Chapter Text
Lamplighter Chronos sat down on a small outcropping of rocks. He's grown used to the caverns over the years. The news today was not comforting.
They were going to have a new member of this little team. Someone to assist them in their eternal work throughout the cave. Someone who will never see the sunlight again. Will it be a small child, like Corrupted? He couldn't bear to think about that.
They haven't worked all day. There was no fuel to light the lamps. No heroes to test for durability. It was a needed change of pace. Further in this underground ravine, he could spot Milky. His old friend. He brought her here, to this place.
Now they talk once a week at best.
She was trying to help Corrupted practice. The poor thing's face was shattered on one side by the Tree of Life. They don't even remember their own name. And still, they have to practice this daily ritual.
It cannot even be considered work anymore, just murder for the delight of a god.
Logic was also visible, albeit resting like Chronos is, sharpening their weapon of choice on a simple rock. Or maybe just damaging the weapon. Nobody really knows how to care for metal. A faint, pale blue glow could be seen on Logic.
A piece of the Tree, used to keep him alive.
An accident happened a few months ago, where a hero fought back with a blast unlike anything they'd seen. Logic's entire face was completely destroyed.
Chronos suffered a face injury around the same time, but from a different source.
..."We stay here, we play your games, and for what?! To die? To be shattered beyond recognition? Please, at least let me fight for our freedom, to see the sun!"
The Tree could only smirk, as Chronos gestures to the now-recovering Logic.
"Very well. Fight for your freedom."...
He places a hand on his cold face. He lost. It wasn't even close in his wildest dreams. And the humility will be stuck with him forever.
He remembers it, clear as day. After only a few minutes of combat, he is pinned by otherworldly powers. His face burning like a thousand suns. And then nothing.
He checks his appearance over with the pocket mirror he was given, years ago. He can barely see it, but it is still there. A clock. An instrument used to tell the time replaces what once was his face.
He throws the mirror away, down the ravine.
Suddenly, a voice resonated throughout the caverns, piercing into Chronos' very head. Cold and stern.
It was of the deity that trapped them all here.
"I suggest you all come to the Lake."
He began to sprint. Has she already found someone...?
The lake... he remembers the lake. A pool of fiery hot corruption, bubbling and reaching out to any shape it could sense. He was pushed into it once, years ago.
The corruption changes you, but... the power it gave was too tempting for her to not test it out on her pawns.
As he enters the small room, he sees the Deity create a hero, directly above the lake. Hero Shapes were what we were supposed to destroy, right? Why was she...
As soon as the hero's basic shape began to form, she tossed it from the air into the lake. Chronos' blood practically turned to ice seeing this. And then... nothing. No sound. The very room itself held its breath.
A faint, pained scream could be heard. He could see Milky flinch in his peripheral. It took a soul-rending amount of time for the Tree of Life to react, for her to will the small child out of the Lake.
There were corruption burns all over its body, and it barely reacted to being rescued. Its almost limp body was tossed to us, as the deity gave us a hateful glare.
"This is your fifth member. I trust you can keep it alive until it can join your work."
And then she faded away, like blue stardust.