One would think the manifold that was conception would fall apart, now that the First Dreamer Lubaeron had fallen. The self-proclaimed King of Rulers. Sole Sovereign of the Dreaming City and visionary of a quiet, serene cosmos; a dream as dead as their domain. Their death amounted to nothing. A loss of a cosmic tyrant and nothing more. Nothing unraveled once they were gone.  

The tapestry continued to evolve. The weave continued to grow. Creation persisted, ever in motion and always walking along the path of chaos. Of inevitable evolution. That is how it was. That is how it always should be. 

Change was the driving force of the universe. Of EVERY universe. There was no stopping that no matter how hard one tried. 

Yet some changes proved calamitous. Ruinous, even to those who set in motion the events that allowed for the wheels of fate to turn. A truth the Archfiend Cathay was realizing all too late after her victory over her ancient nemesis. 

She was at peace for a time. Feared by all but her own kind, and unchallenged out of fear of bringing hell upon one's homestead. Even the almighty Rulers dared not cross her, lest they suffer the same fate as their past-tense "King". His death was felt and Cathay's threat was clear. Keep out of her way and keep your life. Invoke her ire though and you forfeit everything. 

It felt good. It was wonderful. To be feared on such a scale. Why, there was no greater sense of accomplishment felt in Cathay's life. The countless gods she's killed and devoured. The kingdoms she's set to flame. None of it could compare to the murder of a Lord of the Cosmos. 

The greatest Lord at that. Her magnum opus.

It was pure bliss. Ecstasy at its finest.

But such ecstasy came at a cost. Serenity dulled the senses, and left the mind unawares over players in act. 

She was bested. Not in combat or power, but in subterfuge. 

Cathay had them in the palm of her hands. The keys to challenging those whose words and thoughts reshaped the stars. Her Tablets of Ruin; anathema to the omnipotent, now stolen from her. Snatched right from under her nose. An unthinkable act, to have stolen the weapons of one who has butchered countless. Yet they were gone. Absent from Cathay's clutches and set loose upon her own Domain.

Once more the fault fell on her shoulders. She was sloppy, and her actions proved costly. 

…the Third was dead. An entity who foresaw the fates of trillion; Alsanna of the Severed Sight, Seer of the Infinite, had been murdered… by the very same force which had stolen the Tablets of Ruin. Now some pretender was sitting on the dead Queen's throne, brandishing a crown that could not, would not, fit. The authority would not bend to them, they were no true successor, yet still they took to the throne. And the Depths bled for it. 

They were… different… Separate from the whole of the cosmos, of conception, reeking of blasphemous potential; reeking of ruination. The authority did not bend because they did not belong. The false King was an oddity. 

An anomaly

They were a byproduct of the Tablets, that had to be it. A ripple effect across the cosmos; the development of something similar to the slabs of stone, but evolved. Living and disastrous, they were weapons of meta-physical lethality. 

Walking Calamities. Were Cathay to take a guess, they were an autonomous response of creation to 'match' her heretical constructions. 

And to think, the first case of such a creature existing would be seen in a Depthborn.

She didn't deny the possibility that such beings could exist elsewhere outside the Depths. Her Tablets of Ruin were made to kill Ruler's. The ripple effect they created would have spread to even the tiniest of corners in the cosmos. 

It was just that there couldn't have been any creature brave enough, or dumb enough, to steal from her if they weren't already from her own domain. The pieces lined up too perfectly. But it couldn't have been a whelp; there was planning in this. Had there not been, had Cathay been aware of such theft the moment it occurred, Calamity or not she would have ensured her thief never lived to see their coveted crown. 

No, Whelps were hardly capable of thinking beyond their bloodlust. It was an older Depthborn. Something of an advanced enough age, capable of using Cathay's laxation against her. Humiliating to admit but it was the truth. She was caught off guard; yet not by a Primordial like herself. Yes it was something old, but still young enough that it didn't truly know the horror that was the Archfiend of the Depths. Far from being godly, yet possessing the makings of a terrifying warrior. An Elder perhaps. One upon the precipice of advancing in coveted evolution. The midway point of the Depthborn hierarchy. Powerful, intelligent, but often too reliant on underhanded methods to get ahead despite their formidable strength. Most Elders possessed "lackies". A pack which followed their order, unwilling though it might be. This one did not seem to have such numbers at their disposal, otherwise Cathay would have sensed them over their master. 

Whatever the case was, the Archfiend's tablets had been taken from her. Stolen to bleed a Queen dry and usurp her power. Worst still, the bold Thief had reshaped the very slabs Cathay's blasphemous words were written upon; refit into weapons which tore and mutilated the flesh of all things. 

Sorrowful armaments forged from ruin. It was almost enough to impress the Archfiend. Such change took more than a bit of skill, and far more intelligence in the arcane arts than even some of creation's oldest entities might possess. 

Still, it was a basic attempt at understanding the ontological atrocities of Cathay's designs. No doubt it was a soul who followed in her footsteps. A beast who sought to evolve and rise in power, perhaps to the status of Primordial. An impossibility as none could replicate the conditions which allowed the Depths first kings and queens to ascend, and when this was learned the little Thief's eyes turned to a power fit to challenge the chiefest of existence. 

The very same power which had upended Lubaeron's rule; reduced his reign to ash and bone. 

Now that poison had been turned against the Deep Wastes. The death of Alsanna was just a catalyst. Everything began to fall apart after that. 

With the death of its Ruler and a false king upon the throne, those of the Depths turned against one another in an attempt to find a 'true monarch'. No Domain has lost as many Rulers as the Deep, and thus its place in totality would be questioned. Challenged. For a kingdom ruled by strength and unbridled power, to have so many of their strongest fall so often was a sign of eventual weakness. Exploitation. The folly in relying on bloodlust alone. 

A mistake which could prove fatal if left without remedy. 

The Depths were not the Heavens. It needed a ruler to exist. To maintain balance between the battle hungry. It needed a strong hand to guide it. The throne was not coveted, but one greater than all the other rabble must take it. It was the only path towards survival. 

