Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Shit... ugh."

     007n7 hissed as another thorn bush hit him in the leg, piercing through his pants and poking at his skin. Maybe this wasn't a good idea... 007n7 sighed before continuing on.

     He was on a quest to find the infamous "Void Star"... or whatever the fuck it was called. 007n7 could care less, it just seemed cool. Plus, he saw a bunch of dorks online talking about it and how "hard" it was to obtain it. 007n7 thinks that's complete bullshit. Obviously, none of them were active enough to actually go look! What would he expect from a bunch of internet sleuths who don't know what the outside of their parents' basements look like?

     That's not the only reason why 007n7 is looking either. He has heard that apparently the crown could give you special abilities! 007n7 doesn't fully believe that it could possess something like that, but it gives him something to do. Who is he to complain?

     He struggled through the thick bushes and many trees before coming to a clearing. It was... a cemetery. That's definitely not concerning. 007n7 looked around before zipping up his coat a little more. It was chilly out... Every exhale he took, he could see a small thing of fog start to form. He looked around before spotting a tall tower of dirt off in the distance, with what looks to be a well on top? He could see a staircase? Maybe? He could barely tell. He was already squinting his eyes too hard.

     He walked around the cemetery before walking towards the tower. The dead leaves crunched under his boots. He looked around, looking at all of the dead trees and creepy scenery. There was a river full of some sort of purple liquid? Was this place used as a chemical waste place or some shit? 007n7 didn't really understand what was going on, and was pretty confused. He wouldn't admit this, but he's also pretty scared. He looked off to his side, seeing an old worn down bridge. It looked like it was made out of white brick. He returned his attention to the tower, now standing in front of it. Yeah, there was a staircase. It seemed man-made, he didn't think nature could naturally make a staircase this neat... -ish looking.

     He started climbing up the stairs with a sigh, curious what was up there. Maybe it was the voidstar? Probably not, but it didn't hurt to check. He was halfway up the stairs, his heartbeat racing a little with the thought of obtaining the crown, when he slipped on a rock and fell off the side of the dirt tower. He landed on his back with a curse, pain shooting through his spine before traveling through out his body. "Urgh..." 007n7 slowly got up before dusting himself off. He carefully stretched his back before trying again.

     He walked up the steps slowly, more carefully this time. He slowly inhaled through his nose, before letting out a shaky exhale through his mouth. He finally made it up, looking at the white well. He looked inside, a deep dirt tunnel going— what looks to be —farther than the dirt tower itself. 007n7 squinted his eyes, seeing a small white shine at the bottom. Was that it? The voidstar? 007n7 bit his lip, thinking about how he should go about this.

     In one swift motion, he flicked his hand up, and his c00lgui appeared. He put in a teleport command for the bottom of the well, and he clicked enter. His c00lgui disappeared, and within two seconds flat, he was at the bottom. He looked around, mumbling to himself about how dark it was. He re-opened his c00lgui, using it as a light source. He looked around, the wells walls obviously messy. It was made of dirt. What were you expecting. 007n7 saw a few worms and bugs traveling across the dirt. He made a face of disgust at the worms, beetles, and other such bugs but seemed to be enjoying the presence of the spiders.

     007n7 always liked spiders. It was his favorite insect. Or, well, arachnid. He enjoyed watching them eat the other nasty insects in their webs when he was younger. He was a weird kid. 007n7 finally looked down, looking at something sparkling, half buried in dirt. He bent down and started digging into the dirt with his hands, dirt getting under his nails. Eventually, he pulled out a crown, sparkling red under the light of the gui. 007n7 couldn't believe it, it was real! He got up, standing now, holding the crown in both his hands. He held it delicately, like it could shatter if he just squeezed it even slightly. He started grinning to himself, a chuckle erupting from his lips. It started off small, a giggle, then a chuckle, then straight-up cackling.

     007n7 couldn't believe it. He truly found it! It was real, and it was in his hands! It was... his! All his! His for the taking, his for the keeping! He used his— already open —c00lgui and teleported back to the top of the well, his back to the cemetery. He hunched over the crown, smiling to himself. He sighed shakily before turning around, ready to leave with his findings.

