| “ | To think that I would find a place that I coud love, that I could feel, that I could protect. To be able to think such things about not only a world, but its feeble inhabitants, it was an impossibility. Yet, I do not regret one single instance. | „ |
| ~ Cthulhu speaking to Samael |
Cthulhu is the main protagonist of Contact, a side story in Collapse detailing the very beginnings of the world and how it would eventually come to care for this new world and its inhabitants. Over time, it would act as the world's guardian deity and protecting humanity from the various entities that lay beyond, along with making sure that humanity would not be ruled by divine intervention. Eventually the pantheon of the Outer Gods would recognize its work and deem the world the perfect prison.
Backstory[]
Before there was Space or Time, there was one thing that dominated existence. The Ultimate Void. In here, the Ultimate Gods sat and played their songs of chaos and inorder to the sleeping idiot god known as Azathoth. Under the rule of the dreaming fool, Azathoth would spawn many of its progeny. The Nameless Mist would first come into existence, before it was devoured by its other personality that was Yog-Sothoth. From the Great Darkness that was born out of Azathoth's womb, there came the great Black Nebula, the Great Mother. Yet on Azathoth's left-hand spawn, there was Nyarlathotep. The Great Singular Chaos that was considered the soul and animating essence of all others. Eventually, the Great Nebula and the All-In-One would mate and produce the two spawns of Nug and Yeb. Eventually from their essence and cosmic suicide, they would spawn Cthulhu and its sibling, Tsathoggua.
Without purpose, the two would continue to participate in the great cosmic songs that kept the great Azathoth asleep. Eventually however, war would break out between the many spawns of the All-In-One and the Great Nebula. Such an event came to be known as the Hyperborea, where cosmic ichor and guts filled the Ultimate Void. The siblings of Nug and Yeb fought for both of their survival, but the war left many dead and the survivors injured and crippled. Amongst the dead and casualties, Tsathoggua was slain and its essence was consumed by Cthulhu, unknowingly tricked by Nyarlathotep who manipulated the war behind the scenes. The Outer Gods were enraged at such a heinous act, casting down the Great Old One onto an atomic world. From here, Cthulhu would sleep and remember the wars and exile for millions of years.
Whether it be the powers of Cthulhu that seeped into the planet or some other cosmic force, sentience was born in the first humans. In their sentience, there was great power that they wielded, and it was known as Observation. With their power, they could create entire universes from thought alone and grant divine powers unimaginable. Soon, that atomic world began to grow, and it became a garden within the Ultimate Void. In this time at the peak of Creation and Existence, Cthulhu awoken to see what had become of the world it had been cast into. It saw the many worlds humanity had created unknowingly, and the divine entities they worshipped. Originally, it was seen as a great entity of destruction and fear, striking madness into anyone who witnessed such.
Cthulhu was unconcerned. But with each time it would encounter humanity again and again, it would hold a certain fondness for them. Stubborn beings that persisted and fought for their place in the infinite nothingness. It was impressed, and that emotion soon turned into pride. That pride would soon turn into care, and it saw the horrors that lay beyond humanity's grasp. It knew that in order for humanity to survive, it would have to face the horrors. It would even fight against the many divine entities trying to place humanity under their own grasp. So then it would become known as the great Protector.
Appearance[]
Cthulhu in its time on the atomic world known as Earth would take many appearances in various avatars. Though to the ones that it would mainly use as male avatars are those sprouting black hair with blue eyes, commonly wearing black suits and a metallic ring on one of their hands. These would often be the avatars used to communicate in the common world and they were referred to as handsome on multiple occasions, but another face in the crowd. Yet when in the face of many other divine entities and communicating with them, they would take another appearance entirely. Intimidation was key in this era, and these avatars followed suit. Ghostly apparitions of the true form of Cthulhu would appear behind them and a great aura would be generated. The female avatars were the same as their male counterpart, though sometimes sporting a white jacket to come along with it.
But in its true form, Cthulhu was a hulking menace meant to be feared and only spoken of in legends. Its form towered over the lands, with gigantic wings bigger than entire mountains and its face an unknowable and incomprehensible mess. Eyes of piercing red produced fear uncountable into its victims and its visage of a humanoid body was easily as big as entire continents. Even if its size and weight could be changed at will, there was a genuine reason to fear the Dreaming One from R'lyeh. When it rose, floods would spawn and the visage of a dark-blue moon would appear behind its head, acting almost as if it was some type of star. Sometimes its mere presence could cause cracks and tears in the fabric of reality itself. Yet, such a terrifying form was altered to be presentable to humanity, acting as a gentle giant. Instead of towering over their largest creations, it was simply a being of large stature, twice as tall as any other man. Its wings only spanned as large as a human's arm lengthwise, and even the eyes were something more akin to a calming green sea.
