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Avery had always known how his time in this world would end. He had been born to serve a purpose- one greater than any other human could handle.
He was to be the vessel of the king in yellow.
His entire life, from birth to now, had been building up to this- and today, the rites would begin.
The king- benevolent and generous as it was, had picked out a ‘lure’- one that would show Avery all the cruelties of the world; one that would show the malice all humans were capable of- As if the blonde didn’t already know how terrible humans could be; how they needed the king to subjugate and guide them.
Avery had expected cruelty when he met D3rlord3 in that digital realm. Instead, he was greeted with kindness.
True kindness
The man was in unbearable agony- Avery knew he was-, and it was in the blonde’s nature to worry, but…
But D3rlord3 reassured him, promised him he was okay, that he could handle whatever was happening, and then he asked Avery to turn away- to stay away from what the knight perceived as danger.
Even with his own life at risk, his first concern was making sure Avery was okay.
This… wasn’t cruelty. Everything about this screamed genuine kindness; genuine concern for Avery’s wellbeing. But… if this wasn’t cruelty, then what was the king hoping to show his vessel with this?
The answer came when Avery blacked out- his king forcing a vision upon the vessel- To make the blonde understand just how cruel the world was to those that were kind.
Avery learned about D3rlord3- about Derek, and all the pain and suffering he endured. All the pain and suffering inflicted on Derek by others. The vessel watched and learned, seeing every bruise, every cut, every scar, every cruel remark or backhanded compliment, every hit, every single type of abuse Derek endured.
All the tears he cried, and those that he refused to let fall.
How… was Derek still capable of smiling? How was he still capable of showing kindness in a world that had dared to be so cruel towards him? How… WHY was he willing to go so far for those that would never appreciate and love him? Why would he go so far for those that had tried their best to break the dark-skinned man? Why…
Why did he keep going? What had made him endure so much? How was he capable of looking others in the eye, knowing exactly what darkness lay beneath the surface?
Avery didn’t realize he was openly sobbing until he saw the gates again through blurry eyes.
Derek had endured so much- and yet he still kept going, for a world that would never be grateful for his sacrifice.
…But… he didn’t have to.
He didn’t understand that this world rightfully belonged to the king, and that… that it would be better, safer, kinder under the king’s command. Derek didn’t get that, didn’t see the wonders the king could bring, but he acted in what he believed to be humanity’s best interest, despite everything.
He believed he was protecting people.
He WANTED to protect people.
Despite what they’d done, despite how-
Avery couldn’t-
He couldn’t let Derek be hurt any longer.
He had to save him.
N xyfsi fsi lnaj rd jdjx yt dtz, tsj gd tsj, xmfitbji xmtwj kfw zsitsj, yt dtz N utzw htwwtiji xzs, bfpj rj fx fx tsj
Despite the armor, Derek was surprisingly light. Avery was physically capable of carrying the fallen knight with ease, frowning at the blood that poured down the other’s face from his nose and eyes.
Silly… silly man… did he really think the king could’ve been stopped? That book had merely been a test to see how far Derek was really willing to go-
If he’d truly sacrifice himself for that cruel world.
Avery’s heart squeezed at the sight, at how despite everything, even with Avery now carrying the man off to safety, Derek was still hurting. And he wouldn’t stop hurting, not for months or even years after this. Parts of him would never recover, all because he tried so… so hard to keep everyone safe.
The world did not deserve Derek Hutchins- maybe Avery himself also didn’t deserve the other. The blonde sighed, squinting at the light of the setting suns as he left the mines. Avery had never thought of himself as cruel or callous- he wasn’t- but compared to Derek, who was willing to destroy his body and soul beyond repair- to condemn himself to oblivion until eternity itself came to end-
…Yeah, Avery definitely wasn’t as good of a person as Derek was.
The king had stated that Derek would show him all the cruelty of the world, so the blonde could’ve known that his own darkness and malice would be exposed too, but it was JARRING to realize how little he truly cared compared to the knight.
It was as if Avery hadn’t cared at all- like he hadn’t been capable of caring for anyone or anything except his duties as the vessel. But with his duty fulfilled, all he had left to care about was…
Avery’s hold on the unconscious knight tightened.
He had to find shelter, the twin suns were setting.
During the night, Avery set up a small campsite in a shallow cave. The blonde couldn’t sleep, even with the weight of Derek’s unconscious body leading against him, Avery couldn’t relax.
He had to stay awake.
Minecraft was dangerous during the night.
Luckily, staying awake was easy, and when the sun rose Avery once again picked Derek up, and set off to find a place for them both to live at.
Somewhere safe for now- they could always build something greater later on- something fitting for the vessel and the one who gave him purpose, after fulfilling the role he had come into this world for.
Avery walked for days, holding the still unconscious knight close, hoping to find a village or a mansion. He found the latter in a forest of dark oak, gently setting the knight down outside of it while the blonde went inside to have a ‘chat’ with the current residents.
This was to be his and Derek’s new home.
After the blonde was able to convince the current residents to leave, he returned to the outside, taking a moment to admire the knight, slumped against a tree, scattered sunlight reflecting off of the golden armor.
If he ignored the blood, it’s almost as if Derek was simply sleeping.
“We’re home now.” Avery smiled, picking the other up again, carrying him back inside.
And nothing will hurt you now.
