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(I shouldn't have listened to him.)
A tentative step forward.
(He's cruel. Sinister. Selfish. Even if we're partners, he bade me to venture alone. Left me to scour the ends of the world for the treasure... While he reclines in the warmth and comfort of our home. Just so— What? So he may beg to share the power I bled to obtain?)
The Void Star twirls endlessly in the dark. And yet, the shadow it casts looms over a darkness far too great to ignore.
(I should've listened to my heart.)
Another tentative step forward.
(I refuse to retreat. I've tortured and murdered for this ambition of mine. My steps sluggish as though my feet sink through phantom mire. To admit fear is of incredible shame, yet still, I fear. The power that we've long pursued— the power we only recognize through whispers— is it truly worth the price?)
(I should've turned back.)
The star flickers with promise; a mere folly. Regardless— entranced, a hand reaches forward.
(I scream.)
(It hurts.)
(It's more than pain. It's revelation. Hot ebony flames that rend soul from sinew, flay the spirit from bone. It swallows me whole, carving my flesh with its name, peeling me open from the inside out. It sets me ablaze, and it's only through fate's mercy that I'm not rendered to ashes.)
(I feel my soul being dragged into vacuum. Consumed by darkness. It leaves me half-rotting flesh, my heart now a concave hollow. I feel everything, yet nothing. I feel myself ceasing. This must be the price they've told me of.)
(And no wonder they didn't stop me. Maybe it's all I deserved all along.)
(Holding onto the last string that anchors my mind, I clutch the void star close to my chest.)
(My friend, you will pay.)
Noli trotted through the all-too-familiar neighborhood, traversing the path he knows by heart. The way home.
He's quite the popular troublemaker— how could he not be? The havoc he and 007n7 caused in the past can't be counted on two hands anymore. A part of him is proud. That level of chaos is a prankster's biggest achievement.
Another part of him, however, feels ashamed.
The Robloxians he passed by all stopped to stare. He fidgeted with the strings of his hoodie— though it did its job of hiding most of his grotesque body... It did nothing to conceal the the twisted ruin of his face, or the black smoke trailing behind him like tendrils.
Ever since the Void Star entered Noli's hold, Noli had been rotting— slowly, painfully. Looking at his reflection, he sees nothing but a hideous monster. Melted flesh. Scorched bones. Barely held together by flimsy strings. By sheer will. By the Void Star.
His consciousness whisks away in the Void Star's shadow bit by bit. Every attempt at controlling his emotions caused his head to throb. It made him manic. His heart thudded like war drums.
But still, he presses forward. He just needs to have a nice chat with Seven, then the Void Star can do its worst.
(In a way, it is not Noli that wields the Void Star. Rather, the tool's shadow looms over him, for he is enslaved by it.)
Finally reaching the house he once shared with 007n7, he takes a long look.
Home brings back so many memories. Endless nights plotting elaborate pranks. Developing new exploits for the c00lgui. Sharing laughter on their couch after successfully scaring the masses once more. Yet all rose-tinted memories were now vandalized, defaced by bitterness and time.
(Noli loves him. Loves him so much that his hatred boils over, threatening to spill like hot, blackened tears in his eyes.)
He gritted his teeth. Forcing the rose-tinted glasses off. He roughly wiped his tears with the sleeves of his hoodie, the coarse texture of charred skin tugging on the soft fabric. A low sob crawled from his throat, jagged and broken.
He ignores the streak down his cheeks and pulls out a set of keys from his pocket. With a jingle, he slid the key into the keyhole. Just as he was about to turn it—
"Daaaad! Why's that creepy guy breakin' into our house?"
A high-pitched voice. Vigorous. Childish. Still fumbling over his words.
Noli turns his head— fear coursing through his veins. Heartbeat running like engines about to combust, hardware about to melt.
007n7, a red-skinned child perched on his shoulders.
"Ss—... SeVenN?" The word sluggishly grovels through the bile in Noli's throat. Glitchy, broken, static. He froze. And the world froze with him.
"Noli...?" 007n7's eyes widened in fear and confusion, his shaky hands gripping the boy tighter. The voice that comes out wasn't like Seven's at all. Not cruel. Not sinister. Not selfish. Instead it had softened since the years they were apart, with a natural, human tremble.