It was a needed sacrifice. One that even the Primals, those who stood to lose the most from gaining supreme power, understood. So they fought, endlessly, for an unwanted crown. All denizens of the Depths fought, yet there were no battles more devastating than those fought between two Primordials. Between titanic bodies, whole clusters of nebulae were birthed and burnt away as opposing powers clashed. Gods and Devils dared not intervene, nor did any rivaling domain think to turn their attention against the Deep. It was not their place to intervene, and really many were just hoping the Deep Wastes would end itself. 

These grand beings who have lived since before the dawning of space and time tore each other apart, desperately seeking the mightiest who might challenge the False King. 

One death turned to ten. Then from ten a hundred more fell. Over and over again, as worlds faded into obscurity before being born anew, the Royalty of the Depths fell in cluster after cluster. Decades turned into centuries, and centuries into millennia. The eldest fell, either at the claws of their betters or the blades of the False King. 

A hundred deaths turned into a thousand, and a thousand into hundreds of thousands. These legendary beasts who had existed within the Primordial Chaos prior to creation, struggled to give themselves physical form, continued to fall. All doomed to sleep eternally. 

Sill, despite their dwindling numbers, the fighting did not cease. There was no end to the bloodshed. Not until the Thief King laid dead, and a true Ruler took the crown.  

But none could touch them. Were it so simple they would have already been dealt with. Cathay's conceptual abominations turned weapons made short work of any who thought to defy the Thieving Ruler, and unfortunately the Primordials were found among those numbers. 

They did not respect the Calling to challenge the throne as well. They did not respect the strength of their challengers, instead choosing to use the power their venomous tools granted them. 

It became clear that this ascended Elder coveted and maintained their throne with zealous paranoia, striking out against those who might wrestle away control from them. There were none more capable of that than the Primals, and likely this Ruler wouldn't stop until such forces were gone from the cosmos altogether; so as to maintain their false sense of power.

It was through blind luck that Cathay remained unnoticed, but as the Tablets were her creation that would not last forever. She imagined that the Thieving King painted her as the greatest threat to his throne, seeing as she was the killer of Lubaeron, and though she's avoided conflict up until now it would not be long before the Depths' bloody civil war found her. 

So Cathay fled. Hid herself away on dead worlds where nary a star could be seen in the sky. Planets in creation that lacked any life upon them, either through mass extinction or other means. There was nothing to bleed dry on such worlds, and thus the Deep had no interest in them. They made for a good shelter. An escape from the conflict. Temporary; only serving long enough that hopefully the Archfiend could plot some solution to this mess that she’s made. 

Cathay used silent, empty cities as her bedspread, allowing her mind to drift and scheme as structures were flattened under her form. The destruction of even a few miniscule structures wasn’t a necessity, and if anything else it was merely an escape from current circumstances. She could savor the taste of towering monuments, or crunch them beneath her heels as much as she wished, these misfortunes upon the Depths were of her own design; unintentional though they may be. 

She was at fault, and a great many knew this. Thus the issue fell upon her. Cathay needed a plan. A lead. Something, anything, which may bring an end to the False King and restore some semblance of order to the Deep, or whatever it is that keeps the whole domain from tearing itself apart. She wanted the thief who had made a fool of her dead. And humiliatingly she couldn’t be the one to kill them. 

What the Archfiend needed was someone on her side. A warrior of similar nature to the Calamity turned Tyrant. Defiant of the all-powerful. Slayer of the Omnipotent. An anomaly to manipulate was the ideal weapon needed. Dangerous… but malleable if one planned far enough ahead. 

So she followed rumors. Small ones, detailing the possible whereabouts of such warriors. The Depths were not the only kingdom to possess such anomalies, and it was very likely that the various domains of totality housed their own types of metaphysical abominations. All that was needed was one willing fighter. A sacrifice to the False King, to kill him and then themselves die. 

There was already a lead of noteworthy interest. A young leviathan raining mayhem on some off-shoot world in the far corner of the cosmos. Bloodthirsty and caring only for the carnage of battle, they seemed ideal for molding if indeed the rumors were true. 

But one warrior alone would not be enough. Not when the whole of the Depths was in a frenzy. Calamities were strong, but the unending numbers of whelps and elders were enough to whittle away at any defense other than a Rulers. Cathay needed allies. Powerful ones; those like herself who have persisted since the dawning of conception. She needed her fellow Royals by her side if she wanted this to work. Not all of them, but just enough that their chances of victory increased; even if ever so slightly. A task easier said than done. If anything, most primals would view the Archfiend with resentment as it was her who brought this chaos upon them all. Still, even if only a few rallied to her side, she could make this work. 

There was a solution to all of this, Cathay just needed to find it. She needed time, as well as rest. A dead world made for a serene surrounding, and though it lacked some coveted warmth hopefully it would provide the clarity the Archfiend needed to map out her path forward. 

In time. All things in time. Cathay only had to move forward, same as she’s always done. Dauntless, without fear, without equal. 

Unbending to whatever the cosmos may have waiting for her. 

***

Cathay's mind was aflutter, unable to think straight as Valerie had her way with the dwarf-sized Ruler. Carried away into the apartment's bedroom, the two women wasted no time in exercising Their idea of fun. The Ruler's shirt had been pulled free of their body, leaving behind only a black laced bra that did little to hide away the lashes from previous ‘escapades’. Trophies all. Beauty marks which were treasured truly. Just as she could be gentle, Valerie could also be fierce in her foreplay, and each little bruise or burn upon the Ruler’s body was enjoyed immensely by both parties. No creature so fragile should leave such markings upon one so grand, and yet here they were relishing in such macabre glory. 

Though despite the frightening creativity of the Human’s mind, the devices she’d use in building up her Lover’s lust, there was no tool she enjoyed more than her own hands. Her fingers to be precise. A method of stimulation which Cathay had come to learn and love in great detail. 

Valerie was delicate at first, tenderly toying at the lower lips of the Ruler's body. Enough stimuli to earn herself a soft moan, teeth upon the lower lip, or the minor twitch of a finger. Cathay was teased with, toyed, tied down and tantalized, but never out of malice. Faux cruelty perhaps, but nothing was ever forced. 

Valerie tempered it to what was wanted. Desired. Needed. The service of the "Master", to their servant. A gift and a pleasure. 

