Call of Cthulhu : Abyss of Human Contempt

**Call of Cthulhu : Abyss of Human Contempt** is a Story Arc of the the Exteria Multiverse. It takes place in Interra and follows the perspective of Arthur Callahan and Nukah Athens. It is a sequel to Call of Cthulhu : Holiday Special and is followed by Call of Cthulhu : Justice of Thirteenth Hour.

## Main Arc

### Ominous Beginnings

Nukah, Arthur and Grace, three average, if a bit rebellious, students in a small French town, are asked by their school to come over for detention and additional lessons, due to their attendance problems. Despite the situation being a bit irregular and perplexing, the three misfits choose to comply, and are even being offered food beforehand - suspicious generosity indeed from an average school in an impoverished hometown.

In class, the trio is given cryptic instructions by an affable teacher and soon begins to realize something is off when other students gaze at them in a twisted way. As their eyes begin to blacken and people begin to act like undead abominations, Arthur, Nukah and Grace quickly run away, before realizing that they have already been corrupted by some unknown sickness.

### A Darker Night

As Nukah attempts to drive away from the town, a quick chase by corrupted villagers - each with black eyes and eerie, empty predatory behavior - forces her to quickly pull the brakes on her car, which makes her nauseous, and forces her to vomit a wormlike parasite. As she begins to feel better, she quickly manages to cure Grace and Arthur of their own parasite, and deduces the food was infested.

Quickly attempted to fend off against the parasite-infested neighborhood, the group tries to hide inside the hospital, but is chased by a massive, bandaged, squirming gigantic creature and forced into hiding, then retreating. After determining that cleaning solvents can be used to slow down the beasts, the trio manages to survive for most of the night before escaping a horde of corrupted predators.

### Forest of Desperation

Forced to retreat into the sinister forest close to the village, the trio stumbles upon ancient writings detailling triple ritual sacrifices to unseen, dark gods. As they slowly begin to realize their true purpose, the teacher that led them off reappears, mockingly revealing that the entire village has been influenced by Shedim from the start - with only Nukah, Arthur and Grace being immune to their influence, and thus chosen as sacrifices.

This horrifying realization is further cemented by the teacher summoning the beast-like bandaged creature to fight the trio. Much more powerful than them, it begins to overpower them, but Arthur quickly manages to discover the enemy's weakness by exposing its pulsing, verminous heart. In a surge of courage and willpower, Nukah manages to plant explosives within his thoracic cage - but not before the beast kills her. The creatures dissipate, and the village, deprived of its ritual sacrifices, vanishes into nothingness, leaving Gloria and Arthur unscathed and alone.

## Characters

* Nukah Athens
* Grace
* Arthur Callahan
* Other Cthulhu Characters

## Trivia

* This is the first Storyline from the Call of Cthulhu entry not to directly feature cosmic aberrations; however, Shedim, due to their nature as proto-cosmic, wormlike eldritch parasites, act as a fitting replacement.