Alaric, whose ties to the Sun God alone demanded respect.
"Good day, Aucuses!" Alaric returned a smile. "If you're looking for the Sun God, sorry, He's not here. But if you want to see Sasrir, He's got plenty of time now."
Aucuses paused, then seemed to recall something. "So, your experiment with the Lord succeeded?"
"You haven't been in touch with the True Creator lately?" Alaric asked with a grin.
At the mention of that name, Aucuses' lips tightened. "I don't consider the True Creator the same as Sasrir."
"Then you and Amon would probably get along," Alaric said, glancing at Him. "Sasrir's busy now, but after the treatment, if you want to see Him, make an avatar. I'll take you."
Since the Seven Gods were tied to sealing the barrier's cracks, they couldn't leave the Astral World freely, but splitting off a fraction of power for an avatar was doable.
"Thank you," Aucuses said, accepting the offer. While He didn't revere Sasrir like a certain Red Angel did, Sasrir was still a deeply respected to Him.
Alaric smiled, saying no more, and followed Aucuses into His divine kingdom, arriving at His usual residence.
"Any preparations I need to make?" Aucuses asked, a hint of nervousness in His voice.
"I'll need you to restrict your powers. Otherwise, if you struggle later, I might not be able to hold you down," Alaric said bluntly, pulling a specialized operating table from his space and looking at Aucuses seriously.
This was a Sequence 0, after all. The sealing table from Mr. Door wouldn't be enough to fully restrain Him.
Aucuses froze, his mind flashing to something Roselle had mentioned. He glanced at the table... clearly Mr. Door's handiwork... hesitated, then nodded. "Alright, I understand."
Though not as adept as the Door pathway, Aucuses, the God of Contracts could temporarily limit His own power.
Still, it felt bizarre, like willingly stepping onto a guillotine.
Once Aucuses sealed His powers, Alaric didn't waste time. He had Him lie on the table and activated its sealing effect.
"Brace yourself, Aucuses! But don't worry... I won't let you go mad or die."
Aucuses caught Alaric's reassuring smile, the last clear memory He'd retain for a while.
What followed was a blur of distorted, fragmented memories. His only clear impression was of darkness and chaos.
At one point, Aucuses felt as if He'd been cast into a bottomless abyss, where a terrifying, indescribable entity lurked. He couldn't recall if He saw its form, only the overwhelming, unspeakable madness.
That madness made Him grin, made Him laugh uncontrollably.
"Hahahahaha!"
In the endless, twisted haze, Aucuses occasionally forgot who He was, sometimes feeling like another being entirely.
He heard a chuckle... familiar yet alien.
Who was it?
In his daze, a name nearly slipped out, but before He could speak, someone covered His mouth.
"Don't forget who you are, Aucuses."
The familiar name snapped Him back to clarity, breaking His train of thought. He suddenly couldn't recall the name He'd been about to say, but His body trembled uncontrollably.
…
Chaos, distortion, endless darkness.
When Aucuses opened His eyes again, He struggled to remember who He was or what had happened.
"How do you feel now?"
Alaric's voice jolted Him awake. Aucuses regained His sense of self, but the recent events remained a blank. His soul's instincts screamed that it was something He never wanted to experience again.
"I…" Aucuses' voice was dry and hoarse. He looked at Alaric. "What just happened?"
"That's not important. What matters is how you feel now," Alaric said, his face composed, though anyone who knew him well would've spotted the guilt.
Alaric was indeed a bit guilty. He'd nearly triggered an upgraded "The Primordial One had awoken in my body" scenario... "The Crawling Chaos had awoken in my body." Nyarlathotep's chaos had almost infected Aucuses' soul, nearly turning Him into another Nyarlathotep.
Thankfully, Alaric caught it in time, quashing the issue and, with some deft handiwork, pulled Aucuses back... otherwise, His consciousness would've been utterly destroyed.
***
Hi guys, Elenea here. I hope you're all doing well.
I wanted to let you know that I'm currently working on one of the best projects you might ever read. This project is set in the world of Fairy Tail with some combined elements from the Yu-Gi-Oh! series.
I'm confident you won't regret giving it a try, so don't hesitate to visit my second account's page (elenea) and start reading it.
[Fairy Tail: My Magic is a Yu Gi Oh Deck?]
Synopsis:
Getting isekai'd into the world of Fairy Tail sounds amazing with all the magic and beautiful girls in it...
But do you know what's even more fun than that?
Getting isekai'd with a Yu-Gi-Oh deck!
(No knowledge of Yu-Gi-Oh is needed, so don't worry.)
...
If you like it feel free to giving it a try.