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There's this gap in Avery's brain. Whenever he sees the color yellow, his mind tingles. Memories of golden gates. A mountain range, collapsing around him. A giant tree, leading towards a creepy city. A desert of obelisks. A field of spider lilies, with a gate towards the edge. A church, picking flowers and cutting ferns. A series of pillars. An endless library. A field of eyes. And lastly, a golden knight, piercing the sky.
But, it doesn't come together. It never does.
Because for one Avery Taylor, whatever happened on the week of New Year's Eve - it's all gone. Not that he doesn't remember celebrating New Year's Day, he absolutely remembers eating with his family when the fireworks popped and the calendars turned to 2026. (But were those memories even real? The majority of that week was spent playing Minecraft, wasn't it?)
Avery hasn't touched Minecraft either. His abandoned YouTube channel sits in dust, and he refuses to touch his old, used laptop as he was gifted a new laptop on New Year's. (It's to forget about him, isn't it? Your mistakes. It's your fault- It's your fault- IT'S YOUR FAULT AND YOU HAVEN'T REALIZED IT YET.) The one time he tried playing Minecraft on the new laptop, he was so rusty at PVP that he didn't bother grinding his skills back.
Ultimately, life moved on. Avery continues his college studies. He loves science, so he pursues a career in Chemistry. He makes new friends, hangs out with them, but he's felt less jolly than before. (You're worthless, aren't you?) What happened, he forgets. People chalk it up to "Taylor being aloof at times," but to those who know Avery, they know he doesn't forget. But, he did.
The next few months are a blur for Avery. He studies every day, gets good grades - even becomes an officer at their student council (You're pushing yourself too much, yet it's not enough. It's never enough, isn't it?) He's off to celebrate New Year's Eve with new friends, but while driving on his yellow motorcycle, a flash of light blinds him.
When Avery wakes up, he realizes that he's at the town cemetery - miles away from his intended destination, where the party is going to occur.
"I- what? Why am I at the cemetery? Did someone drag me here?" Avery, confused, roams around the empty cemetery. All he sees are gravestones - random people, important figures, people he once knew. Avery's been here before; he knows the layout of the cemetery. What he has realized however, is that he can't see any colors - it's only black, gray, and white.
Upon arriving at the center of the cemetery, however, he spots something peculiar. It's a big statue of a knight wielding a sword. Inspecting the bottom of the statue, Avery notices to whom the statue is dedicated for.
[MAY YOU REST IN PEACE]
Derek Hutchins, September 14, 2003 - December 31, 2025
[A LIFE LOST TOO SOON]
"I've never seen this before. I've been here multiple times and this has never been here." Avery stares at the memorial, realizing that he can see yellow bits on the armor of the statue. Turning around, he notices that the gravestones around the area are gone. Instead, there are flowers that Avery doesn't recognize, as well as ferns - all gray. (It's happening again. All I can see is the color yellow.)
Avery doesn't think too much of the memorial and begins walking back and forth around the area. He notes that this 'Derek' person must have rich connections, because there is no way anyone is able to make an entire memorial in the center of the cemetery just for one person.
When Avery looks back at the gravestone, he notices a slip of paper sticking out at the bottom. "Oh. I must've missed this. I was too close to the gravestone to notice this." Avery tilts his head before moving to pick up the paper. He opens the paper and sees the following message.
'MFOIB EYN DEBK YF VJFC EAEEI, NZDEM NGHJCP RK JNLT BMYS. PZL TYSS ZFQ KPXMBD CQUQVKZX. TL MWQ LHAPQ PQEP PGLWK. CSMO CYE JT QLQQ.' is stated at the front. On the back, it simply says 'You are safe here.'
This gets Avery confused, because what does it mean by "safe here?" He's been trapped in this cemetery for hours now, with no clear exit! What's more, he can't understand what the first message is. He's never been smart enough to solve riddles. (Why are you taking up Chemistry if you can't even solve a simple puzzle?)
Avery tries writing on the dirt for an hour, trying to figure out what the first message is supposed to be. Of course, he can't figure it out. He recognizes that it's a Vigenère cipher from when his college friend showed him a similar message, but he can't figure out the key.
