Chapter Text
The church was as quiet as George had expected it to be when he entered, the door creaking closed behind him and his footsteps echoing as he walked down the aisle between the pews. It felt different from when he’d last been here, but it was different. He knew who he was, he knew what he was, and he knew what his existence meant for the people of this world. Stepping into the church felt like coming home now, and here he felt safe. Reaching the altar he stopped, his hands resting against the wood and feeling the knots and the bumps that littered the surface. Everything was silent for a moment, before he heard footsteps approach from behind and he was accompanied by the man he had come to speak with.
“You knew what I was?”
“From the moment I first saw you.” Illumina replied gently. “I’d recognise your face anywhere, even when your true appearance had been hidden there was only one person you could have ever been. I thought I could stop the prophecy from unravelling there and then by keeping the potion secret, but I suppose even a God can’t stop fate on some occasions.”
George hummed to himself, his fingers tightening just a little. Maybe that was true, but he would give everything in his power to stop whatever future lay in front of his friends. A life without them wasn’t one he was willing to lead, even if he had done so before. He would find a way to save them all.
“Do you know who I am, Herobrine?”
“That’s not my name.” George said quickly, looking up to Illumina. “Whatever you know of who I used to be, whatever my father tried to make me, I’m not him. I won’t turn my back on this world, I’ll protect it with my life. I’m George, even if I am a God.”
“Your father will stop at nothing to bring you back onto his side, you have to be prepared to sacrifice everything for your morals if that is to be the case.”
“I will.” George replied, his eyes cast downwards as he looked back to the wooden altar. “I promise, I will.”
There was a long moment of silence between the two of them again, Illumina walking past George to sit on a pew and waiting for the other man to join him before he began to speak once more.
“Your father killed the God of the Nether, he wanted to kill the God of the Overworld. It sent the man into hiding because without anyone to lead a resistance against him, the other realms would fall into his grasp easily. It will be why he’s content in leading this attack without you, he believes he’s strong enough alone to overcome two worlds. If the God of the Overworld wasn’t still here, hidden away, he most likely would be.”
“I know that’s you.” George said. “It’s obvious. And I’m still here, I might not be the God of the Nether but I can help. Two against one, those are good odds.”
Illumina chuckled a little, closing his eyes and sitting quietly with his head hung low for a long moment. George wondered what he could be thinking of, if he was thinking about times gone by and wars that had been lost long ago, but he had enough respect to let the man have his privacy.
“It’s been a very long time since I’ve used my powers.” Illumina said honestly. “I had to keep myself hidden, if he knew I was here he would’ve killed me in a heartbeat, but I don’t think I can hide any longer. I think he will attack sooner than we can be truly prepared for. My only hope is that he believes that the battle will be won quickly and easily, that he won’t expect us to put up the fight we will.”
“Teach me.” George said quietly, looking at Illumina hopefully. “Teach me how to wield my powers, how I can take the fight to my father and kill him . If he’s gone, this prophecy will stop unfolding and the Universe will survive, won’t it?”
An uneasy silence filled the church, and Illumina let out a long breath. “I think it’s the only chance we have.”
The uncertainty in his words shook George to his core, but what other choice did they have? It was a risk he was more than willing to take. He just hoped that it would pay off.
# # #
Sleep had come easily to the men in the bunkhouse. Sapnap and a6d had already succumbed to unconsciousness by the time Dream had returned, and Bad and Skeppy had tucked themselves into the same bed as they clung to each other tightly in their dreams. Dream had fallen asleep quickly, but had sat bolt upright with shock soon after.
Exhaustion still clung to his bones but his breathing was hurried and his mind raced a thousand miles an hour, a hand grasping at his forehead as the images from his dreams chased him even as he shook his slumber away.
He couldn’t escape the gnawing feeling in his chest as he gasped for air. Rather than remaining in the same room as his friends, who could wake up and see him like that at any moment, he snuck out from the bunk, passing George’s empty bed and making a mental note to keep himself hidden from the man if he saw him while he was out walking.
The cold air of the night was crisp and Dream shivered as he walked barefoot through the streets, narrowly avoiding shards of glass, glowstone, and splinters of wood from the battle before. It was late and the cleanup could begin the following morning, so for now the aftermath of the raid was clear for all to see. Bodies lined the streets and blood congealed in the gaps between the cobbled path, but despite the destruction everything was peaceful now. Dream had to remind himself that they’d won, that they’d done something good, and he slunk through the shadows of dark streets to make his way out into the fields that surrounded the village.
