ULTRAMagic Babel - Chapter 14
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In the depths of the void of the Cosmos, far beyond the reach of any sane voyage lay a hidden realm amongst a graveyard of failed universes. This realm of blood red wastelands, rusted metal forests, and screaming stars was the home of Karnage Dethgrave’s tower, and the base of operations for The Eternal Order. Standing at the top of the brutal, sight-rending tower was Karnage himself, waiting for something. He was discontent as his blood red eyes scanned the horizon, the wind blowing his long, pitch black hair around. There was a sneaking suspicion he was going to be angered that day. Not helping his mood was a giant planet approaching his realm… but he quickly realized he could have a little fun with it.
The planet was a grotesque, unholy aberration with a bulging eyeball and a creepy mouth licking its chops. Clearly it wanted to eat Karnage’s realm and was salivating at the prospect of such a delectable meal. Karnage smirked, readied a lightning bolt made of red blood, and hurled the spear as hard as he could into the eye. The planet felt nothing at first, but stopped as its face contorted into a horrified look of unimaginable pain. It then imploded on itself, collapsing into a black hole that unraveled in a screaming cacophony, becoming nothing. Strange, nigh indescribable shadow entities found themselves lost and displaced in the realm. Karnage snapped his fingers, sending a horde of monstrous shadow constructs after them.
“Oh my, quite the strike, Karnage,” A man made of metallic red crystal complimented. He was flanked by two, scarlet skinned women who were caressing his body. “Alas, we may have just killed a potential recruit…”
Karnage groaned, utterly annoyed. “Our recent string of failures are precisely because we are letting in the worthless rabble, Crimson God. It’s not about having numbers, it’s about seeking out the cream of the crop… AND WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT BRINGING YOUR FOLLOWERS INTO MY TOWER!?”
The Crimson God frowned, then snapped his fingers to send the women away. “You’re no fun… Mmm, how about I take some of that tension away then?” he cooed as he slinked around Karnage, caressing his face… Karnage’s growling was completely ignored. “We used to have so much fun back in the epoch…”
Karnage then shoved The Crimson God aside. “I don’t need pleasure! I need results…”
“Oh phooey! You've been such a stick in the mud ever since you reincarnated!”
A vein popped in Karnage’s head, as there was a certain detail that was being left out. “I’m the killjoy here? Wasn’t it you who recommended The Dead God to me?! THE ONE WHO RATTED ME OUT!?”
The Crimson God recoiled, taken aback by Karnage’s anger. “Oh come on, it was just one little mistake…”
“ONE LITTLE MISTAKE THAT SET US BACK BY SEVERAL ERAS!” Karnage was about to throttle The Crimson God when he noticed a skeletal knight in gnarled, red armor approaching. “Ah, Sanguine, what news do you have for me?”
Sanguine gave a respectful bow, not relishing the news he was about to share. “Valdemaras has returned…”
“Very good, now we can begin the next phase of the plan…”
“He returned empty handed.”
Karnage felt several more veins burst. “WHAT!?!” he roared.
“Furthermore, The Vulture God is dead…”
“WELL, THE ORDER IS ABOUT TO LOSE ONE MORE MEMBER THEN!” he shouted as he stormed past Sanguine.
Sanguine turned to The Crimson God. “You agitated him, didn’t you?”
The Crimson God ignored that question. “I assume Valdemaras also didn’t retrieve the playthings I requested?”
Sanguine had a mild look of disgust on his face as he exhaled. “Father, with all due respect, now is not the time…”
As the two made their way down to the grand hall, slamming and angry shouting could be heard. The Crimson God burst out laughing as Karnage tossed Valdemaras around and screamed obscenities at the rat. “HA, look at him beg for mercy!”
Anne gave The Crimson God a disapproving look, her red lips frowning as she fanned herself. “Wasn’t it you who recommended Valdemaras, Crimson God?” Valdemaras was slammed on the ground before them and dragged away, getting dirt all over Anne’s clothes. “AND LOOK WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO MY ELEGANT, RED DRESS!”