     Instead of seeing the normal but creepy sight of the cemetery, he was instead met with a 15-foot shadow that he couldn't see through. The shadow was wearing(?) half a drama mask, and the other side of its "face" was half of a smile and a squinting eye. 007n7 yelped, throwing the crown up into the air before immediately catching it, not wanting it to break. He looked at the creature, frozen in place. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Before he could do anything, the shadow spoke.

     "Tha-tt crown is not yours. It does not belONg to y-ou..."

     007n7 could barely make out what it was saying, but he felt like he's never understood anything clearer. It felt like its thoughts echoed in his head, its intentions, its wants. He understood what it wanted like it was clearer than anything he's ever heard before, even if he couldn't understand the noises it was saying. 007n7 felt crazy, he's never seen anything like this before. He felt like throwing up, like screaming, like running, like anything! But he couldn't move, he was still rooted to the ground, like if he moved, he'd die.

     Then, he started moving on his own. His mind was moving too fast for his body, but he still managed to do something. He couldn't tell if he was the one doing it or was being forced, but he couldn't focus on that. All he could focus on was the entity in front of him. He stepped closer, his arms in front of him, raised above his head like he was offering the crown to the shadow creature. Its grin seemed to widen, pleased with 007n7.

     "N0w..." it started, its tone gentle, soothing. "What do wE do when we do s0m3thing we're not su-pposed to do?... Ap0logize!..."

     007n7 spoke without thinking. Not like he needed to. "I'm.. sorry. I'm sorry for stealing your crown, Noli..." The name Noli just appeared in his head, he didn't know the creatures name, but he said it like he always knew it. The said creature- Noli.. gently plucked the crown from 007n7's hands, and it disappeared within Noli's shadows. It looked at 007n7, seemingly trying to figure out something about him it couldn't place, like there was some secret it couldn't access. It softly shook their head before dismissing the thought.

     "We-ll th3n.. off yo-ou go.." It spoke.. kindly. 007n7 wasn't expecting that. He would've thought it would hate him for taking its crown. Oh well, getting off scot-free with barely even a slap on the wrist was fine by him! He nodded his head shakily before opening his c00lgui (which he hadn't even noticed shut off before the interaction with Noli) and teleported away. Noli caught just a glimpse of the exploiter tool, before simply disappearing into the ground. That's why there was something Noli couldn't pinpoint about 007n7... He's much different from the average mortal.

Chapter Text

It's been a day since 007n7 ran into something that seemed straight out of his nightmares, he couldn't even tell if what he saw was actually real or a strange hallucination. He had no proof to prove what happened was real, other than the bruise on his back from falling, but that was before he met Noli. He couldn't shake the entity out of his head, what was it? He had stayed up last night, researching every site he could find for any type of information he could get. Yet, despite his efforts, he couldn't find anything.

      He was in his college dormitory, sprawled across his bed, exhaustion running deep in his bones. He let out a hefty exhale before turning to his side, looking at his digital alarm clock. It was 6:30... Wait, 6:30? He's gonna be late for his morning classes, shit shit shit! He quickly scrambled up and ignored the ache in his back or the tiredness in his eyes. He quickly got dressed for the day, combed his hair, applied deodorant, and grabbed his glasses and laptop case. He ran out the door, slamming it behind him.

     Maybe if he was thinking more clearly, he would've used his c00lgui to teleport to a nearby bathroom or any other private area that was close to his first class, instead of running across the school to get there like a moron. He finally reached his first class. 007n7 doubled over, his hands on his knees as he panted heavily. Sweat dripped from his brow before he used his long sleeve to wipe it off. He was just one minute before it was too late, and 007n7 couldn't help but feel a little proud of himself. He gave himself a mental pat on the shoulder before walking into the class.

*.•☆•.*

     Sitting outside of 007n7's dorm right as he ran out was a girl, staring as he ran off. She took in the details of how he looked within the short time she saw him, making sure it was the right person. The girl seemed average. Blue tank top, baggy jeans, and white sneakers. Nothing out of the ordinary in a college, but she never applied there. She snuck in.