Cathay submitted, but it was Valerie who expertly served. 

Even when thrusting her fingers more forcefully in between shaking legs, the human never pushed beyond what she knew was necessary. Even as the Ruler's panting grew more bothered, rapid in succession and cessation, she always took care to monitor her Beloved's expression. Keeping an eye out for anything awry. 

But in looking towards the Ruler to ensure the pleasure was guaranteed, the kind but naive human failed to realize the purpose over what she held in her fingers. What she used to stimulate her pet. 

Chilled metal, misshapen and silver. An angel turned necklace, now reduced to little more than a toy for the two Goddesses' amusement. 

What wonderfully shrill screams flooded Cathay's ears. Cries that went unheard by Valerie, yet served to aid them all the same in their current endeavor. Though the unfortunate Bird had done nothing to earn such treatment, the lustful usage of their bound body was too wonderful an opportunity to pass up on. 

"Goodness, you've gotten so wet Cath~." Valerie mused with a lascivious grin. Her fingers needed no aid in pleasing her cosmic girlfriend, there was lubrication aplenty. "If I didn't know any better, you said what you said before because you wanted this to happen."

"Well don't worry, my lovely little Lord. Let your Star take away all your worries~."

Cathay couldn't so much as utter a single word. She didn't need to. In between the squelching heard below, the Ruler could hear as the silver skinned Watcher was thrust within her before being pulled free, if only just to repeat the process until climax was reached. Torment that was far too good for their kind, but who was Cathay to deny her Queen this glorious opportunity. 

Though unaware of her necklace's true properties, Valerie had suggested they use the Ruler's favored piece of jewelry as their means of enjoyment. A singular request that set Cathay's molten eyes ablaze. 

With her arms wrapped around her drastically smaller lover, Valerie kept Cathay close with one hand while the other went to work. It offered a clear glimpse into the rapid heart paces behind her chest; a sign that merely instigating such sinful acts was almost enough for the human. 

Almost…

Cathay thought to close her eyes, to rest for but a moment, but was met with a sharp pull of her cheek. 

"Don't fall asleep on me just yet," Valerie warned, her grin widening to a toothy, borderline sadistic smirk. "Don't think you're the only one who gets to have fun. That small body of yours is so cute. I just wanna sit on it. See if it can handle the pressure~."

Practically an insult when coming from the lips of any other being. But from her Star, from Valerie? It was an invitation towards ecstasy. 

That is what this was. The finest ecstasy, the most pure of bliss. There was no competition. This is what Cathay had craved. This is what she yearned for. No more planning. No more plotting. Just living in the moment, alongside one who she was more than glad to live it with. 

In between thrusts, Cathay could barely form words. Despite being capable of annihilating entire clusters of galaxies with a thought she found herself powerless against one who couldn't even be considered an atom when compared to her. And she loved every moment of it. 

The terrifying, mighty, and widely feared Archfiend enjoyed being used as some toy. 

"F…for you… m..my Queen… a… aaahn… any…thing…"

For a moment Cathay's wings materialized and fluttered, trying to wrap around the Human's body but failing to due to their difference in size. Caught up in the moment the duo had forgotten that factor quickly enough. An easy fix as the moment after, Cathay returned to her "normal" height and remained seated in Valerie's lap; her weight finely distributed so that no discomfort of any form fell upon the Human as a result of the sudden alteration. With their Lover's fingers still in between her legs, the Ruler's fiery gaze met the alluring eyes of her partner. 

"J…just name it… and… and it's yours…"

Valerie's grin softened as she pulled free her digits from Cathay's lower mouth, unintentionally leaving behind their necklace to continue wallowing in despair. They rested their hand upon the Ruler's cheek, allowing them to lay their head upon her palm despite the lubricant still staining it. An admittedly lovely taste as Cathay's longer than average tongue slipped from between her lips to lick at her Beloved's fingers. 

"How about you? Is that something you can grant?" The bold woman asked, well aware that Cathay was already hers and hers alone. 

Slipping her tongue back into her mouth, Cathay chuckled. She was enraptured by the simplicity and genuine affection in Valerie's request. 

"With ease my Dear~." 

As the two embraced, the world shrank away. The bedroom of the apartment was in itself a universe of its own. One that did not matter so long as the two were by each other's side. Time held no meaning, as did the ancient past of the Archfiend. Not in the here and now. Not at this moment. 

The screams of the angel below died down eventually, their mind or spirit finally breaking. It didn't matter which. Nothing but this embrace mattered. 

But as the two Lover's continued in their lustful care of one another, a realization dawned. The world… had indeed truly shrunken away. Faded, in truth, would be a more appropriate word. All but the bed the two women laid on top of remained, and as the pair pulled away they were met with oblivion. A vast empty expanse of nothingness. Infinite. Endless. There was no light here. No source of sound. Only a chill that penetrated beyond flesh and bone, body and mind. Deeper. Natural. The ever present fear of the unknown. 

But despite the strange setting Cathay and Valerie now found themselves in, neither woman was wary. If anything, they even seemed annoyed. In their moment of distraction they were pulled away from reality. Taken elsewhere. And neither one appreciated that. 

A vein formed over the Ruler's brow as Valerie reached beneath a pillow atop her bed, pulling out a box of cigarettes and lighter. 

"Well, that's certainly a mood killer." she noted as she took a drag from a freshly lit cigar. Puffing out a plume of smoke, Valerie reached out to offer the currently fuming Ruler a hit. When their offer wasn't even registered however it was taken back with a shrug. "Yeah, I know. 'They' couldn't have picked a worse time to drop in."

Up above, a mass took shape. Pale flesh that undulated alongside the resonating thump of a heartbeat. Black veins formed across its surface, growing rapidly and expanding outward as it took on a more defined, if not grotesque, shape. Still, despite the macabre scene Valerie was hardly taken aback by what she was witnessing. Only a few short months into her relationship with the Archfiend of the Depths and already she was used to such sights. Especially in the case of the 'company' Cathay kept. Right now, Valerie was more annoyed if anything, though her annoyance was nowhere near the anger her Girlfriend felt. 

