Darkness
Then heat.
Mecha Dead End's systems slowly rebooted. Warning symbols flickered and vanished. Radiation storms rolled across a broken sky, clouds glowing with nuclear fire. The ground beneath was cracked, alive with unstable energy.
Mecha Dead End stood upright.
"Where… am I?" its voice echoed across the wasteland.
"What happened? Why didn't Buddha kill me?"
Silence answered.
Then realization struck.
"…Wait. This is a different universe."
The mecha turned its head. In the distance, a colossal, ruined planet pulsed with chaotic energy—familiar, ancient, home.
"Ohoh…" the voice grew sharper, excited.
"I found my planet. Finally."
The ground trembled.
From the shadows of the chaos sea rose a massive figure—tentacled, ancient, crowned with abyssal power.
"Hey," Mecha Dead End said calmly. "Dagon. It's me. Azathoth."
Dagon's many eyes narrowed
.
"You are not Azathoth."
The air grew heavy.
Mecha Dead End's tone twisted with rage.
"How dare you?"
"I am the avatar of Aza—"
BOOM.
Dagon's fist slammed into Mecha Dead End, sending it skidding across the nuclear surface, carving a trench of molten debris.
"You insult the Dreamer," Dagon growled. "You are nothing but a machine."
Silence.
Then laughter.
Low. Broken. Furious.
Mecha Dead End rose slowly. Armor cracked, core blazing. The God of Sword manifested in its grasp, radiating corrupted divinity.
"Wrong."
In a single movement, the blade descended.
Reality split.
Dagon screamed as the strike overwhelmed him, his form collapsing under the impossible force. He fell to one knee, barely holding himself together.
"Who… who are you?" Dagon demanded.
Mecha Dead End stepped forward, towering over him.
"I am Azadeadthoendth," it declared.
"Avatar of Azathoth. The will that survives gods."
Dagon trembled. Then… bowed his head.
"…Then you are my ancestor."
Azadeadthoendth turned away, walking toward a massive, ancient throne half-buried in chaos—a seat once meant for the Dreamer itself.
It sat down.
The planet shuddered.
Above the throne, the symbol of Azathoth burned brighter than ever.
The Dreamer had not returned.
But something worse had taken its place.