Personality[]
As one of the many Great Old Ones that participated in the cosmic songs with the Outer Gods, Cthulhu is a being that saw many things as inconsequential. Originally without purpose, it did not question the many orders that it was given and would only seek to complete them. But in the Hyperborea, many things changed as the Great Old Ones fought for dominance against each other. In this war, Cthulhu would change to become a warrior alongside its brother, fighting and defeating many of its own brethren in order to protect Tsathoggua. These actions would awaken a primal instinct of protection for those weaker than itself. It would only further as its sibling was slain and was told to devour its essence. From then on, Cthulhu would be wracked with a great guilt as it was tossed onto Earth.
This guilt and protection would eventually lead to it becoming something akin to a father figure for humanity, teaching them of many things about the world and protecting from them from many others they were not ready for. It sought delight, and was happy to be of use for those of human needs. It would grow attached to them, and would make sure that they were safe until they were ready for the outside world. To those it saw as threats, it would treat them with hostility and intimidation. But to those it knew that acted as its companions, there was kindness and humility.
Combat Statistics[]
Tier: High 5-A | At least 2-A
Key: Base | Before Exile
Powers and Abilities:
Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Immortality (Types 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, and 9: Projected avatars of its consciousness are capable of taking over and possessing others. Its true form exists in another dimension), Regeneration (High-Godly: Could come back from the destruction of its information), Enhanced Senses and Cosmic Awareness (Capable of sensing what is happening across the entirety of the multiverse. Can see invisible entities), Extrasensory Perception and Non-Physical Interaction (Can see and strike nonexistent beings such as Khaos and Death Angels), Nonduality (Nature Type 1/Aspect Type 2), Acausality (Type 4) (Scales to Nyarlathotep, who exists outside of The Bindings), Self-Sustenance (Types 1, 2, and 3: Does not have any need for sustenance and regards such as 'mortal illusion'), Abstract Existence (Type 1: Its true form exists as an abstract constant), Nonexistent Physiology (Nature Types 2 and 3/Aspect Types 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5: The Constants are entities that act in a similar nature to Paradox Demons), Durability Negation (Attacks on all planes of existence), Aura (Overwhelming, Fear-Inducing), Paralysis Inducement, Fear Manipulation, Madness Manipulation (Type 3) (Its presence is capable of paralyzing others through pure fear or drag individuals into pure madness), Creation, Power Bestowal, Power Modification (Was once capable of creating an Omikami and modify its existence. Could create the first Presence), Information Manipulation (Type 2: Capable of manipulating structured information), Void Manipulation and Existence Erasure (Capable of manipulating its essence to erase existence), Law Manipulation, Order Manipulation (Type 3) (As a Constant, it is capable of manipulating Law and Order), Space-Time Manipulation (Type 2: Capable of manipulating space and time across the multiverse and increase its growth), Illusion Manipulation and Perception Manipulation (The moon behind its head is merely an illusion and can create maddening illusions and scramble perception), Avatar Creation and Astral Projection (Capable of creating avatars to interact with the physical world, can create immaterial avatars to override other consciousnesses), Reality Warping (Its presence was capable of causing fractures in reality), Power Nullification and Resistance Negation (Its entire body is like an Omikami itself, bypassing all defensive measures), Healing and Regeneration Negation (Up to High-Godly) (Its strikes transcend healing and make it impossible to be healed by anything short of an Omikami), Immortality Negation (Types 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) (Should scale to beings of the Abyssal Court and other Omikami, who can kill each other and Corrupted Ones)
Resistance to Void Manipulation, Existence Erasure, Information Manipulation (Type 2), Conceptual Manipulation (Type 1), Soul Manipulation, and Mind Manipulation, Morality Manipulation, Empathic Manipulation, Fear Manipulation, Memory Manipulation, Mind Manipulation and Madness Manipulation (Types 2, and 3), Matter Manipulation (Atomic), Deconstruction, Law Manipulation, Causality Manipulation, Fate Manipulation, Precognition, and Time Manipulation, Biological Manipulation, Probability Manipulation, Sleep Manipulation, Dream Manipulation, Corrosion Inducement, Reality Warping, Chaos Manipulation (Type 3), Corruption (Types 2 and 3), Sealing and Size Manipulation, Transmutation (Scales to Nyarlathotep as a being of similar nature. Capable of dodging Gungnir, which could alter fate and causality with its strikes), Clairvoyance, Precognition (Could not be seen in the future, even by those who could see an infinite amount), Paralysis Inducement (Could withstand Thanatos' form in his prime, who could halt the movement of the multiverse), Space-Time Manipulation (Type 2: Scales to Nyarlathotep, who exists outside of The Bindings and is unaffected by alterations to their concepts), Spatial Manipulation, Nuclear Manipulation, Explosion Manipulation, and Quantum Manipulation (Could tank the full effects of the Nova Bomb, which was a nuclear explosion that tore apart space and destroyed on a quantum level), Disease Manipulation and Poison Manipulation (Scales above divine entities, who could resist the effects of the Great Plague, which is a disease and poison that spread across timelines), Life Manipulation (Its life-force couldn't be taken), Death Manipulation (Could fight Thanatos in his prime, who would've been capable of inducing death across the entire