Such theatrics had a time and place. The present was NOT one of them. "You know, I always appreciate a visit from you Ordy, but you couldn't have picked a worse time." 

It wasn't long before the mass of flesh had finished its transformation, revealing the Pale God Ordegash in all their horrid glory. No longer restricting themselves to their human form, the Primordial of the Deep had instead assumed their original visage. A towering, malnourished, and blind mass of bleached meat and tendrils; vaguely humanoid and possessing two mouths. Alien in appearance, yet they were in no way feared by the two women. Quite the opposite, they were rather irritated by the godly being's presence.

The bones within Ordegash's jaws cracked as one mouth opened. "My apologies, mistress Valerie. I did not mean to intrude." 

"The Ruler is needed. Her command required. The Depths stir once more." The other mouth explained, a larger hint of assertiveness present. 

"The duty of my Ruler calls. I am afraid it cannot be ignored."

Their mannerisms and pattern of speech had improved considerably since arriving on Earth. Enough that now Valerie could follow along with what Ordegash was saying, though she didn't like what she heard. Work was calling Cathay away, and on a night where they were both meant to be free. 

Before anyone could speak further, the world around all three quickly returned to normal. The vast void which had encircled the trio had been violently torn away, replaced with the familiar surroundings of Valerie's bedroom. The floorboards pieced together as the walls surrounding the trio rose from below to take their place, wallpaper and all. Before long everything was as it should be, and the only thing now out of place was Ordegash themselves; shrunken down and reduced to a size no more than a bloated slug. 

"To blazes with my duties! Do you have any idea what you just interrupted?!?" Cathay finally asked, her anger finally getting the better of her. Moving closer to the edge of the bed, the Ruler's leg swung over the Primordial before having her foot crash down beside them. A few inches more to the right and the Pale Terror would have found themselves flattened. Alive, yes, but adhered to the bottom of their Majesty's sole and likely used as some means of stress relief. Thankfully, in no future Ordegash saw, did they suffer the same humiliation as the Angel above. 

No, any punishment on their head was more… permanent. Still that did little to terrify the Primal being. 

"A time of passion and love." The Pale God replied. "Carnal desire. Needed. Wanted. It will have to wait. The Ruler's duties come first. As do her 'instructions'." 

Cathay's fury diminished slightly upon hearing Ordegash's words. They would not be here had they not already completed their task. At least in part. The retrieval of one of her artifacts, once scattered to keep them out of the hands of those that might misuse them once again, herself included. Even the return of one was worthy of attention, and though the Ruler was annoyed beyond words she was not going to punish an assignment completed.

"You know damn well that wasn't what I meant…" Cathay eventually managed a steady hold of her fury, practicing lessons in breathing to curb her anger. She looked to Valerie, the Human already aware of her needed departure. Even then they still managed a smile, saddened though it may be. "My Star, I am sorry. This cannot wait. It's… important…"

Admirably, Valerie managed to choke back her disappointment with another drag of her cigarette. She kept it in for some time, allowing her thoughts to settle before exhaling. "It's fine," she muttered. Though it hurt to say, Valerie knew the duties Cathay needed to take care of. The kind of job that made her struggles as a freelance writer seem childish by comparison. She was in no position to complain. "Just try not to take too long, okay? Then maybe that way we can pick up where we left off?" 

With a somber smile, Cathay nodded. She stood up from the bed as her wings unfolded, sprouting free from her back. For a moment, the Ruler's body disappeared behind the expanse of the wing's membrane, only to reappear again once they retracted. Fully clothed in an attire more suited to Cathay's current tastes, and cleaned of any foreign material she might have procured during foreplay, the Ruler stood ready to depart. 

"I won't take long," Cathay promised as she adorned her shades. "I just need to address my court."

A duty that was despised, though mostly for the point that she's hardly ever needed to call together a meeting of her kin. There was only one point before where she had done so, and that was prior to taking the crown of the Deep. Her experience in this matter was lacking, but it needed to be done. As Ordegash said, these duties needed to come first. Especially when they pertained to matters of the utmost importance. 

With a snap of her fingers, Cathay returned Ordegash to a size more fitting for the small space present in the bedroom. She even went as far as to force upon them the gaunt appearance of their human form, though this was done so more out of spite than necessity. "Stay here with Valerie. Do as she wants when it is wanted. The rest of the court don't need to learn of your sudden 'departure' from your hole of a prison, nor my involvement with you."

As far as the rest of the twelve Primals were concerned, Ordegash was still locked away in the Depths. Contained, per the orders of old Alsanna. The knowledge of the self proclaimed 'Sole Order of the Depths' was dangerous. So much so that Cathay's predecessor deemed it too risky to allow the Primordial free reign in the cosmos. So they were locked away, surviving the near extinction of the Depths' Royalty as a result. Only recently were they freed, and in no small part thanks to Cathay's age-old friend Gilah. 

At the very least they were reasonable enough. Quick to serve and unlikely to argue. Trustworthy as far as Cathay was concerned. 

The Pale God bowed, understanding what was asked of them and having already foreseen the request. "As you wish."

Turning her back towards the two, Cathay was initially hesitant to depart. She wanted nothing more than to stay behind, remain with her Beloved, but this was too important an issue to ignore. Ordegash played their part, now Cathay needed to begin hers. There was just no avoiding that. 

One fraction of a moment, that was all it took for the Archfiend to vanish completely. Disappearing right before Valerie's very eyes. She was saddened, obviously, but understanding of her Lover's tasks. Some things just couldn't be overlooked. 

Especially when your duty allowed you the power to command the very stars. Reshape the heavens and earth, and bring about creation or destruction. Cathay's throne didn't really allow for 'time off'. It was a miracle her and Valerie could even have this. Their relationship. 

But sometimes, more often now that she had a clearer idea of who she was dating, Valerie wished she could be of some sort of aid to her cosmic girlfriend. Not just a shoulder to lean on from time to time, but someone that could more readily be relied on. An idiotic thing to wish for. She was only human after all. Just what matters could she possibly help with if her only trait worth mentioning was writing?

It was just circumstances Valerie needed to accept. Some things were just out of her grasp. 

