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Once upon a time, he had it all: power, respect, love… A perfect life.
Yet all that can be taken away in an instance.
First it was his beloved Brighteyes, his darling wife. She had done nothing wrong, nothing at all, yet they- the people who should have cherished her the most- cast her aside as if she was nothing more than scum. She was lost to him before he could even lift a finger to say otherwise. The cowards didn't even have the guts to face him when they did it.
But he would make them face him.
Every beat of his wings sent a thunderous roar across the skies as he descended upon Roblox hq, determined to make his 'friends' answer for what they did.
Of course they made excuses- 'diplomacy' they tried to call it- but all their words fell onto deaf ears. Their voices sickened him to his stomach, the sickly sweet tones they took to try and placate him only serving to nauseate and infuriate him.
The quickest solution would be a quick strike to their throats, so that their vile words would be choked into silence by their own blood.
Second tragedy befell him.
He has cut them down, one by one by one by one, until only he- Builderman- remained, and he had no intention of giving this one a quick and easy death. He charged the man, bathed in the blood of his former coworkers and filled with a fury unlike any other.
But it wasn't Builderman who he struck down.
He was a fool, too enraptured by his own wrath, to notice the new figure enter the carnage, his familiar voice drowned out by the pounding of his own heart in his ears, and before he could even realise what was going on the second man threw himself between him and Builderman, taking the extent of his wrath in one blow.
Of course 007n7 came all the way out here to try and stop him, to calm him down. He, who had once walked a path of exploiting and carnage, knew all too well how this violent path may end, and was determined to stop it, by any means necessary. The man, once beloved to both to him and his darling Brighteyes, might have been the one person in this entire world who could have soothed his rage.
Now he lies bleeding to death beneath him, slain by his own hand.
"No, no, no, no, no, no!" He shrieks, collapsing to the ground, and scooping the man into his arms, cradling him close to his chest.
A single, bloody hand slowly- draining the last vestiges of strength, raises from 007n7's side and cusps the side of his face.
007n7 whispers something- words of mercy and forgiveness and pleads- before his arm slumps towards the earth, motionless.
007n7 was gone.
In such a short period of time, he had lost the two people he cared about the most.
Why?
Why did this happen?
This was all his fault.
This was all his fault.
This was… all Builderman's fault.
007n7 would never have done anything so stupid. He would never have thrown himself in front of the avian's blade willingly. This was the only explanation that made sense: Builderman manipulated him into doing it. Builderman had already taken Brighteyes away from him, so it wasn't above the man to take 007n7 away from him too. And oh, Builderman must delight in his misery, forcing him to kill 007n7 himself? Beyond cruel.
Builderman's death wasn't slow.
There was no mercy and forgiveness in what he did to him.
When it was finally over, it was just him, alone, bathed in the blood of traitorous comrades and lost love.
He laughed hysterically into the sky.
It was all he could do.
He had failed them. Failed both Brighteyes and 007n7. They were both dead because he couldn't protect them. He should have seen this coming. He should have realised what those cowards were planning sooner.
He should be the one who was dead, not them.
He should be dead.
All of him should be dead…
Every one of him should be dead.
It was then that it was decided: he would be no more.
His old self was already dead, and from the carcass of the once proud man, Hacklord was born, and Hacklord only had one goal in mind: kill all Shedletsky's.
This world was not like all the others. Once he stepped foot into this domain, Hacklord found himself unable to leave. Restricted. Powers present, but crippled. Annoying. But he could find a resolution to this problem at a later date. There was still a Shedletsky somewhere in this world. So Hacklord had a job to do.
'This round's killer is: Hacklord!' An unknown voice declares from the sky, his mind, from the earth itself, all at once.
Hacklord knew what he needed to do. He didn't need to be told to. He just did it.
There were faces all around, some familiar, some strangers, none of it mattered to him. They would all die by his blade and talon if they even dared get in his way.
