Chapter Text
Avery rolled over onto his side. His messy apartment was dark. Ever since new years, he’d kept his blinds closed and his entire life to himself. He only came out a few times since January first, only for the bare necessity of food. He worked remotely, so going outside wasn’t something needed for money. It was about noon, he was supposed to be doing paperwork right now. But he wanted sleep. Not needed, wanted. It was a way to escape the horrible reality he now lived in.
So, he wrapped his arms around a pillow by his side and took a deep breath. He was imagining this was Derek. Big, strong, perfect for cuddles. Well, that’s how he imagined him. Like this, it was easy to drift off into nothingness.
Next time he opened his eyes, he was no longer in his room. He looked down at his hands. Still himself. But, he quickly noticed he was dressed like his Minecraft avatar. He didn’t own these clothes, so why and how did he have them on? He’d gone to bed in a sweatshirt and boxers.
Upon looking up, his heart dropped. He could feel the color disappear from his face. It was a large hallway, leading directly to a stone cave. He recognized this place, but now it was so much more real.
This was the crossroads.
Avery’s heart and breath were picking up. His body was trembling. He began to feel dizzy, and he stumbled back. He wondered if he should turn back, turn around and run, wait for this (hopefully) dream to end.
At the crossroads, keep going forward.
No. He needed to keep going forward. For Derek.
So, through his shaking, he stepped forward. And another. And another. Soon, he began to walk smoothly. Slow, yes, but smooth.
He approached the cave and looked to both sides. To the right looked like nothing, and was nothing. Looking back at his hands, they were still his. No way he could punch through stone in real life.
To the left, he knew. He knew what was behind the gates. But, still, it would be better to die of knowledge than live miserably. He jumped down into the cavern, his flip-flops slapping the rough, stone ground.
Deep breaths, Avery. Deep breaths.
He closed his eyes, and began to march leftwards. He scrunched his eyebrows, and soon, he felt the ground disappear under his feet. He slowly peeked open through one eye, and shortly opened both. The ground below his feet felt like nothing, but the best way to describe it was cold air. He continued to step forward, until he saw them.
The gates.
They were even more magnificent than in-game. His eyes widened in marvel at it. The gates shone a royal gold that seemed to reflect light from nowhere. Avery’s mouth grew slightly agape, and he could no longer resist approaching them. As he grew closer, the sides of his mouth curled up into a small grin. A part of him knew deep down this was a terrible decision. But the divine power of the gold was much stronger.
He slowed down as he came to the first gate. He reached up and nudged it, slightly closing it. Avery tilted his head and carefully stepped past it. Slowly, he peeked around the door, only to find…
Nothing?
How could there be nothing again? Avery looked further into the room, and at first it seemed like more void. Not even the golden brick that he saw in Minecraft.
But then he looked further. And saw a silhouette. Yet again, he felt drawn to it, walking faster than average. When he could make out a face, he got a weird wave of Deja Vu. He’d never seen it before, but it felt so familiar.
Skin slightly lighter than his own, shaggy brown hair, big boxy glasses… where had he seen it before? The figure wore a raggedy red hoodie and black sweatpants, not too different from Avery’s outfit when he’d fallen asleep, but he was noticeably shorter.
Avery held his breath before uttering a single word, “...Derek..?”
The figure stood there for a little bit, seemingly stagnant. Then it smiled. Surprisingly, as Avery blinked, he jumped backwards. Suddenly, the figure was as tall as the gates, (luckily it had seemingly stepped back) and clothed in magnificent robes and armour. It gently picked Avery up, lifting him into the air.
Avery squirmed around, “H-hey! What-” He tried to get out to no success, and eventually gave up turning around to look at the head of what he assumed had to be Derlord. He could see now that he had a helmet with the same shape of the one on his Minecraft avatar, with a red plume that barely grazed the ground. Yet again, he shakily asked, “Derek..?”
He nodded, “Indeed.” Avery could barely make out a smile through his helmet, “Took you quite a while.”
Avery didn’t know what to do. He looked around, tears tingling at the back of his eyes. He pushed his lips together and pulled his legs up to his chest. He uttered, “It’s… you?”
Derek laughed again, “You have a tendency to say that.” he bent down and set Avery down as you would a bug. He carefully stumbled off and before Avery knew it, Derek was about his height, staying in his outfit.
Before he could even think, Avery found his arms thrown around him, sobbing into his chest, “I- you…” He tried to utter some sort of expression of how he felt, but it felt as if his vocal chords were torn, and his brain was stuffy and blurry.
Derek hushed him, rubbing the back of his head, “I know, I know.” Of course he knew.
Avery nodded and shoved himself further into Derek, squeezing harder. After a few seconds, his breathing slowed down and he was about to fall back asleep. Derek lifted his head in his hands to make eye contact (Though Avery couldn’t really see his eyes) and sighed. He cleared his throat to say, “Listen, Avery. To put it simply, after I combined with the king, I took his place.”
Avery stared up and mumbled, “...You’re a God now?” His voice was raspy and congested due to his crying.
Derek nodded, “Correct.” He cocked his head to the side, swaying his plume, “But don’t let that change how you see me.”
Avery shakily smiled, and said, “Don’t worry.”
Derek smiled and stepped back. He began to wiggle his fingers, manifesting a piece of paper with a flash of light. He held it out to Avery, gesturing for him to take it. When he did, he noticed that all that was on it was a single yellow symbol. It was a dot, with three cresents around it that reminded him ot a flower. Three lines protruded from between the “petals”, one of them looked like a sicle, and the others were just curved.
Avery squinted at the symbol, “Did you redesign the communist symbol, or something?”
Derek sighed, “No, Avery. You’ve seen this picture before.”
Avery held it closer to himself, further, flipped it upside-down, tilted his head… he was really trying to get ahold of this thing. He’d seen it before… but where?
Then he noticed. December 31, 2025. It was morning, and Avery was hunched over his laptop from the storage garage. He was supposed to approach the gates, they were right in front of him. But, he turned. Into the church, up the steps, behind the podium. And right behind him? A pixelated version of this very image.
He was speechless, stuttering and mumbling something incomprehensible. His chest tightened, and he slopily folded up the paper and stuck it in his pocket. He stared down at his sandaled feet and held his stomach.
“I know it’s not the best memory, but it’s something I can leave you. That was the symbol of the King, and I have inherited it.” He folded his hands, “It’s a way to summon me. I cannot come uninvited into your physical presence, hence the summoning.” He titled Avery’s chin up, “You must simply pray over the symbol.” He stepped back and paused, “Now, you don't have to do this… but you would want to know.”
Avery nodded, and hugged Derek again. He mumbled into his shoulder, “I missed you.”
Derek took a second to reply, “Despite the fact you barely know me?”
Avery grumbled, “Shut up, I’ve thought about it a lot.”
And out of nowhere, Avery was laid back down in his bed. He quickly sat up and frantically looked around, suddenly confused. He’d woken up. After calming down a little bit, he noticed something that wasn’t there before: The paper.
Slowly, he reached for it with a trembling hand. He stared at it, and there was no denying this was the paper. So it was real. So he could summon Derek if he wanted to. But for all he knew, it could be a ruse. After all, the last time he’d seen the symbol it was immediately followed by dehumanizing horror and twelve hours of labor.
Avery clutched the paper in his hand, slightly crinkling it, before letting it go. It slowly floated to the ground and landed on the dirty floor. He laid back down with a long, tired, sigh.
Go back to bed. Just keep sleeping.