"I'm done with this. I can't figure this out. I'm not smart enough." (Like always, you're never smart enough, aren't you?)
Avery throws the paper on the ground, then looks up. He sees that there are two pathways leading to gates, one to the left, and one to the right. Something whispers to him to go to the left pathway, and so he does. "This better lead me somewhere. I need to get out soon, otherwise I'll be late."
Entering the left gate, he could suddenly see colors again! What he finds isn't his destination, however. Avery notices a big mountain range, with several bridges. (You were here. You were out hunting for him, like he was an obsession. You couldn't stop thinking about him.)
"What the hell. Where am I supposed to go?" Avery starts walking down various bridges, not realizing that the mountains behind him are disappearing. At the end of the range, he sees a big lavender tree. (What an idiot. There was a way to go up - you just went down without thinking about the consequences.)
"Another gate? What is this, some escape room-" He sneers at himself-"that Kenadian is going to cover on his channel?"-before entering the next golden gate. This time, it brings him to a red desert with obelisks scattered around him. It doesn't take long for him to find the next golden gate, which takes him to a small town.
"God, it's so dark. Is no one paying the electricity bill around this area?" Avery doesn't know where to go. Again. (Dumbass. A certain friend would've escaped this place already.)
He doesn't know how long it takes for him to exit the area. Thankfully, he thought of leaving behind markings on areas he's already visited. (That's the first smart thing you've done all day, Avery.)
Unfortunately, he doesn't pay attention in one area he's exploring, and falls down a long pathway. Avery screams, the bottom of the pit being unknown to him. Next thing he knows, he's in a big library. An endless library, he would describe.
"There's a lot of books here. Maybe I could stay here a bit so that I become smarter." Avery picks up a few books from the shelves, and walks slowly across the library. He actually manages to finish a Chemistry textbook that will help him in college - before encountering a lectern in the center of the platform.
Avery runs towards it, and... falls immediately on a platform. He looks up, and notices a knight talking to him. He can't figure out what the knight is saying, but inside, his mind is going crazy - you know him, you know him, you know him, AVERY!
He looks at the armor, the helmet - it's the knight. He doesn't know who, but it's the knight from the statue at the memorial. (Remember him, Avery? Do you remember him now?)
Avery's surroundings suddenly glitch out, being transported to a room with many eyes. He can see the knight conversing to an eye (At least, Avery thinks it's an eye?) and laughing at it. Eventually, the eyes all collapse around him, as well as the platform, and the knight themselves. Avery runs towards the knight, but before reaching them, he runs right into a wall.
"Fuck! I almost had them! What is this place now?" Avery notices his surroundings. It's a church, and there's a lectern in front of him. "Well, I better start reading while I'm here - maybe I'll find out more about this place."
Avery begins to turn the pages one by one, reading what the book has in its' pages.
'You are safe here.'
(Safe? When has Avery ever been safe? He almost got into an accident because of the white flashing lights earlier!)
'Take shelter from that which haunts you. Nothing can reach you here. You are safe.'
(Maybe if Avery would stop making mistakes, then nothing would haunt him anymore.)
'Worry not, you are safe here. Nothing can hurt you.'
(You always hurt yourself.)
'Here, you are safe.'
(This isn't safe.)
'Here in this place, you are safe.'
"So far, nothing bad. I think I could stay here for a while until-"
"You are nothing."
"What-"
"You messed it all up. You didn't save him. You're fucking useless, aren't you? The one thing you told to him - you would get through it together. You couldn't even do one thing right. Kill yourself, Avery. Kill yourself. You should've been the one who died, not him."
"I didn't do anything! I didn't do anything wrong-" Avery couldn't control it anymore. His overwhelming feelings led him to tear up in front of the book, staining its pages with his tears.
"He would be so disappointed in you. After all this time, you still forgot about him? The one who saved you - by sacrificing himself? You should've been dead instead. What a waste of a life."
"No. No! I didn't do it! I didn't forget-" Avery tried to flip to the next page, but he immediately got brought back to the cemetery.
"Disappointment. Failure. Useless. Disappointment. Failure. Useless. Disappointment. Failure. Useless. Disappointment. Failure. Useless. Disappointment. Failure. Useless."