Out here he felt alone, he felt small, but the pain in his head only intensified and he came to an abrupt halt as it became too much to deal with silently anymore. Letting out a groan of pain he sunk to the ground and closed his eyes, leaning back with his hands pulling at the hair on his head. He managed to tug a few strands out before the pain began to morph and change, twisting from a throbbing into something more solid, more understandable, something that felt strangely like…
‘Dream, we meet again.’
The voice was all too familiar, though he knew he was alone. But the voice didn’t belong to a person, not now, it belonged to the pain in his head, to the God that wished to communicate with him.
“Technoblade…” He said aloud, unsure if his response would even be heard, but the answer came in the form of the conversation continuing.
‘You seem tired, can’t you sleep?’
“You know damn well I can’t sleep.” He replied, annoyed at the patronising tone the man had taken on. “You’re in my head.”
‘Can I not inquire into the wellbeing of my favourite Human?’
“What is this about? Whatever you want, I won’t give it to you.”
‘You wound me, Dream. And after I brought your friend back from the dead for you.’
Dream hated to admit it, but Technoblade made a point. He had brought Bad back from the dead, although one act of kindness couldn’t make up for everything else he had heard about the man. He wouldn’t be remembered fondly, no matter how hard he tried to twist his story, and Dream felt a pulse of pain behind his eye once more.
‘You know, my son was only disobedient because he was as powerful as I am. But you, you’re Human, you’re so much weaker. The pain you feel now is nothing, and if I wished I could turn your mind into a paste from here. Would you like to find out what that feels like?’
He remained silent, stubborn, but as he felt heat growing in his head he realised that the threat wasn’t as empty as he’d initially considered and cried out. Tears filled his eyes and streamed down his cheeks as his hands reached for some kind of purchase. There was nothing physical he could do to stop what was happening to him. He couldn’t grab the God, nor could he hide from his powers, and as Dream began to quiver on the ground words fell uncontrolled from his lips.
“What do you want?!” He begged. “Stop, please! Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you!”
The pain vanished in a second and Dream remained on his back panting for air, sweat beading on his forehead and his entire body trembling in pain. He didn’t mean what he’d said, he couldn’t mean what he’d said, but it had been said and now he simply awaited the reply in his head.
‘You will do as I command, and I will keep you safe. For now, continue to live your life as normal, but when the time comes to fight you will stand by my side. You will be rewarded for your efforts.’
Dream didn’t reply, how could he reply? He was being asked to forsake his friends and his world by a God, what was he supposed to say? Saying no would leave him dead in a field, saying yes would jeopardize the people he loved, remaining silent gave the illusion that he could somehow continue without making a decision.
He felt pressure increasing behind his eye again and this time, he felt something snap. Technoblade was in his mind, searching around for the right string to pull to make him agree, and Dream realised that whatever happened from this point onwards he would have less and less control over, and less and less of a say in.
Maybe he would be able to come clean to his friends before it was too late, maybe he could ask them to kill him to save themselves, maybe they could find a way to defeat Technoblade together before anything happened.
Dream swore he heard a crunch in the back of his mind, and suddenly he didn’t care anymore.
The strings were being pulled, and he would dance exactly how his master commanded him to.
# # #
Dawn broke slowly and then all at once over the sleepy village. Clouds hung overcast in the sky as people began to clean up after the events of the night before. Bodies were carted away and the air was filled with the sound of tools fixing lights and doors. Parents held their children a little closer, wary of the episodes that had filled the recent weeks. The Wither, and now a raid: the arrival of the young men to their village had marked the start of something cursed and the six of them felt eyes on them wherever they walked. Even as they tried to help, they could tell that their presence wasn’t appreciated.
As the damage was undone and the village slowly began to return to normal, crowds began to head towards the church and the six of them followed. While they had spent an awful lot of time there they had yet to hear a sermon from the cleric, and given what they knew was unfolding in the Universe around them they wanted to hear what he had to say to the villagers. Would he tell them the truth of what lay before them, or would their future remain shrouded in darkness and hidden from them until it came to pass? Was it worth warning people of a fate they couldn’t avoid?
Skeppy and Bad walked side by side, with Skeppy’s arm wrapped around Bad’s and his other hand holding his bicep. The closeness made the change in their relationship obvious to their friends, and it left a sour taste in George’s mouth.
