Chapter Text
He could feel it. His mind… shattering into pieces as he and the King become one. It made his head hurt, like being hit with a truck, possibly more if you think about it.
Avery. Avery was safe. He knew that he wouldn’t give up for him, that he would try and desperately stay even if his life was in danger. Thousands of possibilities and nearly all of them were of him attempting to stay with them.
Derek, who was burdened with the infinite knowledge that plagued his mind, tormenting it from within and slowly rotting him from the inside. He knew at this point that he was too far gone to even live at all, Derek had been focused on the screen for months. He hasn't eaten anything that's actually nutritional for his body.
“Goodbye King.” He typed out- or whispered it, he couldn't tell anymore. His view on reality had been warped to oblivion, watching the eye and its blocks disappear entirely.
It was done, the world was safe. Millions of people would go on to live another day, and he knew it. But… in his poisoned mind filled with the vast knowledge of the universe itself. It told him that something was wrong.
The silence did not help either. Instead, it made it all too worse for him to ignore.
In a sudden twist of events. The king had returned with it's many golden eyes, uttering one single word.
“Life.”
“What?” D3rlord3 whispered in shock, his eyes widening as he moved his mouse to look at the eyeballs staring at him. Why were they back? He uttered the words, the chant, it was supposed to work-
“d3rlord?”
Derek turned to look behind him, and lo and behold, the one person he was meant to never see again was there.
Avery.
What is Avery doing here?
“Avery.” He typed out, his character taking a few steps closer to them, still in shock, “What are you doing here, why aren't you at the tree?”
He glanced around, hoping that it was a trick that the King itself was orchestrating. But no, it was not. And with his question in the air, Avery replied back.
“What am I doing here?? What are YOU DOING HERE??” The slime player responds, and Derek knows that behind his screen is Avery himself shouting in confusion and betrayal. It was the same thing as countless possibilities before.
“YOU LIED TO ME. THERE WAS NOTHING ON THAT TREE D3RLORD.” He continued, “What are you doing here???? What is this?”
Derek’s breath hitched for a second. He could feel the lingering sense of danger, especially since they were surrounded by the King itself. They had no time to waste, Avery needed to leave. Now.
“Avery I need you to leave.” He replied back, hoping that his messages would push him away, “now.”
And yet, he knew. Avery would not leave. Not without an answer, not without saving him or being at his side. His character approached D3rlord with finality.
“I'm not leaving until you talk to me.”
“I'm not talking. You have to go. NOW.”
“WHY?”
“I'm finishing the job Avery.” That was true, he recited the chant. All he needed was for the King to merge with him. To become one.
“YOU NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE.”
“What do you mean finishing the job? What is this?" Avery asked again. Another question. He won't go.
“Avery I need you to leave this world and then I'll explain okay?” Derek tried again. Pushing him away. Another answer. Another try.
“Disconnect. right now and ill tell you after.” He continued, “Close minecraft. close your computer. ill tell you what's going on soon.”
His character tried to approach, to at leasts care them off but Avery. Oh, Avery was stubborn. He was never going to back down at all.
“NO. I won't go. Tell me what's going on NOW.”
“I will afterwards.”
“I DONT BELIEVE YOU.”
“Avery I need you to leave it this will all be ruined.” Derek tried again. And yet Avery kept moving closer and closer, making himself step back away further and further.
“I’M NOT GOING UNTIL YOU TELL ME WHATS GOING ON.” He was practically shouting at this point, “WHAT IS THIS PLACE AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”
“Avery I'm not asking.” D3rlord3 answered back, there was prayer he could say to get him to leave. To get to safety and have him finally end the King once and for all.
“I'm telling you, if you don't leave I'll kill you.” He pulled out his axe, it's durability nearly broken. It was a losing battle. He wouldn't be able to leave a scratch against Avery. He wouldn't have the chance to push him away because he didn't have much options.
“WILL YOU?” The slime player replied, as he pulled out his wooden sword, “WELL I'LL KILL YOU FIRST. TELL ME WHATS GOING ON.”