She was just about ready to resign for the night when, unexpectedly, Ordegash offered a hand out towards her. Valerie watched on in curiosity, a brow raised; questioning the Primal's intentions. 

Not a word was said, but there was an intention felt. A different course of action. To ensure the Human's desires were met. As were the instructions given by their Ruler.  

To do as Valerie wants when it was wanted, even if not spoken vocally. And there was nothing they wished for more than to remain by Cathay's side, offer what help she could, even if it meant diving head first into whatever or wherever it was they were headed. 

Valerie did not decline the offer. She took Ordegash's hand, allowing her vision to be whisked away. 

As it was longed for. 

So it would be granted. 

This viewing of an audience between kings and queens.

***

A world torn asunder. The walls of its grand cities, shattered. The knowledge of a thousand generations reduced to idle echoes of an unsung civilization. 

Cathay walked through its halls at a size far beneath what was her greatest of scales. A speckish frame when compared to that of a god of the Deep. But there was no other way for her to walk about unbothered. To go about enjoying the detail of some finer constructs without burying them all underneath the shadow of her foot falls. To walk here at her truest of sizes would be to blanket what remained of cities and states in a few short steps. Enticing, but counterproductive to Cathay's search. She needed her warrior of renown to challenge the False King, and it served no one were the horizon of this world's rising crimson sun to be eclipsed behind her body.  

So she walked in the shoes of atoms. Lesser things that couldn't dream to measure against even a single cell of her being. Stepped through vibrant halls of cracked marble and shattered stone. 

And strange though it may seem, she… appreciated the work that had likely gone into the creation of so many marvels. A great many were eye-catching. Hoard worthy. She even took to wearing their fine garments as a fair deal fit her taste. It was almost a shame that the cosmos would be deprived of such wealth. Not monetary baubles, but true culture. That in itself was priceless. 

Of course the destruction of such creativity was favored among certain souls, not just those of the Deep. While there was beauty in the art which an enlightened people could create, the same could be said of its destruction. No matter how glorious a marble structure was, or how fine the strokes of brushes proved to be, nothing was ever truly timeless. Anything could falter. 

Cathay had seen it time and time again. 

Her one iota of advice; do not waste an eternity mulling over the dead, be they people or culture. Time slithered onward endlessly, unforgiving, even in the very heart of oblivion. 

And it wasn't long before time caught up with the Archfiend, and the world around her began to shake and stir. 

Like an earthquake that shook what was left of the ruins, it threatened to destroy all that remained. Only through the Archfiend's grace were the desolate structures allowed to retain their faltering shape. Call it some form of wishful thinking, but perhaps in time some space faring species of travelers would settle upon this fractured world. Learn from the mistakes of their predecessors, grow in more than just the architectural arts. Rise in strength as well as spirit. Provide a challenge for those who seek destruction. 

Again, wishful thinking. 

Alas, that was the future. Now was the present, where choices mattered. What would come next was what truly carried worth, and soon enough Cathay found herself blanketed in the shadow of another. The prize of her searching and seeking out rumors. 

An odd feeling to be sure, as often she was the largest being planetside, but not entirely unwelcome. A strange reversal of roles that allowed her the chance to truly take in the scale that was the titan rising from the rubble of their conquest; basking in the glory of the kill no doubt. Reveling in the death delivered, though stunningly not in regards to the demise of the artisan world. They, as it would happen, were the unfortunate victims of fatal cross fire. 

Peppering the crust of the planet were countless dead, titans all. Their bodies pierced upon mountain tops, or staining the waters of oceans all the way to the bedrock at the bottom. The blood and bodies of all those who thought to challenge this gladiator of gore. This wrathful warrior of war. This… Butcher of the Deep. 

They blanketed country sides. Flattened counties. In their death they gave this world its parting masterpiece. 

Finality in calamity. 

"Impressive…"

Cathay was at a loss for words. Such carnage was unexpected by anything other than a Primal such as herself. Even an Ancient of the Depths would find itself hard pressed to face off against so many of such power. And yet here they all were, ripped to shreds by one single soul. 

It was glorious. 

"Truly… truly incredible…"

The brutality of a Calamity was without comparison it would seem. This was already well known through the False King of the Deep’s actions. But to see such violence exercised by another, one likely much younger than the rueful Ruler, was enthralling. Regardless of what corpses were strewn about, be they conqueror, sovereign, god, and or devil, they fell all the same in the end; and though the Butcher was likely exhausted beyond words, their titanic form showing signs of fatigue that could only come from such a grand feat of savagery, that did not take anything away from the glory she likely felt in this mass murder.

"Perfection…" 

Visions of her first star appeared before the Archfiend once more. The way it captivated her much in the same way she was captivated now. 

Not only was Cathay taken aback by the destruction present, she was enamored by the physical beauty of this barbarian aswell. This beast carried with them a frame of body as feminine and as alluring as her own form, though fiercer and currently more powerful physically. The product of what was evidently centuries of combat experience. Non-stop struggles that refined an already formidable warrior. And it was magnified to such an extent at the Archfiend's current size that it seemed almost maddening that something so wondrous could exist despite bearing no signs of evolution. 

A Mako Brawler through and through. Potent behemoths that craved battle despite their normally alluring appearances. Lures for the foolish and blind; nothing remained of the victims of the Mako. This specimen in particular possessed the most wonderful of eyes and hair, which itself clung to the pale skin and scales of their exposed flesh. Whereas the former was of the brightest shade of magenta, the very window into the warrior's powerful heart, their hair was as blue as many a grand clear sky, speckled now with the blood of countless. Both worked in tandem of one another, complementing their features by giving the whole of the body an almost ethereal glow. A trick of the senses and nothing more, and yet it only added to the beauty the Archfiend was witness to.  

Cathay was speechless… smitten on the spot. She didn’t even think it was possible to feel such a way, in such a manner, and in such a small period of time. Though no doubt countless of eternities older than the mountain sized beauty she gawked at, the Archfiend still found herself enamored. Her black heart beated faster than it has in centuries. Not even the murder of Lubaeron brought about such… vigor. She was fixated, plain and simple. So much so that, in time, relentless whispers began to make themselves known to the wide eyed Primal, reminding her of the task at hand. 

