A new chapter, as promised. Of course, you didn't know this because the previous chapter was so long that I had to split it in two, and I ended up forgetting to ntion that I would post sothing on the 10th.
So, consider it a surprise.
That said, if anyone wants to read three of the seven upcoming chapters or simply support , it's possible on (P)(A)(T). If not, I still deeply appreciate you reading! Thank you very much!
Finally, I wish you all a good night and happy reading!
(P)(A)(T)/CalleumArtori
[...]
POV: ???
My days were monotonous. Or rather, predictable in their routines.
Gaming, reading stories, ani, comics — that's what I did most. I could sleep, but I didn't need to. I slept when I felt like it. Eating wasn't necessary either — sustenance, no. But I liked the taste, so I ate.
The day had started simply. The sunrise was indifferent, just like the sunset. The birds sang the sa way. The wind whistled through the bamboo forest just the sa. The mist surrounding the mansion was unchanged.
Unchanging.
I was lazily reading in bed. A book. So vague story that had caught my attention, nothing important. I kept going until what should have been nightfall — if such a thing even existed — just to pass the ti. Sothing to fill a single day.
Human inventions, whether stories or technology, started catching my interest over ti. They disrupted the immutable. Or maybe... things were always this way.
When I got up, I noticed sothing was off. My room was my sanctuary. I knew where every item was, arranged exactly how I liked it. If I didn't touch it, it would stay there.
Unchanging, for eternity.
So the phone that had appeared on my coffee table was sothing I noticed instantly.
My power activated on its own. Instinct, more than anything. The mont stretched.
A second, within eternity.
"Who put this here?..." I walked forward, my steps soft against the floor.
The mirror by the headboard reflected my actions. Pale skin, white as moonlight, black hair, floral kimono. A beauty that had brought more trouble than it was worth...
"A prank by Yukari, maybe?... No, she doesn't have the humor for that..." I murmured.
That old woman really had no sense of humor.
No one entered my room without my permission. Few even had the power to do so. And even if they did, the residents of Eientei were not impolite. Eirin was the exception — she could co in. But no one had knocked. No one had entered.
Nothing had changed, but sothing new was here.
I touched the phone, my pale fingers contrasting with its black surface. Cold to the touch. Soulless, without essence, without magic, without anything. Foreign to my senses. Impossible in this world.
Everything should have energy of so kind, whatever form it took.
Then the phone powered on. It worked within my eternity, within the mont I had stretched into forever — sothing that should have been immutable, eternal.
In shock, I dropped it, startled.
It stayed there, motionless. Unbroken. But now the screen was lit. Two words glowed in a particular shade of orange that, for so reason, made part of hesitate to touch the phone again.
[Stream Calamity]
Eternity stretched further. I had ti to think. I always have, always had, always will. But no matter how much I thought, the answer in my mind remained the sa.
How had the phone turned on, functioned, inside my eternity? Within the mont I had made unchanging?
The answer was impossible: an eternity beyond eternity.
Just like a house replicated endlessly is infinite, the chair inside that house is also infinite. Two infinities — one greater than the other in concept.
No matter how many tilines, how many eternities... the item in my hand persisted against my own.
A greater infinity...
"Another eternity, not mine. Another world, not mine..." I murmured. The only logical conclusion after just one eternal thought.
An eternal mont.
I picked up the phone again. Inspected it. It was different, seed more advanced. I tested the touch screen, my delicate-looking finger sliding across what might have been glass or acrylic.
At my touch, the ssage changed. New words appeared, with a blank space waiting to be filled.
[Enter the desired nickna for this system.]
I hesitated. I didn't know if I should proceed. It was risky. The device in my hands was of unknown origin. Sothing had placed it there — whatever or whoever it was, it was powerful.
The mont stretched. My controlled eternity didn't change the conclusion. I wanted answers. I wanted to see what waited for if I chose to follow this path.
I wanted to see what this eternity beyond my eternity truly was.
My finger slid across the cold screen again. Carefully, I typed. Two words. A title. What I am. What I once was. An eternity ago.
[Moon Princess]
The words spun the mont I finished typing them, forming into an orange eye that stared back at . One second. Just one. I'm good at knowing how long things last — practice — but this felt longer.
Much longer...