Eventually, they let themselves into the house.
Immediately, 007n7 promises the child pizza for dinner. The boy cheered, hugged him, and sprinted into his room to play with his toys. Noli's scorched fingers ball into trembling fists.
The room the boy vanished into— that's his bedroom— or at least, was. The fleeting glimpse into the room tells him all purple and edgy posters he had have been stripped down. Replaced by bright red wallpaper, kids' toys. Childish clutter.
The room was no longer his. Perhaps it hadn’t been for years.
Noli saw the look in 007n7’s eyes as he watched the child go. No mischief. No cruelty. Just… tenderness. Affection. As if the boy were something precious.
Had Seven ever looked at him like that?
(Noli wasn't replaced. No. He's left behind.)
"Noli... are you okay?" 007n7 asked as he led Noli to the dining room— out of earshot. His voice is laced with concern. But Noli's broken psyche can't tell if this is yet another one's of fate's follies to toy with him— or it's just Seven being genuine.
He didn't answer.
"...[Daaad]?" Noli echoed the kid's whine, his voice splices and glitch apart. He covered his face with a palm and snorted. "—aHHhaaHahaHa— SinNce w-When."
007n7's worry deepened.
Of course it did.
(If a corpse like Noli appeared at your doorstep, decaying and bitter, you would be worried, too.)
"N— no. [Don't answer that!]" Noli dropped his hand to look 007n7 dead in the eye. A manic smile twists his ruined face. He no longer had eyes, but he's sure if he does, it'd look betrayed and hurt.
"I'mMm [OUT THERE] fiIghhtinGg t0oth & n-nAiL for ur [Ha-ha COWARDS!!] ahh?? And yoU s-ssettLed down??"
Noli choked back a sob. He sounded pathetic.
Stupid corruption wouldn't even let him speak. Seven wouldn't understand him, no one would.
In 007n7's eyes he saw fear. As if he's the nightmare, the past, coming to haunt him.
"Noli..." 007n7 hesitates, "What happened to you..?"
(He felt comfortable with Seven. He doesn't have anyone else. He was attached. Far too attached. Maybe that's why Noli wanted to please him so much— maybe that's why Noli caved and scavenged for the Void Star. And maybe... He's still attached.)
(Maybe that's why his chest hurts so much.)
Noli's silence only lasted for a short while.
"[What happened] t-to m-Mme?"
("Imagine the look on their faces." Seven had told him with a mischievous smile. Noli, naturally the prankster, immediately agreed. It started as a joke they both laugh about. Then a plan. Then reality. A horrible reality.)
Noli's whole body ached. His mind is nonsensical garble. He saw static.
He saw red.
Without thinking, he lunged— grabbing 007n7 by the throat. His fingers squeeze tight. The Void Star formed in his other palm, shaped like a dagger. It glows ominously.
"The Void Star—!" 007n7's eyes widened in recognition, he gasped for air. But Noli squeezes tighter.
(This is why he came, to kill.)
"Y-y-yYouu happened, [DAMNIT!]" Noli shrieks, "y-YouUu & the sTuppId VoidStar™ pmo! I [Hate, Hate, Hate] u so mm-MuuCccH!!"
Hot tears spill down his cheekbones, he can't hold his smile no longer. He lost hold of the emotions he tried so hard to control. His sobs were garbled, like broken TV.
And even through glassy vision he saw the guilt in 007n7's eyes— as if he's caught red-handed.
...Neither of them can speak. Not Noli, his throat feels jammed. Not 007n7, he can't breathe.
007n7 didn't resist. Didn't struggle.
Either from shock, or from sheer remorse. Noli can feel his thundering pulse beneath his fingers. Rapid. Frightened.
(It doesn't matter, either way, Noli will get him.)
As the dagger's edge grazes 007n7's chest, right above the heart that beats— Noli was struck by a sudden moment of clarity.
A child. A silly red boy. A propeller hat. Unwiped snot. A smile. Promised pizza for dinner.
007n7 is a father.
And Noli would be a monster— a beast engineered by the Void Star's corruption to even think of ridding a child of his father.
Noli clicks his tongue, slamming 007n7 to the table with a sickening crack. The Void Star vanished into his hoodie pocket, away from view and touch.