Many of them expressed confusion at the sight of him, which Hacklord predicted was due to similarities between himself and the Shedletsky of this world. Annoying, but if these people- even the ones he doesn't recognise- know a Shedletsky, then it would be good fortune for him to find that vermin quickly.
It wasn't Shedletsky he found first, however.
Brighteyes stood before him, directing a yellow-haired boy he had been chasing to come in her direction, offering him protection.
How sweet.
How very like her.
But she is not his Brighteyes. Too many differences for her to be his Brighteyes, his perfect Brighteyes. Even still, she deserved some mercy; he knew her fate was not going to be kind to her. He would make killing her quick, the one mercy she may ever encounter.
She seemed surprised to see someone wearing her beloveds face slaughtering her friends, but she did not let stop her from standing her ground, and fighting back.
This Brighteyes certainly didn't make it easy. He had to commend her on her swordsmanship- whilst nowhere near his level, this Brighteyes had certainly picked up a lot more than all the other Brighteyes' he had met had done so. Had the circumstances been different, he might have been tempted to have her spar with him some. He was also concerned, however, by what the Shedletsky of this world could possibly have been putting her through for her to need such skills. He was supposed to be her protector, not the other way around!.
Soon enough, he was ready to put this poor Brighteyes out of her misery.
Something threw itself between Hacklord and the Brighteyes- or got thrown between the two of them. Either way, it was enough to deflect the killing blow away from Brighteyes and open up and avenue for retreat, one which she so graciously- and quickly- accepts.
"Brighteyes! Run!" Screamed another familiar voice. It is rare for Hacklord to have to encounter these two so close to each other…
Hacklord turned towards to newcomer. He knows what he is about to see, yet he still found himself rooted to the spot the moments his eyes fell upon the man.
007n7 stands a short distance away, visibly startling when he noticed Hacklord's attention stray away from the more injured of the two. Their eyes meet, and it is as if neither of them are willing to be the first to break eye contact, and so they are caught for an eternity in a single a moment.
He- this 007n7- looked exactly like Hacklord's 007n7. No deviations. No differences. A perfect replica. This… wasn't possible. Hacklord had been to many worlds, with many iterations of the same people, and there always, always were differences. No one was exactly the same.
Yet, here he stood, an 007n7 that looked… perfect to him. Hacklord could feel the drum beating in his chest, too many emotions to process all at once.
"…007n7…?" Hacklord finally utters out, taking a few steps towards the man.
Hearing his name seemed to shock 007n7 out of his own stupor, because he stumbled back quickly, stammering wordless nonsense as he did.
Hacklord closed the distance between the two of them easily; he needed to be closer. He just had to be.
The intimate proximity only made the similarities more apparent to Hacklord. It wasn't just the visual appearances, but even the rhythm of his heart and the scent of his skin were a perfect match for the man he had lost.
Hacklord drops his sword to the ground as he reaches forwards with both his hands to cusp the startled man's face between his two palms, forcing him to stare up into his face.
Everything just felt… right. There was no flaws. No deviations. None what-so-ever. Based on Hacklord's previous experiences, this was… illogical. Impossible. There was no way for this to be real…
Unless… this 007n7 was his 007n7 after all.
Entertaining the idea would have been ridiculous, his 007n7 was dead, a long since so. Yet it was the only explanation that felt right to him, the only one that could explain all the similarities. Could this place- this realm- this limbo- be a place where he could truly be reunited with his 007n7? Was it possible for this world to be a convergence point between multiverses, enabling souls from multiple worlds to end up here?
Hacklord pulls 007n7's head in close to his chest, before moving his arms to wrap around his back, securing him in place.
"I'm… so glad I found you again… my love…" Hacklord whispers to him, rubbing soothing circles into the small of his back. His beloved seem distress, but Hacklord could understand why; between his new appearance and the circumstances that the two of them last saw each other, it only made sense that 007n7 would be frightened of him for a while.
Hacklord didn't mind. He was patient. It didn't matter to him how long it took for him to prove to 007n7 that he was worthy of being his protector once more, so long as the two of them could be together again.