Desperation calls for immediate answers, and Derek had no choice but to tell him the reason, why everything would fail if he didn't leave.
The King, he will be trapped in a mind already broken. His mind. And once it deteriorates, so too shall the king be gone. But with Avery here, it won't work, it'll force it's way to him instead and the plan will be ruined. It's what the thing wants. It wants to be free in the physical world.
Even through all those explanations, Avery still wouldn't budge. He still wanted to stay. He doesn't care, he doesn't want to let Derek go. There had to be another way.
And he owes Derek. He was the one that saved him, that made him snap out of his trance. He saved his life, and he had to find a way to repair it.
But D3rlord3, with his mind filled with the knowledge of the universe, knows that he was meant to die here and now. Avery has so much left to live. He can't. Both of them would die if he doesn't leave. If Avery doesn't go.
Even if he won't be remembered when Avery goes, their recording will. And even through all that, Avery still wants to stay. There was only one thing left that he could do.
“You're staying?”
“Yes.”
A step backwards for Avery, a step forward for Derek. And it would continue until the slime player was at the very edge of the platform.
“You won't leave?”
“No.”
“Avery whats in your inventory.”
“What?”
“What's in your inventory.”
He asked again. But as he expected Avery to open his inventory, as all the countless possibilities had told him before, instead… Avery decides to send a message. And his mind, oh his mind screamed that something was wrong.
“Ygggggggggghbvnhgfggbnggggggggggag” Avery's message showed in the chat, as the character's head looked down to the floor. And with the fact that Derek held infinite knowledge. He realized what had happened.
As he took a turn to look behind him, he saw the King, in all of their glory. The true form. He couldn't even describe it if he could, and the recording would redact it for anyone who viewed it. He knew why they revealed themselves. Avery was no longer fit to be a vessel, because Derek unknowingly revealed the truth, to share a fraction of the infinite knowledge at Avery.
Derek did not know he managed to do so, but now, the King's plan has now gone awry. In a horrible way that is.
His mind looked beyond the screen, Avery was dead.
No. Nonono.
“What did you do?!” D3rlord3 shouted, his message mirroring his scream of horror. He felt fear for the first time because this wasn't meant to happen. Avery was always meant to leave, to be safe, even if he mourned the loss of Derek.
It wasn't how the story was meant to go. And if he is gone, and the King is still here-
„What is a lord to a king¿„ It replied, the eyeballs gazing down upon the two players, with one of them already gone at this point.
Derek's head hurts. It was too painful for him to continue looking at the other in the eyes. The headaches were getting worse. He could feel his breathing slowly weaken more and more-
„You are a fool to stop me, all the knowledge of the universe and yet you couldn't even save him.„
“Why. Why did you kill him?” He gritted his teeth, and for the first time in a while, he was mad. But he had no power, the only chance was to trap him in his mind, and-
“AGHK-” Derek's eyes widened from beyond the computer screen, and for once, it did not help from managing his headaches. Instead, his own mind was being torn apart piece by piece like paper, as if it was the King's doing.
He screamed, stumbling on his chair before falling over to the floor on his knees and clutching his stomach with one arm, the other keeping balance.
Whispers from all directions began to come close to his ears, he couldn't tell what they were saying. The headaches were too overwhelming, he couldn't think clearly anymore-
„As for you. The chant… is no longer of use. You failed. You may have nearly trapped me in your mind, but your fragile body is too weak for me to enter.„
How can he hear them? The headset was off, it was right beside him on the floor. Out of all the possibilities that he knew, this was the one unexpected outcome that he should've looked through. Derek was going to suffer.
„You cannot keep me in a vessel that breaks from a single push.„
There it was. The trump card of the King itself. Something began to creep up from his throat, and without warning, a stream of gold and crimson poured out from D3rlords mouth, the contents spilling down onto the floor in front of him.
Spirals of gold and blood mixed together in a sickening display, as he heaved and coughed, barely keeping himself alive with the pounding of headaches tearing his mind. He didn't have enough time. Avery is gone, and he is next.
