Chapter Text
-
"It's so bright"
"I can only imagine. Enjoy... Enjoy it. Enjoy it all."
"I will, I have."
"My friend."
"I will continue to."
-
John opened his eyes, feeling the cold stone ground beneath him. Feeling in both his hands. The cold air breezed past him and he could feel it. And he was alone.
"Arthur..."
Arthur was gone. John knew this. The way he could hear his own voice echoing against the walls, feeling sensation across his own skin, the overwhelming feeling of feeling, of having his own body again. Without anyone there...
Last time he had his own body... it was this one. This tattered yellow robe, darker than anything he's seen before, stained with the blood of the hundreds of thousands of Arthurs he had hunted and slaughtered during his time in the dark world. Their screams rang through his mind, the corpses that lay at his feet, the same corpse time after time, of the one mortal man that meant everything to him now. He owed Arthur everything, and yet he knew the crunch of his bones within these very hands more than anyone.
He knew he couldn't keep hating himself for back then. He knew that's what Kayne would want. He was being played then, Kayne took advantage of him in the state he was in. But he couldn't linger on it, he couldn't let his past tie him down, Arthur taught him that. He needed to continue on, but not forget, no, he'd never forget Arthur. But he couldn't let Arthur's sacrifice go to waste. He needed to find a way to stop Kayne. He needed to-
"You good, dude?"
- [perspective change] -
Avery had found himself within the tunnels from the cave. Not entirely sure what he was doing here, other than exploring. He had found the large, buried forest, deciduously insulated somewhere within the cave and spent some time getting lost amongst the strange trees. Eventually he found the entrance to the next tunnel and wandered in.
Not very far in did he get until he noticed a presence. Something was hunched over at the far end of the tunnel, something large. The torches on that side had gone out too, leaving the hulking figure shrouded in darkness. It shifted, Avery took a step back and froze, it hadn't noticed him yet it seems. Although now, he could see part of it in the light, something yellow. For some reason his mind flashed to the warnings in the book he found, about something being down here, not of this world, something watching, and listening, something something don't turn left. Weird.
Then again, this was supposed to be a single player world, and he obviously wasn't alone. Then he heard it, a low mournful groan that echoed around the tunnel.
"Arthur..."
What the. Okay. He switched out his sword from his inventory, keeping his rod easily accessible. He crouched, beginning across the tunnel to get a better look. His instincts told him it was dangerous, but his fight or flight tended to lean more to fight considering his PVP mastery. The thing shuddered, and he could see it more clearly. A figure in a torn and dirty yellow cloak, something that definitely didn't seem like it was from here. Even if it's face remained in shadow, he watched as it examined itself, turning over it's large, clawed hands in the dim light. It's back rose and fell, breathing increasingly heavier. It seemed sad, almost pathetic as it wrapped it's arms around itself, shaking and quietly crying. That's when he stepped in, putting away his sword for now, he reached out a hand to the figure.
"You good, dude?"
- [perspective change] -
John looked up at the sound of someone calling out to him. He had thought he was alone. Clearly he was not. A young man who appeared to be made out of slime stood in front of him, offering him a hand. John squinted, not realizing how much his eyes burned until this moment. Or how pathetic he must've looked. He wasn't used to being perceived like this, even in his time in the dark world as "Hastur", he didn't have to think of how those he killed and tortured thought of him. Even if they were all...
This was different, a new feeling, writhing in his chest and gripping the corners of his mind, he felt... ashamed? He eyed the slime-man for a moment, not sure if what showed in his expression was pity or something else. John did not want to be pitied. But he had a point, in the sense where John knew he shouldn't just be sitting here doing nothing, that wouldn't achieve anything good.
He hesitated on grabbing the man's hand, and instead decided to get up on his own, realizing just how much he loomed over him at his full hight. Or, near full hight, he found his head hitting the top of the tunnel as he rose. The young man took a couple steps back to make room for him, clearly growing more nervous, or that was just the slime from his body beginning to drip.
"Woah, you're quite tall there, um..."
"John."
"John! That's great. Absolutely great. I-I'm uh, Avery by the way. You are..." Avery wasn't sure if he should run, or commit to helping this creature that stood at such an intimidating hight in front of him now. Something that every nerve in his body was screaming at him was dangerous.
"Terrifying?" John answered, his voice low and even. Avery couldn't help it and nodded awkwardly, still fighting the urge to either fight this guy or run the other way.
"That's pretty much what I expected." John resigned. He crouched over slightly, finding it the only way to stand comfortably in this place. "What even is this place?"
"I honestly don't know, I found these tunnels in a cave connected to some old mine and just started exploring them for fun. I honestly have no idea where they lead." Avery explained. Well, if he wasn't outright attacking him, and he sounded normal enough save for that deep, echoing voice, what was the harm in trying to help?
"All I know is from this random journal I found," he pulled it out of his inventory and held it out for a moment. "Something about a crossroads, and not turning left? But I have no idea what that means, I'm sure it has something to do with these tunnels though. I was just passing through, you can come along with me if you want!"
"No I-" John thought for a moment, this place definitely wasn't any place he's seen before, and Arthur and him have been in many caves and tunnels together. This probably wasn't even the correct earth, considering the man made of slime, Avery. It was all very strange but, maybe moving forward would give him answers too, maybe even a way to find and possibly kill Kayne. He considered it. Once again, it was better than doing nothing.
"Fine, I'll come with you."