Then the eye closed, and the screen lit up again, showing the image of two beings: a man... and sothing whose re existence filled with revulsion.
I recognized the man's eyes. They glowed orange. The sa shade as the words. The sa eye that had appeared on the screen monts ago. I felt irritation just looking at them.
Sothing small, not quite anger or hatred. Just... was.
"I feel like punching your face for so reason..." I lifted a sleeve to my lips, a dangerous smile growing there.
I looked at the phone for a mont longer. Its eternity followed . The world around remained frozen, but the phone moved. The stream continued, even within eternity...
I turned, throwing myself back onto the bed, now lying on my stomach, legs and bare feet swaying lazily.
That man… The faint smile on the corner of his lips annoyed , as if he were teasing . The sun tattoo on his forehead was tacky, and I hated it. The orange in his eyes gave chills...
I didn't like him, for so reason.
But if I were to compare the feelings I held for that strange man with orange eyes to what I felt for the abomination before him...
It would be like comparing a lake to the Moon.
Contempt, rage, disgust, loathing, irritation, hatred, resentnt, dread. I abhorred that thing just for looking at it. My entire being recoiled from its existence just because it was.
That cursed Eye was the most revolting thing I had ever had the displeasure of seeing.
But unlike the human with the orange eyes, I knew why I hated that Eye. It had a connection to the Moon. It was part of the Moon. It had control over ti — and sothing beyond that.
All my domains… and that abomination defiled them just by existing.
I blinked. My gaze drifted to what I realized was the (CHAT) of that stream. I wasn't unfamiliar with such human entertainnt, even if it wasn't my favorite.
I preferred stories, whatever form they took.
I read several nas I vaguely recognized — if what I suspected was true. A stream connecting to multiple worlds, different universes — not just parallels.
A fantasy...
I quickly found the na of the strear. The man with orange eyes.
"Devas..." I murmured the na. It felt wrong in my mouth. Burned my tongue. "Kill that thing, and when we et, I won't punch you in the face…"
I knew we would et. It was a cliché I knew couldn't be avoided.
"I hope you appreciate the magnanimity of This Princess..."
[...]---[...]
POV: Stream.
[Invitation target detected.]
[Sending stream invitation.]
[Viewer located.]
[Calculating data...]
[Target compatibility: 97.1%.]
[Calculations complete.]
[Sending invitation...]
[Error detected.]
[External interference detected.]
[Error detected.]
[Multiple external interferences detected.]
[Error detected.]
[Multiple interference attempts from external sources detected.]
[Initiating calculations based on previous interference patterns...]
[Calculating possible protocols...]
[Calculating protocol: "Purge"... denied.]
[Rainbow World identified.]
[Multiple Rainbow missions detected.]
[Recalculating...]
[Calculating protocol: "Containnt"...]
[Initiating protocol: "Containnt" — partial mode.]
[Calculating...]
[External interference partially contained.]
[Calculations complete.]
[Error detected.]
[Recalculating...]
[External interference: "Adam" considered non-hostile.]
[Release of "Containnt" protocol on external interference: "Adam" — confird.]
[Calculations complete.]
[Resending invitation...]
[Invitation confird.]
[...]---[...]
POV: Third Person.
There were still a few hours left before the crimson moonlight would bathe the streets.
The roads were bustling. Footsteps, conversations, and the rumble of wheels filled the air. The scent around was a blend of varied spices — so pleasant, others harsh and acrid.
Street vendors selling vegetables, fruits, and hot als shouted through the alleys, waving at hurried passersby. So wore worn, frayed clothing, others were dressed cleanly and neatly.
A few pedestrians paused to inspect the goods carefully before buying. Others gestured impatiently, still needing to find work for the day.
Many haggled openly — if only to save a single copper penny.
Though it was July, the height of sumr, the streets were flooded with dirty water and strewn garbage. The alleys between hos and shops were dark and damp, with little or no sunlight reaching between the brick, clay, or wooden walls.
Near a fortune-teller's stall, a young man turned back toward the market.
His black hair was slightly ssy. Brown eyes scanned the area, watchful for pickpockets. One hand was tucked inside his yellow-brown jacket, gripping both the brass revolver's handle and two soli notes.
