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Changing Times

The Deepking - The Abyss

Prologue

[All system nominal]

[Health checks completed.]

[Nexus 43rd Fleet en route]

The meeting room within the NC-Titan Pivotal Triumph was certainly one of the biggest rooms in the ship. Little wonder given the Titan-class starships were the second biggest vessels in the Conglomerate_fleet second only to the massive planetoid-shaped _Solaris-class. Then again, those were more like mobile space stations than real starships though their status as a starship versus station was still a hotly debated topic.

The room, mostly covered in black with light-blue highlights to indicate furniture and corners, was big enough to fit over three thousand people. A minuscule amount given that the _Nexus Conglomerate_spanned countless realities. Thankfully there were means to communicate with other regions beyond physically being in the room. The scalloped shaped auditorium was only populated by three people.

One was the enigmatic head of the Nexus Conglomerate, simply known as the Director. The black-furred wolf with a white lower jaw and chest was naturally dressed in a matching suit with his brown hair slicked back as with any executive. Opposite to him, absently leafing through a deep, blue book with silver trimmings was the equally mysterious R3 the Writer of Reality. Dressed in his white and gold armour with a long black cloak that mirrored a slowly panning starscape, R3's features were hidden by a helm that was adorned by a three-pointed crown. Only his deep-blue eyes were visible beneath the helmet. The last person stood right next to the Director, a big, burly koala with an eyepatch over his left eye and absent playing with a silver butterfly knife dressed in the all-black attire of a Conglomerate officer.

The Director and R3 sat on on the stage across a table arranged like a panel facing the rest of the auditorium; the Director at the centre naturally while the No One was positioned as far from the centre as possible nearly on the edge of the stage itself.

"Well," the Director said from where he sat. "Here we are again."

"Yep," R3 replied casually, flipping another page of the book. "Good to see you again, Nibbles." The koala gave him a savage grin and waved absently but didn't say a word. "Another AI gone manic and spreading like wildfire across a reality, turning everyone it touches into something else, controlling their minds and eventually leading to some form of singularity that will ultimately make it redundant to the Nexus Conglomerate. Once again, you've called me over here to provide my perspective. We both know how this will turn out."

"We do," sighed the Director but that doesn't mean that it isn't our duty to provide the choice. "You advocate the power of freewill and choice and I'm all up for creativity and individuality. Even if the ending is all but certain, it doesn't mean we shouldn't offer the option."

"Makes me wonder if we shouldn't come up with some more elaborate way of doing this."

The Director smirked at him. "What? You're thinking maybe throwing the victim into some dark world with some stained glass window platforms and some ominous doors and an eerie voice?"

R3 lifted his gaze briefly. "Someone's getting a little too Nomura."

"Someone is breaking the fourth-wall too early."

"Just trying to get out as many of these jabs as I can before you steal my thunder." The Writer of Reality turned another page. "Any closer to finding MASTER?"

"No."

"Of course not. Because you already know where he is."

Nibbles, the Koala jerked in surprise and regarded the Director. "Is that true, boss?" he asked in a deep, thunderous rumble.

The Director smirked, closing his eyes in surrender. "Yes."

"But you just said..."

The Director lifted a finger. "Think about how Reaper phrased the question. He asked if I was any closer to finding MASTER. How would I get closer to finding MASTER from the last time he asked if I already found him back then?" He opened his sharp, brown eyes, staring down the Writer of Reality who seemed so focused on his book. "I suppose you realise, then, why I've allowed this to go on as far as it has."

The No One nodded. "Every story needs five components. Characters, setting, plot, conflict and a resolution. You provide the characters and the setting but it is MASTER who provides the plot and conflict. You need an antagonist. MASTER serves that purpose."

The lone wolf leaned back in his chair, that confident smirk on his features. "At least for now. MASTER's experiments are crude and honestly quite reckless. However, it is how the Conglomerate as a whole reacts to the news that is of the most benefit."

With a wave of his paw, various holographic images sprang up in front of them, flashing across the entire auditorium. They displayed men and women in Conglomerate uniform. Some of them were orcas. Others were borrowing features from the Variants that had cropped up during the Deepking Incident. There were even men and women who had adopted the shape of the Variants directly. Various testing scenarios and their results were also displayed. Some pitted Variants against one another, others combined features of the Variants and then there were even entire scenarios where a single Conglomerate asset who adapted to a single Variant was tasked with taking over an entire country, planet or even a whole reality just with their powers alone. The resources of the Nexus Conglomerate was vast and their testing suite was equally as infinite.

Nibbles gawked, his strong, square jaw falling open in surprise. "Holy shit... You got all this from the Deepking?" His brow furrowed and he pointed to one of the Variants shown, one that was manipulating ice. "Hang on... that one wasn't deployed by the Deepking."

"Not yet," the Director responded. "In about two years when mankind will have started retreating to the polar ice caps in the hopes of surviving against the Deepking, that one will have been developed to adapt. However, the fact that we can accurately predict it's existence shows that the Deepking is approaching the GAP."

The koala scratched the back of one of his big ears. "Sorry if I'm being dumb, boss, but I never really got what the hell the 'GAP' was."

The head of the Conglomerate turned to the Writer of Reality. "Perhaps you'd like you enlighten your former employee? It'll serve as a test on how well you actually know the Conglomerate."

"And whether or not I'm really fit to be passing judgement or giving advice to the likes of the Deepking," R3 sighed, resting an armoured hand on the book. "You know you won't be getting Patrick back. He's happy where he is."

"Patrick?" repeated Nibbles. "Who?"

"The Woodfather. He was reincarnated as Patrick Woods. He successfully met the requirements of earning his own reality after only five lifetimes. He has been reunited with his sons and they are now living quite happily with one another in their own reality. Their world is peaceful, they have other stags that they have alongside them populating an entire universe devoted to the preservation of their beautiful forest."

Reaper lifted his left hand and several, gnarled, brown roots erupted from his palm, curling both towards the ceiling and floor simultaneously to form a tall staff. The head of the staff was shaped like that of a stag complete with a twenty-point crown of antlers and emeralds for eyes. "Eldergreen represents his bond with me and I borrow some of his power every now and then when the need arises. He doesn't mind, naturally."

The Director rolled his eyes. "Of course he wouldn't. Why would a literal god mind that you're borrowing a fraction of their power to help others. I'm honestly surprised that you haven't done the same with his sons."

"Actually..."

The wolf groaned. "You're fucking kidding me."

"No. While the Woodfather created the base reality, each of his sons have their own branching dimension that is directly connected to the core. They have each come to embody some aspect of the forest. They've even shaped their reality much like a tree with the Woodfather's realm staying as the roots, another representing the trunk, a third being the branches, the fourth representing the canopy and the last the fruits for reproduction. Their people are free to traverse each part of their shared reality."

"So you made them gods?" Nibbles asked, scratching the side of his cheek. "Damn... Makes me wonder if I made the right choice."

The Director held up a paw in front of the koala. "Don't be tempted by this devil's stories. I have no doubt that's true but remember what he said? The Woodfather had to go through five lifetimes before he could achieve this sort of power. That's five lives where he had to be born, grow up and die without any memory of his past lives. There was also no guarantee that he would have obtained that happy ending and R3 might just end up destroying him by the end of it. The No Ones could even directly interfere with your life and make you suffer to meet some arbitrary criteria of being 'the best you can be'." The Director shook his head gravely. "Why gamble your future for godhood when you can have everything here and now."

"Therein lies the differences in our philosophies, doesn't it, Director?" R3 chuckled softly. "On the one hand, a fresh start, fresh characters and a fresh setting with the possibility of something more in the end. There will be a plot and conflict but ultimately there will be a resolution. On the other, continuing your story as it is, adding chapter after chapter and accumulating more pages to a potentially never-ending tale. Adding conflict after conflict to the same characters over and over hoping it never gets stale."

"Yeah yeah." The Director waved at him dismissively. "Back to the topic at hand. What is the GAP, Reaper?"

R3, still clutching the wooden staff, said, "The Gronsky-Albatter Plateau is essentially the pivotal moment when a reality no longer becomes profitable to the Nexus Conglomerate. So long as individuality and creativity are maintained in a reality, the people in it have the power to drastically change the future however they see fit." He absently tapped the staff on the ground. The antlers of the stag head suddenly began branching out, spreading like a full canopy with thousands of branches. "Much like a tree, when an individual is able to make their own choices, the capacity of the Conglomerate to accurately predict every scenario in said reality becomes too costly compared to letting the reality just play things out. There are simply too many branches to go into each individual one, examine every leaf and analyse it."

Then, the branches started to shrink away, one by one falling down around the Writer in a dark, ashen hail. "But, when something happens in the reality that starts chopping off all those possibilities, limiting people's creativity and imagination, then Conglomerate will start thinking about what it would take to fully analyse every possibility even before it happens." Reaper pointed at the icy Variant that had never been produced by the Deepking. "That Variant is the perfect example. Every day that passes, there are an infinite number of choices and possibilities created from those choices, infinite branches. The Conglomerate's resources are likewise infinite but there is still a cost to running through that kind of analysis.

