The outcome had indeed been highly improbable, and yet… the Master of Horrors made it probable. The power behind that spear throw was not something an entity could simply shrug off.
The veil of reality itself had been completely erased just by its shockwaves.
But at the very last moment before the spear tore through the Cosmic Horror, Cthulhu careened and lashed out with one of its massive tentacles, sacrificing it to alter the trajectory of his spear, even if it was just slightly.
Its tentacle violently exploded upon impact, barely doing its job of altering the path of the spear. Moreover, Cthulhu had been slightly slower to react, resulting in a situation where Alex's spear took a portion of its face.
The humanoid Cosmic Horror lost more than one tentacle. Where black and vile blood should have been flowing freely, the carved out portion leaked quintessential essence… black and vile quintessential essence.
Alex tore his gaze away from the abomination to the Omnisoul, where the invisible dome protecting it was no more. His spear had shattered and erased it without mercy.
The Omnisoul was now completely exposed… and ripe for the taking.
However, the Cosmic Terror hadn't made any moves yet. It seemed to be observing and assessing the extent of the damage it had sustained. And after what felt like eternity, Cthulhu turned its dreadfully hideous gaze at Alexander.
"You…"
Despite the missing veil, Cthulhu's intent echoed across the emptiness like raging waves, irritating Alexander's senses and putting a slight frown on his face. Just like its gaze, its intent carried the harrowing dread of its vile powers.
"Yes, me."
Alex shrugged off the harrowing whispers and attempts at invading his existence. Now that he was grasping the true intent of the abomination, he noticed how it combined the powers of the 'generals' he had killed.
"..."
A moment of silence followed after Alexander's bold intent. There was nothing to be said. One wanted to devour the Omnisoul, while the other sought to stop that act. There was no middle ground…
The Cosmic Horror threw a glance at the now-exposed Omnisoul, then back at him. Alex could see the mad desire and hunger in its ghastly, soul-devouring eyes.
It was right beside the Omnisoul… just a few million kilometres away. The Cosmic Terror could reach out with its hand, and reality would be all its.
Seeing the look in the creature's eyes made Alex smile derisively. The heavy suppression on his existence was still present and would impede his speed.
And he was a lot farther from the Omnisoul than the Cthulhu… He knew it, and the abomination knew it too. But the problem was not who could get to the core first.
"Why don't you claim it?" Alexander taunted smugly. "You had been desperately trying to destroy the dome earlier, no? You went so far as to ignore my existence completely… What's stopping you?"
It had taken years for the Cosmic Terror to assimilate the piece it tore from the Omnisoul before completely. Swallowing the Omnisoul whole would take a lot more time… time it definitely did not have.
Alexander would tear it apart before it could swallow half the core. The damage it had sustained was not going to heal… the creature did not have the power to heal… at least not anytime soon.
Which left the Cosmic Terror only one option… kill the vermin standing in its way. But that was easier said than done. How do you kill something that your power barely affects?
Cthulhu, who had had most of its body melded with the void, gradually revealed its hideous form in all its glory. The colossal humanoid nightmare was a bulk of rubbery, deep-black flesh with wings like rotting membranes folded on its back.
The writhing mass of tentacles rested at its lower face, akin to a revolting beard, and seemed to move even when the creature remained idle. Its two most enormous tentacles occupied the space leading to its mouth.
Now, however, one of its main tentacles appeared shorter than the other, leaking out dark, corrupted essence.
Its very presence was capable of warping the minds of those who saw it, filling them with dreadful terrors no living entity should be exposed to. Unfortunately for the Master of Horrors, its powers could not influence Alexander's existence.
Alexander lowered his gaze to the creature's arms and grimaced.
The massive claws on Cthulhu did not disturb him as much as the lines of veins that writhed underneath its vile and slimy skin like worms. There was no getting used to the sight.
But more than that, Alexander was a lot smaller when compared to the master abomination. To stand against Cthulhu, he needed to be larger than he was.
While maintaining eye contact with the hideous abomination, Alexander slowly increased the size of his body. The creature made no attempts at moving, only silently watching as Alex did as he pleased.
The void continued to tremble as it bore the weight of Alexander's existence. Adding to the already existing strain was the tension that continued to rise as the two mighty beings locked gazes.
Suddenly, Alexander frowned when he realised something he had mostly ignored. All around him was the vile essence of corruption mixed in with the essence of the void.
The entire domain was filled with it, barely leaving room for anything else. His body naturally continued to push against the corrupted essence, releasing pulses intermittently.
However, the Omnisoul had been mostly protected against it. Its last vestiges of protection shielded it from complete succumbing.
