"The Day of Reckoning" is what people now refer to on the night of the black moon. The world has been slowly recovering from the aftermath of the fall. Property damage in the billions was in the process of being reconstructed and repaired. Hundreds of people had lost their lives in the chaos; Death by mass destruction, consumed by the beasts and deities, or from the severity of the madness driving them insane to the point where their brains and hearts were damaged beyond repair. Thousands of casualties in total as a result of the war between the eldritch gods on that fateful night. It would take many years for the people to recover.

World leaders came together to help reform society and restore order to a crippled population. Among those world leaders was none other then the Harbinger herself, Natalia Emerson. At a press conference with other leaders, she addressed the aftermath, casualties, and the sheer miracle that the eradication of humanity was prevented. Those who rejected her words before had now shifted their hatred to understanding. She was correct after all aside from the end of human life. She would continue to keep her position as the president of the United States due to the major impact she had on the economy, relationships established between allies, and the stellar progress she was making in changing the state of the country for the people. The other leaders all agreed to keep her where she was. Nobody was perfect. Even Natalia was flawed, she had just found herself in a very unusual and important position formerly as the Harbinger. Madison would stay by her side as vice president. With the mental toll everything had taken on Natalia, Madison was crucial in her role to maintain stability while she recovered. The emotional support was also needed. To this day the two remain within the White House, piecing together a broken nation amongst a crumbling world.

Vincent Oxford and his followers felt they had all reached the highest point of their lives having met their primordial goddess and made contact with her. The following day they were all checked into an asylum by authorities after the local priest found them holed up inside his church rambling about nonsensical babble related to their goddess and how the fall had failed to wipe humanity. Little did Vincent realize he would be getting a couple unexpected visitors just a couple weeks later.

"Vincent?" A familiar voice called from the hallway just outside his room. His eyes creaked open, head perking up. An employee unlocked the door. It opened up, stepping inside wearing their casual winter attire, was Natalia and Madison. A single tear streaked down Vincent's cheek.

"Y..you came... To see me?" Vincent croaked. His eyes were bloodshot from a lack of sleep due to constant dreams and visions plaguing his mental psyche.

Madison pressed a hand on Natalia's shoulder to whisper into her ear;

"He looks... Restless."

Natalia nodded. She took Madison's hand and lowered it off her shoulder. She cautiously approached the disheveled man, feeling pity for his current state compared to the sharply-dressed, arrogant gentleman he was when the two met. She took a seat on the bed next to him.

"Vincent... How are you doing? I've made sure your estate has been kept under constant watch while you're absent from it." Natalia spoke softly.

"Thanks. Um, I-I'm sorry I'm in such a messy state right now. Heh. Who would've thought calling upon an eldritch deity and spending time with it would drive a man bonkers... Funny how that works. Oh how I wish I was like you. That iron will of yours, together with the connection to that mad god made you immune to any form of madness." Vincent replied, a worn smile on his face.

"Well, that's not who I am anymore. The Outer Gods were all banished. My crimson book was... Wielded against me and that deity inside me. I never thought just how much power that book really contained within it's pages."

"I warned you my dear. You knew the tome of forbidden knowledge held great power beyond our comprehension. Where does it reside now by the way?"

"I..I'm not sure. That young lady must've taken it. Lord knows what she did with it. Whatever the case, it's in better hands with her. I don't think we have anything to fear anymore. We survived."

"That we did. Even though I was expecting to die... I'm happy we didn't perish after all. Funny how I've come to accept that fate was changed."

"Yeah..."

Madison went and took a seat next to Natalia, resting a hand over Natalia's. She took her hand in hers and held it tight.

"We're glad you're recovering here. Unfortunately we cannot stay for too long. There is still far too much to do following the aftermath of the fall." Madison added. Natalia nodded in agreement. Vincent closed his eyes, nodding back.

"I understand. You are the leaders of our nation after all. Please, do not dwindle your time on me any longer. I shall recover soon enough and be back on my feet in no time."

Natalia and Madison stood up, hand-in-hand. They headed for the door but turned around to face Vincent. Natalia was torn up over leaving him like this. But it was for the best he stay to get proper treatment. She accepted this outcome of his own doing.