"The cemetery. Again? God, maybe the book was right."
"Maybe the book was right." Avery started walking around the area, picking up flowers and cutting up ferns.
"Maybe it was right." Avery walked back to the memorial, placing the flowers in front of the gravestone.
"I always do things wrong." Avery walked around the area, picking up flowers and cutting up ferns.
"Apparently, I make mistakes even if I'm not aware of it." Avery walked back to the memorial, placing the flowers in front of the gravestone.
Avery walked around the area, picking up flowers and cutting up ferns.
Avery walked back to the memorial, placing the flowers in front of the gravestone.
. . .
That's all that Avery did. Picked up flowers, cut up ferns, placed flowers in front of the gravestone.
No colors. It was all gray. His vision was falling apart. Nothing mattered anymore.
He doesn't know what time is it anymore. He's late for the party, that's for sure. (Your friends will leave you now, and you'll be alone. All because you couldn't escape a cemetery.)
. . .
"A new area...? What is this?" He went to the new patch of grass, and began cutting up the tall ferns. That's when he noticed it.
A sign.
. . .
'You are real.'
'You are special.'
'Remember who you are, Avery.'
It all came back to him. To Avery Taylor. All the memories, all the conversations. His knight, his knight - Derek. Derek Hutchins. His shining knight, the one who he was with on that fateful New Year's Eve last year. He forgot what happened to him. He was playing Minecraft for so long that he doesn't accurately remember all the details. (Of course you forgot, it's your fault he died.)
'I don't know who this d3rlord3 guy is.'
'But if he left me this message, I feel like I owe it to him to at least.'
He remembers now. The book. The crossroads. The infinite knowledge. He promised to him. He owed him that he would help him through this. But.
"He's dead now, isn't he? That's him, that's his memorial. I failed. I fucked up. Like always-" (I should've died instead of him.)
'Well, there was a trail of blocks.'
'So, hopefully following them should lead me to d3rlord.'
The mountain. The trees. The village. He followed the blocks all the way through - the blocks that led to his shining knight. (The knight who saved him, but the knight Avery couldn't save.)
'I'm coming d3rlord.'
'Don't you worry.'
"I promised him. I promised him that we would escape together-!" Avery couldn't hold back his tears anymore. He promised him. (He failed.)
'But if not me, then who else?'
'I have to keep going.'
He remembers struggling with all the puzzles. Brute-forcing his way through area after area.
Spending 12 hours on a garden. Punching a block of Netherite for four straight minutes. Pleading for help from Derek. (Pathetic.)
He doesn't understand how Derek made it look easy.
"He's so much smarter than I am. Why did he have to die. Why? Why? WHY???"
All Avery could do was collapse on the floor, sobbing and crying in front of the grave stone. (The one that should've been his.)
"I'm sorry I forgot about you, Derek. I'm so sorry. I won't forget again. Even if you're dead. I won't forget you again, I promise." Avery hugs the gravestone in front of him. He remembers now. His knight, Derek Hutchins. The one who accompanied Avery throughout that one Minecraft session. (The one who he left to die.)
"We promised to do it together. I found you. I didn't want to leave you. You made me leave anyways. I'm so sorry. I should've stayed." (His life is more valuable than yours.)
. . .
"Avery...?" A voice from behind startles Avery.
"It can't be... Derek?"
Avery jumped to try to hug Derek where the voice came from. However, all Avery hit was air. Avery backed off a bit, and a ghost suddenly materialized in front of him.
"It's you, Aves. I'm so sorry for suddenly leaving you." The ghost- or Derek, as Avery now knows, has a faint voice. Avery can barely hear it.
"Derek! I-I-I'm so sorry! It's my fault! I wasn't able to save you! I wasn't smart enough! I wasn't-" Avery was interrupted by a feeling of being hugged. Hugged by a ghost. Hugged by Derek.
"Don't apologize. You deserved to live more than I did. I had no choice - this was the best option." The ghost, Derek, whispers to Avery.
"What do you mean no choice? We could've gone through this together! You didn't have to leave me behind!" Avery's emotions were being let out at this point - overwhelmed by having Derek in front of him.