(The same table they used to dine together on.)
007n7 grunted in pain. Noli heard the wood splinter. Bones, too, perhaps.
"Seven," he rasped, voice returning to him just to call his old friend by the familiar, close name in a rare moment of his mind's clarity, "[Answer the question]."
007n7 winced, rubbing splintered wounds. He looks up to see but a shadow of his partner. No sign of the Noli with brilliant, unpredictable ideas for pranks and chaos. No Noli that drags him for a night out. And certainly not a Noli who finds his silence comforting in the moment.
"His name is C00lkidd." 007n7 coughs, finally answering, eyes on the floor, " It's just... A spur of the moment decision. He's just a baby when someone dropped him at my doorstep. I... I thought it's a calling, to leave everything behind and raise him right."
Noli said nothing. His broken heart sank to newer lows.
(Leave everything behind.)
"I-nnclud-ing... M-mmEe?"
(It's been years, of course he's going to move on. He probably thinks you're dead.)
007n7 looks up at him. Guilt. Pity. Regret. The emotions swirl together in his visage, a dangerous cocktail for Noli's volatile state of emotions. A dangerous mix for someone already crumbling. A heart broken beyond mending.
"Noli... I'm... I'm sorry." was all he managed to say.
Noli wiped away the last of his tears. He takes a good look at his friend... Partner in crime. And that's all in the past. They knew the risks of trying to take the Void Star for themselves, but Noli took the short end of the stick.
"Go... G-ggGoo [kys]." Noli muttered halfheartedly, the venom in his voice unconvincing even for himself.
He throws the house keys to the ground— the silly and worn burger keychain shatters from impact. It's no longer Noli's home, just... A house he used to reside in.
He sees himself out.
"Seven..."
Noli draws a gift box from behind his back. Intricately wrapped in blue and yellow ribbons. Noli was always meticulous about the details.
"Happy birthday!" He beamed.
Seven groaned. It was their tradition. To exchange gifts. And every year, the gift is a prank.
"If this is a subspace tripmine again..."
"Ah! You wound me." Noli clutches his chest theatrically. "To think you hold such a low opinion of me. A repeat gag? It is unbecoming for an elaborate prankster such as I."
Seven snorts and gives his shoulder a playful punch. Noli chuckles. Undeterred, he once again pushed the box into his hands.
"Trust me, Seven. You'll adore my present."
Seven eventually relents, unwrapping the gift... To reveal a t-shirt with a poorly edited PNG of Thomas the Tank Engine's face on the front. He gives Noli a pointed look, "Is this the prank?"
"Golly!" Noli cackles, "It is but whatever notion you have in mind, my friend. That— is a normal T-shirt."
"An ugly T-shirt." Seven corrects him. He doesn't make an effort to hide his smile. It's absurd, and reflects Noli's bizarreness all the same.
"Bah! Soon you'll grow attached to it." Noli rolls his eyes.
They never did celebrate Noli's birthday afterwards. Not that year. Not the ones that followed.
Noli hadn't been thinking straight.
The Void Star didn't help.
He laid on the grass, staying still and closing his eyes—or what's left of them, at least— letting the world pass him by. Memories fill and distort his mind like defunct film rolls. He was carried to his subconscious limbo where the only conversation he can have is with himself. His mind dark and twisted, his own voice bouncing around like an echo chamber.
His meeting with Seven had left an increasingly sour taste in his mouth, felt like everything terrible in life occured to him in mere seconds. The memory of his partner no longer brings peace and comfort, instead it carries with it regrets and resentment.
Noli however, does not regret not stabbing 007n7's heart days ago.
(He can't.)
(The thought itself wounds him.)
His spiral is interrupted by a presence— a small one— close enough to cast a shadow. His eyes snap open, neck creaking as he turns to face whoever had the audacity to approach.
No one ever did. Not anymore. Not with the kind of darkness he wields . Not with that grotesque, burnt shell of his. He’s been lying here for hours, days even (not that he counted). A decaying corpse in broad daylight, yet no one dared disturb him.
Except...
"Uncle Noli?"
A high-pitched voice. Vigorous, Childish. Still fumbling over his words.
It's C00lkidd.
007n7's... Son.