Dtz fwj xfkj mjwj
“Mfaj dtz sty stynhji ny?”
“Mfaj dtz sty stynhji mtb rd uqfsx mfaj hmfslji?”
“Ijatynts yt ymj ajxxjq nx st inkkjwjsy ymfs ijatynts yt ymj pnsl.”
Every day, Avery would wake up in the same room Derek’s body was still resting in. Every day, he’d cheerfully greet the knight, before talking about how he was going to make breakfast.
Derek hadn’t woken up yet, so he hadn’t actually eaten anything Avery had prepared.
The day would be spend with tending to the few crop Avery had managed to grow and the livestock he managed to wrangle, and of course, whispering words of comfort to the still unconscious knight; words he so desperately needed to hear.
Because Derek had been afraid; he’d been so terrified of something the knight was never meant to understand.
And even with that fear, his first instinct had been to try and protect Avery.
It kept Avery up at night; the knowledge that this person, who endured so much, just… he did that for Avery. Even those who were living near the blonde, who knew just how important the vessel was to the king, hadn’t shown such devotion.
Devotion… that it altered the king’s plans.
It made Avery wonder if he had truly been the one who was destined to be the vessel- how could he be, when Derek was right there-
So much kinder
So much more gentle
So much smarter
So much more devoted.
Derek was a perfect mirror, showing Avery how ignorant he had been to his own flaws and imperfections. A mirror that didn’t shame him for those flaws and imperfections, but instead acknowledged them and saw them as valuable; Because Derek had seen all the parts of the blonde that Avery himself had been oblivious to, and still told him that he was special.
Derek may not have known the truth behind Avery’s upbringing and history, but he had known who Avery was, and he loved the blonde.
“...You’re too good for this world.” Avery muttered, sitting by Derek’s bedside, watching the slow rise and fall of his knight’s chest. “You… I don’t think I deserve you.”
…Avery probably didn’t.
He really, truly didn’t deserve Derek.
…nah. He DID deserve Derek. If he didn’t, if he had been found lacking in qualities, the king wouldn’t have rewarded him like this. He would not be here, spending the rest of his existence with the knight.
It was still… surreal, to know that the king had altered his plans.
For Avery
And Derek.
Sure, the outcome was still the same, but the fact that Avery would be conscious and live in this realm with Derek-
That hadn’t been part of the plan. Avery’s consciousness was supposed to have faded- he was not supposed to be aware.
Two consciousnesses in a single body would cause issues, after all.
Still, in his infinite wisdom, the king had found a solution to that, and given Avery the greatest possible reward a vessel like him could receive.
A life with Derek.
Scared, hurt, amazing, lovely, devoted, broken, kind-hearted, proud Derek.
“You’re safe here, Derek.” Avery promised. “I won’t let anything hurt you”
The blonde took a deep breath, before leaning closer, and whispering words into the other’s ear.
“█ ██████████ ██ ██ ███████████ ██████████ ███ █████ █████ ██ █ ███████ ██ ████████ ██████ █████████ ███ ██████████ ██████ ██████████ ████ ███████████ ██████████ ███ █████ █████ ██ █ ███████ ██ ██████████████ █████████ ███ ██████████ █████“
The blonde smiled.
“Don’t worry, Derek. You are safe here”
“█ █████ ███”
It took 21 days for Derek to wake up.
21 days in which Avery took care of the unconscious man, talking to him, whispering to him, making sure the other would wake up without fear-
Without the memory of what happened to him.
The knight walked with a limp, one of his eyes no longer worked, but Derek was alive, aware and ██ ██████ █████
And Avery was right there, making sure the other would be safe, sound and happy.
████ █ ██████ █████ ██ ██ ██████
Derek knew something had happened, he knew that there’d been danger, but it was fairly easy for Avery to soothe the other; to convince him that the blonde was safe, because of Derek.
That their world had always been ██████
That Derek had always worn arm██
The knight had been so nervous, so vigilant in those first few months- but with careful coaxing, he could finally relax- finally accept that it was safe.
They were safe.
Derek had refused to even go near caves in the first few years, but Avery was right there, showing Derek that aside from creepers, zombies and skeletons there was nothing to worry about.
This world was fairly safe.
Sometimes, Avery worried that Derek knew about the other world- about the king and how he was now a ruler. Derek would never see the king as a benevolent being, and Avery understood why.
Doesn’t mean he agreed, though; Not with everything the king had given the blonde.
A happy life
A partner
A world they could shape any way they wanted to
Avery was happy.
Derek was happy an█ ████████████ ███████ █████
The vessel had fulfilled its purpose, and it got rewarded by its king.
This is exactly how it was meant to end.
"N fqbfdx wjbfwi ijatynts"
"Fsi ymfy rfs'x ijatynts yt rj tzlmy yt gj wjbfwiji."
"Ymtzlm mnx qfhp tk kfnym nx... lwfynsl. Dtz rfpj zu ktw ymfy, rd ijfw ajxxjq"
"Xt N xmfqq lwfsy dtz bmfy dtz ijxnwj; fs jyjwsnyd bnym dtzw gjqtaji, ijatyji psnlmy"
"N xmfqq ywfsxkjw dtzw htshntzxsjxx yt ymfy inlnyfq uwnxts"
"Fsi ymjwj dtz xmfqq wjrfns bnym ymj psnlmy"
"Ktwjajw"