Chapter Text
Derek fell back in his chair, a sob tearing from his throat as the reality hit him.
Avery…
You idiot.
Why?
Why would you do that?
His palms pressed into his eyes, his mind feeling like it was tearing itself apart. A selfish part of him hoped that it would kill him. That the King wouldn’t follow through on its end of the deal. Maybe Derek could see Avery again if he followed him into death.
The events that had just transpired flashed through his mind, searching for anything he could have changed. Anything he could have done to stop it.
He had made it into the King’s realm, was staring it right in its eye, about to recite the spell to trap it in his decaying mind to take it down with him.
But before he could start, Avery had appeared behind him.
He’d been startled, he had been so sure that Avery would be distracted, that he wouldn’t make it in time, if at all…but he’d miscalculated.
He’d tried to trick Avery, to knock him off the edge, send him back to his respawn which was far enough that he’d have no chance of getting back in time, but a wave of pain had made his hand slip, a stupid, idiotic mistake.
The King had said something, he couldn’t remember what, but the pain had been blinding.
Derek had been certain that he was going to die right that second.
But then it had subsided, not completely, but enough…
Enough for him to see Avery reciting the ritual.
The chat told him the stupid deal that Avery had made, sacrificing himself for Derek, as if that wasn’t dooming the world as well.
Derek tried to jump into action, to interrupt, to do something. All he managed to do was to finally knock Avery into the void, but it was only after his avatar had completely stopped moving…and the eyes that had encircled them, gazing down from every direction…were gone.
Derek had failed.
The King had won.
Sobs racked his body. He could hear the fireworks outside…right…Avery had said it was New Years…
Please…if any god was listening, let him die now.
…
He felt hands covering his own, carefulling guiding them away from his eyes.
“Shhhh, Derek. You are safe,” A voice whispered in his ear, a voice he knew by heart despite never having actually heard it.
Please. No, no, no-
The pain tearing him apart disappeared just as suddenly as it had come, but the whiplash made him unsteady. He didn’t fight as the hands moved, one intertwining its fingers with his while the other slowly spun his chair around.
Gold met gold as their gazes connected.
It was Avery…
But it wasn’t.
It was robed in flowing yellow fabric, a matching cowl with ornate trim draped over its shoulders. Only half of Avery’s face was visible, the other half hidden behind an emotionless porcelain mask, though even the visible half was obscured by the sheer golden veil that hung down from the crown of obsidian spikes that adorned its head.
As its hand reached out, fingers brushing against his cheek, Derek felt frozen in his chair. A part of his brain desperately didn’t want to believe that this was real.
It just stared at him, as if…debating something, before a smile that sent a shudder down Derek’s spine crept onto its lips.
Because that was Avery’s smile…and it made him feel sick that it was using it.
“You are just fascinating," Its voice was softer, something that sounded horrifyingly like affection creeping into its tone, “as amazing as I’d imagined.”
It was ridiculous for it to imply that it imagined something, that it didn’t have every piece of human knowledge filed away in its infinite mind.
It made a part of him want to pretend it was still Avery…
It was that thought that brought him back to himself as he jerked back, tearing his hand from its as his chair rolled back until it hit his desk…which was less than a foot, but it was something.
“Don’t touch me,” Derek bit out, stumbling slightly as he attempted to stand from his chair, his limbs revolting after how long he’d spent sitting at that computer and, honestly, probably his fairly unbalanced diet of pretty much exclusively smoothies for that same amount of time. He wrenched away from the hand he felt on his arm as he tried to rebalance himself.
He’d rather collapse than accept help from it.
It watched him as he stumbled back, not taking his eyes off him. Its smile had disappeared, that almost calculating expression returning.
“You’re being dramatic,” It spoke, calm but unimpressed.
“Give him back,” Derek hissed, grabbing the first thing he saw, which ended up being a plastic diamond sword, which made him feel ridiculous, but anything that could serve as a better weapon.
It looked confused for a moment, its brow furrowed and lips pursed in a way that Derek knew was exactly how Avery looked when he was thinking, “Who?”
“Avery! Don’t play dumb, Hastur,” Derek raised the sword as it took a step forward, the toy prodding harmlessly against its chest.
It paused, head tilting slightly.
“I am Avery.”
Derek bristled, a disbelieving laugh escaped him, “Despite what you might think, I’m not an idiot.”
It didn’t respond, looking confused again for a moment, before its smile returned.
“Ah, I know,” It pushed the sword to the side, continuing forwards towards Derek, its tone turning almost…patronizing, “You’re confused. All that knowledge must have been so overwhelming, I’m sorry.”
Derek backed up, running into his bookshelf, figures that had been admittedly a bit precariously balanced tumbling off and onto the floor as it crowded him again, its hand remaining on the sword to keep him from using it.
“Stop-”
“You must be exhausted, Derek. You should rest,” Its free hand cupped his face, “Sleep.”
A heavy wave of exhaustion crashed over him, but he fought against it. He’d done it before. He could win, he wouldn’t have to give it-
“So strong,” He felt its thumb brushing against his cheek in a way that seemed to mock at an act of comfort, “You don’t have to be strong for me, not anymore. Sleep.”
And to his shock…the world went dark.
—-
Derek woke in an unfamiliar bed.
He sat up slowly, his head still felt a little fuzzy, glancing around to take in his surroundings.
He was in a large bed, a golden canopy obscuring his view of the room. Carefully, trying to not make any noise, he crawled forward, pushing the curtain to the side slightly.
He didn’t see anyone else…but the room immediately caught his attention.
The walls were a dark brick of some kind, golden sconces spaced evenly around the room. A desk of dark wood with gold hardware sat near a window and another side of the room looked to be an entire sitting area. This was a big room. And it had a strangely ornate theme that reminded him of…shit.
He didn’t hesitate for any longer, quickly clambering out of the bed, but his quick movement caused the light to glint on something on his wrists that he hadn’t noticed before.
Golden shackles.
He wasn’t chained to anything, thank goodness, but just the presence of the metal on his skin made him want to tear them off…which he tried to no success.
His hands clutched at his shirt, which also definitely was not what he’d been wearing before as it was now a button up type thing with flowy sleeves, as he tried to calm his erratic breathing. Now wasn’t the time to panic, Derek, get it together.
Looking around again, his eyes settled on a tapestry that hung on the wall. It depicted…the King. It was stylized, but it was clear who it was, sat on a golden throne, a halo of light surrounding it as masked individuals knelt before it.
Derek stepped forward shakily, unable to look away as his hand bunched into the fabric of the artwork…
And he tore it down.
He stumbled back, mind still racing a mile a minute as his eyes found the window again, rushing over.
The room was high up, several stories. The view was a sprawling garden, the paths paved in golden bricks, up to a tall surrounding wall that encircled as far as he could see.
Past the wall, Derek couldn’t see anything…but a single word, a name, popped into his mind as he leaned heavily against the window frame.
Carcosa.