Ben 10 Radiant War, Volume 4

A New Breed

"Now... " Nia spread her hands out as the massive eye behind her roved around, giving Shub Niggurath a good glaring stare.  "Shall we play a game, you and I? After all.. as I recall, you rather love games."

Shub Niggurath smirked. "Oh deary me.. don't think just because you are Azathoth's first born that you can-."

"Whoops." Nia snapped her fingers, and a massive cross shaped shockwave like a star exploded right next to Shub, causing a black shockwave of immense cosmic power..

Shub Niggurath's entire left half was blown to bloody bits and pieces, only half her skull remaining on the left half of her body. 

Shub Niggurath's body quickly regenerated, but not before Nia appeared in a bursting starry aura, grabbing Niggurath's throat and raising her up before her. 

"You think I'm the type of fool who would let the villain monologue about their plans in some classic mortal human fashion?" Nia growled spitefully. "I am the irredeemable Nyarlatothep. I find glory in bloodshed, ascension in chaos.. Heaven in that which is hell.  My sheerest pleasure is to watch others suffer.."

"And yet.." Shub Niggurath murmured, still grinning in spite of being held by the throat. "You would seek to protect those weakling mortals whose suffering grants you pleasure.. you've changed and that makes you weak."

Nia grinned spitefully back, her fangs gleaming. "Hehehehehe.. you don't get it do you little goat?"

"Hmm?" Niggurath raised an eyebrow. 

"It's not that I no longer enjoy suffering." said Nia. "it's just the ones I prefer to suffer have switched.  It is true, I will no longer torment mortals.. however.. my foolish family who think all sentience beneath them, I'll watch the lot of you scream and cry in terror. I'll feed off that terror, I'll laugh as you all cry for mercy only to be met with brutality. "

"I see.. so that's how you keep control of that form.." Niggurath said, her smile swiftly vanishing. "You are aware that the more you unlock your old power, the more of the humanity Lia granted you is subdued. By changing the object of your Sadism, you keep your full Nyarlatothep Personality from reverting you to the Outer God you once were."

"Again, you've got it all wrong.." said Nia as she threw Shub aside. 

Shub Niggurath exploded into the street with a violent black star shaped shockwave.

She rose up, dusting herself off, narrowing her eyes. "What now?"

"Being an Outer God doesn't automatically make you unable to sympathize with life beneath your complexity." said Nia.  "I didn't become kinder towards humanity simply because I was made mortal. I became kinder because through becoming mortal I grew to understand humans and other mortals, and Lia little by little, showed me my errors, my faults, and my naivety. How even we the Outer Gods are in the end, nothing, just as humans are. "

Nia jabbed a thumb to her chest and slowly she dug her nail into her chest and carved an Omnitrix shaped scar. "I changed.. ON MY OWN.. it wouldn't matter if I became my original non-mortal form. I would protect humans even then!"

Shub Niggurath laughed. "I see.. so on your own, you became an absolute fool."

"No.. rather you remained a fool like the rest of our arrogant family, I simply opened my eyes." said Nia. 

"SUCH NONSENSE!!" Shub Niggurath laughed loudly as she hurled her hand out, and a massive blast of black energy shaped like a pair of horns on a huge demonic form erupted forth and smashed straight into Nia.