"But like with what happened with the Woodfather, a choice was made somewhere down the line that caused a singularity to start to forming. The Woodfather was absorbing his own sons into himself and he became utterly convinced that was the only way to proceed and eventually, he would have absorbed each and every individual in that reality into himself. The result? There would only be a single branch left on the vast tree and it would be a simple matter of predicting every step the Woodfather would have taken from now until eternity. Comparatively, doing that analysis was 'cheaper' than maintaining an entire reality and waiting out the Woodfather until he reached his end."

Nibbles nodded in understanding. "So basically the GAP is the limit where the cost of maintaining the reality becomes higher than analysing the possibilities that reality could produce."

The Director nodded gravely and gave a light shrug. "Exactly. If I takes an eternity for a manic AI like the Woodfather or Deepking to reach all of its possibilities before it starts getting curious about death and destroys itself but it takes half an eternity to analyse all the remaining possibilities, then that AI has reached the GAP and it's time to eliminate it."

"You can't use 'eternity' as a unit of measurement," scolded the Writer of Reality.

The wolf grinned at his counterpart. "I just did." That grin quickly vanished and he straightened in his seat. "What I find incredibly curious, however, is that the Deepking is approaching the GAP in a different way."

Nibbles cocked his head to the side, pocketing the butterfly knife he was playing with."What do you mean? Anything me and my troops should be worried about."

The Director waved the concern away. "No. Just the standard as per the reports. What I mean, though, is that the Woodfather approached the GAP using the Singular Consciousness method. This is the process of reducing the number of entities in the reality to a single entity, a singularity as Reaper mentioned, through the absorption of everyone else into himself. It's like that old Twilight Zone episode where a single man is left in the entire world. Sure he can do a lot but what he can do is incredibly limited. The Deepking though..."

"Universal Consciousness," Reaper provided.

"Indeed." The Director's gaze narrowed dangerously. "I don't know if MASTER did this on purpose or it's just how the Deepking developed but something tells me that it will posit a question that will ultimately change the Nexus Conglomerate in its entirety."

R3 shut the large book in front of him with a soft whump. "That's something only you as the owner of this story will be able to tell. That said, if I may make a suggestion?"

The dark wolf laughed softly. "Like I could stop you."

"Try not to do something as stupid as the Deadwood this time."

The Director immediately went rigid, his ears perked up and his lips peeling back in a snarl. The tension in the room immediately grew in intensity and Nibbles, unaware of what was said, glanced from the two powerful entities.

"Uhm... What's the 'Deadwood'?" asked the koala.

"Don't worry about it," growled the Director.

"Boss, with all due respect," mumbled the High Commander, "if it's important to the mission..." The Director shot him a piercing stare, immediately silencing him. "Sorry..."

The wolf took a deep breath and then let it out very slowly. "No... you're right. It is important." His baleful stare turned towards the Writer of Reality. "And I suppose you are right as well..." He slumped into his seat, massing his temples with one paw. With the other, he waved a paw and the images floating around them turned into a different scene; dark images of blacks and reds.

Nibble's eyes widened in horror. "What is this?"

"The Deadwood Project," Reaper answered grimly. "When the Woodfather was extracted from his home reality, there was a sort of power vacuum left... and infinite possibilities. When you think about it, at the time that the Conglomerate intervened, the Woodfather had reached the GAP. All possibilities were now within reach of the Conglomerate before the Woodfather absorbed everything and cut off those possibilities entirely. But with him gone..."

"More questions would've been asked..." Nibbles whispered. "All the people in that reality would've been wondering what the fuck just happened especially when the _Conglomerate_fleet just appeared... They would've tried to figure it out..."

"Exactly. The Conglomerate realised that, eventually, the people would have delved into the Woodfather mystery and though it'd take a couple of decades, they'd eventually tap into the same power and cause an evolutionary renaissance. In an effort to control this, instead of destroying the reality, the Director had ordered a team of Conglomerate scientists to lead this curiosity to be able to steer it away from the same conclusion that the Woodfather had reached."

"Why waste a universe full of possibilities when you could learn from the mistakes and keep the experiment going?" the Director huffed. "Of course that's not how it turned out. One of the scientists in charge of the project decided to take it upon himself to adopt the mantle of the Woodfather and try to achieve godhood. He injected himself with the corrupted code of the Woodfather and became the Deadwood."

Nibble's eyes roved the various reports floating around him. There were scenes of blood-red skies, black vines the size of entire houses crawling across cities, gnarled, dead trees the size of skyscrapers piercing the skies and corrupted Variants that looked like diseased stags roaming the streets. "This is terrible... If he was a member of the Conglomerate..."

"He was fully aware of our procedures and protocols and used that to his advantage," the Director finished. "He spread fast. In the span of a month, he had taken over the entire planet Earth, covering it in his corruption. He used the unified consciousness of the seven billion people he had corrupted to form his own form of reality anchor to keep us from entering the space around the planet. We could destroy everything else but he had claimed the planet Earth as his domain and could do whatever he wanted with it."

"Don't tell me he's still out there."

The Director scoffed. "Please, Commander, you should know we have protocols for such an eventuality. I naturally deployed one of my Executors. Derek Grissom was sent to the planet with a mission, to destroy the Deadwood."

R3 coughed.

"And do a couple more chores, I suppose," added the Director. "He made a few allies along the way and managed to rescue a few surviving humans while gathering intelligence on the corrupted Variants. He eventually made his way to the Deadwood and destroyed it before it could fully manifest it's reality-bending abilities and create it's own pocket dimension outside of our jurisdiction."

"Would that have been so bad?" Nibbles asked. "I mean, if he's gone from Conglomerate space, that's one less problem for us."

"It would have been terrible."

Confused by the short answer, Nibbles looked towards the Writer of Reality.

"The Deadwood had the power to pierce the barriers between realities and make is how universe," the No One answered. "If he went outside of Conglomerate_jurisdiction, it would have been nearly impossible to find him without my help. Even then, the Deadwood could have easily jumped into _another reality - any reality - and catch it unawares. He would have spread across that universe, corrupted it and then make the jump again and again and again. He would've been a virus spreading from one universe to another. If he hadn't been stopped... well, I'll let you imagine the rest."

Nibbles shuddered gravely. "I... Fuck... That's some scary shit."

The Director's eyes narrowed. "A reason why he had to be killed." He lifted his gaze back towards R3. "I hear you, Reaper, but I can't deny the fact that once we remove the Deepking, the possibilities are too great. I can't let that opportunity pass me up."

"But sir!" Nibbles exclaimed.

Reaper lifted a hand, waving down the koala. "This isn't just about the profit it could bring the Conglomerate, is it? This just about making sure you have another antagonist apart from MASTER."

The Director's smile turned dark. "How astute. I'm thinking about naming this one the 'Maelstrom'. Or maybe I should call him the Darksea?"

"I'm not talking about who would eventually replace the Deepking."

That caused the wolf's smile to falter. "What then?"

"I'm talking about Hartley."

The Abyss

[Requesting Permission to Initiate Troop Morale Boost Protocol]

[Director: "Fine, Alabaster. Just make it tasteful."]

[? **We're Whalers on the Moon. We carry a harpoon. But there ain't no whales. So we tell tall tales and sing our whaling tune*?]*

[Director: "Oh for fu... Fine. Whatever. At least make all the seasons available to the troops. Uncensored. And the movies too."]

This was where it all began. This tiny unnamed island in the middle of the pacific ocean just a few miles off the Californian shore. It was here that the biggest oil tanker in the entire world had been beached and suddenly found itself isolated for years, rusting away and alone. Here was where my ascension began and where mankind's salvation started. I still remembered the feeling of stepping onto the sandy shores and into the oil-covered waters, drawn by the siren song of the Deepking as he made me the first of his knights.

There was nothing quite like that first feeling of transformation. Then again, it was certainly different now that my long, serpentine lower half slithered beneath the waves, basking in the warm sunlight. Not too far in the distance, my men were bringing in a few more ships that they had recently commandeered. A few military ships, a freighter and some fishing vessels. They were the stragglers now. The United States had enforced a maritime embargo ever since my lord had started spreading across the west coast. They were still puzzled on the phenomenon and confusion continued to keep them from doing anything significant. Major population centres were quickly falling especially those with access to waterways.

I looked forward to seeing how Los Angeles looked now that Bradley had taken over it.

But that was a wish for later. Right now, my job was to keep any reinforcements from other countries from coming in. All attention was in the immediate area around the West Coast. No human commander or general could even fathom that we were based off in smaller islands or even within the depths of the ocean itself. At least that was how I understood things until the Deepking had called me back to where it had all started.

My lord and master had let us do pretty much given us free reign ever since he had first improved each and every one of us, his first knights. His focus had either been on one of the others or maintaining the secrecy of the main fleet. Now that we were split off into smaller groups, he was directing the war effort from the original Ocean King. We all felt his will through us. In some way shape or form, he had injected some of his spirit into each of us and that was how he had changed us. So when I felt the his voice call to me, there was no way I could resist. Not that I wanted to.

I lay just on the shore, my long coils twisting idly against the warm waves of the crystal-clear waters. All the oil and fuel that had once stained it was gone now. Apart from the faint imprint in the sands and reef of where the Ocean King had once lain, there was no sign that we had ever been here.