“Never send a rat to do a man’s job-that’s what the undesirables are for,” the brown haired German who resembled a general commented. He shared Anne’s initial disapproving look as he cracked his neck.
The Crimson God flared his nostrils, clearly annoyed. “Hold on, Sebastian! Didn’t you just fail to start World War III?”
Sebastian groaned. “Hector Fang’s death was a minor setback, as I was still able to acquire Conquest’s power…”
“Ha, ignoring the fact you got your rear handed to you by The General of Old, failed to claim the power of the other horsemen, and got kicked out of office…”
“Well then how about you get off of your ass and actually do something for once, Crimson God!?” Another god interjected. This one was a dark figure who was always shifting, appearing glitched and distorted.
“UGH, Running God! How dare you!? I’m always doing something!”
“Like sending in Valdemaras while you sit around with your perverted followers?”
“It was a tactical choice! Do you want Lord Anti and his cohorts after us?”
The Running God slammed his foot on the floor as Karnage sent Valdemaras into a wall. “You could have done this job! Void I wish there was a higher dimensional equivalent of diseases…”
“MERCY, GENERAL DETHGRAVE, MERCY!” Valdemaras screeched as Karnage stomped towards him, shaking the tower with his anger.
“NO, YOU MISERABLE WASTE OF A RAT! Not only did you get The Vulture God killed, fail to kill Lia, and lose the tower to the enemy-YOU LET BUSTER ASH GET AWAY!! WE COULD HAVE BEEN IN CONTROL OF THE COSMOS BY NOW!”
“ANOTHER CHANCE! I’ll go find Buster Ash right now! I can easily find where he is hiding! PLEASE, ONE MORE CHANCE! I BEG OF YOU!” Valdemaras pathetically pleaded.
“NO!” Karnage declared as he summoned a spiked greatsword. “You have failed me for the last time!”
As Valdemaras let out one more, ear piercing scream, Sanguine shook his head. “I’ll clean up the mess afterwards…” he said in an unenthusiastic voice.
Just as Karnage was about to strike, a sickly red chain of energy coiled around his arm, stopping his strike mid swing. The colossal statue above the entrance then began to animate, causing the tower to rumble. It was a grotesque, macabre statue of a skeletal corpse whose horror would shatter the sanity and psyche of any normal man. The eyes lit up red and it turned its head down to witness the spectacle below it.
“Master?!” Karnage questioned. “What is the meaning of this?!”
“ENOUGH, Karnage,” The Sepulcher God ordered. “Your punishment is not necessary, as I still have use for him…”
Valdemaras immediately began groveling before the abhorrent effigy. THANK YOU, MASTER! I am not worthy!”
“Return to Universe-0X and await my orders. DO NOT fail me again, Valdemaras.”
“Of course, my master, my glorious master,” he replied as he stumbled into a blood-like portal.”
Karnage growled and spat on the ground as the portal vanished, putting away his sword. “Insufferable animal, you live for now…”
“As disappointing as that failure was, we’re not finished yet,” The Sepulcher God clarified. “Gudrun?”
A woman with golden hair emerged from the shadows, carrying several books. She had a devious, clever look to her face, making her incredibly seductive in a subtle way. She looked as if she was going to tie one to a train track and smoke a cigarette while explaining how that abduction was going to lead to the collapse of the world’s economy. “I knew Valdemaras was going to drop the ball, so I did a little digging.”
Karnage was tossed the first book, a trembling tome with an agonized face of black and red lava. “The Agony Codex?”
“The Scarlet Agony is off the beaten path and should be undetectable by the enemy. And it should have a useful artifact for the plan. All you need to do is go find it and refocus your efforts on Blood-Wraith and Odo…”
“How intriguing,” Karnage said as an evil grin stretched across his face. “Well done indeed, Gudrun.”
Next she tossed a disheveled and nasty book to The Crimson God. “The Scathing codex for you, Crimson.”
He held the awful thing and grimaced. “And I’m supposed to do what with it?”
“Use those spells to throw off The Hunger of Old, as he’s getting too close to this realm.”
