Chapter Text
It was quiet. Xornoth didn’t know how long they’d been floating in the void. There were no stars here, only darkness surrounding them on all sides. They swore that the darkness moved sometimes- shifted, reached out to them, always too far to grab.
Xornoth remembered, as they had nothing else to do. One memory rewound in their head over and over and over-
‘I don’t need you in here to kill you- when I’m right here.” That damned sword plunged into his chest, and as the elf collapsed to the floor Xornoth felt the same pain overwhelm them.
“No!” The distortion faded alongside the corruption, nothing else left for it to leach off of as it ripped out of them. They fell to their knees, thoughts clearer than they had been in so long- no voices in their heads, no bloodthirst pounding through their veins. Xornoth stared at the elf’s corpse- at their brother’s corpse- and tried to crawl towards him. Their body gave out long before they could reach him, blood soaking the once again snowy grounds. They turned to the sky, excruciating pain running through their body.
It was snowing. They’d spent so long consumed by fire, that the snowflakes that began to fall felt indescribable against their skin. And it was their skin, not the corruptions, not Exor’s. They couldn’t even enjoy the thought before their vision began to go dark. Not even trying to fight it, Xornoth felt their consciousness fade… And then they were standing.
Their brother stood facing them, looking like he’d seen a ghost. The sword was gone, his clothes were unblemished by blood- and he looked like he remembered. The world was brighter, less red- everything was normal.
Xornoth reached for him- unmarred skin pale as snow not corrupted not wrong- and then they fell.
And fell.
And fell.
And fell.
Now they were here. Alone, in the quiet, almost peaceful void. After years and years of hearing a voice in their head (kill them corrupt this world and the next and the next and the next- fire and destruction good good you’ve done well you have no other purpose my CHAMPION) it was peaceful. But Xornoth wanted to go back. They wanted to see their brother. They wanted to apologize: to him, for what they became, what they did. To Sausage, the king who they corrupted and poisoned and possessed. To Wizard Gemini, for ordering to kidnap and torture her. To the Last Gnome, Shrub Berry, for destroying her world and everyone she loved. To their parents- who’d loved them and removed every trace of Exor, only for the Stag to sink his claws into Xornoth anyways. To every ruler they’d wronged, to every person they’d killed, to every place they’d eradicated. To Joey, for using him and hurting him and playing with him like a puppet. They remembered how they’d run their burning fingers over his skin, ignoring how they left small burns and scratches. The scared look in his eye whenever Xornoth was angry. They remembered Sausage’s confusion turned fear every time he’d wake up covered in blood. Shrub’s screams as they killed her wolves. Scott’s triumphant grin as he plunged a sword into his gut just to stop them-
The void was peaceful but unforgiving. It was quiet but it left them alone with their thoughts and regrets and mistakes. Xornoth wanted to leave.
For the first time in years, they cried.
For days it seemed, or maybe hours, they sobbed their blackened heart out, curling into themselves. Everything was their fault. They’d done so many horrible things- how selfish of them to want to escape the punishment they’d more than earned. How horrible of them to cry over people they’d hurt. To throw a pity party for themselves as if they had suffered more than their victims-
Forcefully wiping away the last tears, Xornoth realized something. The void wasn’t as dark anymore. They looked around in confusion, tears forgotten.
What the… There! A bright pinprick of light- a star. As Xornoth stared at it, they could see it expand, stars blinking into existence one after the other, light growing bigger every second, overtaking the pitch black of the void. It got closer and closer until everything they saw was a radiant white. Their body flinched forwards slightly, as if someone had attached a fishing hook to their chest. They floated there for a second, half tilted, looking at their chest in confusion.
Another tug blasted Xornoth forwards, dragging them into the white quicker than they could process. They opened their mouth to scream-
“-es yes I did it!”
Xornoth almost stumbled, disoriented. They were… in the Overworld. The grass beneath them was green and vibrant, wind brushed through their hair, birds chirped in the distance. There was a circle of- is that blood? Surrounding them. Shaking their head to organize their thoughts, they realized they had fallen to their knees. Someone was talking to them from outside the circle, Xornoth only able to make out sturdy light brown boots from their position. Talking to them… right, I should answer. Xornoth focused their eyes, blurriness quickly dissipating. They tilted their head up, ready to respond to whoever had- summoned?- them to wherever they were.
And immediately paused. Because right in front of them, standing in a witch’s hat, looking very different to how they knew him, was the man that had fallen for them as a demon… and who they had corrupted.
Joey.
What the fuck?!