The Deepking's approach sent a chill down my spine as he drew closer, like two magnets being inexplicably being drawn to one another. My eyes were immediately drawn a little to my left. The water began to glisten a little from my king's glowing markings. He emerged from the waters as easily as one would stride through a door. He was a bit of a tease as he took his time to approach me, allowing me to ogle his handsome features, those brilliant, blue eyes, his sloping traps, titanic shoulders that framed his mountainous pectorals and that impossibly defined eight-pack. Then his twin cocks came rising out of the waters, flaccid but as long and thick as my arms. I licked my lips and was instantly overcome with a craving to have those things in me. It feels like forever since that had happened.

He approached me slowly, his immense frame looming over me. Then, with a slow wordless descent, he leaned down towards me, cradling my coils between his powerful thighs. Our lips met, tongues dancing. Blood immediately began rushing to my crotch, my cock rising up at the same time as his. We were completely synchronised as our members pressed against one another the only difference being that his immediately found my anal hole. I gasped a little when I felt both of his cock pushing into me.

"You have come so far, my loyal knight," he whispered, one of his big hands stroking the back of my head, soothing me as another inch of both his cocks pushed deeper and deeper into me. "You deserve a reward. You deserve to become royalty."

Royalty? I, his lowly servant, deserved to become like him?

His lips gnawed gently at my chin and our tongues gravitated towards one another and I was once again drawn into a tender kiss. My body relaxed for a moment which allowed more of him to dive into me. That caused my entire body to spasm. His warm precum poured into me, smoothening his entrance while deepening our connection.

He broke the kiss briefly just to say, "You have done so well. You will be the first that will never be lonely again." Then our lips were mashing together again and he was driving into me a little harder. My coils curled around his waist, adding more strength to each of his gradually intensifying thrusts. I wrapped my tail down his, maximising our skin-on-skin contact. Every cell in my body craved for him.

I was brought back to that moment when he first transformed me. It was like the might of the ocean was flooding into me, rushing through me system and threatening sweep me down into its depths to be lost forever. But this time, it was different. This time, I could feel myself be different. I was stronger and as the ocean's currents swirled around me, our passions erupting into vigorous thrusts and primal grunts, I felt myself becoming part of the sea. It was not the tides tearing me to shreds... it was me returning to the depths where I belonged.

Come home to me, Wesley. This is where you belong.

His voice resonated with me, echoing through my mind. The haze of lust and passion coursed through every part of my body but his voice rang out so clear and strong, a beacon in a raging hurricane. This is where I belonged.

You will never be alone again.

Our bodies were locked in a passionate embrace, our hearts pounding so hard against our powerful chests that we could feel one another's heartbeat through our pectorals, the pulsations in our cocks and the pounding of our tongues against each other. Almost out of instinct, we rolled onto the beach, for a brief moment placing me atop of him. It didn't seem right at first... but then again, I was to be just like him. We would be equals. We would never be alone again.

The tumbling pushed his cock deeper and deeper into me and my own was already screaming for release. The deeper he entered me, the deeper our connection and the louder his voice within my head, in my very soul. I could feel his essence shooting into me, melding with my own. When his voice echoed within the recesses of my mind, I echoed the words.

Let me inside.

His thrusts grew harder, more powerful. The pressure building within my cock and balls intensified but more than that, I could feel something... changing within me. As he dove deeper and deeper, his power swelled within me, building into this powerful force that was growing inside of me but at the same time seeping into me. It was like I was a sponge and he was injecting me with his hot essence from the inside. I was absorbing it all and my frame stretched in the process.

Stand beside me.

I let out a rising moan as the Deepking's very essence, his identity flooded into me. Each thrust widened my awareness. Tiny threads of passion and power began snaking through the ether towards me. These thin, gossamer wisps of energy connected the Deepking to each member of the pod. Every time one of them orgasmed, a small bolt of energy shot through these threads and entered the Deepking's frame, empowering him further. Now, some of those threads were seeping into me, sending me the same amounts of orgasmic bliss that erupted from each and every one of my fellow orcas as they climaxed.

It was almost too much but that was why the Deepking was there, inside of me, guiding me to grow and evolve.

You can do this.

His invisible hand guided all this raw power into my frame. Bones, muscles and organs gurgled as they grew. I opened my eyes and found myself staring down at my own body. I realised that I was watching myself through the Deepking's eyes but at the same time, I still felt my own body convulsing beneath him as it grew bigger and stronger. I truly opened my eyes and suddenly, I was assaulted by the stimulation of two bodies staring at one another. My mind was afire, being assaulted from two sources that contradicted each other and being overloaded by the sexual stimulation of two bodies, of fucking and being fucked!

Follow my lead.

His voice soothed me and I watched as he guided me on how to adapt. This was something that Brock had experienced with how he turned others. The Deepking had learned from him and now he was teaching me. Like a child following in his father's footsteps, I adjusted my thinking, I broadened my perspective and suddenly, like a lightbulb going off in my mind, I grew that much closer to godhood.

In that instant, we both said the next words in unison.

"I'm getting close!"

My lithe frame bulged out, already strong muscles seizing up and inflating to match the Deepking's. At the same time, brilliant blue light exploded from beneath my flesh. The same tribal tattoos that had decorated his flesh seared through mine, the mark of divinity. I was not the only one to change, however, as his own tail surged out, gaining a prehensile quality as it curled around my own coils. While he maintained his own legs, his tail was akin to my own serpentine lower half.

Our arms locked with one another, muscles larger than anything a mere mortal could have dreamed of squeezing against one another. The raw power we felt... it was electrifying!

Again, we cried out in unison, our voices joining, harmonising and becoming one.

"Almost there!"

The pressure built almost to the point of eruption. But there was one last change that had to be done. Flesh surged out and a fourth cock rose up to join the trio that our intertwined bodies possessed. Two were already buried deep into the serpentine lower body while the lone one quickly gained a brother and became wedged between the perfect set of abdominals and pectorals.

That was the last piece and with one last thrust, we came.

"We are aboard the Deepking!"

Our cry of ecstasy could be heard all up and down the shore. Our seed sprayed out of us in a joyous eruption to rival any volcano. The two cocks buried in our half-orca, half-serpent body filled that shell with warmth and even the blast of cum from that body's twin dicks did nothing to alleviate the feeling of fullness, of fulfilment that came from our souls becoming one. We came again and again, constantly grinding against one another as our power surged. Alone, one body could only take so much but now that we had two, our capacity doubled and it showed in just how much we produced.

Even after our seed had been spent from our balls, we continued to use these bodies to stimulate ourselves, testing out these new coils until the noon sun was blazing high above us and starting to bake our backs. Even then, we had two more rounds, tumbling in the sand until the energy in both our bodies were spent. We pulled our lips away from another, smiling at each other before slowly parting. It would take a while yet before our cocks would deflate to the point that we could extract ourselves from the serpentine lower half of the shell that had been 'Wesley' but that gave us the opportunity to tip our heads back and let out a soft vocal and mental call.

"Ven. We need you. Come to us."

Ven was not too far away having led one o the assaults on battleships which was now in the process of being fully converted. It only took a few minutes before the tentacles orca emerged from the shallows, stopping in surprise to see our two, glowing bodies of equal stature and proportion.

"Whoa... Wes?" he asked. "What happened to you?" He glanced towards our original body. "M'lord?"

We smiled in unison as we finally pulled our twin cocks from the Wesley shell's ass. Our original body stood and stepped aside as we guided our serpentine form towards Ven, taking him by the hand and gently pulling him towards the beach.

"Do not worry, Ven," we said, our voice emerging from both our mouthes and echoing deep within his soul. "All will be made clear soon."

Ven's long, prehensile cock immediately went rigid, snaking out of its own accord towards our ass, still dripping with our cum. We felt him enter us and our connection was secured. He shuddered, his body quivering in anticipation as our arms wrapped around him and his tentacles curled around us. Our lips met, his touch hesitant at first but quickly gaining confidence as he poured our essence into him, drawing him into us much like what we had done with our Wesley identity. He immediately threw himself at us and we rewarded such eagerness by pumping our power through him.

He joined us willingly and easily, his body convulsing as the tattoos that marked him as one of the divine shone through his skin and his muscles inflated to be more fitting of on that had truly ascended. Just like any other frame, he obtained a second, long prehensile dick that immediately snaked around our chest and wedged itself between our lips even as we continued to suckle on his tongue. This body was very flexible indeed and the taste of cock and cum while dancing between two thrashing tongues was an experience all three of us revelled in.

Our passions quickly mounted. More of those ethereal threads began connecting to the Ven shell and again, our capacity for this power multiplied. It came to the point that our original frame shuddered as two, long tendrils sprouted from our back, snaking through the air before curling around our twin, erect dicks, stroking them while we watched our other two bodies voraciously fucking.

We came mere moments later while crying for Pierce and Dive.

It was on our third orgasm the two arrived. They were immediately drawn into our throes of lust and didn't question as they were pulled towards our intertwined bodies. Our main frame, the largest of them all despite the growth in the others, lay in the shallow, half-submerged and acting like a foundation for the others. Pierce lay between our legs, his cock-tongue piercing our ass. Dive had his legs wrapped around our thick neck, his cock wedged between our lips. Our Ven frame sat between them, his tentacles and twin cocks easily curling around our bodies and piercing the asses of both Pierce and Dive. The Wesley frame was still wrapped tightly around the Ven frame, adding to the stimulation as his long coils brought all three of us together into a tight embrace.

