Transformed into Cosmic Horror in a Sci-Fi Universe

EP.104 Supreme Spirit

The spirit realm of Cthugha.

Countless spirits live there.

The spirits of fire and lightning, also called the descendants of the creator.

The water spirits living in a world opposite to theirs.

The wind spirits endlessly drifting through the spirit realm, and so on.

Their types are very diverse.

And those who rule this world are none other than the fire spirits and lightning spirits, also called the descendants of Cthugha.

They were always in a relationship of fighting over territorial dominion.

Among them, the fire spirits who claim that they are the only offspring of the creator, and that the lightning spirits are merely derivatives.

They were about to welcome the newly born fire spirits of this cycle.

“Great Spirit King, new fire spirits have just been born.”

“I see. The fifteenth in this generation?”

Spirits cycle.

To elaborate, they are born, grow, and when they age, they become part of the spirit realm and are born again.

One such cycle is usually called ‘one generation’.

One generation is typically based on 500 years, and that timing is determined by the Spirit King, a being that exists eternally for each attribute.

The territory of fire ruled by the Fire Spirit King, who prides himself as the greatest among the Spirit Kings.

There, about 80 years have passed since the start of this generation, and the 15th children have been reborn.

To be more precise, rather than rebirth, new spirits are born through the magical power left behind by the previous spirits as they perish.

In this case, the number varies depending on what kind of spirits are born.

Sometimes countless lower spirits are born, and sometimes only a few higher spirits are born in extremely small numbers.

But this time, it was a bit unusual.

“The number of spirits born this time is… eight.”

“Higher spirits, then. Good.”

Only 8 spirits.

At those words, the Fire Spirit King thought that higher spirits had been born.

That was natural.

If the number of spirits born at once was that small, it meant that the concentrated magical power was that much greater.

Since having more higher spirits greatly reinforces their forces, he nodded in satisfaction.

But the subordinate spirit shook his head.

“No, six lower spirits, one intermediate, and one supreme.”

“…!”

At those words, the Spirit King’s fiery eyes widened.

A supreme spirit!

Spirits have lower, intermediate, higher, and supreme ranks.

Lastly, there is the Spirit King, but that’s excluded as only one can exist.

Anyway, as the rank increases, spirits become exponentially stronger.

That’s because the magical power they contain becomes several times stronger.

That’s why the number of those who are higher spirits from birth is small.

Because that much magical power is concentrated.

Some of those born this way amplify their magical power even more as they grow, eventually growing into supreme spirits.

The rank just below the Spirit King.

There’s no need for a lengthy explanation of how strong they are.

But usually, supreme spirits are not born.

Higher spirits might grow to become supreme, but cases of being supreme from birth are virtually non-existent.

It was almost impossible to concentrate that much magical power from birth.

No, just once.

It had happened before.

“…That can’t be.”

It was when the Spirit King first appeared in this world.

The Spirit King had magical power at the level of a supreme spirit from the moment of birth, absorbed the surrounding magical power, and amplified his own magical power to eventually become the strongest spirit, the Spirit King.

And now, the same thing was happening.

A supreme spirit was born.

“Bring them to me immediately.”

The Fire Spirit King felt anxiety and anticipation rising simultaneously.

Anxiety about possibly threatening his position and taking the Spirit King’s seat…

And anticipation of gaining a tremendous force similar to his own level.

Feeling these two seemingly incompatible emotions swirling together, the Fire Spirit King waited for the newly born supreme spirit to come before him.

#

“…What is this?”

The newly born supreme spirit showed an attitude so insolent it was hard to believe she was in front of the Spirit King.

Spirits instinctively recognize the existence of the Spirit King who rules over them when they are born, and they submit to them.

But she… no, she did not do that.

“A female form, I see.”

Judging by the slender lines of her flaming body, it was a female form.

Moreover, the burning flames and her curved body were displaying the utmost beauty.

‘A female spirit of the same origin as me.’

He thought such beings only existed as the Wind Spirit King and the Water Spirit King, but to think such a being would be born among the fire spirits.

The Spirit King’s emotions leaned sharply towards anticipation rather than anxiety.

Of course, unlike before, it wasn’t anticipation about her power…

‘This should be more than enough to be my companion.’

It was the anticipation of a lifelong single who had never found a companion to stand beside him.

Being so powerful and great, he simply couldn’t find a suitable companion.

There were plenty of female fire spirits who had risen to the supreme level, but they were ultimately not on par with the Spirit King and their lifespan never exceeded 500 years.

Above all, they weren’t attracted to the Fire Spirit King.

“What shall I call you by name? Usually, I name the fire spirits… but you seem like you might have a name you’d like to be called.”

Was it coming from such feelings?

Or was it because he truly recognized her as an equal being?

Far from scolding her insolent attitude, he even gave her the chance to name herself.

A spirit’s name is like its soul.

That’s why it’s natural custom for the Spirit King, who holds their souls, to name them directly.

But he gave her the right to name herself.

It was also a sign of how much he respected her soul.

“…Nial. Call me Nial.”

After seeming to ponder for a moment, she named herself.

Nial.

Hearing that name, the Fire Spirit King nodded.

“Nial, is it? A good name. It feels like a name with burning heat.”

The Fire Spirit King nodded, seemingly satisfied.

Seeing this, Nial turned her body as if annoyed and said,

“Can I go now? I think I’ve paid my respects to the king.”

“Wh-what! How dare you…!”

When she tried to leave without permission, showing her back, one of the subordinate supreme spirits finally burst out in anger, but…

“It’s fine. Let her go.”

The Fire Spirit King stopped his subordinate.

And so Nial left the fire palace with haughty steps, and the Fire Spirit King quietly watched her retreating figure.

“I like that she’s feisty.”

He grinned, thinking how enjoyable it would be when such a haughty woman became his and whispered words of love.

#

“How dare such a lowly creature.”

Nial frowned as she recalled the Fire Spirit King’s gaze.

The unpleasant look in his eyes as he scanned her up and down.

The blatant desire to make her his woman.

Everything about it disgusted her.

Although she was currently in the form of a fire spirit avatar, she was utterly repulsed by the fact that such a lowly creature dared to harbor lustful thoughts towards her.

‘If it were him, perhaps. But how dare such a lowly creature.’

As she thought this, she recalled an outer god who would have been born into this spirit realm like herself.

Like her, he would have become a spirit as an avatar and would have been born into this world by now.

She didn’t know his name yet.

But she was certain that he would recognize her.

‘Nial, is it.’

There was a moment when he had once told her his code name.

[ Nyarlathotep. Ah, but is it okay to call you by the creatures’ code name? Would it be better to use your true name? ]

[ Call me whatever you like. ]

Nyarlathotep.

A name given by creatures she hardly cared about.

But for some reason, when he called her by that name, it stuck deeply in her mind.

‘What a strange feeling. To want to see him as soon as possible.’

An emotion she had never felt before.

Curiosity about this thing called emotion began to stir.

‘There’s a need to study this. And to study it, I need him.’

Thinking this, she let out a deep sigh, as if slightly disappointed.

‘Perhaps I should have created an avatar of the same type of spirit as him.’

But then she shook her head.

‘No, I can meet him soon anyway. His purpose is to explore, enjoy, and savor the spirit realm. It’s better to create avatars of various spirits for that purpose.’

That also aligns well with the goal of researching the spirit realm.

Suddenly, she also recalled the other outer god who had come with her.

‘…That troublesome woman. I’d rather die than let her meet him first.’

For some reason, Nial found herself disliking the idea of that woman meeting his avatar before she did.