“Right…” Strange insects were crawling out of the hairs of the book, making him gag as he sent it away.
Gudrun then held up a leather bound grimoire that looked professionally made. “And this is for me and Hecate-The Codex of Old. With this we’ll really be able to start messing with The Spiritus Magni on Atlangea. Anne, Sebastian, I’ll need your help for this one.”
“How wonderfully done, Gudrun,” Anne complimented as she circled her. “Are you sure you don’t want to be named the heir to the Vozenilek fortune? You’re just the lady we need…”
“Save it for when we win,” she answered with an evil chuckle.
Sebastian straightened out his uniform with a subtle, maniacal grin on his face. “Then let’s get moving as I need to pay General Lundberg back in kind for ruining my plans…”
“Do not fail me again, Sebastian,” The Sepulcher God cautioned. “The General of Old is not to be taken lightly, even if he walks in the light.”
“And the rest of you don’t blow it,” Gudrun warned as she, Anne, and Sebastian stepped into a portal. “It was a hassle and a half to collect those books.”
The Sepulcher God then turned his attention to The Running God. “I trust your expedition to the Obsidian Hexecontahedron was successful?”
“For the most part… barring the parts that intersect with the True Abyss…”
The statue’s eyes shot out red beams that gave The Running God’s body a metallic sheen to it. “Now go.”
“Alright then…” he said with a sigh, dreading the parts of the hexecontahedron he would have to venture into. A warping portal that looked like a digital screen appeared that made a static hum as it was stepped into.
Karnage cackled maniacally as he reveled in his new found success. “Well this certainly makes up for having to pretend to be Morrigan’s lover!” He then snapped his fingers, opening up a portal or screaming fire. “Well, time to go see what this Scarlet Agony is all about…”
“Karnage, do not develop tunnel vision,” The Sepulcher God interjected. “If you go through with this plan and kill Blood-Wraith Raynot, my magic will not be able to protect you if he returns sanctified by God…”
Karnage laughed at how ridiculous that notion was to him. “Pardon me, but what!? How absurd! What next?! Are we going to call a ceasefire to fight censorship next!? HA!” He then vanished into his portal.
The Sepulcher God sighed. “I see that those armistice contingencies will be necessary now…”
The Crimson God was appalled by this notion. “Sepulcher! You’re not suggesting we work together with Lord Anti and The Tyrant God, are you?”
“Crimson god, I have foreseen events where chaos in certain universes destabilizes entire sections of the Cosmos. As much as I oppose God, the Cosmos is of no use to me if it’s in complete disarray.”
“Desperate times for call desperate measures, father,” Sanguine remarked as he summoned his stewards with a snap of his fingers to clean the grand hall.
Looking around with a sigh, The Crimson God realized something grave. “Karnage is going to blow it, isn’t he?”
“Not only that, but his under-the-table machinations across the Cosmos may jeopardize our plans as a whole,” The Sepulcher God lamented. “As much as The Running God betrays us, his actions are out of spite and that is something I can work with. Karnage on the other seeks power and has begun sowing the seeds of authoritarianism and tyranny across the Cosmos to such an extreme degree that it will render any timeline sterile and useless.” To hear The Sepulcher God this concerned was not a good sign in the slightest.
“Karnage has been growing more and more power hungry ever since he betrayed Wulfric,” Sanguine added.
“Then why don’t we just get rid of him or reign him in already?” The Crimson God wondered. “I’d rather my followers not be lined up against a wall and executed because Karnage is so obsessed with his ‘results’ hoohaa.”
“As much as I want to, Karnage can still be useful to us,” The Sepulcher God answered. “If he succeeds with his current plan, I will bring him to heel. If not, we’ll move onto the next plan and work towards undoing his blunders.”
The Crimson God felt a knot of anxiety for once in a rare time, only for it to be overridden by a laugh from deep down. It took a couple of tries for it to escape his mouth, but when it did he laughed the hardest he ever had. “HAHA!!! Hey, at least it’s not me messing up for once!”