Dream had been avoiding him all day. Since the sun had risen and the group had been together, Dream had avoided him. He had been quiet, reserved, and had avoided his touch. It had left George feeling hollow and forgotten, and had hurt him to his core. Had Dream decided that he didn’t love George? Had he realised that whatever infatuation he’d felt for him before had disappeared? If that was the case, he’d rather the younger man just tell him , but instead he was left to wonder.
Whatever it was, the distance between them had grown both physically and emotionally, and Dream stood several paces in front of him at Sapnap’s side, talking animatedly about the arm that he was preparing to craft to replace the one he’d lost. George had his hands in his pockets as he walked beside a6d, who was smart enough to recognise the tension that had sprouted overnight between the two and didn’t push for a conversation. He just gave him the space he needed, and George was thankful for that. If nothing else, at least he still had his friends.
The church took on an entirely different atmosphere when filled with crowds of people. Instead of echoing footsteps bouncing around the stone hall, conversations flowed and people smiled. Children ran together and laughed and played while they awaited Illumina’s appearance at the altar, and the six men found themselves squeezing close together on one pew given the lack of space. While the people around them spoke, they remained silent, and waited uncomfortably for the service to begin.
When Illumina emerged the crowd fell quiet and found their seats, though the number of people now packed into the building ensured that there was no echo when Illumina began to speak.
“Thank you all for joining us today, I am afraid that this service will be… A little unusual, but given the events of recent weeks I think you will all understand why that is the case. I come to you with the burden of knowledge, an insight into our future, and I must warn you that what I have to say is true. It has been true before, this is not the first time the story has played out, but there is a chance that this may be the last time it happens.”
The crowd waited with baited breath, the cries of an infant breaking the silence before hurried footsteps scuffled out of the door of the church to avoid disturbing the sermon.
Illumina removed the small frames from his face and let his head hang down for a moment, his middle finger and thumb pinching at the bridge of his nose as he found the strength he needed to tell the people before him the horrible truth and prepared for the backlash he knew he’d receive.
“Our world is ending. The prophecy that has been passed down for generations is unravelling and soon there will be nothing before us but war, death, and the end of all times. I am not telling you this to frighten you, I am telling you this because I believe you deserve to know the truth that is approaching us, and because the only way we stand a chance to win is to work together. I want to give you all hope that we can change things, that what has been written and what has happened before doesn’t have to take place again. I cannot promise that this will work, or that we can win, but united we stand a better chance than we do divided.”
As Illumina fell silent whispers began to fill the hall, people holding their loved ones close as they took in what he had said. Illumina had been the cleric for this village for longer than anyone knew, and he was trustworthy to them all, but doubts were present in everyone’s mind. Doubting gave them hope to cling to that he could be wrong, that the prophecy was wrong or that it would take place long after they had all died, but how could they doubt when the evidence was presented before them? The story was known and the signs of the end were as clear as day.
“What do we do now?” Came a feeble voice from the crowd, heads turning to face the woman that asked. “Where do we start? We’re just people, we’re not trained to fight, how can we win against armies and Gods from other worlds?”
The rumbles of the congregation grew with that, agreeing that a fight of that scale was something they were unable to do. How could they? They were farmers, cafe owners, blacksmiths, bakers, not soldiers that could march off to war. If their entire existence was threatened, if their whole world was going to be consumed by a prophecy laid out by the Gods, who were they to stop it from happening?
As the chatter intensified George got to his feet, his eyes wide as he joined Illumina at the altar and looked to the older man for confirmation that he was going to do the right thing: a nod was all he needed.
“All we need is to be people.” George called out to them, and his voice caught their attention. People fell quiet once more, save for the sounds of sniffles and muffled sobs as some began to quickly realise what fate awaited them. “Gods are powerful, but they can be defeated. Armies can be taken down. We need people whose hearts are in the right place, who are good and kind and want to give their children a chance to flourish and grow. You are all good people , I know that if we work together we can find a way to win and to rebuild a new world, a better world, one in which we can all stand together across every realm peacefully.”
He looked out at the crowd, hundreds of faces looking back to him with the tiniest spark in their eyes now visible. Hope .
“So, where do we start?” Asked one man, repeating the question from before with a much different tone. The defeat and acceptance was gone, this was the first page of a new chapter and they would overcome the prophecy. George felt a hand on his shoulder and glanced at Illumina beside him, before looking over at his friends and smiling as he spoke one last time.
“We assume we’re going to win.”