The crushing weight of the King’s power overwhelmed his mind and body. And eventually, he broke down. Collapsed onto the floor like a fragile vase, stuck lying there, frozen in shock.
He too, had succumbed. Derek Hutchins died alone. Like Avery.
Usually, the story would end like that. Two unfortunate humans that stumbled across a being that they should've never known, and yet, both had tried to stop whatever plan was coming to fruition. Succumbing to their deaths.
But this was no ordinary story. No. Their new lives were just beginning to take root. And Derek- He didn't know how to think of it at all.
Because for the first time in his life, he awoke not to lying on a floor, probably covered in whatever mix of goldish ichor and blood he vomited out, but to soft silk sheets. A bed. Which...shouldn't be possible at all.
Did someone find him and take him to the hospital? No, no, that wasn't- if no one cared enough to find him for months then it couldn't have been-
His head ached a little, trying to think of the possibilities and all- no, stop thinking. And- it didn't hurt... nothing at all. The moment he decided to focus on the feeling of the bedsheets, the ache was gone. As if it wasn't there in the first place.
Okay, he needed to open his eyes now. He has to check where he is or else he'll start overthinking again. Blearily fluttering his eyes open, his vision was greeted with a grey-ish ceiling. And the walls...were painted a bright to dark red hue. Weird. His room was never painted like that.
Plus, there were many posters about different things. Mostly about college and interests he had, who would've known he liked to solve puzzles a lot, especially other args. He's getting a bit too ahead of himself. Derek used his arms, slowly lifting himself up to sit on the bed, as he took in his surroundings more.
There was a few shelves with more objects of interest. Books, notebooks, pens and papers and more notes typical of a college student, a desk with a lamp and more of the usual papers with-
With his computer. And the mini-fridge filled with what he could assume to be milkshakes. He doesn't know, it was closed in his view. The strangest thing was that the bedroom was devoid of a heap of trash and scattered papers crumbled up and all. And most of all, the stench of blood and ichor.
Nope, this place was just a regular old room after all. And yet it didn't make any sense at all. Now he didn't want to try and pry his infinite well of knowledge again to begin to process how he got here, with the horrible headaches that could come from it again, but he had to at least try.
Derek took a deep breath, and sighed, rubbing his temples with both hands as he tried to think. Was there a possibility of them arriving here and- he. Oh. He couldn't think of it.
Out of all the possible things that could happen, this- him being in wherever bedroom he is- was not something that was expected. Come to think of it, this wasn't familiar at all.
"Agh- fuck-" He winced a bit, grunting as he moved to get off the bed, and he finally noticed it. He looked off. Absolutely off.
Sure, he still looked skinny as hell. But it wasn't out of malnutrition, no, it just seemed like he was always like that. Looking at his hands however, he finally noticed what the difference was.
"Claws?" He examined them, noticing that the ends of his fingertips were sharper, was this a trick of the King? Did he truly fuse with them in the end and turn into whatever he is-
"What the hell-" Derek turned to look down from behind him, as his eyes widened. He had a tail. A goddamn tail. One that was at first red at the base but slowly faded into a golden color. Almost like it was of his own Minecraft skin.
"Is this a joke?" He muttered, standing up and surprisingly doing so with little to no exhaustion or resistance from his body. Taking a glance at the full body mirror on the wall beside him, he finally noticed that he looked... very different. Two front facing horns, curving and thinning upwards in a red to gold hue.
‘...’Phighting’? A Roblox game? Why would I be sent into a different universe that involves a game about-’
THUD
His body jolted once he heard the sound of something right outside of his room, making his eyes go wide for a second. Was someone else in this home? apartment? he doesn't know, and he doesn't intend to die finding out.
With nothing else to fend for himself, he grabbed one of the pens and gripped onto it tightly with one hand. Exiting his room carefully, he glanced at the short hallway. To the left, it led to an open living room and a kitchen, and to the right was another room right beside his, and the bathroom.
Which had golden Ichor stained on the floor, leading to said bathroom. And the door was half-open. Someone was coughing in there.