This was no deity to be worshiped. The young Mako was a warrior meant to be thrown at the False King, so that the two may kill one another with their abominable natures. Their internal laws against the laws of conception.

Echoes cried out in the back of the Primordial's mind. They lashed out and pressed her forward towards the goal, forgetting their place and insisting on the haste of Cathay's assignment. This was just one of the many reasons why she, for the longest of times, preferred to work alone. Away from the ceaseless bickering of her kin. 

She growled, only once, for the insistent chatter to die down completely and allow for her continued observation. Though allies had been found in the conquest against the throne of the false Ruler, Cathay couldn’t help but lament the constant arguing between them all. Though the epitome of power within the Deep, and likely across the vast cosmos as a whole, their origins were still as strong as ever. The need for conflict, the desire for carnage, it was all there. And though the Primordial ones rarely gave into such temptations, having long since learned to refine their bloodlust, recent events have pushed ancient vices into resurfacing. 

They wanted to kill the King. Free the Depths of their clutches and allow for one more worthy of the throne to take it. But each of the Primals who allied themselves with Cathay, the strongest of their numbers, knew that to challenge their Ruler now, as they sat with the Archfiend’s wretched tools close at hand, would be to invite death upon themselves. So they needed to exercise patience, if only just to ensure their survival. 

Still, that understanding did little to hamper their constant bickering, and only through the constant noise was Cathay continuously reminded of her duties. Tasks which, now, she saw an end to.  

With some difficulty, she managed to get a hold over her beating heart, placing a hand over her breast to soothe what rested beneath it. "So… this is the Butcher I've heard rumors of?" Cathay watched as the warrior stood to her full height. Small when compared to others of her kind, only a few several dozen meters when compared to the true leviathans of the cosmos, that only added to the feat of this planet’s demise. There were few things as impressive as killing those hundreds of times your size; and likely she would grow in time, reaching heights on par with her much larger kin. "How exquisite"

This brute couldn’t be any more than a few thousands of years of age. One who had just advanced beyond the age of whelp. And to think, they possessed this much power at such a young age, alongside features uncanny amongst the masses. They were an anomaly through and through. 

Nothing to a Primal admittedly, but perhaps through passing ages they’d attain strength on par if not greater than most Ancients. And at a rate much faster than the common rabble. 

"Oh yes, she will do very nicely…"

Her transformation was sudden, though reasonably contained as Cathay shot up to a much more impressive stature. Something more appropriate for one of her reputation. Of course nothing near her full height, she wouldn’t want to flatten the unaware Butcher in a sudden and unintentional step, but enough to where they seemed like a child below kneecaps. 

Not at all expecting the sudden arrival of one so massive, the now much smaller Butcher staggered backward before assuming a fighting stance. She bared her teeth and extended her claws as the gills surrounding her neck flared. The warrior’s pupils narrowed as all she saw before her was another enemy to fell, undaunted by the clear difference in size and power. Cathay towered over them, along with the ruins that crumbled beneath the emerald flesh of her soft soles. Utterly annihilated, yet that was the furthest thing from her mind. 

They were wounded, tired, but still unwilling to back down from any sort of fight. The characteristics of one with strength capable of rising to the status of legends. Cathay glared down at them, amused and impressed as a wry smile edged upward on the corner of her lips. 

“Brave. Indomitable! I understand well why rumors were spread of you~” 

The Archfiend kneeled down before the Butcher, her form still placing them in her shadow but allowing for easier conversation. As she did, those very corpses which had been scattered across the battlefield that was this world began to rise. Five in total, each emitting off an odious aura that only served to place the young Mako on high alert. Their forms shifted, mutated, growing into beasts most foul. Pseudo Depth monstrosities that served as the proxy for something great. 

Something much… much greater. 

Avatars to the very Primals which Cathay had allied herself with, all curious to see this rising legend for themselves, working of their own accord against their Leader's possible wishes. 

It was all far too much for the one Butcher to handle alone. But despite the deeper senses that were shouting of the danger she was in, no harm was bound to befall her. Instead, with her titanic finger, Cathay placed a nail below the Mako's chin. They moved their gaze upwards, until magenta eyes met those of molten fury, silent and contained. Cathay’s wings unfurled and fluttered with wild abandon, an act which drew the curiosity of her peers. In the eyes of the Warrior it was a display of power, as each beating of her wings akin to a furious gale. In the eyes of the five Avatars present, it was an indication of fixation. Emotion which the Archfiend hid behind a malicious grin. 

“I suppose you believe we’re here to end you, Little Warrior? Kill you for your great many crimes?” Though no answer was given, none was really needed. Cathay could see it in the smaller Depthborn’s eyes. Acceptance over these circumstances. A good death was its own reward, and they’d gladly accept it. Fortunately, they would not die this day. At least not at the hands which propped her gaze upward. “As fortune would have it, that is not the goal. No Little One, we have a need for you specifically.”

There was curiosity, that much was clear. Though no fear could be seen, in its absence there was only wonder. Not of the strength which might one day be her own, the Young Mako knew her might would never compare to the Primal before her. Instead, inquiry over what the Gods of the Deep could want from her. 

“You haven’t lashed out. Good. That means you’re willing to listen.” Cathay liked that. Normally, those of this Warrior's age lashed out against all things, Primals included. It did not matter how dangerously outclassed they were, they never backed away from a fight. Though those traits were apparent in the carnage present, a weighty intelligence gave way to interest unseen in younglings eyes. 

The Mako Warrior never spoke. Never uttered a single word. She only listened, waited, taking in all that was said to her with cold comprehension. 

“We, the kings and queens of the Deep, have need of you, Young Calamity. Of your odd nature, and the wounds you can yield in so short an amount of time.”

“We need you to kill a monarch. Our Monarch to be precise.”  Cathay revealed. There was a moment where the Butcher’s eyes grew wide at the revelation. Surprise at such a heresy for a position believed sacred. Being so young though, they likely grew up under this King’s rule. They knew of no other who had sat on top of the throne. Thankfully, there was no outright denial. Cathay could see the interest behind those wondrous magenta globes. 

