Chapter 676: Get Back Inside.
For the 80th time in four days, Abaddon had woken up in somewhere that wasn't his bedroom.
This time, the place he awoke just so happened to be the common room sofa.
But at least he wasn't alone.
His daughters had seemingly come to comfort him en masse during his rest.
Courtney was sharing his lap with Gabbrielle, the twins sat at his sides, and Thrudd was sort of just sprawled out across the floor at his feet.
…All in all, it was a very cute visual.
Abaddon felt soothed to his core.
There weren't many things in life that could replicate being surrounded by your children. Abaddon knew this better than anyone.
With the exception of Thea, Mira, and Nubia, all of his precious daughters were here in one place.
And where were his sons?? None of those rodents were anywhere to be seen!
All of them were too concerned with their women to even show a tad bit of interest or empathy for their father!
'Oh my god… Perhaps this is how that old bastard feels.'
Abaddon had a sudden and rare moment of sympathy for his own father.
Just for a second though, until he remembered that his dad was an overly affectionate embarrassment.
He, the good natured dragon of heaven and oblivion with a fetish for large butts, animated movies, and a chronic weakness to compliments, was much different than him.
Much different.
Abaddon had just started to doze back to sleep when he received a sudden kiss on his forehead.
He knew the culprit even without looking.
'…I wasn't about to go to sleep.' He defended.
'You were, honey.'
'I was just resting my eyes.'
'If you say you don't want your kids to call you old, maybe you shouldn't use excuses like that, sweetheart.'
'… A fair point.' Abaddon sighed in dismay.
He finally opened his eyes and found the lovely sight of Audrina floating in front of his face.
Even upside down, she was breathtaking.
'…Don't stare at me like that, Avernus.'
'Like what?' Abaddon asked innocently.
'Like you want me to give you more of these.' Audrina gestured to the room full of children who were still asleep.
'Well…'
Audrina chuckled as she kissed her husband on the cheek.
'Let's get Lillian and Bekka's pregnancies out of the way first. Then you can circle back to me, my love.'
'…Sounds like a fair deal.'
'Put a stamp on it then~'
This time, Abaddon was the one to bring his lips closer and offer his lover a more intimate kiss to seal their pact.
And for the moment, everything felt as if it would be alright no matter the circumstance or tribulation.
But as always, something must arrive to interrupt Abaddon's moments of blissful existence.
'My Overlord. I've returned.'
Maliketh was near the bottom on the list of individuals whom Abaddon actually wanted to talk to.
Hearing his voice in his mind was certainly not how he wanted to spend his Saturday.
Audrina noticed the sudden tension on her husband's face and jaw and she instantly knew the culprit.
He only put on this specific expression of exhaustion whenever he was talking to one of the former abyss lords, or when he was watching a college football game.
And since Alabama wasn't struggling with a team they should be dominating, and Colorado wasn't embarrassing themselves, she knew it could only be one thing.
'Maliketh?'
'Uh-huh.'
'How big of a priority?'
'Pretty big.'
'I'll come with you, darling.' (To make sure that you don't kill him unfairly.)
Abaddon created a second body behind the couch so that he wouldn't have to leave the embrace of his precious children.
Audrina floated towards his newly created body and interlocked her fingers with his in a sweet gesture.
Once again, she figured that this would be the easiest way to keep him from committing an unjust murder.
Abaddon was also quite aware that he was effectively being babysat, but when it was by a beautiful woman like his Audrina… he found it very hard to care.
-
Abaddon, Audrina, and Maliketh met up and traveled to a very particular room in manor.
The 'tree' that Abaddon and his family live in is actually the eternal spire.
At the very deepest level, there is an area in which Abaddon has expressly forbade any of them to go.
A thick vault door lined with numerous enchantments and magical barriers stands alone at the bottom of a dark tunnel.
With a single thought, Abaddon dispelled all of the locks and compelled the door open; allowing a flood of nefarious energy to run out.
For Abaddon and Audrina though, it was no different than a cool fall breeze. It was almost pleasant even.
The trio entered the room together and shut the door behind them.
All that was within the room with them was a large hole in the ground that went far beneath even Tehom.
Maliketh peered down into the deep, bottomless darkness and spied the doors below.
They were rattling, but they were completely shut.
"… You have managed to do this on your own?" Maliketh asked.
He was so gobsmacked by what he was seeing in front of him that the entity neglected his formality.
A feat that his master did not miss.
"It would be wise of you to not forget yourself in mine or my wife's presence again. Lest you wish to lose your ability to speak entirely."
"A-A thousand pardons, overlord." Maliketh lowered his head timidly and his brow began to sweat.
Audrina stared at her husband out of the corner of her eye.
At times, she knew her husband really found formality burdensome.
His insistence on Maliketh using it was further proof of how little he cared for them.
Audrina looked as if she had her own thoughts on the situation, but chose not to comment.
"M-My lord… H-How were you able to shut the gate like this..?" He asked.
"I pushed it." Abaddon replied dismissively.
For the first time ever, he saw his subordinates jaw fully fall open.
Maliketh's skepticism was completely understandable.
Opening the doors to elder prison is not accomplished through physical strength.
If that were all it took, all of the elder horrors and their spawn would have been released eons ago.
The Abyss Kings before Abaddon could only attempt to open it once in their entire reign.
Even then, they were only able to crack it.
With every newly crowned ruler, the gap in the door would widen just a little further.
Abaddon's ability to close the door fully all on his own without needing years to do it was completely asinine.
'My suspicions were right… This man is the one, true shadow of god..!'
Abaddon walked toward the hole in the floor and stopped just shy of jumping in.
He felt Audrina quickly come to his side and began removing her heels.
"You know you don't have to come with me, dear. I can handle it." Abaddon affirmed.
"I'm sure you can, hon." Audrina began tying up her vibrant silver hair.
"…You're still-"
"I'm still going to go with you, yes." She nodded.
Abaddon wasn't very big on doing useless things, and he considered trying to get his wives to not worry about him as one of them.
"Let's begin then… Stay close to me."
"Of course."
The two of them proceeded to serve Maliketh a large helping of dog food as they fell through the hole in the ground.
Eventually, the Spector was able to gather himself and followed behind them swiftly.
They fell for what felt like an eternity.
Abaddon's charming form split apart before their eyes until he himself resembled something that should have been locked behind the gates.
Audrina merely floated atop her husband's head as if she found him no different than before, while Maliketh tried not to lose his sanity.
Finally, the large black creature wrapped in an exoskeleton reached the doors that were somehow even larger than him.
"Can you still hear them, Avernus?" Audrina asked.
"…I can. Though they no longer trouble me as they once did. I wonder why that might be." Abaddon feigned ignorance.
If Audrina weren't wavering on giving him more children before, she certainly was now.
Abaddon landed on the horizontal door and glanced above his head.
There, Maliketh floated a safe distance away as if he too feared something going awry.
"Let them out."
Maliketh didn't bother to question his order a second time, no matter how undeniably unsafe he found this plan to be.
He held out his hand and three large holes formed in the space around them.
From out of their depths, three sets of remains floated into view.
They were barely out for a full second before they immediately rushed back together and reformed themselves… or atleast partially.
As the figure started to come back into it's being, Abaddon and Audrina heard it speak.
But the miraculous thing was… it spoke in human language; English to be specific.
"My blood… What has become of my blood..?"
Abaddon ignored any questions brought forth by the creature and instead voiced one of his own.
"Nyarlathotep. Will you get back inside on your own? Or must I force you there myself?"