Hades quickly regained his composure, his dark robes fluttering violently in the surge of dimensional turbulence that raged above them.
The air itself crackled, reality groaning under the immense pressure of the rift tearing itself wider with every passing second.
The realm of the dead, the domain of Hades, was starting to collapse.
Just then, a sudden burst of divine energy illuminated the skies.
Twelve powerful presences arrived like falling stars, each one descending around Hades with unyielding resolve.
Hades remained still, knowing full well who these powerful aura belong to.
Hecate, the goddess of magic, her eyes shimmering with purple light. Mystical symbols rotated around her, humming with primordial tunes.
Hera, the goddess of marriage, her regal form shining with blinding might, eyes narrowed at the being trying to tear apart reality from above.
Aphrodite, goddess of love. Born from the sky and raised in the sea, yet chose to be an underworld goddess. Despite her bubbly personality, her powers are one of the strongest throughout heaven and earth.
Then came thr Five River Gods who surged in unison.
Styx, whose black waters reeked of unbreakable oaths; Lethe, whose waters erased even memory itself; Phlegethon, blazing with molten fire; Acheron, deep and oppressive; and Cocytus, the river of lamentation, whose wails echoed eerily.
Keres, the goddess of violent death, her claws already out, hungry for destruction.
Thanatos, death himself, serene and indifferent, but his scythe radiated finality.
Hypnos, his presence slowed the flow of time, his eyes half-lidded, reality around him drooping.
Eris, chaos incarnate. One who relished in chaos and discord, but this time, she couldn’t enjoy it.
They descended besides Hades and observed the abomination trying to rip reality apart.
The being beyond the rift, or what little could be seen, was not something any of them could define.
A countless number of hands, brimming with writhing mouths, blinking eyes, and limbs that fractured logic, were pulling at the edges of the universe as though peeling back the cover of a book.
Its presence was like a scream that reality itself was trying to suppress.
Even gods faltered at the sight.
"What is that?" Hera whispered, voice trembling despite her pride.
"Something that shouldn’t enter here." Replied Hades.
"Well, it seems like it is entering." said Thanatos quietly.
Hades didn’t waste time. "Attack it. Now. Don’t let it through. Whatever it takes."
The Patrons responded immediately, their divine energies flaring as they unleashed their powers upon the grotesque limbs of the entity.
Aphrodite’s used her authority over sky and sea, something she rarely use, and distorted space around the rift.
Phlegethon hurled infernos hotter than stars.
Lethe’s waters surged to erase even the idea of the creature’s existence.
Keres and Thanatos slashed with authority over death, while Hypnos slowed the passage of time around the limbs.
And yet...nothing happened.
Their attacks phased through the arms, as though striking illusions.
It was like trying to strike smoke with a blade, or worse, as if they simply weren’t on the same plane of existence.
Like a two dimensional being trying to attack a three dimensional being. Completely useless.
"Why isn’t it working?" Aphrodite yelled. "Our powers should at least delay it!"
Nyx took a step forward, having regained her composure as she stared at the being from beyond.
"Because it’s not truly here. Not in the way we are. You’re attacking it like you would attack another god, but this thing is above us. Attacking it as you are now is like trying to cut a thought with a sword."
The realization sank in, and they couldn’t help but feel helpless. Thei powers they have so much pride in, powers strong enough to destroy realms, were fundamentally incompatible with this being.
For them, this is the first time they have encountered such being.
"Then what do we do?" shouted Styx.
"Focus on the rift," Nyx commanded. "You can’t hurt it, but you can keep the tear from expanding. Anchor space. Strengthen reality’s frame. Delay its arrival!"
The Twelve Patrons redirected their efforts.
Acheron and Cocytus worked to bind the rift in watery barriers, while Hecate chanted ancient runes to reinforce the boundaries.
Hypnos slowed the surrounding space, like a web of time tightening around the wound in reality.
Eris sowed chaos in the rift’s fabric, attempting to destabilize the creature’s grip.