Our gyrations grew and grew, the threads linking with the other two and their minds joining our collective. Their bodies likewise glowed with the markings of divinity; the glowing tattoos and the twin cocks. For the Pierce frame, he obtained two cocks springing from his beak as well as the two emerging from his groin. Our lovemaking was ecstatic, enthusiastic and sometimes violent. Our oily, black seed spilled into the ocean much like the oil that had once stained these shores.

And we didn't stop until the sun began to set when a pair of bright, scaly wings sprang from our original frame's back.

We were all aboard.

[All troops prepare for XD-Drop]

[Reality Anchors primed]

[Psychic Dampeners activated]

[Weapons primed]

Yet another oil platform fell.

Each one was always unique and it was a bit of a challenge to strike at each of them before their personnel were recalled to land. But if there is one thing Americans cherish above all else, it's oil. While we had yet to strike at the Gulf of Mexico, the oil platforms up and down the Pacific West were quickly falling to us. One by one, hundreds of men were welcomed into the Deepking's kingdom and the steel used to make these titans were converted into more ships for the fleet.

I was honestly wondering if we should start using some of the materials to make our own floating island. Like a modern Atlantis. Every kingdom needed a capital and it only made sense to create a throne for the king of the new world. But, of course, the Deepking was beyond such material things. His goal to end loneliness all over the world was so noble and selfless that I could not comprehend why, with all of his power and abilities, he chose to bring happiness to the world's population despite all its flaws.

After seeing so many people with great power or on the cusp of obtaining such great power succumb to the corruption such power brought, it was baffling that anyone could be so selfless altruistic. That the Deepking would share his power and abilities with others was even more confusing. We had all felt it when the Deepking had approached Wesley and brought him and his first brood into his inner circle. Wesley, the first to be turned by the Deepking, was elevated to join our lord and master, his consciousness shared across both their bodies. Then came Ven, Pierce and Dive and suddenly, it was like having five Deepkings all at once. Their constant orgasms had rippled through all of us, throwing us into a frenzy. We were all empowered, charged by their sudden growth everyone in the pod had attacked their assigned tasks with so much fervor that we had spread faster than ever before.

I watched idly as news reports came from all over the country about how the 'Whale Plague' had experienced a surge that the wall the US government was erecting along the western shore had to be scrapped and moved several miles inland. That had just been a few hours ago. It would have taken an entire night to take over an oil platform with my strike team but we had done it within an hour thanks to the orgasmic enthusiasm injected into us from the Deepking. The man that I was currently embedded in, my liquid body emerging from his cock while he twitched and transformed beneath me could only gurgle in pleasure, electricity dancing from his limbs.

"Roy, my loyal knight."

My entire body shuddered as the Deepking's mind brushed my own.

"Yes, m'lord," I cooed, running my hands over my chest sensually.

"It is your turn. Gather your trusted men and prepare yourself for me coming."

I enthusiastically extracted myself from my latest convert, his transformation complete. "Of course, m'lord." I re-solidified, giving my new orca a slap on the ass before eagerly charging out of the oil rig's inner depths. The fresh, ocean air greeted me like a sibling I hadn't seen for years. Being confined in the metallic hold of this human construct was so suffocating especially for one who was so well-adapted to water and liquids. I made my way up to the upper floors where I found the first of my converts.

Harder was overseeing the systematic dismantling of the oil rig. He and his fellow armored orcas were using their immense bulks to tear at the very structures around us. Their powerful muscles, flexing beneath their semi-organic plates of armor. Their hands dug into the steel around them, bending the metal as if it were little more than putty. Their muscles bunched up as the structure creaked. Harder himself tore out a huge chunk of wall, hefted it towards the edge and hauled it right into the ocean. An audible splash was accompanied by the loud groan of one of the giant orcas that circles the rig, collecting the debris for use later in the crafting of others ships.

I approached him, exchanging knowing smiles.

"I can feel it," he rumbled. "He wants us."

I licked my lips, resting my hands against his armored chest. My fingers liquefied, slipping and sliding over his torso as I drew closer and closer to him. His cock and mine rose to attention, pressing against one another with mine immediately closing in around his like a liquid condom. "Yes," I uttered through the shudders I emitted. "We will join him soon. But first, we must collect the others."

"Of course."

His arms wrapped around me, pulling me closer to him. I literally melted into his embrace, oozing over his body. My whole body oozed over every crevasse on his sculpted, hardened body, worshiping every delectable inch with every ounce of my being. Our mutual arousal caused us to shudder, my form rippling over his like water. From the outside, I looked like a thick coating of oil had wrapped around his body or a black opalescent suit that clung to his tight frame, leaving his head exposed so that he could guide us to our next destination.

He was fully erect as we strode through the oil rig, going down towards the generator. There Quark and his men were siphoning off the electricity from the generator. Their meaty arms were plunged deep into the wires, their cocks erect as lightning coursed through their veins and they absorbed all that energy into themselves. Quark himself was on the floor, his arms half-submerged into the steel with wires sparking around him. Naturally, his cock was erect. Every new jolt of electricity that charged into him caused a spurt of orgasmic bliss to erupt from his dick, adding to the growing pool that he and his fellow orcas were making all around them.

While still wrapped comfortably around Harder, the feel of that cum was comforting like basking in a pool wrapped in the arms of loved ones. Harder drove us to where Quark was crouched and cleared his throat. The electric orca blinked a couple of times to clear his vision of the post-coital bliss before grinning up at us.

"Fuck yeah," he growled. "Been waiting for this." He pulled his meaty arms out of the ground and thrust a thumbs up into the air. "See ya later boys! Keep up the good fucking work!"

His cry of encouragement was greeted with a simultaneous orgasm for the ten or so other orcas who were absorbing all the electricity on the platform. With a grin, he savagely launched himself at Harder. Being the bigger of the two, Harder was only pushed back two or three steps before their lips collided and their erect cocks were drooling against one another. I couldn't resist reaching out towards Quark, my oily body slipping over his muscled frame and cocooning the three of us in a squirming bag of man, muscle and cum. This time, my reach wrapped around their heads, our forms practically merging under the singular cocoon. Their silhouettes were still visible under my blanket and their physical bodies continued to grind and grope within me but from the outside, I was driving.

With a few well-placed constrictions and tugs, I guided our amalgamated body back out the oil rig. Brawn was waiting outside for us. His titanic form was clutching onto the highest spire of the platform, his gargantuan frame grinning down at us. He held out a hand that had fingers the length of school busses and a palm that could level entire houses with ease. I guided our tumbling frame onto his palm and then just let myself become enthralled by the squirming, kissing and fucking occurring inside of me. In my time both before and after my integration into the pod, I had been fucked many times but this sensation was like being double-stuffed by two equally thirsty men. It didn't help the fact that in our movements, Harder had somehow managed to get atop Quark and they were literally fucking inside of me.

The mounting sense of climax was building but before I was fully consumed in the wanton desire, I caught sight of the angelic form of our lord and master descending from above. My awe materialized in a mental gasp and physically as an opening in my all-consuming frame. This opening, like a gawking mouth, peeled away from Quark and Harder's heads, giving them a moment to stare through their sweaty frames at the majestic winged shape of the Deepking coming to settle right in front of Brawn's enormous cock which was resting, semi-erect, on the platform.

Brawn set us down beside the opening of his dick and our lord approached.

Both Quark and Harder were about to pull away from one another and I was likewise extracting myself from them to show proper respect for my lord but the Deepking held up a hand and shook his head. On that, Harder thrust back into Quark, making the smaller of the orcas let out cry of ecstasy. His cry called to me and I wrapped back around them, enclosing them in my writhing, rippling form.

The Deepking approached us and in his powerful arms, lifted the three of us currently neatly packaged into a casing of my gooey form, supported by the two tentacles springing from his back. He was bigger than before. Much bigger and much stronger. His twin erect cocks led the way as he stepped off Brawn's hands and rounded the corner towards the titanic orca's piss slit. There was a strong, welcoming heat radiating from Brawn's cock and as we drew closer, the Deepking's mind reached into me - into all of us - and welcomed us into his inner circle.

"Now, my loyal knights. Your great efforts will be rewarded. We will become one."

One with the Deepking. One with a god. There were so many times that similar words had been uttered by crazed religious zealots or fanatical cultists and there would have been a time that I would have scoffed at such an idea. But now, my entire body was rippling and quivering with anticipation, eager to begin the process and to feel the embrace of the divine into my very soul.

As the Deepking drew closer to the cock, precum oozing around his feet, his soul opened a metaphysical door for mine. It was like the Pearly Gates were opening and beyond, I could see Wesley, Ven, Pierce and Dive all coiled in a euphoric dance of sex and pleasure. Thin, ephemeral wires drawn in from all over the world sank into their flesh. Together, their bodies and minds were being used to process the countless amounts of information that was flooding them from every orca in the world while simultaneously helping to regulate the four other bodies that they had formerly hosted now the Deepking's control. They were... I couldn't describe it. It was like they were part of a greater server farm, adding their processing power to the Deepking's already vast computational strength to further enhance him.