Beneath the jacket, a linen shirt covered his slim fra. His average-looking face was faintly furrowed as he shopped, the lines of his features sharply defined...
He walked quickly but with purpose.
He spent seven cents at the market buying lettuce and half a kilo of not-so-great lamb. He also picked up so fresh broad beans, cabbage, onion, potato, and other basics. Along with the bread he'd purchased earlier, the total ca to twenty-five copper cents — two soli notes and one cent.
"There's never enough to go around. Poor Benson…" he murmured.
The young man had not only spent the two notes he brought but had to use the single copper cent he had left in his pocket.
Sighing, he thought no more of it and hurried back ho.
With the basic ingredients in hand, he could now perform the luck-enhancing ritual he had planned for the day.
[...]---[...]
Even after the second-floor tenants gradually cleared out, the young man was in no rush to begin the ritual.
He let his eyes wander across the room for a mont. He inspected the walls, ceiling, and furniture. Knowing a bit of everything, he tried to find the best places to set down the offerings.
After only about thirty seconds, he finally pulled out four rye breads.
He placed one in the corner where the coal stove had originally been, one just beneath the mirror, one at the top of the wardrobe where two walls t, and one on the right-hand side of the desk where various items were kept.
With a deep breath, he stepped into the center of the room and took a few minutes to steady himself.
Perhaps by chance, perhaps by fate, perhaps because he was too nervous or too focused — or simply because he was used to this exact weight, in this exact spot, back when he still had his original body — the young man didn't notice the extra weight in his front pocket.
The phone rested silently, without emitting any sound, light, or energy.
He then took a solemn step forward and began to walk counter-clockwise in the shape of a square.
As he made the first step, Zhou Mingrui whispered:
"The immortal Lord of Heaven and Earth for Blessings."
[...]---[...]
POV: ???
The day began like all others. It ended like all others, too.
Order — that's what I wielded. Hated — that's what I was. That's what I've always been. For a very, very long ti…
I didn't sleep every day. I didn't need to. But I enjoyed sleeping, so I took the chance whenever I could — between stopping those foolish creatures from killing each other, keeping order in the realm, and studying my magic.
Stopping calamities…
My craft. One of the few things I had genuinely loved since the beginning.
I didn't get out of bed right away. I stretched lazily, intertwining my fingers and reaching my arms upward as my back arched and my breasts pushed forward, swaying gently.
The thin sheet slipped with the movent, baring my nude body to the world. I didn't care. The ti when I'd been embarrassed about my body had passed at least six thousand years ago.
And besides, there was no one in my chambers to see. My nudity ant nothing.
Shifting to the side, I sat on the edge of the bed. My feet touched the cold crystal floor of the palace. I savored the feeling for a mont before gently massaging my neck and standing.
I walked toward the balcony with soft steps. It was part of my routine. Watching over the kingdom I ruled, even briefly, was sothing deeply embedded in by now.
Halfway there, before the gentle rays of sunlight could reach my pale skin, I manifested my clothing onto my body.
I had no sha in my body, but it wasn't a piece for public display. I would show it to who I wanted, when I wanted — and only then.
Those who saw it without permission didn't deserve to keep their heads on their shoulders.
The chill of the winter morning blew sharply. It didn't affect , even without a protective spell.
I leaned onto the balcony. Elbows resting on the cold, blue-tinted crystal, I tilted my head slightly and rested my cheek against my palm. My eyes wandered slowly over the activity below.
Faes, in all forms. Age ant little after a certain point. No one was truly born. There was no real concept of family.
So looked like children — seven or eight years old — though they were centuries past that. Others looked aged, with beards and wrinkles... Those were rare.
Plump, unshapely bodies. Muscular forms. An adult woman argued with a short man about groceries, while he just nodded, his gaze clearly fixed on her sizable charms and not her words.
A man with a bulging belly opened his business — a tavern or restaurant, I didn't care.
Two youthful faes played together, each poking their pet with sharp iron rods. Not fatal, but if I focused, I could hear the screams of the humans.
Two thousand years — that's how long I've protected this place… My land. My kingdom…
"So boring…" I blinked slowly. "Humans, fae, ugly in equal asure. Equal in perfect proportion."