“I know you, Mako. I know your kind, your progenitor. One of my kin, though long dead now. They made you to fight. You, and all your brothers and sisters. No opponent is too great for the fury of the Mako, and what foe is greater than a Ruler of the Cosmos? Are you the same as your kin? Will you kill the unkillable through your nature alone?”

The Warrior fell silent, closing her eyes as she allowed herself to fall deep to thought. The other Primal’s stirred, their resurrected forms continuing to mutate further to better fit their true selves. If, for even a moment, it seemed as though their key to victory would not cooperate than they were more than willing to strike them down. An event only kept at bay by Cathay herself, her superior might be the only thing keeping the five in check. 

Eventually, their worries were proven to be for naught as the Whelp opened her eyes… and smiled. 

“Yes.”

The chance of such glory was too irresistible to pass up, as Cathay had predicted. The mother of the Mako was much the same way, even before Cathay ripped their beating, blackened heart from their chest. 

Though her physical attraction to this beauty of a barbarian remained steady, it was their mind which proved most interesting. Though more intelligent than those of their age, their mind was still young. Malleable. 

Easily fooled. 

Coerced into a fight that would end in mutually assured destruction. This way Cathay could wipe out two threats to the Deep in one fell swoop. 

Cunning at its finest.

Deception worthy of a crown. 

***

There in the deepest dark, she stood at the precipice of savagery. At the very bottom of the sea, at levels further below anything man could ever hope to explore, the Ruler of the Depths rose above a point of pitch black. A chasm that stretched on without end. A gate between the world that belonged to the apes, Earth, and her home. Her kingdom and territory. 

Despite being submerged in the lowest point of the planet's oceans, Cathay was not bothered by the pressure which assaulted her. In truth, she hardly even noticed it to be there. Like the wind hoping to tip over a vast mountain range, it couldn’t even be registered as a bother. She watched on, her form unchanged in size, and clothing as dry as they were on land despite the probable trillions of tons of water which surrounded her. She only observed… and waited. 

This breach, this gate as some earthbound Leviathans might call it, has remained within the lowest point of Earth’s oceans for countless generations. Since before man discovered fire and stone it had remained. Timeless, it had broken through here in an era before the time of man and it would remain long after they've died out. The breach was vibrant once, volatile. A fresh invitation for the horrors of Cathay's home. Now it was cold and silent; awake but refined. Honed to withstand the test of time until it was tempered beyond the point of collapse. Hardened to never be closed by unworthy forces. Only Cathay herself or her fellow Primals could close this breach now, and she held no intention of doing such a thing. 

The Ruler raised a finger towards the great chasm, ready to cross it across the inky blackness before her until, for the briefest of moments, her attention was drawn away. 

Her eyes darting towards the shadows of the pitch black ocean floor, she picked up on the melody of something… old. Far younger than herself of course, but old enough to have seen the history of this planet unfold. An echo, a phantom, hidden among the fields of deep sea mountains, and keeping to the shadows as though that would protect them from her.

They were watching, analyzing, and weighing the threat the Archfiend posed. Curiosity, anxiety; Their thoughts were laid bare. 

Ancient, wizened, blind yet enlightened to so much more than sight could allow, whatever lurked here in the deep dark was well aware of the nature of this tear in the manifold. A self appointed guardian, as seen through glimpses of the unseen creature's mind. Large, but far from the scale of even a whelp, and thus was far from suited for combat. They possessed separate means of protection however, as evident through their remarkable capabilities of concealment. A messenger of ruination? Or the first one to call against any coming calamity?

It didn’t matter. 

Regardless of how hard one might try to hide, there was no concealing yourself from the Archfiend. Even without a crown such an attempt would prove fruitless, and Cathay had killed many who thought to hide themselves away from her gaze. Greater have tried and failed, and it only took one glance in the unseen onlookers direction for the unknown sea beast to realize the danger they were in and flee. Back to whatever crater or hole they dwelled within. 

No chase would be given. As it were, Cathay was not here to enjoy herself. Turning her attention back towards her objective, she focused only on the duty which needed to be upheld. There was no time for even the most infinitesimal of distractions.  

Tracing her finger across the breach once more, the whole expanse came to life after countless years of dormancy, awakening in a violent yet beautiful display of unknowable, unthinkable colors. A temporary revitalization, the gate would return to its slumber in time. But for where she needed to go, the tear between Earth and the Depths must remain open. At least for now. 

The energies of the breach pulsated outward, expanding further into the planet's crust, taking ancient sediment into itself but also replacing what was lost with its own. Flora and fauna only found in the more docile portions of the Deep Wastes. Luminescent and wondrous, they mutated the ocean floor at a rapid pace, allowing the tear to better integrate itself into Earth's very being; making the two points of separate realities appear as one. Crossing over, bleeding, spilling into the universe through this one cut within creation. A means of simpler travel for one who did not simply wish to blink herself across uncountable dimensions. 

Cathay reached out towards the pulsating colors, grasping the violent energies as though it were little more than string to be toyed with. She felt it in Her very bones, the call and song of home. Its lure. Its draw. A melody known to all of Her ilk. Cathay's mind reached out through the connection, flowing through every cavern of the Depths infinite girth, crossing over the uncountable bestial minds of lesser Depthborn until she reached those who might hear her call; her voice. 

Her order. 

The command of a Ruler. 

They refused her at first, instead preferring continued slumber. An unconscious insult that was quickly met with rising ire. Cathay's body tensed up as reddened veins crackled across her arms and eyes. The whole of her being pulsed outward, a sudden shock that was felt by all within Earth's oceans. A brief wave of fear that left the mind as quickly as it came, but instilled a wrathful message that would not be easily forgotten. 

A brief taste of the Archfiend's rising fury. Cathay's wings exploded out of her back as her call quickly turned to a roar. The sudden shockwave tore through the breach, signaling to all within the Deep of her growing irritation. Compliance came easily afterwards. The message became clear, and soon obedience followed. 

Releasing the strings of energy, the Ruler stepped over the ledge which hung over the edge of the unknowable. Within the crackling gateway she could see it. How her home connected the Depths to not just Earth but everywhere. 

Everything

She could go anywhere, and there'd be naught a soul who could stop her.