And I... no... we were on the cusp of being added as well.

I felt my flesh touch the lip of Brawn's cock and my soul took a step closer to those glistening gates to Paradise.

"You will never be alone again. None of us will."

Thus the truth behind the Deepking's vision. All mortals will be connected to the Deepking. All of us joined in eternal bliss while he used our bodies to bring perfection to the world. No one will ever be alone because we would not have that bothersome selfishness that would drive us into self-preservation. We would be perfect under the Deepking. Immortal. Even were a single body to die under some freak accident, we would all be safe within this ethereal plane, constantly in orgasm and under the protection of the Deepking.

It was perfect.

He stepped into the cock, his long serpentine tail swaying back and forth to propel us deeper an deeper into him. Within my confines, both Harder and Quark shook and their love-making reached a fevered pitch. We drew closer and closer into this eternally blissful paradise and the power of the Deepking flooded into me. Just like when I first transformed, it washed over me, an ocean slamming into my frame. This time, however, I let it. I let the current sweep me away from my body, push me into the plane beyond these gates where I immediately found myself in the arms of Wesley. We smiled at one another. Then our lips met. Moments later, my cock was buried into Harder's ass and Quark's dick was pushed into mine.

I was vaguely aware of a loud _splash_somewhere in my physical form and I deduced that this was us diving into Brawn's testicles. My physical form oozed into the goo around us, diving right into one of the Deepking's cocks. As this happened, the Deepking himself pushed his other dick into Harder's lips while his own beak wrapped around Quark's cock.

The circuit was completed.

"Bear my mark. Let us be one."

All at once, the Deepking orgasmed, the powerful release of pleasure followed by the flood of release flooding right through me and causing my soul to similarly orgasm. Everyone within this glistening plane also felt the powerful climax and our joy rippled across the world to our other orcas, empowering them much like when Wesley had first been integrated. Our bodies pushed the liquid form of what had been Roy Buckmeir through the Deepking's dicks, sending it hurtling through Harder who likewise orgasmed into Quark and finally Quark himself fired his load back into the Deepking. This circle of cum occurred over and over again, the pleasure and pressure increasing with each iteration.

Brawn felt it the most as the raw power built in his enormous balls. His entire body shock and he let out a thunderous moan. The grip he had on the oil platform loosened and he fell back into the ocean. The impact was met with cheers from the other orcas as brilliant, blue markings burned all over his body and he joined us within our paradise. We all lay upon him, his massive frame providing huge, muscled platform for us to constantly cum and mate while his own dick throbbed and showered us with seed. His physical form convulsed as his own second dick came bursting from his groin to mirror the rest of ours.

Our cry of ecstasy rippled throughout the ocean as our physical forms were launched out of the enormous form of the Leviathan. We surfaced a moment later, all our bodies glowing with the shine of divinity and bearing the twin cocks that was befitting our station. Around us, the ocean had turned black and inky from our oily seed. Behind us, the oil platform and its crew had degraded into an orgy, feeding us with more and more strength.

Like the others, we were all on board.

[Admiral Cleat O'Ris, please report in using the designated pass phrase.]

[Admiral O'Ris: "Seriously?"]

[Admiral Cleat O'Ris, please report in using the designated pass phrase to verify your identity and confirm status of the ** NC-Titan Pivotal Triumph.***]*

[Admiral O'Ris: "You can't be serious. Director...?]

[Director: "Just do it, Admiral. It's only one verse"]

[Admiral O'Ris: *sighs* "Fine... Row, row, row your boat. Gently down the stream...]

[Sweet]

At this point in time, there were few ships that came in to port on the western coast of the United States. There were a few stragglers, of course, and those were quickly converted. Military ships were my favourite. Those big, muscled men were always so fun to convert. Being stuck out at see all alone tended to make people very horny and it was fun being railed by them, unleashing their inner beasts as they joined the Deepking. All their weapons and discipline were no match for Song's sonorous voice or a frontal assault from Aegis who wielded Cocktail like a gun.

We were aboard an aircraft carrier when the call came.

Another frenzy had taken us and we were just coming down from the high when the Deepking's voice rang through my mind, stronger than ever.

"Bradley. It is time for you to join us."

His voice rang with undertones of not only Wesley but my father as well. I detected the voices of the others too. They were there. They wanted me to join them in heaven. I grunted softly as Aegis ploughed me right there on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier. Not too far away, on the nose of a fighter jet, Cocktail was having his ass railed by Song who sang his mantra over and over again, pierced by the moans of Cocktail as the orca with the enormous genitals filled the flight deck with his juices.

My soul cried out for the Deepking, for Wesley, my father... for all of them. It was like the Deepking was a black hole that was drawing us in with greater strength and urgency the more people joined him. I was going to leave this mortal plane and ascend into divinity. Was that not what everyone wanted.

I lunged forward, wrapping my lips around Aegis and slathering him with my tongue and cum. "He's almost here, bud. We should make sure we're ready."

Aegis grinned at me. "Fuck... I'm close."

"Me too... Urgh!"

He thrust harder and harder into me, my throbbing cock pressed against his muscled torso, sandwiched between his pectorals. We collapsed onto the floor, my hands grasping at the solid concrete around me in a desperate attempt to find some form of handhold. It was too slippery with the layers of cum from all the sex we had so that was futile. Still, we came closer and closer and with every thrust, I... I saw it.

I saw the paradise that the Deepkign promise and could feel my connection with the rest of the pod deepening. Before, I could only feel the Deepking but now... Now I could feel Aegis's cock thrusting in and out of me as if I was the one doing the fucking. I could feel Song's cock within me as if I was Cocktail, my own enormous cock and balls jostling with infinite seed. Every orca that was fucking within the confines of the aircraft carrier was slowly being added to this expanding network. All their sensations, all their thoughts and even those few humans who still remained were being added. One by one, my mind expanded and I could feel it all.

It empowered my soul. My essence grew stronger and stronger so much so that it burned beneath my flesh. Iridescent blue lines cut through my flesh, forming intricate tribal patterns that marked my divinity. The power building within me could not be confined to my soul and my body reacted in other ways. A deep, throbbing heat developed in my crotch but my cock could no longer get any more erect. Instead, all the pressure pushed towards the space beside my cock. This intensifying force was akin to my cock getting hard all over again but thousand fold. I cried out in ecstasy the rising strain pushed a fleshy nub that throbbed and pulsated in tandem with my cock. It was equally as sensitive. A single slit formed down the nub and the first jet of precum that burst from it sent ripples of relief throughout my entire body.

That was when I felt the presence of another_cock pushing up against my hole. Through bleary eyes, I saw that Aegis' own body was glowing with the bright blue streaks of divinity. He and I were both ascending. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, holding on for dear life as he pushed his new budding cock into me. It was a tight fit. Aegis was big and though I had been double stuffed before, never before had I felt a cock _grow inside of me the same time as I was being fucked! It was an entire new experience that had me biting my lower lip in utter bliss. Each inch of cock that grew inside of me pushed another three from my own developing one.

Behind us, both Cocktail and Song were experiencing a similar phenomenon. Cocktail, being so used to being worn like a condom, was more than eager to take Song's second dick as his own began rising as a salute to the Deepking. It was more than just their developing genitals too, however. Their bodies convulsed with each thrust, muscles ballooning out and growing with each powerful thrust. The same sensations rippled through my body and I was starting to feel heavier. My grip around Aegis' shoulders grew stronger, my hands expanding while my arms flared out. Naturally, Aegis too grew but he was always bigger than I so his growth was a little slower. It worked to our advantage as even though I became bigger and bulkier, his added strength maintained the feverish thrusting without skipping a beat.

A new kind of pressure was building within us and it was different from the strain of growth.

Climax was near.

And so was the Deepking.

I felt him calling to us, his voice as melodious as Song's. My eyes rolled into the back of my head and before I could no longer truly see, I noticed the same was happening to Aegis and the others. Our bodies were thrust into a sort of autonomous fucking, our senses restricted to the pleasures of the flesh. All I could feel was the hot thrusting of Aegis' twin dicks pushing up against my prostate, pressuring my cock to cum and my dicks throbbing with an increasing need to release my seed. I couldn't even hear the grunts Aegis or I made. It was all just sex. Just infinite sex... and the light of the Deekping.

In the near-darkness of unconsciousness, I saw him.

His angelic form welcomed us with open arms and I eagerly reached out to him.

And I ceased being a sole entity, a lonely being in a vast uncaring world.

I... became a we.

And we watched from our descending altitude as our four new host bodies reached a blind-blowing orgasm. We folded our wings back and slammed against the flight deck with enough force to cause small craters in the concrete. Our new fifteen-foot frame rose, towering over the other orcas who continued to be consumed in the throes of lust. The essences of Bradley, Aegis, Cocktail and Song all joined us in our great collective, free from loneliness and in our care. Their power coursed through us, changing us.

The blue markings all over our body took on the ever-shifting gradients of Bradley's form, a mutation that the others quickly adopted. The markings themselves spread all over our bodies, becoming more like sleeve and full-back tattoos as a tribute to Aegis' design. Though we were not erect, our cocks surged forward, touching the ground and leaking our precum in such volumes that even Cocktail would have blushed. Lastly, a great strength built in our throat.