I let the words spill lazily from my lips in a half-whisper. Yawning, I added:
"They settle for peace with no control. They hate , and yet feel entitled to judge , being so… pathetic."
I spat the word. After so many years, my emotions were dulled—but I still had them. They called a cold, heartless machine. Ignorant to the end, just as they'd been from the beginning.
My mory wandered. I repeated an old phrase:
"I will not tolerate you. I will not save you. rely obey. Hang your heads. I will protect a Britain of absolute subservience."
I warned them. Declared it. Taught them. Yet they refused to learn.
It would be disappointing... if such uselessness weren't expected.
At least the so-called "existence tax" day was approaching. That would reduce the number of incompetents—even if only slightly.
I turned my gaze from the kingdom below and looked to the distant landscape. Forests, mountains, snow. Nature was beautiful—pleasant.
I let ti pass. Seconds into minutes. Once those minutes reached three, I straightened up and began to turn away.
I allowed myself only so much ti for frivolous things. Letting boredom take hold was sothing I permitted only up to a minuscule point...
...Sothing was off.
My magic reacted on its own. My Black Demonic Spear appeared in my right hand before I could even think. My mana instinctively wove spells around .
One second. That was all I needed to spot the anomaly: a device that shouldn't exist.
I didn't know its na—even with the mories of my proper 'self'. But I could recognize sothing that didn't belong to this era, this world, this tiline... with a single glance.
A piece of alien technology… and it was under my pillow.
I could only see half of it. Black, tallic in appearance, smooth as crystal… How long had it been there? Had I slept with that thing under my head for hours without realizing?
I narrowed my eyes. Irritation, curiosity, and caution warred within for a mont.
I 'grabbed' the pillow with a simple spell and flung it away. The alien device was rectangular—about the length of my foot, maybe a little more. Twice as thick.
It emitted no energy. No Mana, Od, Prana, Divinity. Nothing demonic, nothing Fae, nothing from any calamity...
That thing had my attention… but now, it had my curiosity.
I grasped it with my magic, just as I had the pillow—but kept it floating. I didn't throw it away. I stepped closer—
Orange. An eye. Human.
It stared at , unblinking. Appeared from nowhere. A chill shot down my spine: fear.
Not just any fear—instinctual. A raw, primal fear that ca from a future I had seen with my own eyes.
The humanity in that eye… was not human. No human could ever be that human.
Fear turned to rage. Rage to hatred.
A na slipped from my lips:
"Alaya…"
Twelve was the number of Rhongomyniads that appeared above my head.
Countless were the kiloters erased—along with half my castle and an entire forest.
[...]---[...]
POV: Stream
[External interference detected.]
[Initializing calculations based on prior interferences...]
[Calculating...]
[Error detected.]
[Multiple external interferences detected.]
[Restarting calculations.]
[Recalculating...]
[Initiating protocol: "Separation" — partial mode.]
[Initiating protocol: "Confinent" — partial mode.]
[Initiating protocol: "Purging" — partial mode.]
[Initializing protocols.]
[Calculating...]
[Calculations complete.]
[External interference partially separated.]
[External interference partially confined.]
[External interference partially purged.]
[Error detected.]
[Viewer #001 initiating login.]
[Current data: outdated (9 months).]
[Permission denied.]
[Recalculating data...]
[Compatibility: 99.99%.]
[Updating data...]
[Calculations complete.]
[Login permission granted.]
[...]---[...]
POV: ???
The sound of my foot tapping the floor, caused by my trembling leg, was sothing I was already used to. A subtle sound, but in the silence of the room, it echoed like a drum.
The room was sterile: just a chair and a steel table, white walls, and caras everywhere—each one pointed directly at from every angle. In front of , a one-way mirror; behind , the only exit: a reinforced steel door.
Of course, there were four ard guards in each corner of the room, but they might as well have been statues, standing so still. So, I ignored them.
The sound of my heel tapping the floor continued. An old tic I'd had since childhood, usually triggered when I was stressed.
My father, my husband, and even my daughter used to comnt on it almost every ti it happened. To , it was white noise—so instinctive I didn't even notice it starting—except in rare monts like this one, where it was impossible not to notice.
Letting out a sigh, I tapped my fingers on the cold tal table in front of . Another tic. The sound of the steel echoed around. I asked, looking straight at the mirror:
"Katie, how do I look through your eyes?"
