Their malice pressed into my bones, but I didn't flinch.
Malice or not, I couldn't help but think.
'great, now I had an audience of cosmic flute psychos staring at me like I owed them rent'.
But if they wanted a reason for dragging their attention here… fine.
I had one.
And they weren't going to like it exactly.
Or… maybe they would.
I let out a long breath, feeling the weight of what I was about to say settle in my mind like a stone dropping through water.
"You see," I began slowly, forcing my voice to stay steady under the weight pressing on my ribs, "the blind idiot god you keep playing those flutes for… Azathoth."
The moment his name left my tongue, the invisible pressure around me doubled. My knees almost buckled.
A low, grinding tension scraped across the field like the Dreamlands themselves were warning me.
[ The Daemon Sultans show hints of aggression. ]
"Yeah, that one," I continued, swallowing hard but refusing to look away from the shifting shadows.
"You must know him better than anyone. You've played for him since time started rotting. You've watched him dream everything into being."
The shadows tightened, their movements sharp, as if the world had drawn a blade behind my back.
"I came here to confirm a truth," I said, raising my chin.
"A harsh one. One your kin never wants to admit."
The air shrank.
Even the light seemed to pull away.
"Well… he isn't exactly as powerful as your songs claim. What was the word again? Boundless?" I let out a short laugh that felt dangerously thin.
"Boundless, my ass."
The field fell absolutely still, as if existence itself leaned closer, listening.
[ The Daemon Sultans display heightened hostility. ]
"Let's not pretend," I said, voice dropping.
"You know it. I know it. He's only as limitless as the 'Narrative force' allows him to be. He's bounded too"
The shadows twitched violently, their outlines breaking for a moment before knitting back together.
" But I'm not here to disrespect your god," I added calmly, though my pulse hammered in my throat.
"I'm here to state the truth you've all avoided for ages. That provocation was just for me to grab your attention so that you take me seriously, and know i am no ordinary human."
The pressure continued to mount, cold and suffocating, yet I stood my ground.
"And you're going to hear it."
[ The Daemon Sultans react with confusion and surprise at what you just revealed. ]
'Right, they are aware of it.'
[ The Daemon Sultan watches the silence, waiting for your voice. ]
"Every one billion years, an event unfolds across the countless clusters and galaxies. An event not bound to fate, nor divine will, nor prophecy. It is nothing less than an automatic cosmic mechanism… just like a reset switch embedded in the very architecture of reality."
[The Daemon Sultans register the statement.]
My voice dropped lower.
"No one knows who forged it. No one knows why it exists. No one knows why it must occur… unknown even to beings who drift beyond the dreaming sequence. All that is known is that it is inevitable… and always has been."
[The Daemon Sultans acknowledge the inevitability.]
"Though most civilizations never learn of it, those few that do call it by many names across their worlds. But the most common conceptual label is this:
The Selection of Heirs."
[The Daemon Sultans confirm the designation.]
A faint smirk crept to the corner of my lips.
"When the cycle triggers, a minuscule number of individuals scattered across countless galaxies are chosen. The probability of any one living being being selected is so small it practically converges to zero. And yet, the criteria remain unknown."
[The Daemon Sultans make no correction.]
"It is not strength, not bloodline, not destiny, not morality, not race, not alignment."
[The Daemon Sultans note the exclusions.]
"The process appears random. As though existence itself simply reached into the abyss, pulled out a slip of cosmic lottery, and declared: 'This is the winner.'
No matter what number it bore."
[The Daemon Sultans accept the conclusion.]
Everyone has their own theory … maybe it's preparation for some cosmic disaster, maybe it's meant to keep Outer Chaos balanced, or maybe it's some grand trial to pick a successor… hell, some even say it's just Azathoth twitching in his sleep."
[The Daemon Sultans do not dispute the interpretations.]
"So let's drop the act. The true purpose of the Selection Event? Nobody knows. Not the entities, not the gods, not even the eldritch things drifting between the galaxies."
[The Daemon Sultans confirm the absence of any known purpose.]
"And you know why I'm telling you this…" I said, my voice slipping into a tone that allowed no retreat.
"Even though you did not create the event, you are bound to observe it to ensure it unfolds exactly as it has for billions of years. As intended."
[The Daemon Sultans acknowledge the obligation with faint displeasure.]
"You were assigned tasks… rather sensual ones, at that. To witness the awakening of each chosen heir.
To prevent any external interference. To verify that the Inner Chaos attaches correctly. And most important of all to ensure the cycle remains unaltered."
[The Daemon Sultans accept the duties, their irritation murmuring at the edges of the Dream.]
[The Daemon Sultans find your reminder unnecessary.]
[The Daemon Sultans await your justification with restrained annoyance.]
I lifted my head slowly.
"And that brings us… to now."
I spoke, raising my voice.
"The cycle has already begun."
[The Daemon Sultans recoil in muted irritation.]
I inhaled slowly, meeting the shifting shadows head-on.
"So let's stop circling around it," I said, voice steady.
"How about I receive the 'Inner Chaos' now?"
I lifted a hand just slightly, enough to make the gesture i intended, a faint smirk tugging at my lips.
"It won't break the randomness, and you know that.
If I wasn't one of the selected… if the cycle hadn't already marked me… I wouldn't be here speaking to you, and you wouldn't be listening. Above all, i wouldn't have known any of this."
[The Daemon Sultans reject your conclusion with agitation.]
[The Daemon Sultans dispute your implied eligibility.]
[The Daemon Sultans reassess your existence with restrained fury.]