     She was one of the many members of The Void Cult, specifically, a Royal Guard of Null. She was sent to spy on the exploiter, or as Noli said, "th3 wizArd." She looked around before following after n7. She couldn't let him leave her sights. Her steps were quiet, but if you listened closely, you could hear a soft squeak from her sneakers. Thankfully, no one was there to listen, and 007n7 was too busy stomping down the halls to even stop and listen. Just what she needed.

*.•☆•.*

     007n7 looked ahead at his professor, watching her spew something he wasn't paying attention to. He was still too busy thinking about Noli. He'd be okay if he just got participation points, right? Do those even exist in college? He forgot. He doesn't care. He rubbed his face with his hands, sighing deeply. He looked back up, zoning out on the whiteboard behind his professor until the bell rang. 007n7 got snapped out of his thoughts and got up, grabbing his laptop case. He looked around before quietly shuffling out of the class behind a group of people. Not too many paid too much attention to him, just how he likes it. 007n7's lips slightly curled at the ends, barely a smile. You'd have to be studying his face to notice.

     007n7 was kind of considered a low-life, his appearance and lack of social skills made it easy to assume that. Not like people were too far off the mark, anyway. 007n7's hair was down to his shoulders, uncut. It hasn't seen a barber or a hairstylist of any sorts in a while. His hair was also greasy, dirty looking. Brown, dirty looking hair, a pimple-covered face, braces, and glasses. A recipe to get called an incel. 007n7 was used to hearing it. He's stopped caring after a while. Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt. He's— at the very least —glad that it's now college, so the adults here were pretty mature. Better than highschool, or.. eugh, middle school.

     He used to be the prime target for bullying. 007n7 used to go home covered in bruises. The hitting slowly began to stop in highschool, completely stopping in senior year. That doesn't mean he doesn't get called names still. Getting told the occasional "gross ass..", "fuckin' dork", or "weird-looking" comments, usually whispered under quiet breaths of cowardly people. He's learned to just bite his tongue, he doesn't want to go back on probation. 007n7's managed to basically get the law equivalent of a slap on the wrist by managing to squeal shit excuses. Something about how "he was still in school" and "didn't know exploits were that bad." Something along those lines, he doesn't remember. He thinks the reason why he actually didn't have to go to jail or anything like that was because he was freshly 20 at the time. It's been two years, but he doesn't want to fuck up like he did last time.

     As 007n7 quietly shuffled down the halls, he looked around. He was halfway down the hall before he felt eyes boring into the back of his head. He turned around just to see no one there. Weird. He slowly inhaled before continuing walking, but he still felt it. 007n7 wasn't really a paranoid person, but after almost getting caught by admins several times and actually getting caught once— but got a slap on the wrist —he's been feeling more paranoid recently. Thoughts about what if people knew or if he was being silently investigated shot through his head, and 007n7 bit his lip anxiously. He tried to shake the thoughts off, continuing on his walk.

*.•☆•.*

     The girl let out a long exhale. She was behind a wall, waiting until 007n7 quit looking behind himself. Although the woman was nervous, she didn’t let it show. She didn't shake, she didn't sweat, she didn't freeze. She simply waited until it was time to continue stalking her target.

Chapter Text

The moon shone its dim light across the dead grass, faintly highlighting the cultists who stand there. Only a few, the ones Noli itself trusts the most. Four people stood at one side, four stood at the other, lined up in a row facing each other. At one end stood Noli, looming over them. The other end, the Royal Guard of Null that was sent to spy on 007n7. She was obviously dressed in more appropriate wear, a cloak covering most of her body. It's best if everyone here is barely recognizable, just in case anyone spots them. They never had that issue, though.