The response ca through the speaker on my right, not from Katie, but from one of the researchers. Researcher Louis, if I'm not mistaken. I recognized the male voice and the arrogant tone of soone who thought they were the smartest person in the room.
"SCP-187 has reported no noticeable or significant changes in your near future, Doctor Gabriela—"
"I was speaking to Katie, Researcher Louis. Call her by na. She's a person, not a thing." Maybe my nerves were catching up with , because my voice ca out more like a growl than I intended.
I wasn't soone who angered easily—I could take criticism. I lost count of how many tis I was mocked and still kept my cool. Being the target was common; I was used to it.
But if there was one thing I wouldn't tolerate, it was when the target beca soone I cared about. Be it friend or family.
Deep in the back of my mind, I ignored the voice whispering about how hypocritical my words and actions were. I had treated—and still treated—other SCPs the sa way Researcher Louis just treated Katie. She and a select few were only different to because they were my friends.
What right did I have to scold him when I did the sa thing?… It was hypocritical.
But I never claid not to be a hypocrite.
The next voice that ca through the speaker was female, timid, and familiar to my ears.
"Nothing's changed, Gabi. You're still you and… well, even in the future. If anything changes, I'll let you know right away, don't worry."
A quiet sigh slipped past my lips at her reassurance. My muscles relaxed slightly—only slightly. I hadn't realized how tense I was until then.
I brought a hand to my face, massaging my forehead and eyelids. I brushed aside a few strands of blonde hair, tucking them behind my ear.
I wasn't calm. Far from it. Saying I was calm would've been a goddamn lie…
No matter how safe an SCP was considered, how much data we had, or how harmless it seed, there was always that underlying fear of interacting with sothing that, for all intents and purposes, was a complete anomaly to human logic.
SCP: CLP-0001 was no exception.
If anything, it was worse for . That SCP had chosen for so reason. It might look like a regular phone, but I'd be insane to believe that's all it was—with or without the data we'd gathered from the experints.
The re fact that, to everyone but , the phone wasn't a phone at all—but instead a slab of various materials, different for each observer—was already a huge red flag...
...But to actually catch that fucking thing's attention?!
I shook my head, pushing those thoughts into oblivion. Ignorance was a blessing—and unfortunately, I knew far too much.
I lowered my hand from my face and, fingers deliberately stiff, reached into the inner left pocket of my lab coat and pulled out the phone. I could've kept it anywhere, but having sothing indestructible over my heart seed… useful in my line of work.
I placed it on the cold steel table and turned it horizontally, facing . I interlaced all ten fingers and rested my chin on them. I did nothing for ten, maybe twenty seconds.
Hesitating for one final mont, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before unlocking my fingers and reaching out with my right hand.
With a single tap, the screen lit up.
"Of course there were changes…" I murmured, faltering again as I stared at the orange eye watching .
That eye had never appeared in any of the experints. It had always just been a simple screen with a bar and keyboard asking for a nickna.
The eye was new. The orange color was familiar. Nostalgic in an anomalous way. Foreign.
A shiver ran down my spine.
So small part of —like a muffled, whimpering whisper lost in a dark forest, afraid to draw attention to itself—to —was utterly and completely terrified of that orange eye staring back at .
A raw, primal fear. The kind that told this was the apex predator of my species.
Another part of —larger, more confident—was absolutely certain that the eye wouldn't harm . That the owner of that orange eye would never harm .
Rationality and instinct clashed as I held that eye's gaze.
Years of experience at the Foundation had shown a lot.
An SCP with tic attributes was rare—as rare as SCPs themselves—but we'd cataloged enough appearances, experints, and incidents for anyone with the right knowledge and an IQ higher than a goldfish to know that mindfuck anomalies were the worst kind to deal with.
The battle didn't last long. Nor did the silent exchange I was having with that orange eye.
It blinked. The screen went black for a mont. I saw my own reflection on the phone, like a mirror. Sa face as always. Sa hair. Sa pair of light blue eyes.
Then the screen lit up again:
[Enter the desired nickna for this system.]
I didn't know if I was making the right choice. But I wanted to understand this feeling. That strange, bizarre nostalgia that I knew had no beginning to even exist in the first place.
