Chapter Text
His return was celebrated.
His silence, accepted.
When the doorways opened, people were excited to explore the world they apparently belonged- carrying enough to survive for generations- prosper even, if they made efficient use of everything.
Derek watched over the human world, watched how the first generations would prosper, but the later ones grew greedy, consuming all he had given them.
And when nothing was left, they once again began to worship him- begging for more.
Derek had already given them everything.
It was not his fault they were greedy, they’d brought this upon themselves.
Derek stayed, and watched, until the final human lost their life- until all the lands were barren and empty.
…That was all there was to it.
Eternity had officially ended.
There was no reason to stay anymore.
Derek simply summoned a yellow door.
Opened it.
And stepped inside.
The platform was the same as it had been, with various versions of himself sitting around and only one of them standing.
The standing Derek simply looked at Derek as he approached.
“...Why the yellow cape?”
“Because it’s the only color that can lure Avery closer.” The other Derek simply said. “Had you not worn that, Avery would’ve kept instinctually avoiding you.”
“I see”
“It’s your turn, by the way”
"I'm sorry?"
“It’s your turn to tell the next two Dereks about what you know” The other Derek replied. “I have done my duty, it is your turn now”
“...Okay, are you the one who helped me?”
“Who knows? Does it matter?” The other Derek asked. “We’re all the exact same person, anyways.”
The other Derek walked over to a spot just a little bit away to sit down, and right after he had, a yellow door appeared, and a Derek with one of his arms in a sling peeked in, before fully stepping inside.
Derek told the other about what he could do to ‘fix’ his issue.
The injured Derek didn’t like it one bit, and quickly left, Derek calling after him to replace his red cape with a yellow one, as it would make things easier.
For the both of them.
The next Derek that came in was calm, uninjured, and clearly knew who to walk up to to ask about it.
“...Why the yellow cape?”
“Because it’s the only color that can lure Avery closer.” Derek simply said. “Had you not worn that, Avery would’ve kept instinctually avoiding you.”
“I see” The other Derek replied.
As the conversation ended, Derek gave the other Derek his single duty- to inform two other Dereks, and then…
Then what?
Then nothing, he guessed.
Derek walked off to sit down somewhere.
…
There really was nothing to do.
No questions to ask, when he already had all the answers
Nothing to wonder about, since again, he already knew everything.
No one to talk to except himself, and there was nothing really left to say. …
There really was… nothing.
Sometimes, it was busy, and there were 4 Dereks that would show up in rapid succession, sometimes, there would be years between Dereks.
But they all ended up here.
In a place where a king once fell.
In a place where each and every single Derek present failed to protect their Avery.
In a place where hope does not survive for long.
And then, it seemed to stop.
There were no new Dereks coming in.
No new warnings to give
No reminders to change from a red cape to a golden one
No explanations as to why.
Eons passed as the final Derek stood, waiting patiently.
“….Guess…. i’m the last one…” The standing Derek spoke after time incomprehensible to the human mind, finally sitting down.
The final Derek had reached the platform, and no-one had even realized it.
An epoch passed, and not a word was said.
Eras went by, so many minds were gathered there, but there was really only one consciousness.
Eons followed, and the minds were now one, millions upon millions of helmets fused into a single, jagged crown, fabric twisted and woven into one singular, yellow garment.
How foolish, did you assume that a throne would stay empty forever?
A singular being now inhabited that silent, isolated platform. A being beyond time and space, to which the past may as well be the present or future.
And it’s precisely because it was a being like that, that it could answer any call across time, no matter how far back it went- even if it came from a time long before the beginning.
Long before the creation of the world they had once lived in.
Scholars had called for it, only to be driven mad by the knowledge it provided as it peeked beyond its yellow door.
The king in yellow made his way in, got comfortable, and spread himself across timelines and universes, ensuring each and every one of them had a piece of itself.
But it wasn’t quite done yet.
This… plane of existence, was not where he wished to stay. He wished to go beyond it, to the realm he was meant to rightfully rule.
Someone had made it for him, after all.
And so, it found a suitable vessel in every single timeline and universe, an unassuming, normal man in his 20s.
But this man, this ‘Avery’, would not come to him on their own accord.
But… with the right lure…
It would have to be someone intelligent enough to be of intrigue,
curious enough to venture deeper,
foolish enough to ignore the signs.
Brave and selfless enough to leave warnings, to beg the vessel not to follow them.
Finding such a person would take time, but it was far from a difficult task.
Not with everything the king in yellow knew.
With endless knowledge, came infinite ways to find what one seeks
And eventually
The king found it
Something that would lure the vessel to him.
It wasn’t perfect- it was a bit too foolhardy, too… familiar.
Eerily familiar…
but at the end of the day…
This ‘D3rlord3’ would do just fine for the King’s plan.