Next:
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
Master Post - Patreon
In the depths of the void of the Cosmos, far beyond the reach of any sane voyage lay a hidden realm amongst a graveyard of failed universes. This realm of blood red wastelands, rusted metal forests, and screaming stars was the home of Karnage Dethgrave’s tower, and the base of operations for The Eternal Order. Standing at the top of the brutal, sight-rending tower was Karnage himself, waiting for something. He was discontent as his blood red eyes scanned the horizon, the wind blowing his long, pitch black hair around. There was a sneaking suspicion he was going to be angered that day. Not helping his mood was a giant planet approaching his realm… but he quickly realized he could have a little fun with it.
The planet was a grotesque, unholy aberration with a bulging eyeball and a creepy mouth licking its chops. Clearly it wanted to eat Karnage’s realm and was salivating at the prospect of such a delectable meal. Karnage smirked, readied a lightning bolt made of red blood, and hurled the spear as hard as he could into the eye. The planet felt nothing at first, but stopped as its face contorted into a horrified look of unimaginable pain. It then imploded on itself, collapsing into a black hole that unraveled in a screaming cacophony, becoming nothing. Strange, nigh indescribable shadow entities found themselves lost and displaced in the realm. Karnage snapped his fingers, sending a horde of monstrous shadow constructs after them.
“Oh my, quite the strike, Karnage,” A man made of metallic red crystal complimented. He was flanked by two, scarlet skinned women who were caressing his body. “Alas, we may have just killed a potential recruit…”
Karnage groaned, utterly annoyed. “Our recent string of failures are precisely because we are letting in the worthless rabble, Crimson God. It’s not about having numbers, it’s about seeking out the cream of the crop… AND WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT BRINGING YOUR FOLLOWERS INTO MY TOWER!?”
The Crimson God frowned, then snapped his fingers to send the women away. “You’re no fun… Mmm, how about I take some of that tension away then?” he cooed as he slinked around Karnage, caressing his face… Karnage’s growling was completely ignored. “We used to have so much fun back in the epoch…”
Karnage then shoved The Crimson God aside. “I don’t need pleasure! I need results…”
“Oh phooey! You've been such a stick in the mud ever since you reincarnated!”
A vein popped in Karnage’s head, as there was a certain detail that was being left out. “I’m the killjoy here? Wasn’t it you who recommended The Dead God to me?! THE ONE WHO RATTED ME OUT!?”
The Crimson God recoiled, taken aback by Karnage’s anger. “Oh come on, it was just one little mistake…”
“ONE LITTLE MISTAKE THAT SET US BACK BY SEVERAL ERAS!” Karnage was about to throttle The Crimson God when he noticed a skeletal knight in gnarled, red armor approaching. “Ah, Sanguine, what news do you have for me?”
Sanguine gave a respectful bow, not relishing the news he was about to share. “Valdemaras has returned…”
“Very good, now we can begin the next phase of the plan…”
“He returned empty handed.”
Karnage felt several more veins burst. “WHAT!?!” he roared.
“Furthermore, The Vulture God is dead…”
“WELL, THE ORDER IS ABOUT TO LOSE ONE MORE MEMBER THEN!” he shouted as he stormed past Sanguine.
Sanguine turned to The Crimson God. “You agitated him, didn’t you?”
The Crimson God ignored that question. “I assume Valdemaras also didn’t retrieve the playthings I requested?”
Sanguine had a mild look of disgust on his face as he exhaled. “Father, with all due respect, now is not the time…”
As the two made their way down to the grand hall, slamming and angry shouting could be heard. The Crimson God burst out laughing as Karnage tossed Valdemaras around and screamed obscenities at the rat. “HA, look at him beg for mercy!”
Anne gave The Crimson God a disapproving look, her red lips frowning as she fanned herself. “Wasn’t it you who recommended Valdemaras, Crimson God?” Valdemaras was slammed on the ground before them and dragged away, getting dirt all over Anne’s clothes. “AND LOOK WHAT JUST HAPPENED TO MY ELEGANT, RED DRESS!”