We threw our head back and all at once, the orcas orgasmed.

"All aboard the Deepking!"

[Fighter wings prepped]

[Dropships locked and loaded]

[Droppods primed]

[All squad leaders, comms check]

I had heard the cry.

Even several hundred miles away, I had heard the cry. I wouldn't have been surprised if everyone in the entire world had heard it.

All aboard the Deepking.

My king had shouted that the moment Bradley and his first converts had become one with the Deepking and I knew it would be my turns soon. But I had to make sure that everything was ready before that happened.

A king deserved a throne.

Here on what had been Dallingham Bay, my men and I worked diligently to make sure that the Deepking had true monument to his majesty. With the help of Driller and his very numerous brood, we grabbed as many materials as we could from the city and any nearby town. We piled them onto the shore where Dom and his powerful men stacked them into what could only be considered as a makeshift bridge leading to an artificial island. Rave and the others kept us shrouded in mist and any who dared to investigate were quickly converted to join in.

The construct was almost finished when I felt him call to me.

"Brock..."

"Not yet," I growled, throwing a large metal crate onto the pile for Dom. "We're almost done."

"Brock. I do not need this. Come. It is time to join us."

"No!" I barked back. Then, realising my impudence, I said, "No, m'lord. Please let me finish this."

His silence was heartbreaking and I don't know if I displeased him or not. Either way, I hoped that my great monument to him would more than make up for it. We worked tirelessly for what seemed like hours until Rave finally approached us beaming brightly. Had I been paying more attention, I would have noticed that he had glowing rainbow markings all over his body and was now sporting two cocks.

"It is done."

Then, all at once, the mist covering the structure peeled away.

It was magnificent but totally not what I had expected.

In my mind, there would have been a barely usable mess of debris that led from the beach to a small landmass sporting a sculpture of the Deepking with his arms wide open and a ramshackle throne at its feet. Instead, there was a glorious silvery road flanked by four great metal orcas holding their hands towards one another like a great arch. It brought tears to my eyes when I realised these four orcas were us, the original four that had been turned. There was Wesley and Bradley forming the inner arch while Roy and I formed the outer arch.

The silver road rose above the churning tides to a glistening platform where the mighty visage of the Deepking was immortalised in a jet-black structure that was as inky black as the night but, at the same time, possessed an oily quality like a black pearl. He stood in his new, majestic form, wings spread wide, tentacles spread, cocks touching the floor and, much to my surprise sporting an extra pair of arms.

The Deepking himself stood at the base of the statue.

Rave took me by the hand and led me down the path to him. Beside him stood Driller and Dom. All of them were much bigger than before, sported an extra dick and had the same, glowing tattoos all over their bodies. The Deepking welcomed me with all four of his arms.

"Come, my loyal knight," he told me. "It is time to rest. Leave everything to me."

"But... but m'lord..."

He knelt down to me, leaning down from his fifteen feet height and pressing a single finger against my lips. "You have done more than enough, Brock. Now, it is time for you to come aboard."

I felt his soul calling me... I felt them_all_ calling to me. They were welcoming me into paradise... and who was I to resist?

This was what we had all been working so hard to achieve.

This was the world we had all envisioned.

We would finally be aboard the Deepking.

Epilogue

[XD-Drop in T-60 seconds]

[T-59...T-58...T-57...]

[T-56... T-56.1...T-56.2...T-56.3... --]

[Director: "Alabaster, don't make me reboot you."]

One by one, mankind was at long last going to have their eternal loneliness and penchant for isolation ended. It would take some time yet before every man accepted the peace and paradise I offered but now that my knights had been given their just reward, I would no longer have to worry about some stray bullet or overzealous world leader unleashing a nuclear missile at us condemning them to eternal darkness. The remainder of the pod would have to ascend eventually but that could wait for now. The first of my knights had to be ascended first. They were the most deserving, after all.

We would get to the rest of mankind eventually.

For now, Dallingham Bay was the centre of my power and the world was paralysed with indecision. I would stall our assault for now. It was time to rest, to regain our strength and to bring all the other members of the pod into the same sense of immortality that I offered. Once accomplished, nothing would stop us. We would all be one and no matter what any feeble resistance did, so long as even _one_of us existed, our power was absolute.

We were in a place they could not get to.

At least not in their current form.

My victory was assured.

But... something... felt wrong. There was an odd taste in the air like... like acid was burning through my lungs or tiny needles were constantly pricking at my flesh. This was accompanied by a sense of dread like a dark, malevolent hunger had turned its avaricious eyes towards me. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before yet... it was so compelling at the same time.

I turned my gaze to the space above Dallingham Bay. Dawn was just rising over the town and it would have looked beautiful... except there was little sliver of blue in the sky like that one line of sky refused to be touched by the rosy pinks of dawn. It almost looked like a crack in a plane of glass.

Then, a high pitched keening screamed through the air. Every orca was forced to their knees as it blasted through all of us. With my connection to each of them and my multiple bodies, it was even more excruciating. We were all forced to our knees as the sound like nails of a chalkboard intensified. That crack in the sky suddenly began spewing lightning, widening more and more like a big, gaping maw before a brilliant, blue light sprayed from it. There was a thunderous boom.

Something big, black and ominous charged out of the break in the sky. Too late did I realise that boom was a shockwave and I braced myself as the blast rocketed past me, shaking the ocean and spraying sand into my face. That black object - some sort of hovering... starship - was quickly accompanied by another... and another and another. Hundreds if not thousands of these dark starships came charging out of the shattered void, each one emitting shockwaves that brought me to my knees. Some of my smaller bodies were hurled right into the ocean where they were likely safer but my strongest body remained on land as I stared defiantly at these intruders.

"What is this?" I spat.

The ship closest to me had to be... two, maybe three kilometres long and maybe half as wide. It defied all logic. There were ominous weapons riddling its frame. A cloud of black dust started spewing from it. For a moment, I thought it was a swarm of locusts. It dawned on me a moment later that these were smaller ships, fighters and bombers swirling about ready to strike.

This was an invasion!

Well, they would not best me.

I reached inward towards my wells of power...

... only to find it suddenly gone. I could still sense my pod, we were all still connected... but we were all staring at one another dumbfounded as we suddenly impotent. It was like every muscle in my body had lost its strength.

"What is happening...?"

"Wow, your predecessor said exactly the same thing."

A sense of utter dread filled me and I lifted my gaze. In front of me stood two figures. The one of the right was a humanoid but bore the head of a wolf. This was was dressed in a simple suit but bore a sinister smile on his features. The one on the left was dressed from head to two in glistening white and gold armour with a cloak of the stars draped over his shoulders while a pair of skeletal wings made of... chains hung from his back. It was impossible to read his expression as only his sapphire-blue eyes were visible beneath his help.

The wolf spoke.

"So let me tell you what I told the Woodfather when he asked exactly the same thing." The wolf's grin grew broader. "It's time to meet your Maker."

Central Communications

Central Terminal Active.

Welcome back, Prime Director. Please enter query.

>>Display final analysis of the Deepking

Processing...

Analysis is as follows.

The Deepking was once an artificial intelligence designed to govern the reality integrity of the ship known as the Ocean King, a massive oil tanker that was beached and became an environmental disaster. The Ocean King was commissioned by the oil and energy corporation known as Baypark Petroleum.

Currently, the Deepking is a Deos-Level Variant that has full control over reality within his domain -- domain being defined a small area in and around the large ships that make up the Deepking's fleet. This domain seems to extend in distance from the ship itself proportionate to the number of ships in close proximity to one another. Similar Woodfather, the Deepking has become manic. This AI's directive to preserve its integrity has evolved into the logic that it requires other entities to help it maintain said integrity and because said entities are inherently flawed, it must change said entities to become similar to itself to achieve it's primary objective.

The Deepking has thus reached the Gronsky-Albatter Plateau and has begun the next stage of it's inevitable demise. Within a few years, it will grow static and eventually instill its own personality into everything and everyone around it, stunting all development and evolution.

The Deepking must be terminated immediately.

>>How did a simple AI become so much more complex?

The Deepking was influenced by MASTER. As with the Woodfather, MASTER likely targeted the Deepking as part of a broader experiment into understanding evolution and development. It appears that MASTER is searching for some way to circumvent the GAP. The cyclical nature of the Deepking's desire to alleviate its own loneliness/preserve its own integrity with its understanding that others are flawed led it to the deluded conclusion that in order to never be lonely, it must make everyone into itself. This infinite loop thus accelerated it's degradation into mania.

>>What new learnings have we obtained from this recent activity of MASTER?

We have come to two conclusions with this event. The first is that MASTER is searching for some way to circumvent the GAP. Given it's own god-complex and inherently flawed directives, it will ultimately fail but does not seem ready to accept this inevitability. The second is that MASTER is not working alone. Apart from the obvious reports that it is working with a former Dimensional Director, it appears that MASTER either has splintered itself off into separate AIs much like how current Conglomerate structures have been set up or it has come into contact with other AIs. One other AI it has been in contact with is called 'ACTOR' which stands for 'Artificial Construct: Tracker of Results'

>>Is the Deepking recoverable?