     The guard walked up, approaching Noli. Noli leaned closer, as if it were expecting some grand secret. Its movements were always over exaggerated. It enjoyed the theatrics. The guard cleared her throat. "I have found out the college he attends, and I have found out his schedule. I also found out that he doesn't have a roommate yet. I have yet to see him use any exploits, though." She spoke with her chest puffed out and her arms behind her back, her posture was straight, and she spoke clearly. It looked like an invisible string was straightening her out. She slipped a paper with all the details written on it, college address, schedule, etcetera, over to Noli, who took it graciously. It put it into its shadows, seemingly disappearing. Noli examined her for a moment, leaning back and accepting her answer. "Go0d... You're dism1ss3d." It raised its hand and waved her off.

     She walked back, lining up with the members on the right. Noli put its hand on the chin of the half-mask. It didn't exactly have a chin, being just... shadows. To pretend was nice, though. It tapped at the porcelain of the mask before coming up with an idea. "I'll h4ve you and 4 few oth3r members f0lloW him 4round. Se3 wh4t he d0es. Report b4ck and see if h3's.... Trust4ble." The other members looked at each other before nodding, synchronized. Noli bowed, the cultists following soon after. "N0w.. D1sperse." All the cultists shuffled out in different directions, splitting up. Noli watched as they all walked off before it disappeared itself, fading into the rest of the shadows.

*.•☆•.*

     007n7 sighed, looking around the almost empty streets. It was cold, pouring rain. He thankfully had a coat, but it was pretty shitty. He had bought it at a thrift for cheap. It was plain black and had a couple of seams ripped. 007n7 had ripped it a little when he was first trying it on. The coat was sold as a medium, but it still ripped on 007n7's small frame. 007n7 was basically skin and bone, and the seams still popped on him. It's like the world was trying its hardest to make him quit in life. Too bad 007n7 was stubborn. He kept the coat, usually just using it in cold weather, rarely wearing it out in the rain. It was the same coat he had worn when he first met Noli. At least, he thinks he met Noli. With the lack of evidence towards Noli's existence, he's been slowly convincing himself that Noli was never real. Probably just some weird fuckin' nightmare he got.

     007n7 shivered as he felt some more of the rain seeping through the holes in the coat, the droplets freezing cold. He grit his teeth together, silently chattering against each other. Well, it sounded silent in a second or third perspective, but in his mind, it sounded like it was reverberating through his skull. His hair was damp and was sticking to his scalp and forehead, which wasn't much of a change from his usual greasy hair, though. He kept his arms crossed, trying to preserve his body heat. His sneakers were wet, the soaked shoes making his socks just as damp. His glasses were fogged and covered in rain droplets, making it hard to see. What even was the point of the glasses if it was still hard to see!?

     007n7 was out on a quest... a quest to buy groceries. Specifically, whatever horrible junk food he could get his hands on. He normally would've just used his c00lgui to teleport to a store and then teleport out, but that would've been one, suspicious. Two, he needs to go out more publicly so he can maintain a 'weirdo' persona, and not a 'weirdo but also probably an exploiter' persona. He groaned quietly to himself. A car zoomed by and hit a puddle, splashing water all over him. If his jeans weren't already soaked, they were now. He could feel it seeping through the rest of his socks and- eugh.. his boxers. He needed to get in and out as quickly as possible.

     007n7 unfurled one of his arms from the other and raised it to his face, taking off his glasses so he could see, the droplets were pissing him off. He squinted, looking ahead... and it turned out he had walked past the grocery store a while ago. He groaned to himself, turning on his heel and speed-walking back. He grumbled quietly, random curses and complaints. He slowly approached the grocery store, the red and blue lights above the door irritating his eyes. "BLOX City's Grocery Mart!" and in a flickering sign just below it, it said "OPEN!" 007n7 exhaled quietly, walking inside.

     The inside of the store was just as cold as outside. For fuck's sake, did they not have air conditioning?! 007n7 shook his head and slid his glasses back on, making sure to wipe the rain off them. He grabbed a basket and immediately bee-lined for the snack aisle. Unbeknownst to him, someone else was following him. A guy dressed in all black. Not suspiciously, but he was just wearing gothic apparel. Leather jacket, Siouxsie and the Banshees band tee, black skinny jeans, black boots, studded belt... the works. Of course, he stood out, but not in a way that would cause suspicion. He looked around before beginning to follow 007n7 into the snack aisle.