“Never send a rat to do a man’s job-that’s what the undesirables are for,” the brown haired German who resembled a general commented. He shared Anne’s initial disapproving look as he cracked his neck.
The Crimson God flared his nostrils, clearly annoyed. “Hold on, Sebastian! Didn’t you just fail to start World War III?”
Sebastian groaned. “Hector Fang’s death was a minor setback, as I was still able to acquire Conquest’s power…”
“Ha, ignoring the fact you got your rear handed to you by The General of Old, failed to claim the power of the other horsemen, and got kicked out of office…”
“Well then how about you get off of your ass and actually do something for once, Crimson God!?” Another god interjected. This one was a dark figure who was always shifting, appearing glitched and distorted.
“UGH, Running God! How dare you!? I’m always doing something!”
“Like sending in Valdemaras while you sit around with your perverted followers?”
“It was a tactical choice! Do you want Lord Anti and his cohorts after us?”
The Running God slammed his foot on the floor as Karnage sent Valdemaras into a wall. “You could have done this job! Void I wish there was a higher dimensional equivalent of diseases…”
“MERCY, GENERAL DETHGRAVE, MERCY!” Valdemaras screeched as Karnage stomped towards him, shaking the tower with his anger.
“NO, YOU MISERABLE WASTE OF A RAT! Not only did you get The Vulture God killed, fail to kill Lia, and lose the tower to the enemy-YOU LET BUSTER ASH GET AWAY!! WE COULD HAVE BEEN IN CONTROL OF THE COSMOS BY NOW!”
“ANOTHER CHANCE! I’ll go find Buster Ash right now! I can easily find where he is hiding! PLEASE, ONE MORE CHANCE! I BEG OF YOU!” Valdemaras pathetically pleaded.
“NO!” Karnage declared as he summoned a spiked greatsword. “You have failed me for the last time!”
As Valdemaras let out one more, ear piercing scream, Sanguine shook his head. “I’ll clean up the mess afterwards…” he said in an unenthusiastic voice.
Just as Karnage was about to strike, a sickly red chain of energy coiled around his arm, stopping his strike mid swing. The colossal statue above the entrance then began to animate, causing the tower to rumble. It was a grotesque, macabre statue of a skeletal corpse whose horror would shatter the sanity and psyche of any normal man. The eyes lit up red and it turned its head down to witness the spectacle below it.
“Master?!” Karnage questioned. “What is the meaning of this?!”
“ENOUGH, Karnage,” The Sepulcher God ordered. “Your punishment is not necessary, as I still have use for him…”
Valdemaras immediately began groveling before the abhorrent effigy. THANK YOU, MASTER! I am not worthy!”
“Return to Universe-0X and await my orders. DO NOT fail me again, Valdemaras.”
“Of course, my master, my glorious master,” he replied as he stumbled into a blood-like portal.”
Karnage growled and spat on the ground as the portal vanished, putting away his sword. “Insufferable animal, you live for now…”
“As disappointing as that failure was, we’re not finished yet,” The Sepulcher God clarified. “Gudrun?”
A woman with golden hair emerged from the shadows, carrying several books. She had a devious, clever look to her face, making her incredibly seductive in a subtle way. She looked as if she was going to tie one to a train track and smoke a cigarette while explaining how that abduction was going to lead to the collapse of the world’s economy. “I knew Valdemaras was going to drop the ball, so I did a little digging.”
Karnage was tossed the first book, a trembling tome with an agonized face of black and red lava. “The Agony Codex?”
“The Scarlet Agony is off the beaten path and should be undetectable by the enemy. And it should have a useful artifact for the plan. All you need to do is go find it and refocus your efforts on Blood-Wraith and Odo…”
“How intriguing,” Karnage said as an evil grin stretched across his face. “Well done indeed, Gudrun.”
Next she tossed a disheveled and nasty book to The Crimson God. “The Scathing codex for you, Crimson.”
He held the awful thing and grimaced. “And I’m supposed to do what with it?”
“Use those spells to throw off The Hunger of Old, as he’s getting too close to this realm.”
“Right…” Strange insects were crawling out of the hairs of the book, making him gag as he sent it away.