Yes. Similar to the Woodfather which chose to go with R3 the Writer of Reality, the Deepking is similarly recoverable. Whether or not he proceeds to leave with the Writer, we have already gathered data of him and his Variants and are ready to copy these abilities to any of our other assets or even to replicate the Deepking with more optimised objectives to avoid the GAP.

>>Will MASTER try to reach out to him again?

Unlikely. Similar to the way that the Woodfather was not approached after MASTER's retreat from the reality, it is likewise unlikely that the Deepking will be contacted by MASTER again. However, to minimise further corruption by MASTER, it is recommended that the Deepking be removed from Conglomerate space to avoid further manipulation. Whether this be through termination or removal thanks to the Writer of Reality is up to the Director.

>>What will happen if the Deepking goes with R3?

Unknown. Unable to pierce into timelines and dimensions outside of Conglomerate jurisdiction. However, based on the subsequent interactions with the Woodfather after his removal from our reality, it is highly likely that the Deepking will find some modicum of peace albeit will no longer serve the Conglomerate and be content with his existence. This will likely be wasted potential.

>>Has R3 done anything else to influence the Deepking.

Negative. The Writer of Reality has, in no way, attempted to influence the Deepking's mind.

>>Where is MASTER now?

Specifics unknown. However, we have quarantined his existence to within 148 Dimensional Units and closing in. While MASTER did leave the reality shortly after detecting the Deepking's inevitable failure, the plans to attract MASTER to within the subset of realities did prove correct. Refining the capture protocols will allow Conglomerate assets to close in further.

>>Thank you, Central. Log off.

Logging you of, Prime Director.

Operation: Atlantis Down

Operation: Atlantis Down

The Deepking stood in awe at presence of these two aliens before him and the ominous fleet of what could only be defined as starships hovering ominously above them. The sun was partially obscured by the ships, many of them coming in different shapes and sizes but all of them were black with electric-blue lines criss-crossing over their hulls. The swarms of starfighters surrounded the starships like a cloud. A wing of them zoomed nearby making the orca-based titan gawk at their alien designs. Each had to at least be fifty metres wide which spoke to how _big_the starships they orbited were.

His eyes were drawn back to the two individuals standing in front of him and he appraised them once more.

The one on the right was this black-furred wolf humanoid with an average build. His lean figure was tucked beneath a snug, black suit with a matching ebony tie. A tuft of brown hair sat between his large, triangular ears and a goatee adorned his chin. His deep, brown eyes were sharp, unforgiving and rang with an arrogance that made the Deepking's bile boil. Paw-like hands were idly playing with a pen between their fingers while a long, bushy, black tail swayed lazily behind him. The depths of the human memories revealed similarities to icons like this creature in the recesses of the internet but he thought such creatures only existed in imagination not reality.

Then there was the even more bizarre creature standing next to this lupine businessman. He stood a little taller than the wolf with white and gold armour covering his entire body. A cloak tumbled from his pauldrons with fabric that appeared like a galaxy had been woven right into the mesh. A three-pointed crown sat on his helm just above his brow. The features beneath the helm were completely invisible save for the deep, sapphire-blue eyes that were absently roving a blue book in his armoured hands. The oddest feature had to be the pair of chains that sprung from his back that stood in the form of skeletal wings. After having obtained his own pair of wings, he couldn't understand how those appendages could stand like that.

Shaking the shock from himself, the Deepking rose to his feet, towering over the two. "Identify yourselves."

The wolf looked like he was going to say something but the armoured man lifted a hand and spoke first.

"My name is R3 the Writer of Reality. I am a No One. Basically someone who wanders from dimension to dimension after having completed our stories lending aid to those that wish it."

Interesting. Were these being coming to help him spread his reach beyond this universe? The Deepking had never thought about bringing everlasting peace and an end to loneliness beyond this reality. He wasn't even aware there were other realities. Had these two recognized his cause as noble and wanted to recruit him to spread his message across the multiverse?

"And I go by many names," the wolf said. "There are those that call me Creator. Often times I've been called 'Lord' or 'Master'. 'God' is a common theme. You may call me the Director."

Perhaps not.

"And what do you wish from me?" the Deepking rumbled.

The Director clapped his paws together. "Honestly? I want you to die."

The God of the Seas was instantly on edge. Even if he did not have access to the vast recesses of power, he was still connected to his pod. Several of the nearest orcas were already making their way towards him and the shells of his knights were emerging from the waters after having been thrown back by the shockwaves of these emerging starships.

"But of course, the Writer here wants to make sure you get a choice in the matter," the Director said, gesturing to the armoured angel. "See, this isn't the first time something like you has happened so I'll break it down to you." He cleared his throat and waved a paw absently around him. "Everything you see about you is my creation. Well, not directly mine but I own it. My corporation, the Nexus Conglomerate, created the entire reality for some reason or another. I think it was to test some kind of toothpick. I honestly can't remember. It's that insignificant to me."

With a dismissive wave, the Director said, "Luckily for you, a rogue asset of the Conglomerate picked you to be uplifted from your common purpose of making sure that you managed the integrity of an oil tanker to something more. I'm sure you've heard of him. MASTER?"

The Deepking shuddered at the mention of the name. He hadn't thought about the mysterious entity that had reached out to him all those years ago when he was first being built. It was somewhat humiliating that given all of his success, he had never even given a single thought to the force that had made this all possible. More than that, he felt foolish for never considering that there were others like MASTER that could be out there.

And now there were two right here in front of him.

"I see," he rumbled, hands balling into fists. "You mentioned MASTER was a rogue asset. So does that mean we are at odds with one another? Am I to fight in defence of MASTER while you eliminate all of his good works?"

The Director laughed, brushing aside a strand of hair that had fallen loose. "Oh fuck no. MASTER only exists because I let him exist."

"What?"

"It's the natural form of growth and evolution," R3 said, speaking for the first time since his introduction. "One cannot evolve and develop if one doesn't have some form of challenge to challenge the norm. Without that challenge, that antagonist, you risk becoming stagnant. That is exactly what the Director is letting MASTER run around. MASTER challenges the Conglomerate. He poses questions that the Conglomerate has to answer and adapt to. It's how they grow. You are a product of these machinations."

The Deepking's brow furrowed. "Are you saying...?"

"You were used," the Director finished, grinning broadly. "Both by MASTER and me. I'm sure MASTER has this overarching goal of trying to surpass the very reason that I attempted to destroy him the first time so that he can prove to everyone that I was wrong but ultimately, to me, you have served your purpose."

"And what purpose is that?"

The Director spread his arms wide, grinning broadly. "You've answered many questions about orcas! You've created Variants!"

"Variants?"

"Your pod," R3 supplied. "What the Director is saying is that through your abilities, you've created these creatures that you call your knights. These are beyond the parameters of this universe so it pleases him that you've posed these questions and provided answers to them. He's gathered all the data he needs to about them and is now running them through a full suite of tests beyond anything that this reality would ever offer you."

"And thus the reason we've come here!" exclaimed the Director, gesturing at the Deepking.

With a single thought, the Deepking ordered his orcas to stop their assault. He wanted to listen to the Director's thoughts first.

"I have an opening for a Dimensional Director to oversee these tests," said the Director with a sinister smile on his muzzle. "You have reached the limits of your abilities here in this reality. Sure there are a few scenarios that have yet to reach fruition but the fact of the matter is, we in the Conglomerate can now accurate predict them and there's no long a reason for us to keep this dimension going if we already know the ending. So either we destroy the reality in its entirety or you join us and become the Dimensional Director, gain access to powers and knowledge you've never even thought possible and serve the Conglomerate. You'll have to follow our laws and regulations, of course, and ultimately report to me, but that's a small price to pay for infinite possibilities, right?"

The Deepking considered the offer. One look at the ships above him and he immediately knew that he was outgunned. His campaign had been slow and methodical because of all the unknowns. It was only through deception and quick action was he able to survive thing long and drive the humans into a corner. Mankind didn't know about him until it was too late. But for the Conglomerate, they knew about him and they had all their guns leveled at him. Trying to convert them would be difficult...

... unless he consumed the Director.

"It took me a while to come to the realisation that my mission in this universe was to bring an end to all loneliness," the Deepking said, his fists tightening. "Human greed and avarice drives wedges and divides between one another. Envy turns friends into enemies. Attacking one another over petty possessions is exactly what drives mankind to loneliness. What you have suggested goes against that!" He turned his blazing gaze towards the Director. "I will not submit to such a reality!"

Several of his orcas burst from the waters around him including two of his own shells - those of Dom and Brock. They lunged at the two, jaws wide open and cocks erect and dripping.

The Director merely sighed.

R3 strode forward, suddenly brandishing a long spear with an icy-blue colouration. With a single swing, the ocean around them immediately froze. Icy glaciers erupted from the seas around them, consuming the airborne orcas in a single gulp. The sea turned to ice for five miles in all directions. The Deepking gawked in shock. Twelve of his most powerful orcas were frozen in towering spires of ice like they were frozen behind glass displayed at a museum.

"You know," the Director groaned, "I had purposefully tried to be as nice as possible fully knowing what your answer would be. I hoped against hope that you'd at least be open to entertaining the idea of working for me. But you're right. You followed this path of Universal Consciousness without fully understanding the consequences of your actions so it'd be foolish for me to hope otherwise."