Cathay threw herself into it, falling without worry as the turbulent power welcomed her home with speedy submission. It bent to her will, dominated, and carried the Queen of the Deep to where she wished to be, traveling at speeds faster than the very concepts which had once conceived light; moving through caverns of frozen starlight, and empty expanses as large as a nebula that eventually gave way to points which contained pillars of crystalline formation. The underskin of creation's immaculate form.  

Through time and space of various definitions, various functions, the Ruler of the domain most reviled shot past these iridescent obelisks of what was crystallized reality. Shrouded in a haze of shattered twilight, the underskin of all realities, this cavern of impossibilities, offered glimpses into all corners of conception. Recollections of the deepest histories now lost to time. 

They mirrored the Archfiend's reflection as she passed by each one. A million mirrors which contained a million different evolutions. Some beautiful, though horribly mutated. Others more monstrous yet perfectly refined for the hunting of divinity. Products and a constant reminder of a life lived through trial and error. Some worthy of honor. Others the greatest of humiliations. Yet they were all as much the Archfiend as this human form was. They were her story. Her tales of gradual evolution and ascension. Just one of many, as any who peered into these crystalline structures might see the weave of stories that was their life. Played out differently yet still serving to remind that every being, no matter how grand, was just another soul of the cosmos. 

Cathay's speed increased as she shot further past these crystalline chambers, faster and faster until at last nothing of their light and stories could be seen. With wings outstretched she suddenly halted her unthinkable speed, coming to a landing at a point of complete and total darkness. An emptiness so profound that it could stare back at you, giving the sense that it was all there was. All there would ever be. The lowest point of the Deep, reachable only to those who held dominion over its many shores. 

Standing up straight, Cathay tapped the toes of her boot against the unending void, allowing it the chance to expand outward. Growing in scale though not perceivable to mundane eyes, the vast nothingness branched out across the empty space as it soon grew filled with light. It rose upward, carrying with it the Ruler as flames like those found within a night sky flooded her vision. Numerous and beautiful, they were of the most incredible grandeur; but the Archfiend knew better than to be fooled by such sights. 

What expanded outward before her was no starry night, nor were they flames to light her way. The closer one looked the more they would understand what laid within these little smidgens of light. Possibility given form, it was the whole of totality exposing itself to her, her kingdom, and her citizens. What might be perceived as a star here was in truth a reality waiting to be invaded. A dimension that has yet to be bled dry. Universes young and old that remained unaware of the Depths existence. 

Some shined brightly, an indication of youth and potential. Others had grown dull and lifeless, long since devoured by the Deep, other forces, or slowly reaching their inevitable point of expiration. Every corner, no matter how obscure or how far-fetched, was connected to the Deep Wastes. A trait shared by all kingdoms of the cosmos. 

In that lay the purpose of the Monarchs of Creation. Rulers of their respective domains.

Maintaining not just their kingdoms but watching over the whole of the Multiverse and beyond. Bringing balance, equilibrium, in whatever form the nature of a domain allowed for. Such were the chains placed upon those who took to the thrones. To monitor and rule in the truest of senses. Such a position required the greatest of powers, and of course the firmest of minds. In both, there were none in the Deep but Cathay who could have taken the throne. 

The Archfiend passed through countless dimensions through the use of gates within these seeds of conception. Similar to those on Earth, they carried the Ruler from one plane of existence to the next. Some were overgrown with vegetation larger than any skyscraper. Others proved so advanced that they've long turned their suns and stars into inexhaustible sources of energy. One might contain countless galaxies in constant war with one another while another separate universe might have found the answer towards galactic peace. 

Another still carried with it worlds dominated by those of gargantuan sizes, while the greater antlike population groveled at their feet. 

Hundreds of thousands of various dimensions flashed before the Ruler's eyes as she continued to rise into the ether. Higher, Cathay climbed until the flashing of dimensions was replaced by the shadows of greater things. 

Terrors and beasts that swam between the thin filament which separated one reality from the next. Monstrosities so big that they cast the ascending tyrant in their shadow, leaving behind only fiery, red eyes which served as the sole indicator of who stood before them; small though she was by comparison. 

Two in particular circled Cathay, observing her carefully, weighing their presence against her own before realizing who she was. One, a great serpent of incredible length. Though only their silhouette was visible, Cathay could see the countless spines and tendrils which dotted their body. Opposite of them and directly behind Cathay, another shadow took shape. Not as large as the odious serpent; draconic in some manner, though misshapen and more monstrous. Again, only their silhouette was seen but every so often a plume of blue flame left what Cathay could only assume was the beast's nostrils. 

In respect they bowed before swimming ahead, choosing to arrive before their lordship rather than run the risk of even arriving a moment too late.

The Royals of the Deep have heeded the call of their majesty, though none thought she would ever take on a form so… weak. They would not argue however. Not against their queen. 

Not as they rose further, into ancient chambers of a domain long lost to the cosmos. A plane of existence where impossibility was given form, structure, and purpose. 

No, they would wait patiently. As this court of Primordials answered the call of their Monarch they could only imagine what words might be spoken. What demands would be given to them. 

In the ruins of the Dreaming City, where the Tribunal of the Depths convened, the eldest souls of creation waited in earnest for their lady's orders. 

For her voice which shook the stars and slaughtered the almighty. 

And as Cathay rose from the darkness of the Depths and through the gate which connected it to ruins of the once chiefest of Domains, she couldn't help but feel pride over having even five of the twelve remaining royals obey her call. Even in this instance where she was pulled away from her beloved, to know that beings so mighty would fall before her at only an utterance of her word was a guilty pleasure of a thought. 

Though her throne and crown were never wanted, it certainly had its fair share of perks. One such being having the eyes and ears of those who set fire to life eternal. They were loyal to her and her alone.  

What she wouldn’t give to show Valerie such a sight. To let them see the scope that was the influence of one who tied and had her way with. Knowing that power, seeing what it truly encompassed within the multiverse. It would serve to make their acts of foreplay even more intense. 

That thought alone put Cathay at ease, even in this meeting in which she knew she would be met with resistance against her plans. Her kin would bend however. They would serve, just as they always do. Sometimes, even if it was rife with difficulties, it was good to be Queen.