Chapter Text
He didn’t know where he was. One moment he was fighting with the others on his ship about the false god they worshiped, the next he was thrown overboard. Now, by some miracle, he was awake, with a pretty person leaning over him. They looked like an angel, with short white hair, a pair of wings on the side of their head that were shifted to be barely starting to cover their face, but not enough to block their eyes. Their irises were different colors, one eye was black as night while the other white as freshly fallen snow. He was just starting to open his eyes as he saw the mystery person’s face light up.
“You’re awake!” Their voice was as soft as a gentle summer breeze.
“You’ve been napping for a while,” They continued. “I was starting to think something was wrong. Tell me, what is your name?” They tilted their head inquisitively.
“It’s Azure.” He answered.
“A pretty name for a pretty person! My name is Two Time, but you may call me whatever you like!”
Azure sat up slightly to observe his surroundings. He was on a beach of some sort. Behind Two Time was a deep forested area. There were mountains in the distance. The most curious thing, however, was that the place seemed to be alive with magic. Magic was never a common thing, especially not where he was, so being in a place so full of it was strange.
“Please be careful,” Two Time reached out with their hands to help Azure gain his balance. Azure finally got a good look at them. They had a large pair of wings sprouting from their back, and a long, bony tail. They were wearing a white flowy dress that went down to their ankles. There appeared to be thin threads wrapped around their wings, wrists, and legs. Looking closer the threads seemed like they were hurting them. It tangled around their wings, not allowing them to spread fully. Their wings, wrists, and legs were glistening slightly with fresh blood from wounds. They didn’t seem too bothered by this, however. They only seemed concerned about Azure’s wellbeing.
“Follow me!” They said, gently grabbing Azure’s hand to lead them into the forest. Azure let them lead. Following this person probably wasn’t the best idea, but they didn’t have many options.
“I’ll introduce you to the other person here. We’ve been stuck on this island for a while, and they’ll be so excited to meet someone new! I’ll make sure you’re as comfortable here as possible!”
They led him deep into the forest, pointing out little things here and there.
“Over there is a lake, that way is full of mountains, over there is a lagoon…” Azure wasn’t really listening. He was too tired to pay attention. He didn’t even really notice all the unique flora. There were plants he had only ever heard of in books, and had never seen any photos for. It would be incredible if he wasn’t struggling to keep his eyes open so much. They had been leading him for a while. It had been hours. Or maybe only a few minutes? He wasn’t sure. He couldn’t keep track of time right now. They suddenly stopped in front of the entrance to a cave.
“We’re here!” They said cheerfully. “Wake up sleepyhead, there’s someone else here you must meet!” They gently pulled him into the darkness. It was at this point Azure realized that Two Time glowed. They illuminated the rocky walls, allowing crystals embedded in them to shine unique patterns onto the floor. Every shift of Two Time made the light dance. It was enchanting. Azure was so dazzled by Two Time’s glow that he hadn’t realized they had stopped.
“Onyx?” They quietly called out. “I brought someone here to see you.”
Azure barely held back a gasp when he saw what was in front of him. What appeared to be a humanoid was in front of him. They looked nothing like Two Time. He had a green, see-through body that exposed her skeleton. They had wings on their head, similar to Two Time, along with large, black wings tangled with more thread. One of their eyes glowed red, while her body emanated a green light, filling the room with the two colors. They appeared to be chained to the ground, but upon closer inspection, it was more threads. The same strings that tied Two Time’ wings together, that caused their blood to stain their otherwise pristine clothing.
“Someone new? What, did Telemon decide just us suffering wasn’t enough?” They spoke with a glitchy, tired voice, like they hadn’t slept properly in months.
“That looks horrible…” Azure said, half to himself. Wait a moment. Telemon??
“Hang on, what did you say about Telemon?”
“Oh, so he didn’t decide to condemn another innocent person… good for you. Where did you come from?” Onyx approached as much as he could, thanks to the threads holding her back.
“I’m not quite sure where he came from, he simply washed up on our shores.” Two Time answered the question for Azure.
“Wait, you still haven’t answered my question. What did Telemon have to do with this?” Azure was so confused. As far as he knew, Telemon was a powerful god/admin that was a very skilled swordsman. He had never heard of him doing anything like this.
“Do you want the short version or the long version?” Onyx asked him.
“Uhhh, short?”
Onyx sat down and sighed.
“Well, long story short, he created me, and attempted to turn me into a new swordsman/god. After I lashed out and attempted to run away, he bound me here. Two Time was one of his followers, they are quite skilled with a sword. They spoke out against my banishment, saying forcing someone to be bound alone was cruel. He decided to grant their wish of not having me be lonely here in a cruel way. As punishment for speaking out, they were bound here too, though not physically.”
“He- He tied up my wings. I’m a downed bird. He said it would ‘teach me a lesson.’ I never understood what lesson I was supposed to be taught.” Two Time sounded sad, and hurt. They appeared to finally be letting the pain from their injuries through.
“Is there any way for you to cut the threads?” Azure hated seeing these two seemingly innocent people in pain like this. He knew what it was like to be punished wrongfully like this.
“We don’t know.” Two Time said, their head down.
“There is a way, if he wasn’t lying.” 1x said quietly. Two Time turned towards him.
“There is?”