Now that it had been exposed, Cthulhu needn't move to claim the Omnisoul! The process would still take time, but the rest of the universe did not have that time!
The peculiar change had only caught Alexander's attention because the Omnisoul shuddered in a way that resembled revulsion. But more than that was the dark tint that mixed in with the Omnisoul when it released another pulse.
"You sneaky bastard!"
Then… then, all of reality shook.
The force of the quake was so violent and unprecedented that even the life forms within universes felt the tremors in their souls!
As for the powerhouses fighting across the multiverse, the tremors took them off their feet, throwing them around like leaves caught in the wind.
Unlike universes, they were not anchored to the void. It was as though a planet had suddenly stopped rotating…
"Alex…"
Somewhere out there, Julia muttered to herself as she tried to regain her balance. Flying around with her with scores of corrupted Enforcers, some tightly bound by invisible chains.
Try as she might, she could not regain her balance… no one could, and the tremors did not seem to have an end. They only seem to get worse.
Even knowing full well how powerful her beloved was, Julia could not help but worry about him. His battle seemed to be especially fierce.
'Please… please, be careful.'
Meanwhile, Alexander and the Cosmic Terror continued to exchange reality-shaking blows, having long lost sight of the Omnisoul.
The initial clash of titans sent Alexander flying, the suppression of reality on his existence favouring the master of abominations.
'Such strength!'
He had thought the creature was strong, and that first attack he suffered after exchanging gazes should have been enough to point that out.
But he was wrong… very wrong.
Granted, he was the superior being, an absolute existence. Typical power metrics could not be applied to him… he transcended all that.
However, his physical strength had not been tested to this extent before. He could not bring out that level of strength.
Moreover, he was consciously holding back, hesitant to continue doing damage to Reality. It was already fragile enough. Adding this to the suppression already on his shoulders, Cthulhu had all the advantages.
Alexander swiftly shook off the shock, his eyes and senses following all the creature's movements. So, by the time he broke the momentum of the first blow, the Cosmic Terror was once again on him.
He could see it, he could follow its moves… but he could not react fast enough, the suppression wouldn't let him.
Alexander took a couple of heavy blows he could barely intercept before the Master of Horrors switched to killing moves.
Cthulhu's claws swept across his chest, screeching against his armour with tyrannical force. Alex was only able to move slightly out of the claws' path.
But the force was overwhelmingly ruthless, blasting him across the void. Before he knew it, he had travelled half the Omnisoul's domain.
Alexander looked down to see deep claw marks in his armour. And within those gashes was the vile and corrosive essence of Cthulhu.
They seemed to devour his armour, trying to bypass its defences to invade his existence. But they were able to linger only a moment before dissipating, the gashes mending.
Rage flickered in his eyes, igniting as a blaze of white. But as quickly as it came, it disappeared, replaced with a deadly calm composure. Perhaps the Master of Horrors thought he was weak, a child it could discipline.
Calmly staring at the monstrosity closing in on him, its mass of disgusting tentacles flaring around wildly, Alexander deemed it necessary to remind it of who the absolute was.
A flash of white from his body intensified the already devastating tremors, tearing apart the fragile veil of reality.
Then…
Then Cthulhu came to an abrupt halt, its hideous eyes widened in what looked like fear. A moment later, a twisted, disturbingly unpleasant screech tore from its hidden maws, the intent shaking the fabric of reality like raging waves.
The screech sounded like an irritating ring, leaving anyone who heard it deeply disoriented.
It had lost one of its arms, and the entity responsible for it was no longer in its sight. Alexander was a long distance behind it, his back to the creature.
His right hand was outstretched to his side, fingers aligned to mimic a blade. His other hand rested confidently at his back, his essence flaring around him like flames.
Somewhere between the two titans, a massive and disgusting arm wiggled around as it gradually disintegrated.
'Sorry, Omnisoul. But I don't think your veil will hold for much longer.'
Momentarily breaking through the suppression had caused further damage to the severely weakened veil of the Omnisoul, and none of them had gone all out.
Alexander looked over his shoulder, coldly staring at the turning abomination of a creature. Their eyes met… one bringing with cold intent, the other with hostile, murderous rage.
Cthulhu's figure wobbled as it turned ethereal. Alex saw through its intent before it could even begin.
However, before he could respond in kind, a radiant light swallowed the surrounding darkness, bathing all of reality in white.
Then, a roar filled with unparalleled might and primordial majesty rippled across the veil of reality, spreading to every corner of the fractured multiverse. Imbued in that roar was a defiant and ancient will… a will seething with unbridled vengeance.
Alexander flashed a small smile as he looked in the direction of the Omnisoul.
'Took you long enough. Looks like you can no longer bear the destruction…'