Chapter Text
Footsteps.
Heavy and metal trudged through the halls of the old cathedral like they've done many a times before, lemon coloured glass reflected onto the stone floors with what little light they could find, for here - this hell he bounded himself to- no true sun shined and only artificial skies met his vision. The darkness within the cathedral dimension was ever present as neither the stars nor clouds seemed inclined to show their faces to the wayward knight. His gold armour and red cape stood out like a sore thumb amidst the greys and yellow of his surroundings, yet his focus was elsewhere as it had been for weeks, trying to drown out the silence best he could to keep his psyche from turning on him.
When he first awoke after his encounter and eventual fusing with the King, everything about his.. Well everything felt wrong. And that feeling stuck with him throughout the first days he'd come back from the depth.
He couldn't do much but lie on his back and gather his strength before attempting to even try walking again; thankfully after a few weeks his muscle memory kicked in, even when he still felt like he was wearing a heavy and very uncomfortable skin suit but at least the knight was able to move about without tripping on his own feet. Though it only left him with more questions now that he was coherent, it started with his own name - everyone had a name of course but why couldn't he remember his? D3rlord3 seemed to be his name, but why did it feel incomplete? And who even was he?
Surely he had a life once, a childhood, a home, friends, a family- anything! A life before the infinite knowledge, the different dimensions beyond the gold gates, the King, before him—
… He never did find answers to those questions, not yet he’d reason with himself, but each day it seemed more of a mocking statement than anything worth hoping for.
Still, he knew he couldn't just stay where he was, something in the back of his mind urged him to explore the world he finds himself in, to search for something in this nonexistent world that's worth finding. And during his first days after being able to walk without assistance, he did just that, venturing through gate after gate, into dimensions made by the King that now lay abandoned and pillaged as the knight collected all sorts of resources so that he'd at least had a fighting chance to survive in this hellscape. Unfortunately, with no diurnal cycle to keep track of, D3rlord3 opted to scratch on the walls of the cathedral each time he came back from his misadventures, using the sharp edges of his tools to make tally marks.
121,667 days and 4 months, he tallied, going gate after gate and exploring every inch of the King's domain to find an exit. And finding nothing.
He didn't know how he had survived this long, but he tried to think positively about his situation. After all he was alive, that was something worth celebrating. Yet with each day spent in silence it was getting harder and harder to manage, it wasn't like he was in good company either. His footsteps continued through the halls, readying himself for another day spent going through different gates made of the same colour, but with his steps followed the faint sound of whispers - high and whiny they muffle against the thick plate of his helmet- their presence demanded to be acknowledged by the knight like they always have, words like slime wormed their way into his ear: trying to feed off of any insecurity it could find and use it against him, trying to drag him into the darkness where IT resides, so that he'd suffer for his actions.
It was vile above all. But with one hard flick to the side of his visor, and..
Silence.
D3rlord3 breathed a long, heavy sigh as he loosened his grip on the pickaxe, he needed to keep moving forward. There was no use in dwelling on the past when he still had a future. His armour glinted among the torch light as he exited the cathedral towards the fake town, boating to the next isle and going through the familiar golden gates within the pale planes.
He spent those next few hours finding whatever he could, climbing high upon the giant tree’s branches and grabbing the apples that spawn when he breaks the leaves, bucketing fresh water from the white marbled puzzle room, scavenging for stone in the fake church dimension and for his own pleasures: picking up more books from the infinite library to add to his collection back at the cathedral, for all the trouble the King caused for him D3rlord3 could at least appreciate this.
And he was pretty sure without it to keep him occupied in between his time spent exploring, he would have certainly gone insane by month 3..
The familiar feeling of teleportation led him to his current location at the bottom of his list. The sound of the towering bookshelves slowly moving themselves through the void occupied him as he climbed one of the ladders to search for more reading material, colourful spines lined the shelves as the knight in gold added them to his inventory. A particular book caught his eye, filled with runes that he'd yet to decipher and something his mind itched to unravel, though that could be the excitement of finding something he'd yet to read from cover to back. Book after book the knight continued along silently - avoiding going the same route twice so that he wouldn't get lost like he did the first few times fully exploring the infinite library- his armour felt heavier than usual and the light that encompassed the library simply added to the overwhelming feeling. Far too bright, and painfully artificial. He hadn't gotten much sleep in days, vague memories kept him up when he lay on the floor of the cathedral alone, taunting him with answers only to disappear when he thought he'd finally grasped them.
In his haze he didn't even notice he'd gone the same route twice, perhaps he'd gotten numb or the last of his brain cells finally left his skull in his daydream, whatever the case was when D3rlord3 blinked up the shelves weren't where they were before: some floated up, to the sides, down and left to create new pathways but nowhere near the golden gates he came through before. The knight gripped his pickaxe once more, gloved knuckles tightening on the handle as he stood, he could almost hear the amused chuckle from the parasite in his mind, no doubt finding it funny that he'd let himself get lost like a fool. Soon he was retracing his steps back to the golden gates, visor snapping in the direction of the platforms and shelves below, when he thinks he spotted something gold and rerouting as soon as he feels like he'd gone the same way twice. The library, like the other dimensions, might be designed to confuse any other ordinary mortal, but D3rlord3 was anything but ordinary.