Taking a deep breath, he carefully walked closer and closer to the bathroom door, hearing the sputtering coughs more and more clearer. Before the other person could react to him, he swung the door open with full force, ready to strike-
“Oh SHI- F- ackh-” The other Inphernal (apparently thats what they're called in this universe, or Phighting) glanced up wide eyed, face filled with shock before twisting into disgust as he faced back into the toilet bowl, expelling out the golden liquid from his mouth again.
“Who-” Derek paused, before realising who it was. The other human- demon? wore a black jacket with floral patterns, white shirt, pale cream shorts-
“Avery?”
“Yeah- fuck- how do you know my name?!” Said former human whipped his head around in shock, as he spoke, “Oh god, I made a mess-”
“No- No, it's okay. We'll clean it up later-” Derek kneeled close, with the other heaving and coughing up back into the toilet, as the taller Inphernal rubbed their back, “Just let it all out.”
“..eugh I hate this- my mouth tastes like metal-” The slime player- well, his hair was green, and his tail too. It seemed like he took on some characteristics of his Minecraft Avatar, the same as Derek has as well. He wonders if he has the same armour as their own avatar, but that's a matter for later.
“Who- Who are you?” Avery asked again, clueless on who the other person was before him. For all of the vast knowledge in his mind, Derek for once couldn’t respond normally to them.
“I- It’s me. Derek. D3rlord3.” He hesitated, waiting to see their reaction, and this time, he knew what he had to expect. Surprise washed over the other person's face, as he spoke, “D- Derek? You're alright, are you okay?”
“Yeah, I am. And you?” He asked back, to which Avery wiped his mouth with the back of his palm, “I'm doing okay… Except for what happened a few seconds ago.”
He glanced to the toilet bowl, shuddered, and proceeded to flush the contents away. Both of them seemed to get the memo, best to not try and think about it right now.
“It's crazy, somehow I woke up in a room kind of identical to my own and I was in front of the laptop- I have a tail!” Avery gestured to the green tail behind him, the end shaped like a four leafed clover.
“It kind of hurts when I pull it though, watch-” He grabbed onto the end, tugging it with one hand as he winced and yelped in pain, “Ow- T-Thats not supposed to happen, right?”
“Actually, it is.” Derek responded, making the other Inphernal look at him in curiosity.
“We should clean you up first though.”
“Oh! Yeah- damnit, my clothes are ruined.” The other former human sighed in disappointment, as his face flushed, “Uh- You can go now, I can handle myself- We'll talk. Later. And you better not run off.”
“I won't.”
So they left it at that, leaving Avery and walking out of the bathroom for them to take a bath and change their clothes. As the door closed from behind, Derek took a glance down on the golden ichor stained floor.
“...Right. Let's clean it up.”
While the man he saved was changing his clothes after taking a bath, Derek Hutchins, burdened with knowledge, took it upon himself to research everything about the Inpherno in real time instead of relying on the infinite pool of knowledge in his brain (he doesn't want another headache to step in this time) and there was a lot of information both new and surprisingly connected together from the stuff in earth and here.
For one, apparently the Faction War and The Scorch, two major events that happened according to the lore of the game back in earth had never occured at all in this version of the Inpherno. Instead, all of the regions had formed an alliance a century ago and have dedicated themselves to research and innovation. Which is why apparently there was a vast global internet hub (with it only being one of many technological advancements for the Inpherno) where nearly all of the population had connections to.
He took the liberty to buy the ‘Headsets’ for him and Avery which were more a mix of those wireless headphones and wired magnets that connected to your skull. The technology was called Inphini-Connect, and it was released nearly 30 years ago. I mean, wouldn't hurt to try and use the tech.
More over, there were these big tournaments called Phighting Tournaments, where Inphernals with vast amounts of gears fight, two teams with five players each. Apparently it was popular enough that an online version of it also existed in Inphini-Connect.
On that topic, gears. He and Avery, in theory, also have gears. And usually Inphernals go by their gear name unless there's duplicates to which they use a different name to differentiate from the other. They would need to figure out their gears to use it as their identity when they eventually explore the Inpherno.