"You would've died with me. I wanted you to remember me, but alas, the backlash of the infinite knowledge caused you to forget me. This is why I made this cemetery." Derek presents a sad aura.
"How does this place even exist? There's no statue of you right in the middle." Avery points to the memorial of the Knight behind Derek.
"The winds. I don't have much power left, so I can't explain. This is my last presence on Earth. So I need you to tell you something, please. Avery." Derek utters to Avery, while holding back his own tears.
"Wait, Derek! Don't go! We still have so much to talk-"
"I'm sorry. Everything will be explained once you return. Always remember, there's always a second one. It's not just one." Derek slowly starts fading away in front of Avery.
"Derek! Don't leave me!" Avery jumps towards Derek, but nothing is left. Avery slams back on the ground, unable to move. Tears slowly falling down his face, onto the ground - realizing that his one friend, his shining knight, is truly gone from this world.
Avery sits down on the ground for a while, thinking about his experiences with Derek. God, he doesn't even know where Derek lives.
Eventually, Avery decides to tackle the last thing that Derek said.
"Okay, Avery. You got this. Derek said that there's always a second one - but what is that second one? A second message? A second- hold on!" Avery quickly grabs the paper message he threw earlier on the ground."
'MFOIB EYN DEBK YF VJFC EAEEI, NZDEM NGHJCP RK JNLT BMYS. PZL TYSS ZFQ KPXMBD CQUQVKZX. TL MWQ LHAPQ PQEP PGLWK. CSMO CYE JT QLQQ.' remains at the front, slightly crumpled.
"There are two keys - that's why I couldn't figure out the message originally!" Avery screams in shock, finally realizing what Derek meant.
Avery tried to think about what Derek could use as the first key - finally realizing that no other option would make sense, besides his own name. After a while, Avery was able to come up with this message by using 'DEREK' as the first key: 'JBXER BUW ZUYG HB LGBL AQBAR, JPAAV JWEFLL HH FWHJ YIHO. FWH CUIP VOM AMTVXT ZMDMLHVG. PB JSZ HXXLZ LGBL YCBTG. LOCL YHA ZQ MUMG.'
"Okay, that didn't change much. But he said that there was a second key - oh my God, what if it was his last name." Quickly, Avery begins jotting down 'HUTCHINS' on the dirt, doing his best to decipher every letter. He was able to decode the message to: 'CHECK THE SAFE AT YOUR HOUSE, RIGHT CORNER OF YOUR ROOM. YOU KNOW THE NUMBER SEQUENCE. IT WAS NEVER YOUR FAULT. THIS WAS MY FATE.'
"Check the safe at your house, right corner of your room... I'll be doing that later, I guess. You know the number sequence? Which number sequence? And-" Avery quickly saw what the next part of the message was.
"...I know, Derek. It's not my fault. But why. Why does it have to be you? Why is your fate - death?" Avery frowned at the message.
"That's something for me to find out, I guess. I wont forget you this time, Derek."
. . .
Avery found himself back at his house. December 31, 2026, at 8:00 in the morning. It's like nothing happened - he didn't eat breakfast yet, he hasn't began travelling on the way to buy supplies. It felt like a day reset, but Avery remembers what happened. His conversation with Derek. Forgetting everything, then remembering.
He quickly went to the right corner of his room, then noticed a small contraption. Upon pressing the button, a crank came out - similar to a safe where numbers need to be cranked to open the safe.
"Oh god, what's the code. I don't even remember a series of numbers that Derek told me." Avery quickly panicked, looking through his notebooks to figure out the code.
"Found it! This better be it, it's the only one I could think of that's realistically going to be the code. I trust you, Derek. You may be watching me or not, but just know that I believe in you, and I will believe in myself." Avery readies his hand.
"It's time to begin opening this safe."
"23." 'Oh my God, I found you.'
"2." 'I was starting to think I'd never find you.'
"29." 'I'm not leaving. There's no way I'm leaving you here.'
"2." 'I've been playing this world for like 13 hours now.'
"24." 'And you're gonna tell me to leave you here, after that?'
"29." 'Then why are you getting into it?'
"10." 'So, let's figure it out together.'