multiverse if given the chance), Absolute Zero (Withstood Khione's winter, which forced everything to the point of below even absolute zero), Power Nullification, Power Mimicry, Power Bestowal, Power Absorption, and Power Modification (Cthulhu's own abilities are protected by its own presence and observation of humanity across the multiverse, requiring powers such as the Outer Gods in order to influence and change them), Resistance Negation (Could resist the heat of Ra, which could burn away even Apollo, a being who had innate resistances to fire and heat), Body Puppetry (Resisted Atlach-Nacha's control over its body and true form), Physics Manipulation, Gravity Manipulation, and Black Hole Manipulation (Unaffected by Athena's control over physics, who could alter gravity and create black holes), Illusion Manipulation (Unaffected by Deimos' presence who could create illusions so vivid and real it could alter morality and emotions), Perception Manipulation (Hecate was unable to affect its perception of reality), Healing and Regeneration Negation (Up to High-Godly), Immortality Negation (Types 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) (Could resist the strikes of beings who wielded Omikamis and still regenerate from them)
Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Immortality (Types 1, 2, 4, and 8: Great Old Ones participate in the essence of the Outer Gods and are recreated if destroyed), Regeneration (Up to High-Godly: Great Old Ones are capable of coming back from being destroyed into nonexistence, which would include their concept and information), Acausality (Type 5: Are on the same stature as the Outer Gods, who transcend causality in its entirety), Nonduality (Nature Type 1/Aspect Type 2: Exists outside of the Bindings), Large Size (Type 9: Comparable in size to the Outer Gods), Higher-Dimensional Existence (The Great Old Ones inhabit a similar existence as the Outer Gods), Incorporeality (Are not made out of flesh or physicality), Abstract Existence (Type 1: The Great Old Ones are abstract extensions of their parents), Information Manipulation (Types 1 and 2: Can manipulate unstructured and structured information), Mind Manipulation, Madness Manipulation (Types 2 and 3) (Attempting to gaze at a Great Old One results in a similar fate if one where to try and observe an Outer God), Reality Warping, Void Manipulation (The Great Old Ones are capable of altering reality, could ravage certain parts of the Ultimate Void), Space-Time Manipulation (Type 2: Can alter the kaleidoscope of space-time), Existence Erasure (Capable of erasing entities from existence), Immortality and Regeneration Negation (Types 1, 2, 4, and 8/Up to High-Godly) (Can kill and permanently damage other Great Old Ones)
Attack Potency: Dwarf Star Level (Comparable, if not stronger, than divine entities who are capable of creating explosions comparable to kilonovae [10^39 J]) | At least Multiverse Level+ (Participated in a war that spanned the entirety of the Ultimate Void and entities with similar properties to the Outer Gods. The Hyperborea was capable of ravaging several parts of the Ultimate Void and was fought outside of Time and Space)
Speed: Massively FTL+ (Avatars, which are its mere extensions, are capable of travelling across the observable universe in a couple minutes [3.09+24c]), Immeasurable Combat/Reaction Speed (Can catch and surprise entities such as Hermes, who was capable of moving into the past and future constantly to attack) | Immeasurable (Transcends space, time, and distance)
Lifting Strength: At least Stellar (Could grapple and overpower Apollo and Ra, who are entities that can lift the weight of stars, if not entire superclusters of them) | Immeasurable
Striking Strength: Dwarf Star Level | Multiverse Level+
Durability: Dwarf Star Level | Multiverse Level+
Stamina: Infinite. Great Old Ones, such as Cthulhu, do not need any form of energy or stamina, seeing such as 'mortal illusion.'
Range: Multiversal+ (Could attack at all points in the multiverse and strike entities even presiding in the Ultimate Void, though with assistance) | At least Multiversal+
Standard Equipment: None Notable
Intelligence: Supergenius (The Great Old Ones are entities of intelligence so great and mighty that it is incomprehensible to lower mortals. Could drastically accelerate technological advancement and teach humanity all that there is to the multiverse, despite only knowing of its existence a couple moments ago. Created the first Omikami and produced the first Presence to be wielded by humankind)
Weaknesses: Prone to bouts of pride and arrogance, Constants must be an immutable and unmoveable law dictated by the mass perception of others and will be erased if not kept to the status quo.
Notable Attacks/Techniques:
The Primordial Children: As one of the many first children of existence, Cthulhu is an immensely powerful entity that can persist and exist within the Ultimate Void. Even after its exile, it still has many traits that allowed it to protect humanity throughout the ages. Known as the Great Old Ones, the first children are unnatural entities capable of shifting the balance wherever they may be. They are immortal beings unbound by the laws and orders of reality. In essence, they are the perfected and primordial versions of the Elder Gods, seeming like gods to even divine beings.
The Starless Sky: The first Presence ever crafted, even if it was still in its developmental stages and formed by the perceptions of humanity. It is the very crystallization of the legend of Cthulhu when it first appeared to humans. It is an illusion, taking on the appearance of the great celestial body that is the moon appearing behind the head of the Great Dreamer and exuding light like a star going supernova. Under its light and gaze, targets and entities are put under maddening illusions that utterly scramble their perceptions until they are left in nothing but darkness. Additionally, it will slowly worm its way into the target's sanity, striking and devouring it until nothing is left but madness.