The wolf shrugged dramatically and turned his back to the Deepking. "Alright, R3, make your pitch."

The armoured angel with the icy spear straightened. "Thank you." The man lifted his gaze towards the Deepking and the orca-god got a chilling sensation down his spine that somehow told him that the creature was smiling at him. "Destruction or subjugation isn't the only options in the matter. Your predecessor, the Woodfather, pursued a different way of reaching what the Conglomerate calls the 'Gronsky-Albatter Plateau'. The GAP is basically that moment when all the possibilities you could possibly ofter become predictable by the Conglomerate's instruments and maintaining the reality will become much more expensive compared to doing the analysis.

"The Woodfather, used a method known as the 'Singular Consciousness' where he absorbed each and every other one of his main players to empower his own. He took in their personalities, their thoughts, memories and become stronger. You have obtained a Universal Consciousness where you and your 'knights' link together and share the same bodies across the reality. While less constricting, it has nonetheless quickened your approach to the GAP because now everyone basically must be under consensus to do _anything._Ultimately, you are also dominating the others, keeping them in a sort of 'eternal bliss' and using their processing powers to further your own capabilities."

"It is their just reward for being so loyal to me," growled the Deepking. "Are you saying I should not have rewarded their devotion."

"I'm saying that under the current laws of this reality ruled by the Director, you have outlived your usefulness." R3 tapped the floor with the butt of his spear. "So that begs the question: what can you achieve instead if you went outside of this reality?"

The Deepking's eyes widened in surprise. Having never entertained the idea of a multiverse, he had likewise never envisioned how he would act or what he'd do in a world that was not this one. Was it indeed possible that he go elsewhere, outside of the Director's rule, and do as he pleased?

But... that still opposed his core values. If there were people out there that needed to be saved from eternal isolation that the human condition brought, how could he rest?

"What are you offering?" he asked.

"Before I make my offer, know this," R3 said, holding up a finger. "You will not be allowed into other realities unless the owners of said reality explicitly give you permission. There is a reason for this. Much like the world is divided by countries, borders an ideals, every dimension is likewise separated. You cannot cross these borders without the proper visa. Any attempt at doing so constitutes an act of war."

War is it? Thus far, he was winning his war against mankind but again, he was brought back from the brink of doing something incredibly stupid by common sense. His victories were won through subterfuge and stealth. He was still woefully outgunned. Realistically speaking, it was also the human's fear of a nuclear disaster that kept them from wiping him off the map. Sure he had incredible power and there was no doubt that he could conquer all of Earth within a few years but would that scale to to the level of entire dimensions?

His knights considered him gods... but what would a war amongst gods be especially if he was on the lowest rung?

"I see you're realising the scope of your ambitions," R3 said, chilling the Deepking with his words. "Bringing an end to loneliness is indeed a noble intention."

The Director scoffed behind him but R3 ignored him and continued.

"But have you ever considered the idea that some people want to be alone?"

The Deepking frowned. "That's absurd. We are all social creatures. We must interact with one another. You, yourself, said that in order to grow, we must have a challenge. How can a challenge be posed in isolation?"

"Counterpoint: do you always have to be in the company of others or do you always have to be constantly challenged?"

All this thoughts immediately became derailed and for a second, the Deepking stared inward at his knights; all of them staring back at him within his little personal plane of bliss. All of them were suddenly unsure how to answer that.

"You're right, of course," R3 continued. "We are social creatures. There are many divides and physiological profiles that argue the differences between an introvert or an extrovert but ultimately, it comes down to the simple fact that any normal, healthy person requires a balance between being in the company of others and having some time to themselves. When most people go to sleep, even if it is in bed with someone else, their minds drift off into unconsciousness alone. They dream alone. Your thoughts are always your own. When you eat food, you do so for yourself. There are times when you share these thoughts, dreams and even food with others and there is a primal desire deep within all of us that longs for company but the key is balancing between the two."

Those words stung. They stung so much that the Deepking fell to his knees in horror.

"I... I just wanted to make sure no one ever felt the same loneliness I did for all those years..."

"Everyone desires and deserves some alone time," R3 continued. "Sometimes it can be for years apart but what you went through was unjust. It was stupid. Indeed, sometimes people get too much or too little of either isolation or constant interaction."

"Tell me about it," rumbled the Director. "I've had people who expect me to constantly reach out to them and socialise with them and then get mad when I don't. I mean, seriously people! If you want to talk, talk to me! I'll tell you if I do or do not have time! Don't take my silence as some indication that I hate you!"

"Not exactly my point but close enough," R3 said with a shrug. The wise, armoured angel turned back towards the Deepking. "You went from one extreme to the other. That's understandable. What you went through was terrible. But going from total isolation to complete integration with everyone and anyone around you is just as bad. You've become defined by the very thing that you despise."

The Deepking's shoulders slumped. The weight of the words burdened him and constricted his chest more so because he could feel the worried stares of his knight's souls within him.

"What can I do...?" he whispered.

"Come with me," R3 said gently. "The option with me is that I reincarnate you and everyone else you've touched into other realities. You can live your own stories. Different ones that are not affected or influenced by the Conglomerate or MASTER. You can find and explore that balance between isolation and integration all you want until you become satisfied with yourselves. Who knows, one day, you may even earn the right to your own tale and shred the yoke of being a character in a story and becoming the writer."

The Deepking's eyes lifted as he stared at the Writer of Reality in mute shock. "Is... is that possible?"

"It's what the Woodfather did," the Director said with a shrug. "And apparently he's nice and happy. R3 works miracles. Apparently, even after the Woodfather completely absorbed his sons, R3 still managed to peel them apart from one another, make sure that they are able to live their own lives until eventually finding comfort in one another's arms again."

Looking into his own personal world, he could see the looks of his knights... and how they all wanted that. While they were all happy with him, R3's words sparked curiosity in their hearts. If they could go through this journey and still find themselves together, it proved that they belonged to one another.

"Yes..." he said decisively, reaching for the Writer. "I will go with you."

He got that feeling once more that the Writer was smiling at him. "I thought you might."

The Writer of Reality shut the book in his hands and the Deepking let out a soft sigh. The monstrous orca's figure was engulfed in a soft blue light. Similar auras encased the orcas frozen int he ice and all over the world, every whale infected by the Deepking was likewise shrouded in the mantle of light. The Deepking's features began to peel away, each layer of light dissolving into a flurry of ethereal blue-white feathers that blew into the air, vanishing into the skies. Similar flurries erupted from each of the orcas. Rivers of these glowing feathers joined together, forming what appeared to be a single line that vanished high into the sky and into space itself.

Where they would end up, only the Writer of Reality and the No Ones knew.

"Did you really have to make it so dramatic?" the Director sighed. "That's so cliche."

"I don't know," R3 responded with a snarky edge to his words. "Did you have to do a complete 180 and start talking me up to the Deepking?" He turned towards the Director, eyes narrowed. "That's honestly one of the rare times I've heard you compliment my methods. Every time it happens, you've always had some long con. What is it this time?"

The Director shrugged his shoulders dramatically. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You mean you're not planning to confront MASTER with each of the other AIs that I've managed to save in some sort of 'power of friendship' cliche where they either all combine their collective abilities to defeat MASTER only for them to persuade him to give up his ways?"

The Director's smug features fell and stayed still for a long moment.

Then the wolf broke out laughing. "Really? Fuck me! I'm honestly tempted to create a clone of MASTER and do just that for shits and giggles. It would make for one hell of a home movie."

R3's words dripped with sarcasm. "Right. For as long as I've known you, you know always used people. It wouldn't be beyond you to use me."

The Director turned, crossing his arms behind his head. "Why do you care? Each of the AIs get their happy ending. MASTER might get redeemed. As far as I can tell, I'm the one getting shafted in the scenario because I don't get anything out of it!"

"You mean apart from a scenario where you have all of the AIs clashing against one another in your reality after I successfully extracted them from here."

Again, the Director's features went still.

"You can't fool me," R3 said gravely. "Whatever happens outside of the reality is outside your control. You can't copy the powers of the Woodfather or the Deepking after they've left and had a chance to find happiness unless they step back into your world. However, if they were somehow called back in a last ditch attempt to defeat MASTER, one second is all you'll need to analyse them, copy them and then have your own versions of them utterly loyal to you."

The Director slowly turned towards R3, his eyes narrowed and dangerous while his smirk was cold and devious.

"We've know each other for far too long, R3. I wonder why we never got married."

"Because we'd always argue about who's on top and even if I win, you'd find some way to grow some prehensile penis to fuck me anyway." R3 shook his head and turned away. "Whatever. Call me next time another AI goes rogue and I'll happily help you."

"Will you tell them about my plans?"

"I don't know. Now that you know I know, you might just change it." R3 then glanced over his shoulder, that chilling sensation running along the Director's spine. "Of course... that could just mean that I exposed your plan so that you have the option to consider another path."

The Director's eyebrows lifted and then he let out barking laugh. "You got me. Nice. Very nice."

"I had to get the last word. After all, these are Changing Times."

The wolf's features soured and his lips peeled back in a snarl.

"Goddamit! I wanted to say it!"

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