And finally, after all that research, Derek decided to order some food. Two boxes of pepperoni pizza and a few cans of soda. While he would usually not get used to eating again as he'd been quite literally malnourished for months, being in a new body gave him cravings that he couldn't ignore.
So here he was, sitting in the living room on the couch, reading through the books on the shelf near the television about the Inpherno. Funny, how coincidentally they woke up in an apartment that had everything they ever needed for themselves. He was even surprised when he checked his bank account and saw that he had enough money to last with rent, food, utilities and expenses for the month.
It… did give him a tinge of suspicion, but in a way, he couldn't sense anything that could be the King's doing. Internally, he sighed in relief.
“Derek! I'm done, I'm done!” Avery shouted out, now in a blue shirt and black shorts, as his tail wagged from behind. Derek could easily read Avery's reaction as being ecstatic and finally relieved to see the guy he'd been trying to find in Minecraft for a while, in the flesh.
“So- what are we doing?”
“Oh, I ordered some food. Figured we could eat while discussing everything that happened.” Derek replied, humming to himself as the other former human sat beside him and asked, “What do you mean by that?”
“Well, first of all. We're not exactly on earth anymore. The Inpherno is what this planet is called.”
“Damn, haven't heard of it. Did you know anything about it, since…” Avery hesitated, knowing full well that the guy beside him was burdened with a lot of knowledge, especially after witnessing the… king in yellow, from that old book.
“Yes, and no. We are in a fictional world, but it's fiction in ours. Here, it's real.” The other Inphernal explained, “Apparently this place is technologically advanced than earth, here, you should read these.”
He handed them a few of the books about the Inpherno, it's history and whatnot. Avery took a single glance, blinked, and spoke, “Oh. That's a lot…”
“You'll be fine.”
“...Seriously though, Derek. Are you okay?” He asked again, tilting his head in concern, “You were going to- well- you know…”
“Sacrifice myself for the greater good? Yeah…” The other winced a bit, scratching the back of his head, “I know, I should've told you, but it was the only way to save you from being used as a vessel by the king.”
“...It didn't work though, did it?”
“...No.” Derek sighed, “I don't even know how it happened.”
“I mean, I feel like I know what kind of happened…” Avery blinked, as he spoke, “You know how you have like- the ability to access a big endless pool of knowledge and all?”
“Yes, why-” Derek Hutchins paused. Before his eyes widened in realization.
“Did I-”
“Yeah, I mean, I kind of know? It's hard. But it's like- you gave me a teaspoon of it instead of like half the glass of the knowledge soup. It's still infinite, sure, but it's manageable.” Avery shrugged, crossing his arms.
“Does it hurt? For you, I mean?” The other demon asked, to which Avery shrugged again, “Not really, how about you?”
“Well…it still aches if I ever try too hard, but other than that, it's manageable.”
“Damn, I mean, that's much better right?”
“You can say that again.” Derek responded, before thinking for a moment, as he opened his mouth, “...Okay, so. We're Inphernals. That's what we are now, remember it.”
“Uhuh, where are you going with this?” Avery asked, as the other responded, “Well, Inphernals go by their gear name, and we can't exactly call each other Avery and Derek out in public.”
“Ohhh, yeah that'd be weird..”
“...Try summoning your gear. It's like- an extension of ourselves. A weapon you can use to fight back, basically a part of us.” Derek hummed, reaching his hand out to the open air.
“Ooh! Like- like a magical girl?”
“...sure. Let's go with that.”
“Hell yeah! Okay, uhhh..” Avery extended his own hand out to the open air, waiting for something, “Do I say a magic word? Is it command based?”
“Just think of it like you're summoning it. Imagine that happening, but for real.”
“Uh…okay, if you're sure.” The shorter Inphernal blinked, before closing his eyes and letting out a deep breath. He focused, and focused, until a bright glow began to form in the open air right in front of Avery's hand.
Derek, to be honest, was surprised. Sure, the knowledge of it being possible didn't faze him, but to see it first hand…
The glow formed into the silhouette of a sword, and once it did so, the light disappeared, revealing a beautifully crafted greenish tinted blade, with a wooden handle. Strangely though, it seemed like it was covered in slime, like the ones from Minecraft.