Meanwhile, Nyx rose into the sky once more.
She summoned her Authority again. The skies dimmed and stars blinked out momentarily.
Although she said that they can’t hurt this being since it exists beyond this plane of existence, but as a Primordial, especially one who was so close to transcendence, launching an attack beyond this dimension is still within her capabilities.
With a cry of divine fury, she slashed at one of the arms with a spear of condensed from full conceptual weight of the night.
Much to the Patrons shock, the blade connected.
A line of black split across one of the being’s hands.
"She hit it!" Keres exclaimed.
But then... the eyes turned to Nyx.
A sea of pupils, thousands of them, opened at once across the being’s limbs, and they all focused on Nyx.
Nyx frowned, readying herself from an attack. But then, her eyes widened, and her body shook violently.
Something had already struck her.
Invisible to all, incomprehensible in nature, and yet its effects were devastating.
Gashes tore across her body, blood pouring from wounds that appeared before the sensation even reached her nerves.
With a last cough of blood, she fell.
"Nyx!" Hades exclaimed and flew towards, quickly catching her mid-fall, holding her trembling form.
She smiled weakly, blood staining her teeth. "Sorry, I was not expecting that."
"What happened?" Hades furrowed his brows.
Nyx wiped the blood from her lips, "An attack from a higher dimension. I couldn’t even sense—no, I couldn’t even comprehend it."
Hades gritted his teeth.
The divine pressure was getting stronger, and the rift was growing despite their efforts.
Reality itself seems to groan in pain.
"...That thing is ridiculous." Hades whispered.
"Tell me about it." Nyx rolled her eyes, as slowly, she was starting to heal.
"Now then," Hades frowned, "How to beat that thing."
Just then, from the depths of the Underworld, the ground split apart.
A man-shaped figure of colossal size, his body wrapped in molten stone and eternal abyss emerged.
Its power, vast and heavy, shook the very foundation of Underworld.
"Ah! It’s been so long since I left the depths. Feels good to finally climb up."
Hades stared at him, startled. "Tartarus? What are you doing here?"
Tartarus, the primordial god of the depths of underworld, turned towards him. "Yo, Hades. I just can’t sleep while the world is getting destroyed, yeah?"
Just then, another voice resounded, "Compress your power, you big oaf. You’re destabilising space and time."
Figures began to arrive, their power, although compressed to their bodies, radiated so much strength that one look was all it took to know they are not to be trifled with.
Nyx recognized all of them. They were her first creations when she recreated this universe.
Eros, the primordial god of proreation, and binding, glowing with the spark of cosmic connection.
Aether, radiant and divine, his form comprised of pure celestial light.
Hemera, the dawn itself, illuminating the realm with strength and warmth.
Pontus, deep and endless, his presence like the stillness of uncharted oceans.
And lastly, Khronos, the primordial god of Time, whose body seems to be distorted with time.
The sky trembled at their presence.
"Primordials..." Hecate whispered.
Never before had all Primordials gathered together .
"How ugly..." Aether crossed his arms, frowning at the being.
"I agree. That’s why we should not let it in. Just parts of it already make me sick. I can’t imagine its full body." Said Hemera.
Khronos stepped forward, staring up at the rift. "We are the boundary between this and that. If it crosses, everything ends. We will be nothing more than a forgotten memory."
"Yeah, yeah," Hades stood up, as Nyx has fully healed. "No need to make any grand speech. We’ll just have to completely beat it, right?"
Khronos nodded. "The strongest beings in this universe has gathered here. If we cannot stop it, then this universe is as good as destroyed."
The Primordials began channeling their ancient forces. The very laws of reality bent in their wake.
And above them, the rift raged, wider than galaxies now, an eye opening behind it, endless and hungry.
Hades turned to his Patrons. "We’ll try to attack it, you all make sure to stabilize the rift and prevent it from expanding."
The patrons nodded solemnly.
The final battle begins.
Where failure does not mean death.
But becoming a cosmic food, and a forgotten memory.