"Good luck Vincent. I'm looking forward to seeing you again... In a better state of mind." She said with a smile.

"And good luck to you too... Be the beacon of hope for this country once again." Natalia swallowed hard following those words. She shook her head.

"I... I need to atone for what I've done. I could have stopped the fall, but was consumed by that bastard residing within me... So I'll take your words to consideration. Goodbye for now..."

With that, Natalia and Madison left the room. Vincent simply closed his eyes and laid down to fall asleep. The last thing he heard before drifting into slumber was the sound of the door to his room closing shut.

Joseph Carter had gathered the remaining members of the kabbalah together back at his office in New York City. Laurie, Maria, Xiang, Omari and Edmund all had gathered around the conference table. Joseph stood in front of the blank whiteboard, wearing an expression that was a mix of solace and concern. He cleared his throat then lifted his head to face everyone. They all had their eyes on him. His pulse was racing, heart pounding. This was their first time all together since after the fall.

"I'm glad you all were able to make it here. I understand we've all got a lot on our plates during these tumultuous times following the events of the fall. Recovery efforts are in progress and the world powers are firing on all cylinders to restore order to the world. I gathered you all here for updates regarding what you all have been up to since we dispersed everyone from the bunker." Joseph stated.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Everyone glanced at each other before speaking individually one-by-one in clockwise order;

"Since the... Unfortunate passing of Peter Masterson, I've been delegating both my role and his own as well. Silicon Valley has recovered from the attacks suffered in Los Angeles and is back to working on their technology milestones. Meanwhile the banks are up and running again, stocks are still plummeted from the hits we took following the damage but... But we'll maintain." Laurie said.

"The motherland has been working overtime to recover and restore order after Moscow and the Kremlin in particular suffered significant damage from the cosmic threats. We're strong though. We recovered after World War Two. We'll recover from this as well." Maria stated with her arms crossed.

"While the damage was minimal, as the largest country in the world many different small, condensed areas were hit. Nobody significant was injured or died, but we still lost quite a few people. The world economy cannot falter as we remain a crux for trading, imports and exports. Everything will be fine as order is restored. China remains strong through these troubling times." Xiang replied.

"Parliament has been a mess ever since those damned cosmic beings invaded. The government has been straggling to get things done with... Decent progress. Rest assured you have nothing to worry about on our end. I can pull enough strings to ensure those in power keep the public at bay." Edmund murmured sipping on tea.

"Many were injured and killed following the grave events of the fall. Sadly our populations took quite the hit. People have been scrambling all over to repair damages to our cities and towns. It has been a blessing to see so many come together to aid one another. While we had our many internal problems before, to see the comradery warms my heart." Omari said.

Joseph let out a sigh of relief and clapped his hands together. He managed to smile to ease their minds.

"Excellent. I know this is a lot to take in, especially since we were already dealing with the climate troubles prior to the fall. But we have a world to run, and just survived an apocalypse. Humanity is at it's lowest point since the great war. We need to remain united to restore order. Only then can we get back to maintaining balance in the world economies and infrastructure. Okay everyone... With that out of the way, we have much more to discuss so please prepare to take notes..."

The streets of Manhattan usually bustled and teemed with life every day. However since the events of the fall and the city-wide destruction caused by the near-awakening of the sleeping god, many in New York City were found without work as construction crews were working around the clock cleaning up the debris and remains left behind in the wake. Fortunately enough for her, Victoria's neighborhood as well as her work were left unharmed. Some employees however, were absent from work as many people caught up in the chaos suffered from what is being called "madness" by the people. The hospitals and asylums had become overloaded with patients diagnosed with madness ever since that night. Some overcame it while others were still suffering. It would be quite awhile before everyone would fully recover.

"Yes... Yes I promise you that I've been okay. I appreciate you still checking up on me grandma, I really do..."

Victoria sat on the couch in her apartment talking with her grandmother over the phone. Adrian was in the kitchen cooking up lunch in the meantime, eavesdropping on what she had been saying since the phone call started nearly half an hour ago.