“I never said anything about it, because I didn’t want to get your hopes up.” Onyx seemed genuinely apologetic. Now that Azure thought about it, Onyx sounded like something he had heard of before. He had heard stories of Telemon sealing away an evil manifestation of pure hatred known as 1x1x1x1. Onyx sounded suspiciously similar to ‘1x’. Was this..?
“Before you say anything may I ask a question?” Azure needed to know if this was the terrifying myth he had heard so much about. Perhaps Telemon hadn’t done the right thing.
“Are you 1x1x1x1?” He said, almost whispering. Neither Onyx nor Two Time spoke for a moment.
“You sure this one wasn’t sent here by Telemon?” Onyx finally broke the silence. “He seems awfully smart. Figuring out that sort of thing seems like a great way to get banished.”
“I found him washed up, like I said. I think we just got lucky.” Two Time answered quietly.
“So you are then? I’ve heard you were some evil thing trying to destroy Robloxia, but was that not true? I just don’t think I can believe it…”
“I didn’t want to destroy Robloxia, I wanted to destroy Telemon.” Onyx- no, 1x spoke with bitterness in her tone.
“Destroy Telemon? But why?” Azure knew that the god had made some mistakes, but he couldn’t fathom him deserving to be destroyed.
“For ruining my life. For creating me. For deciding I was nothing but a pawn. He never thought I was worth anything.” Azure could practically feel the venom dripping from 1x’s voice. Two Time scooted closer to 1x, hugging him as softly as they could. 1x took a deep breath, seeming to calm down at Two Time’s touch.
“Oh, I’m- I’m so sorry.” Azure wasn’t sure how exactly to respond.
“That’s my oh so tragic life story, with a bunch of details left out. I’d rather not bore you…”
“But 1x, what were you saying about undoing the threads?” Two Time was still wondering about the strings that were wound tight around their limbs.
“He said that we could be free from these ‘chains’ if we convinced a mortal to cut them away with a mortal weapon. We still wouldn’t be able to leave the island, but perhaps the pain would soften.”
“Then let me try.” Azure pulled out a small dagger he kept in his belt. He carefully tried to slide it underneath the threads on 1x’s wrist, but as he pressed against them, nothing happened. The strings wouldn’t budge. Azure refused to give this up. If he couldn’t undo the threads around 1x’s wrists, he would at least undo the ones keeping him stuck in this cave. How long has it been since they’ve seen starlight? He moved his knife down to the threads connected to the floor. He sawed at them slightly and SNAP! The strings frayed and snapped loose. Azure worked quickly after that, freeing both of 1x’s arms. When the work was done, Two Time and 1x stared at him.
“What? Did I do something wrong?”
Two Time quickly shook their head.
“No no no, it’s not that at all! It’s just-”
“Why would you free something like me?” 1x spoke bluntly.
“...I don’t think anyone deserves to be locked away like this.” It was cruel. Forcing an immortal being to be stuck underground in constant pain was cruel.
“I’m going to try to undo the thread on your wings, is that alright?” If he could stop 1x’s pain, even a little, that would be enough for him. 1x nodded, and Azure shifted behind them. Two Time watched on with curiosity and excitement. If this new person could undo the threads on 1x’s wings, perhaps with a little bit of time to heal they would be able to fly again. Birds would flock along the coast of this island, and they would watch with jealousy. They loved flying, they loved the way the wind felt beneath their wings and between their feathers. Telemon had taken that from 1x and them. SNAP! A thread came undone. 1x unfolded their ruffled wing for the first time in forever. Azure moved on to the next wing. Both wings were free now.
“Feel better?” He spoke with a tone that said he had acted as a healer before, and now was no different. Two Time carefully reached towards 1x. His feathers were a mess, after having not been properly preened for years. Two Time had tried to help, but they could never do a perfect job. Plus, it was always agonizing for 1x, and they hated seeing her in pain.
“Are you alright?” They asked him. He hadn’t spoken for a little while. She simply nodded.
“Hang on just a moment, Two Time.” Azure brushed against their wings with his hands, carefully lining up his blade to cut the thread tangling them together. The soft feeling of his hands on their wings was enough to make their face heat up. They had been forced to preen their own wings, since 1x’s hands were tied down. They never blamed 1x, of course, but it had been so long since someone had shown any sort of physical affection to their wings. It felt nice to be taken care of. As they felt the strings’ grip loosen, they unfurled their wings fully, allowing Azure to admire them in their full beauty. How in the world had he been lucky enough to wash up on an island with two gorgeous people like this?
“I think that’s all I can do,” Azure said after he attempted to cut the threads around Two Time’s wrists and legs, to no avail. Suddenly, he felt the full body weight of two different people crash onto him. He was wrapped in a tight hug between both Two Time and 1x. The shock of waking up here and learning about 1x and Two Time’s past had been enough to keep him awake, but now the exhaustion from everything came crashing down. He leaned into the embrace. Sure, he had only known these two for less than a day, but they had been nicer than all the other people he had ever met combined.
“Comfortable?” They heard Two Time whisper in their ear. All Azure could do was nod. He was warm underneath the others’ wings. It didn’t even matter that he was laying on the hard, rocky floor. This was the safest he had ever felt in his life. He quickly fell asleep, the last thing he heard being a quiet “Goodnight” from 1x.