Parkouring from platform to platform as the shelves continued to move above and below him, his feet continued to jog along the wooden structures, His mind set forward even if the voices urged him to give up his pursuit, he might be the one in full control of the body but the King was unfortunately just as stubborn, D3rlord3 could almost see tendrils of yellow appear in his peripheral vision but he shook his head each time, he just had to keep moving that's all, one step after the other, a jump here a jump there, walk the path forward and never any other way. Because there's nothing left to do but keep moving forward.
There's only him here in this strange world of doors, of empty domains and solved puzzles, he'd done everything he could to escape - to find answers to the questions that keep him up at night but all those doors only led to the same cage over and over, there's no one that he could talk to, no one to accompany him, only silence and even that chipped away at the knight’s mind the longer he stayed here.
He needed to leave, he needed to go back- but to where and who? He wasn't here, D3rlord3 made sure of that.
So what was left to go home to? He doesn't remember anything, or anyone from his life before this prison he finds himself in, did he even have a family? Friends? Anyone? The corners of his vision continued to yellow and his helmet felt the heaviest out of all his armour, yet he still kept running as his cape streaked behind him with every jump and sprint through the never ending maze of books and wood. He needed to move forward, if not for himself then for the questions he held that were still left unanswered. The knight had survived this long, right? It had to mean something. Anything.
Golden boots thundered against wood as his surroundings started to turn to blobs, exhaustion setting into his very core, until he saw it. GOLDEN DOORS. It was the only time he felt even remotely happy about the colour, his mind adrift even then as the knight tried to will himself to keep moving, keep going even when his everything ached for him to just take a break. He wasn't about to let IT win, not then not now, when the handles were in reach he swung it open with all his might before jumping through. For once the infinite knowledge that lingered in his psyche only supplied him with silence.
.
.
.
[d3rlord3 joined the game]
.
.
.
On the other side…
It.. Was.. Was..
Was it raining?
D3rlord3 looked around bewildered as his mind sobered from the previous experience. Freezing drops splattered against his helmet in droves as he stood amongst the grass and bits of stone, the knight tipped his head upwards to soak it all in, one half in disbelief and the other: mesmerized by the simple sensation. The world around him was lit with noise - mobs could be heard nearby, lava bubbles, and of course the nonstop rainfall- a far cry from the numbness and silence that followed him everywhere back in the King's domain. It was wonderful.
A soft chuckle of disbelief left him as D3rlord3 held his hand out to the sky to catch the raindrops, the heavens above were a cloudy grey yet it felt more real than anything he'd experienced in months, he walked around the area mesmerized, the damp grass below him turning to mud as it stained his cape and the soles of his golden boots. The few mobs that were around looked on as the knight wandered about like a child in a toy store, despite having seen a naturally generated minecraft biome once before - seeing them in this context felt freshly new to D3rlord3, a welcomed peace to his troubled mind as he spun in the rain.
Yet..
As the minutes passed his steps turned, he went back to look at the golden gates that led him here, the structure stood imposing against the muted background where not even the tallest spruce could reach the gate's peak, to its sides were broken oak fences that seemed to have been placed there before the gate spawned. Soon the knight's shoulders lowered from their previous excitement and his body language gradually became guarded. Though the change in scenery was appreciated, something didn't feel right about this, was it another attempt from the King in Yellow to break his mind and assume control over his body? It has to be, nothing was without strings as he'd learned, he'd never been here before..Who knows what sort of trap lies here waiting to ensnare him. No, he had to keep his guard up incase of danger, he had to-
“!”
His helmet turned sharply when he spotted something yellow walking towards him from behind in his peripheral vision, his mind tried to comprehend the voice over the sound of rainfall and get information on who it was before reacting, but his reflexes reacted faster it seemed or was it fear? Regardless, the knight quickly switched his inventory before he could stop himself. Taking a swing just as the person drew near.
“Dammit not another one! I just got done fixing that fence an hour ago! If another one of you made an obelisk on my side of the property again I swear to-”
[collinlock16 was slain by d3rlord3]
The digital body crumpled onto the ground, the yellow raincoat stained in blood from the force of the pickaxe, before it disappeared into a string of codes thereafter, the knight standing over where the remains once was, frozen in shock.
<collinlock16>: DUDE
<collinlock16>: WTF
<collinlock19>: hA Ha aA
D3rlord3 blinked at the messages that appeared within his vision, those were definitely player names, but that didn't make sense. There hadn’t been anyone he'd encountered in the other worlds, he's not even sure if he's still IN the KING’s realm right now- this place- It's different.. It's almost real and yet it Isn't at the same time.. It's…
Just where did he end up NOW?!