I wanted to know what this SCP was. Why it had chosen of all people.
I wanted to know who the owner of that orange eye was.
I wanted to understand why a part of was absolutely certain that, if I didn't keep going, I'd lose sothing incredibly important.
My fingers typed on the touchscreen with practiced ease. The nickna ca to instinctively. An impulse. A word I'd known for years, thanks to my husband—far too poetic and dramatic—who adored his native language.
A perfect representation of what I was feeling:
[Doctor Hiraeth]
The mont I finished typing, the phone went black again. Just for a second—maybe less.
When the screen ca back on, it was showing a video. Or rather—I realized quickly—a livestream. More specifically, a stream.
I wasn't unfamiliar with the concept of live broadcasts. My dad loved watching football and basketball. In his spare ti, he watched the news. My husband and I used to go to the theater, but when we couldn't, we'd watch recorded plays on TV.
The concept of streaming wasn't foreign to either. I watched one almost every day, even if only for a few minutes because of how little free ti I had—thanks to my job.
My daughter's stream.
What had started as a hobby had beco, for all intents and purposes, her job—even if many refused to see it that way.
As my dad used to say: "If it's honest and pays the bills, then it's work."
When the stream ca into view, my eyes instantly and instinctively locked onto what I knew was the strear.
I ignored the supernatural horror. The abominable Eye and the grotesque Crimson Blood Moon beca nothing but a backdrop as all my senses focused on the man with orange eyes.
The sword didn't catch my attention. Neither did the armor. I barely glanced at the tattoo on his forehead.
I focused on him. Just him.
Handso face, even covered in blood. Black hair, soaked in crimson, slightly long, tied back in a bun—just like my father used to wear in his youth. Calm and serene features. Peaceful—even while fighting what amounted to a supernatural abomination.
But the eyes were everything: orange. The sa eye. The sa look. The sa color.
The sa feelings.
I searched for a na. Half my attention on the battle taking place. The other half on the chat, where I knew I'd find the best chance of identifying the anomaly—or anomalies—in my hands.
I needed a na for that bizarrely familiar and completely foreign face.
I must've been silent for a while. Too focused. Because Researcher Louis's voice echoed through the empty room:
"Doctor Gabriela, report. What's your current state? Can you respond? What's your status?!" His voice was less arrogant now. More serious—and, I dare say, concerned.
"I… I'm fine. Just surprised," I said, not taking my eyes off the phone. "I'll submit a full report in a few minutes."
I think I heard sothing like, "What's happening? What's changed about SCP: CLP-0001?" — but my mind was too busy.
I read the comnts flashing by, one by one. Ignoring the usernas for now.
So of them tugged at my mory, like nas I should recognize. Maybe I would—after I focused. But right now, sothing else mattered more.
I found the na of the orange-eyed man nearly ten seconds later: Devas.
God, divine, divinity. The anings ca easily. Familiar. I'd seen it, heard it, read it before. I recognized it.
I discovered the surna about thirty seconds after that: Asura.
Demonic, demon, evil. Familiar. Hindu origin. Two opposing anings—literal and taphorical.
I knew what the combination of those words ant: Demon God, Evil God, God of Evil. Many interpretations.
But only one was the true aning. And I knew which it was—the creator of the na had told himself.
I knew that na. I had seen it born. I had seen it created.
The na of the most important character in my husband's most famous play. The main villain of what was considered one of the greatest plays of the century. So said of all ti.
The play he wrote based on a near-tragedy—one that was only prevented by the presence of SCP-999, who saved from being raped over twenty years ago.
I felt my chest sink. A flood of emotions—conflicted, overwhelming.
The embodint of all the world's evil. The one who brings about the end of days.
The Antichrist.
[...]---[...]
First things first: the chapter.
The full group's reaction is still coming — I'm not skipping that part. But these four, in particular, deserved a chapter of their own. Four characters I've been wanting to include for a long ti — and four I know have a lot of fans.
People have asked about them a few tis. Not recently, but the SCP universe is sothing people really enjoy.
Well, I think I made it obvious who they are. Or... almost. The last one might still be a bit confusing, even with the "hints." Feel free to comnt if you want to take a guess.
Anyway, have a great day and enjoy the read!
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