Gudrun then held up a leather bound grimoire that looked professionally made. “And this is for me and Hecate-The Codex of Old. With this we’ll really be able to start messing with The Spiritus Magni on Atlangea. Anne, Sebastian, I’ll need your help for this one.”
“How wonderfully done, Gudrun,” Anne complimented as she circled her. “Are you sure you don’t want to be named the heir to the Vozenilek fortune? You’re just the lady we need…”
“Save it for when we win,” she answered with an evil chuckle.
Sebastian straightened out his uniform with a subtle, maniacal grin on his face. “Then let’s get moving as I need to pay General Lundberg back in kind for ruining my plans…”
“Do not fail me again, Sebastian,” The Sepulcher God cautioned. “The General of Old is not to be taken lightly, even if he walks in the light.”
“And the rest of you don’t blow it,” Gudrun warned as she, Anne, and Sebastian stepped into a portal. “It was a hassle and a half to collect those books.”
The Sepulcher God then turned his attention to The Running God. “I trust your expedition to the Obsidian Hexecontahedron was successful?”
“For the most part… barring the parts that intersect with the True Abyss…”
The statue’s eyes shot out red beams that gave The Running God’s body a metallic sheen to it. “Now go.”
“Alright then…” he said with a sigh, dreading the parts of the hexecontahedron he would have to venture into. A warping portal that looked like a digital screen appeared that made a static hum as it was stepped into.
Karnage cackled maniacally as he reveled in his new found success. “Well this certainly makes up for having to pretend to be Morrigan’s lover!” He then snapped his fingers, opening up a portal or screaming fire. “Well, time to go see what this Scarlet Agony is all about…”
“Karnage, do not develop tunnel vision,” The Sepulcher God interjected. “If you go through with this plan and kill Blood-Wraith Raynot, my magic will not be able to protect you if he returns sanctified by God…”
Karnage laughed at how ridiculous that notion was to him. “Pardon me, but what!? How absurd! What next?! Are we going to call a ceasefire to fight censorship next!? HA!” He then vanished into his portal.
The Sepulcher God sighed. “I see that those armistice contingencies will be necessary now…”
The Crimson God was appalled by this notion. “Sepulcher! You’re not suggesting we work together with Lord Anti and The Tyrant God, are you?”
“Crimson god, I have foreseen events where chaos in certain universes destabilizes entire sections of the Cosmos. As much as I oppose God, the Cosmos is of no use to me if it’s in complete disarray.”
“Desperate times for call desperate measures, father,” Sanguine remarked as he summoned his stewards with a snap of his fingers to clean the grand hall.
Looking around with a sigh, The Crimson God realized something grave. “Karnage is going to blow it, isn’t he?”
“Not only that, but his under-the-table machinations across the Cosmos may jeopardize our plans as a whole,” The Sepulcher God lamented. “As much as The Running God betrays us, his actions are out of spite and that is something I can work with. Karnage on the other seeks power and has begun sowing the seeds of authoritarianism and tyranny across the Cosmos to such an extreme degree that it will render any timeline sterile and useless.” To hear The Sepulcher God this concerned was not a good sign in the slightest.
“Karnage has been growing more and more power hungry ever since he betrayed Wulfric,” Sanguine added.
“Then why don’t we just get rid of him or reign him in already?” The Crimson God wondered. “I’d rather my followers not be lined up against a wall and executed because Karnage is so obsessed with his ‘results’ hoohaa.”
“As much as I want to, Karnage can still be useful to us,” The Sepulcher God answered. “If he succeeds with his current plan, I will bring him to heel. If not, we’ll move onto the next plan and work towards undoing his blunders.”
The Crimson God felt a knot of anxiety for once in a rare time, only for it to be overridden by a laugh from deep down. It took a couple of tries for it to escape his mouth, but when it did he laughed the hardest he ever had. “HAHA!!! Hey, at least it’s not me messing up for once!”
Next:
ULTRAMagic Alternate © 2022 William Ford II (ChaoticTempleKnight)
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