"Thanks. I love you too. Bye now." Victoria hung up before heading into the kitchen.

"I know it may be a bit annoying but you should be thankful she cares so much about you babe." Adrian said with a snicker. Victoria sighed, leaning against the fridge.

"Yeah yeah... I guess when I told her about how I managed to stop the entire fucking apocalypse from wiping the planet clean thanks solely to my little adventure uncovering the big family secret, she became super anxious about my mental health and how I've been doing. She said if it wasn't for Edward and Mary forming that pact all those decades ago, the outcome would've turned out much differently."

"I mean, do you think that deity, Hastur was it? Would've just raised his own uprising against those Outer Gods?"

"No clue. His connection to my lineage did deepen his connection towards us mere humans. From what I've read regarding eldritch lore and stories, the Great Old Ones and the Outer Gods weren't exactly the best of friends. Regardless of their bizarre relationships, I'm glad we were able to save the world after all. But fuck... That took a lot out of me. I'm still recovering mentally so the time off of work has been helpful. I'm going back starting next week."

"I'm glad to hear. The world still has a lot of recovering to do after that night. I've been hella' busy with work so my exhaustion is real. Maybe I will take you up on that offer to move in soon enough... After things calm down."

"Won't hear me argue with that decision. You've normally just been too stubborn and lazy to take me up on the offer. Now you're considering it?" Victoria chuckled.

"Oh shut up. I got a lot of shit I'd need to pack and I just don't feel like it right now."

"Of course. I understand. Wait till things calm down like you said then I'll help you out. Maybe we get a couple of our friends to help out."

"For sure. Can't wait to share that bed with you twenty-four seven."

"Yeah? Better not make it messy then. I prefer my bed kept tidy." They both chuckled as she approached him, kissing him deeply. The two would spend the rest of the day together, trying to keep their minds off of the recent events that had transpired despite them lingering in the back of their minds.

Some nights, Victoria would deal with nightmares, flashbacks to the final moments of the fall but distorted to a different outcome where Cthulhu would awaken and swallow the world whole. Even with these occasional nights waking up in cold sweats, deep inside her subconscious a familiar feeling of comfort and warmth would resonate within her, bringing her peace and easing her mind. Whenever she needed solace she would remember seeing the manifested forms of her parents within that void space. She would also remember Hastur, whom she imagined was almost like a guardian angel in some twisted way. In her mind the world was still in distress, but the future seemed bright after all. Victoria would also make sure the crimson book remained locked away inside a metal box tucked under the bed. Never again would it's forsaken words be spoken.

The stars in the night sky twinkled brightly on a cool summer night. The young woman stood on the balcony, holding the necklace up in front of her eyes with the starry sky behind it. She looked at it for a few minutes before taking it with her back inside. She sat down on the bed, gently rubbing the necklace with her finger. The red gemstone glimmered dimly. She smiled, hugging it close to her chest.

"I'll make sure they stay sealed away for all of eternity. Never again will we have to worry about the Outer Gods returning to Earth." The woman whispered. "You did good, Victoria. At least now, I have some new material to write about for the next album. Maybe I'll make it centered entirely around the fall! How humanity was almost eradicated until one girl defied fate and saved us all! Silvestria presents: The Fall. A concept album about the cosmic apocalypse. What a banger of a concept for an album!"

The young woman stood up to head to the vanity, staring at herself in the mirror as she put the necklace on. Her teal eyes glowed as did the red gemstone on the necklace.

"I'm glad you two didn't have to witness all of that... But just know I am safe. And so is everyone else. Your pact with Yog-Solthoth... I'll never forget hearing about that. The gate will always remain locked tight for it's key is in safe hands. I can promise that to the both of you... Mom and Dad."

Silvestria went back out to the balcony and looked up into the sky. Far off in the distance beyond the stars, she could make out the fading form of the cosmic entity and it's many glowing green orbs. While the vision was brief, it soon vanished. There was nothing left to fear. The world would eventually move on. Humanity was freed from the shackles of fate.

While the future was uncertain... The path ahead was beginning to look brighter.