"2." 'You're a person, you looked out for me enough to warn me.'
"10." 'So we have to get to it.'
"3." 'D3rlord??? Are you okay, what happened?'
"4." 'I like blacked out, and woke up in front of the gates again.'
"19." 'At the top of the tree?'
"30." 'I won't let you down, d3rlord.'
"4." 'd3rlord? What are YOU DOING HERE???'
"15." 'YOU LIED TO ME.'
"6." 'THERE WAS NOTHING ON THAT TREE D3RLORD!'
"10." 'I'm not leaving until you talk to me.'
"2." 'And what will happen to you? Don't lie to me.'
"10." 'I'm not letting you do this, there has to be another way.'
"3." 'You're only part of this because it wanted me.'
"10." 'I'M NOT LETTING YOU DIE FOR ME.'
"2." 'You can't stop me, no matter what you say.'
'You saved me. If we're doing this, we're doing it together.'
"YOU MAY HAVE TOLD ME TO RUN, BUT I WILL ALWAYS MOVE FORWARD. I WON'T FORGET YOU ANY LONGER, DEREK HUTCHINS!" Avery pulled the crank of the safe, swinging it wide open and making a noise.
Avery was shocked at what was inside the safe. It was his old laptop. The laptop that he used to create videos. His Minecraft SkyWars videos. His first encounter with the world. His first encounter with D3rlord. He quickly opens up his YouTube profile, and creates a community post about how "I'm going to be okay, I just need some time to collect myself."
The next thing he does is watch D3rlord's perspective of the world. Apparently, he posted it himself under an alias. How? He doesn't know. But he observes every detail. Every detail about how Derek interacted with the monster for the first time - his traps, his pickaxe, his first encounter with the King. He feels so proud of his knight, and a bit sad on how he missed a lot of details about the world. (Don't blame yourself, Avery. You're dealing with an out-of-this-world threat.)
He finds a video too - his own video. A 15-hour video on his own perspective playing the world. Apparently, he used Creative mode to fly to the golden gates. Avery laughed at himself for not spotting the white carpet arrows - but can you blame a guy when he's been playing Minecraft for 6 hours straight? He knows Derek wants him to be happy, which makes that his goal. Avery wants to make his shining knight proud - proud of everything that Avery does. (Derek would be happy to see you smile.)
He realizes that he was in that dazed state in the church for 12 hours. "Wait a minute, 12 hours??? That's insane! How did I not pass out?"
Eventually, Avery notices that Derek also has a video - in a Google Drive link that he actually notices! Derek would be so happy to see him paying attention to details.
It's a shorter video than Avery's - but he realizes that the worlds that he went to earlier were identical to the ones in the Minecraft world. Avery can't get himself to open the document, saying "Goodbye." But he knows he has to. Derek wants him to be strong and confident.
'You know it's weird writing a final letter. Almost as if I have to come to terms with... whatever this is. Which is something I find quite displeasurable. But here I am.' Avery skims through most of the document. He doesn't want to know again how Derek suffered. He wants to know what Derek wanted to say to him.
'Please don't think you failed, Avery.' (I didn't fail. We succeeded.)
'When you read this, don't think you let me down. You didn't. It's thank you, and all that you did, that millions live to see another day.' (It didn't have to come at the cost of your life.)
'And thanks to you, I got a chance to see all the beauty of the universe. Things I never even knew were in the world. Or could be. A chance no human will ever get again.' (I'm so glad to have seen the universe with you.)
Avery has to slowly read the letter. Tears are already forming in his eyes - who knew a guy he met over the course of a few days would impact his life so much?
'You're capable of great things. You'll do great things. So believe in yourself. And I don't just say that because I saw it. It doesn't take a god for me to figure that out. I know it because I know you.'
God. Derek was such a nice person. Avery knows that. It doesn't take having infinite knowledge to know. Despite the fact that Avery doesn't have much knowledge when it comes to puzzles and riddles, Avery was able to keep up with Derek through sheer willpower. Avery wanted to keep going, even if he wanted to give up at some point. But he just knew that Derek needed help.
'Goodbye, my friend.'
"Goodbye, my shining knight."
'Whatever you do at the crossroads. Keep going forward.'