Under rays of sunlight, he looks redder than Noli remembers him. His silly propeller hat spins in the soft breeze. One hand holds a lollipop, half-peeled star stickers decorate his hands and arm. A backpack hangs from his shoulders, too big for a kid his age. Must've come from school.
(C00lkidd. Named after the c00lgui. The very thing 007n7 left behind. So Seven can never truly abandon his nature.)
Noli grumbles, "hrrGghH... [Uncle]?"
"Dad say I can call you that!" C00lkidd beams, wiping his snot. Gross. "You look c00l, just like me!"
Of all the things Seven could've told his son... that, huh?
The thought leaves Noli bewildered. He blinks. Strangely, though, it gives his broken heart tiny wings to leap with. A flicker of warmth, as though he's part of their ridiculous little family. It's comical. It's... Nice.
(Noli can't help but wonder what other things about him 007n7 told C00lkidd about.)
"R-riighTt, [c00l!] ig." Noli murmurs.
(As if ugly and unnatural is the new cool.)
He rises, the boy only reaching his waist. He examines him properly. From the goofy grin to the glint in his young, childish eyes.
The very familiar spark.
The same glint he saw in Seven's eyes many years ago. The spark that started fire.
Like father, like son.
Noli smirks. Oh, the irony. Seven thought he can forget. He thought he can abandon his roots. Walk away from him. But his son carries that same glimmer from his youth. A legacy. Firecrackers behind baby teeth. Petty as it was...Noli will make sure he never forgets.
He kneels, joints cracking from disuse. His grin turns crooked.
"[kiddo] u k-knnOww wht [Me & ur Dad] used to d-ddoo for [fun and games!]?"
C00lkidd's eyes lit up like fireflies, "Ooh! Tell me!"
So Noli does.
They sit on the park's squeaky old swing set. Its hinges rusted and bars about to fall apart. Everyone else avoids them like the plague, too unnerved to come close. He recounts the tricks and chaos like narrator in a monologue. Though— he avoids mentioning the hacking, respecting 007n7's wishes in that regard. He can tell it would be dangerous if an immature young child caught wind of it.
C00lkidd listens with rapt attention. His eyes shining with excitement and eagerness, as though he'd love to join in the fun Noli and Seven had in the past. So when Noli invites him to recreate some of those pranks...
The boy agrees instantly.
Hours fly as they break teeny tiny havocs to robloxians passing by in the park. Noli demonstrates some tricks he picked up when learning to control the Void Star. They throw bricks (it'll hurt... just a little) at unsuspecting victims from behind cover, cackling at their confusion. They stage banana peel slip-ups, sticked gum onto park benches, and made a few prank calls.
Noli even teaches him his favourite trick; manipulating space, dashing forward to surprise and knock down everyone in their path (he calls it the 'Void Rush'). He assists with the energy manipulation part. The kid picks it up instantly. He can't steer yet, and the speed is not on par with Noli's. But the instinct is there.
It's impressive. He didn't expect that.
(Noli hopes he didn't just create a monster.)
Noli pats C00lkidd on the head softly. To which the child beams. They snicker at every prank's success. As Noli walks the kid home safely, he stops by the ice cream truck to bully the guy into giving them two cones for free. Vanilla and strawberry swirl.
(Strange, how much he's enjoying himself.)
He resents the boy at first. Views him as the very thing placing the irreparable rift between him and Seven. The devil that drove Seven to change and leave him behind. Now, though, he finds it impossible to despise him. The time spent lifts a small burden off his shoulders.
All good things come to an end.
They reach the front porch of the house. C00lkidd skips ahead to knock on the door, but Noli gently stops him with a touch of his hand.
"I—mm gtg [right now], o-K?"
C00lkidd's frowns, looking up, "Uncle Noli? You don't wanna see dad?"
Noli shakes his head, he doesn't want to face 007n7. Who knows what the corruption will make him do. He won't say that out loud, though. The knowledge wouldn't be of use to C00lkidd. Instead, with his deformed bones and melted visage, he smiles.
"t-tell himMmm i said [Hey~]."
C00lkidd blinks, puzzled. He just nods, his propeller hat slightly askew, "Okay."
Noli waves as he walks into the distance.
He is never seen again.