     007n7 panted quietly, apparently using too much energy just walking towards the snack aisle. He looked around the shelves, noticing something he wanted at the very end. He walked across the aisle, grabbing a bag of chips and examining it before placing it in the basket. He looked around the aisle one more time before getting a chill down his spine. He felt like he was being watched again... He turned around, just to see the goth holding a bag of crackers, reading the label. His eyes lingered for a moment. He couldn't help but think that guy looked so...

C00l!

Fuck, if only 007n7 had dressed up before going out! He looks like a total normie compared to that guy right now! Ugh, now if he compliments him or something the guy would probably think he was weird or whatever! Or gay. Probably both. He'd probably get called gay even if he was dressed up, actually. He gets called that a lot. He scoffed quietly before returning his attention to the bags and bags of chips, cookies, candies, and crackers on each shelf around him. He squinted as he looked up, noticing something he wanted on the very top shelf. He raised his arm to reach for it just to notice he wasn't tall enough. Damn it! He bit his bottom lip, thinking.

     He turned back around to look at the other guy, making sure he wasn't watching. He could use exploits to teleport it into his hand, right? Nobody would notice, it's such a small thing, right? He looked back at the bag of BBQ chips he wanted. He reached his hand up one more time, seeing if that'd work. It didn't. He groaned quietly before opening a small panel of the c00lgui with the flick of a wrist. He suddenly felt eyes boring into the back of his head and he immediately turned around. He looked at the other guy and looked between both ends of the aisle just to see no one looking at him. Odd.. He quickly teleported the bag of chips into his hand, tossing it into the basket with the other one. He clicked off the GUI and watched as it dispersed into nothing.

     He walked to the other side, grabbing a thing of cookies before quickly walking out of that aisle. He felt creeped out. He shuddered quietly before walking into the drink aisle, peering into fridges and shelves of different drinks. He grabbed a 12-pack of Bloxy Cola off a shelf and then looked into the fridges one more time, looking for something specific. Aha! The energy drinks! Roxter Energy, REDblox!, and Swift Energy all lined up in the fridge. He opened the door but not before feeling that weird chill again. He turned around just to see no one there. Yeah, okay, he needs to leave soon. He quickly grabbed five things of Roxter and put them into the basket.

     007n7 approached the self-checkout, placing his basket down before quickly swiping through every item. He clicked the 'Pay' button, about to press yes until that one annoying pop-up appeared. 'Would you like to purchase a bag? Click how many!' "Fuck no..." 007n7 grumbled, already clicking the decline button. He finally paid for his items, inserting his card into the machine before pulling it out and grabbing his things. He stuffed every item into his arms and set the basket down somewhere random. The basket wasn't his problem anymore. He struggled to keep everything in his arms but made do. He walked out of the store, spotting something in the distance. He couldn't quite make out what it was. He squinted his eyes, staring right at it. It looked black, shadowy. Just when he thought he could decipher what it was, it moved away. Was 007n7 going insane? He felt insane. Whatever.

     He continued on his walk back to the college campus, feeling the occasional stare on him. He ignored it. He was paranoid but he didn't want people to think he was crazy. He was already dealing with a lot right now. Every now and then, he'd shift the items in his arms so they didn't fall onto the concrete sidewalk or slip from his grasp. Eventually, he made it back. He ignored everyone and everything, moving past people and hitting shoulders. Every time someone complained that he bumped into them, he'd just grumble a half-assed insult. He was mentally and physically exhausted. He was lucky that he wasn't just straight-up snapping at people.

     He made it back to his dorm, trying to free a hand to unlock the door but instead dropping a couple of things. He cursed himself out mentally before unlocking the door and picking up his things. He walked inside the messy room, setting everything down on his desk. He can deal with that later, he needs to clean up. He sighed before grabbing a clean stack of clothes from his small closet. Walking back out of his dorm, he headed for the showers. Someone peered out from a corner, staring as he walked off. The same goth from earlier. It was surprisingly easy to sneak onto campus. He hid behind the corner when 007n7 looked behind himself again.