Avery opened one of his eyes, looked at it, before gasping as his mouth formed an ‘0’ shape.
“Oooh… it's so… me! It's like my Minecraft skin! Haha!” He giggled like a kid receiving an abnormally large lollipop from a candy store. The taller demon crossed his arms, shaking his head as he hummed to himself. What was he going to name his gear-
“I’m gonna call it the Slime Sword!”
Ah, he guessed it correctly then. Typical Avery.
“Oh, Wait- D3rlord- I mean- Derek! You should summon yours!” The former human suggested, his eyes glinting with curiosity. Derek took a glance, shrugged, before standing up and sighing, “Alright, I'll try.”
He reached out to the open air, closing his eyes and focusing on summoning it, since he didn't have much to go by, he could guess that to summon the gear would require to visualise it. And so, he thought hard enough to try and materialize his gear, but not too hard that he'd get another headache.
A bright shimmering light formed right in front of his hand, and Avery sat and waited in anticipation. The light formed a much more massive silhouette, reminiscent of an axe, and before the other demon could speak, it materialised in front of them, with the taller one holding it with both hands.
‘Why is it heavy…?’ The taller Inphernal pondered to himself, as he opened his eyes to check what his gear was in the first place. And it was… surprising to say the least.
A rather large axe, with a wooden handle mixed with golden spirals extending from top to bottom, and the blade itself was tinted from silver to gold, a red cloth covering the blunter side of the base. Just like his own Minecraft skin. Huh.
“...An axe. And it has a name.” He paused, before his eyes widened in realization, not only for the name of his gear itself but also for the reminder of their gears.
‘Golden Lord's Axe.’
“Derek? You there?” Avery blinked, tilting his head in confusion, “Are you okay? Did something happen?”
“...No- I-” He paused for a moment, debating on whether or not to point out and remind them of such a thing, before sighing.
“...Do you remember when you confronted me in the circle? back when..”
“When you were trying to keep me safe? yeah- Oh.”
Now, Avery’s mind wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but with a teaspoon of infinite knowledge in his hands, it did open up to him realising stuff more quickly. He knew what Derek was trying to tell him.
“...Our gears… they're a reminder of the tools we had in the fight.”
“A sword for you, an axe for me.” Derek sighed out, rubbing his face with one hand, as he desummoned his gear with the other.
“I- So what's the name of the gear?”
“Golden Lord's Axe.” The taller Inphernal groaned, sitting back down on the couch, “...A reminder of what happened to me. Of our experience.”
“Oh…”
Suddenly, the doorbell rang, snapping both of them out of their deep thoughts. Avery took it upon himself to answer, as he spoke, “I'll do it. We've been through a lot anyway.”
He grabbed his wallet (which he found in his bedroom) and opened the door, paying for the food from the delivery guy? Inphernal? as he grabbed the two boxes of pepperoni pizza and cans of soda. The shorter Inphernal walked back to the couch, setting the boxes and cans down onto the coffee table.
“So, what did you order?”
“Just some pepperoni pizzas and soda. I didn't want to buy too much.” Derek hummed, opening one of the boxes, the smell of freshly baked pizza filling the air. And before he could grab a slice at least, Avery had already held two slices that were sandwiched together with one hand, taking a big bite over the end of it.
“...You stacked the pizza slices together.” The taller Inphernal blinked.
“Uhhmhuh?” Avery glanced at them, before taking another bite, pulling the cheese that stretched from the pizza to his mouth.
“I-” The taller Inphernal blinked, before letting out a chuckle, “...You know what, I don't need to ask.”
Honestly, right now. What they need to do is to take it all in, spend their time just…being together. Here, alive. With no danger looming over the both of them.
Derek grabbed a slice, and took a small bite, savoring the taste while Avery practically scarfed down the pizza sandwich he made. Yeah… they'll be alright, for now, at least. They'll get through this. Both of them.
“...Soo.. are we going to talk about everything else eventually?”
“Yes. We will, I promise, Avery.”
