Epic Of Caterpillar

2448  Noah's Return

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After his battle against Yog-Sothoth, where his wife Iris and his children Eleanora and Dante helped him more than he imagined, Noah went back to Abyss with his family. The time dilation between the Outer Cosmos and the Universe and Abyss itself were quite big, but they didn't take hours, so he was hoping that not much time had passed back in their world while he was absent.

As the Blood God Emperor of Abyss, he had the responsibility of keeping the world's order. All the powerful families that dominated it would be endlessly wagging wars against one another if the Emperor wasn't there to stop them from stupidly killing each other due to their endless greed for power.

Vampires in Abyss, and perhaps in most of the Cosmos, had an innate greed that couldn't be satiated, it was perhaps part of their very nature as cursed beings. Although the Vampires of Abyss were vastly different than the Vampires of other Worlds Noah had once inspected before, he had learned that every Vampire still shared the same "Cosmic Roots" that led to a Primordial Origin within the very Records of Reality.

So, while each world or cosmos birthed a different Vampire, they always shared similar traits no matter what, such as their greed, their beauty, their endless thirst for blood, their ruthlessness, and their cold hearts.

But he and his family, and his friends, were different, originally all humans, they had memories of humbler lives, of humbler beginnings. This caused them to be innately different, more humane than vampiric.

And because of their past and the bonds they shared as a Vampire Family, their unification and their leader, Noah, ended ultimately helping them ascend to the highest of heavens within Abyss, and conquer the entire world.

It was an arduous journey, one that took over a thousand years to accomplish, they battled for their lives many times, sometimes, friends would die and other times, new enemies would emerge.

But Noah and his family kept moving forward, relentlessly.

He knew that the only way to survive in this world of ruthless vampires, of eternal night, and of monstrous night creatures, was by becoming the strongest and conquering it all.

Only when he claimed the world as his own, would he finally find the peace he needed to settle down, and enjoy a life with his beloved, and his family.

Therefore, his children, Eleanora, and Dante, who were reincarnated after all of such battles happened… weren't the best example of Vampires either.

Born already when Abyss belonged to him, they were naturally spoiled and given an easy life, but well, Noah wanted that anyways.

He fought to make the life of his children a happy one, one where they wouldn't struggle and see their beloved ones die one after another. It was already very sad that they had died back then, when they were merely children, and that he was unable to save them.

It was one of his greatest regrets, and after learning from the words of his "eldritch mother", Nyarlathotep, that their souls still existed within the "afterlife", waiting to be reincarnated as his and Iris children, he knew he had to work hard to create a world where the tragedy of the past could never be repeated.

Yet…

Why?

After working so hard…

Why?

"…What is this?"

His relaxed, almost smiling face changed instantly. Now wearing a cold, if not slightly irritated and calm-looking expression, Noah glanced at the world around him.

Dark clouds constantly rained down snow into the world of Abyss, large landscapes completely frozen, mountains covered by ice everywhere.

The vast world of Abyss, with its many beautiful yet lugubrious landscapes, vibrant in their own maliciousness demonic beauty, were now desecrated by endless azure frost.

"Our world is frozen?!" Iris roared furiously. "Who… Who did this?!"

"W-What happened?" wondered Eleanora. "Daddy, do you have any idea?"

"…"

Noah remained in silence, staring down, the crimson moon he had created himself as his new home once he became the Blood God Emperor, had now become blue.

It was covered by frost, glowing with an aura of corrupted divine ice, twisting and warping reality itself around it.

Then, he felt it, the presence of yet another Outer God within it!

"The Outer Gods…" he said. "There was one we missed… He did all of this."

"H-He?! You know who it is?" Iris wondered.

"I have some ideas," Noah sighed. "Where is Arthur and the rest? We need to find them."

"Yeah, let's go! We should search their presences, leave it to me!" nodded Iris.

She activated her phantasmal powers, searching for Arthur, Jon, Clementina, and the rest of their vampire family.

"Nowhere else than in the moon," she said.

"Is that so…" Noah nodded, squinting his eyes. "Then we're going… Dante, Eleanora, behind us. Iris, by my side."

"Yes dear," nodded Iris, encompassing herself in a veil of phantasmal flames. "Leg's go."

The four descended from the skies, reaching the azure moon, which constantly emanated an aura that warped space and even time itself.

This was nothing like even Yog-Sothoth!

Whoever this Outer God was, it seemed to be on a level above him.

But this familiarity Noah felt with this ice…

It was without a doubt her ice.

"Clementina…?"

Iris and his children glanced at him, without knowing what to say.

"You mean this ice was made by her?!" Iris asked. "Why would that idiot make this?"

"…Hm," Noah nodded. "Why indeed? Clementina is a competent fighter, the strongest Vampire Magus of this world too. Her Ice Magic is unparalleled, the strongest, perhaps surpassing even other Magus in thousands of other worlds. Yet… You know very well she has a fragile heart, like made of glass."

"Or perhaps ice…" sighed Iris. "Yes, I do know her fragility, dear. But what does this have to do with anything?"

"You know exactly why I spoke about that, Iris," sighed Noah. "Clementina's unrequited love… towards me."

"Ah… Tch…" Iris didn't like to admit it, but since the beginning that Clementina had always loved Noah. A love he could never reciprocate, as he only could love Iris and Iris alone.

However, despite that, Iris disliked how she never moved on from that love, and suffered from such an unrequired love, always depressed she could not be loved back.

"This weakness, this fragility…" said Noah. "It seems someone took advantage of that, and this happened."

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