'Or something like that... I was never really good with endings...'
Avery chuckled a bit at that ending. Referencing the crossroads which started it all, as well as the snarky comment Derek made to himself at the end. As Avery is cleaning up, however, knocks can be heard on the door.
"Avery! Where are you? The fireworks show is about to begin!" His friend shouts from the living room.
"Oh no! It's late already, sorry Xander! I'm on my way down." Avery quickly grabs his sweater and makes his way downstairs.
"Damn, you're late for once, Student Council Officer." Avery's other friend, Crystal, mocks him. (Friendly humor, Avery notes. He can't wait to get revenge on her.)
"Well, let's go outside and celebrate the New Year!" Ezekiel grabs them all, and pulls them outside into the garden area.
"3, 2, 1..."
"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Fireworks can be seen shooting out across the neighborhood. Some with colors and shapes, others are rapid-shooting fireworks. Avery looks at the fireworks show in awe with his friends, realizing that he has others to lean on and be with in times of trouble.
"Hey." Avery voices out to the group.
"Yeah, Avery? Do you have any problems?" Ezekiel comes near him.
"Is it fine if... we could dig out a gravestone here? I want to pay tribute to someone, someone I know, someone who might not exist in your eyes." Avery pulls his knees closer to his head.
"Well, if it helps you out, then that's fine with us!" Xander pulls Ezekiel towards him, snickering a bit.
Avery displays a big smile in front of his group, knowing that he wants to remember Derek as much as he can.
. . .
After the New Year's celebration, Avery sees his friend group passed out in the living room. "These guys... they shouldn't have drank too much..." Avery quickly runs to his bedroom, turns on his laptop, and opens Minecraft - a game he hasn't opened in forever. He clicked Singleplayer, and he couldn't believe it. The world is still there. He thought he'd deleted it, but I guess he wanted to keep as many memories of Derek as possible.
"Well, I guess let's hop on the world. If anything happens, that's on me." Avery clicked 'Join World' on his laptop.
Immediately, Avery spawns inside a room. The room is colored gray, yellow, and red - reminding him of a certain someone. "A certain Derek has messed with my world prior to all of this, I see." Avery lets out a small smile.
"Damn that infinite knowledge. He knew I was coming back, wasn't it?"
Avery quickly opens the book inside the chest and reads it.
"If you are here, you do not need to worry. I have taken the King in Yellow with me already. You are free to roam around this world however you choose."
"From, Your Shining Knight, Derek Hutchins."
"Of course you would finish the letter like that, my shining knight..." Avery's smile becomes a grin as he flies towards a familiar area.
He's back at the church. The place where he was dazed for 12 hours. The place in the cemetery where he was brought to and broke him. He's going to change that. He will turn this place into a memorial. A memorial for a certain someone.
Of course, he can't start without doing a certain action. "Well, it's time to destroy this. You do not control me or my friends anymore, King." Avery grabs a Netherite Axe from Creative, and proceeds to chop down the Lectern right in the middle, and throws the book within the Lectern into the fire pit, destroying it completely. Avery replaces it with an Armor Stand, decorating it with golden armor and a red cape - in honor of the knight. His shining knight. Derek Hutchins.
Avery grabs more of the blue flowers. He digs an area in front of the Church, and covers it with flowers, and a sign.
"In honor of Derek Hutchins, the player who may not exist, but the player who believed in me, showed the beauty of this world to me, and saved the lives of everyone."
[DEREK HUTCHINS / D3RLORD3 | September 14, 2003 - December 31, 2025]
MAY YOU REST IN PEACE.
Avery can't resist putting down a slime block and a honey block on both sides of the graveyard, as well as background effects.
After all, the best way to immortalize Derek - is to make his presence known online, right?
#1 Trending Post of r/Minecraft - post by u/AveryTheMayo - "Made a memorial for a friend that you probably don't know exist."
I made a gravestone and a memorial for my friend, Derek Hutchins. There's no information on him online, and you probably think this is a fake post, but I know for a fact that he exists, and that I miss him. I appreciate the few days that I spent with him, and I wish that we could've spent more.
Maybe in an alternative universe, my shining knight would still be alive.
[2 images attached.]