Chapter Text
Mobius went to hell ages ago, but how...?
After defeating Eggman and his Metal Virus once and for all, Sonic decided to take some time off and hang out with his friends.
This peace would last 10 years until Knuckles felt a disturbance in the Chaos Emeralds. He noticed that the Chaos Emeralds were acting… strange. In search to try and undermine the issue, Knuckles sought Mr Tinker (Eggman) to find out what’s going on. They noticed that some of the energy is being corrupted each decade slowly.
And according to Tinker, the emeralds are approximately corrupting by 0.5% each year.
Until the Chaos Emeralds SHATTERED. Now with the corruption seemingly gone, and the chaos emeralds now into shards, Tinker decided to put the pieces together…
There was 1 shard of each Chaos Emerald, each shard alone being able to control the stars.
On the 7th final shard of being put together, all hell broke loose. A shockwave occurred all over Mobius, engulfing it in a bright white light… Days later, Mobius reported ash storms appearing all over the planet.
THE GREAT SPLIT HAD BEGUN
The Chaos Emerald literally exploded with energy, into one all-powerful Chaos Emerald, and literally was the cause of the Chaos and Ash cycle.
And soon, the world was plunged into ash and chaos. Technology ceased to exist, and everyone was forced to go backwards in time to the medieval era. But deep beneath the First Chaos emerald, corruption and energy from it caused a plague called THE CHASM. This was highly contagious and caused Symbiote-like symptoms, though the corruption of it is more rural and localized due to the massive energy output of the Chaos Emerald, making its effect not that much. After many years, the world is now called... MOTHRIC.
Suddenly, in the world of Mothric, in the capital of Godfred, the Bell of Kaiden, echoing across the world, signaling the end-days of the Age of Chaos are coming, which has happened before, and the Age Of Ash is coming, where undead rise, the Lords of Chaos return from their graves, and the world is shrouded in darkness once again, and the cycle continues.
The First Chaos Emerald is the emerald of all knowing power, combined by the 7 Chaos Emerald shards to create an emerald of near limitless power, that can control the cosmos, and is the source of the Age of Chaos.
Sonic, a failed Chosen Knight who failed to link the First Chaos Emerald, rises once again to dethrone and liberate the souls of the 5 powerful beings called "The Lords Of Chaos”
The first Lord is Knuckles, leader of the Emerald Watchers, the last of the Echidnas. The watchers are constantly killing each other due to them being corrupted by the Chasm, their sworn enemy. But due to the energy of the First Chaos Emerald, it granted them immortality… Bound to kill each other for only god knows how long.
The second Lord of Chaos is Amy, the Devourer of Hope. After absorbing the energy of the First Chaos Emerald, she was transformed into a Chasm Lord.
With the Chasm within her corrupting her mind and her getting more and more distant from her consciousness, until eventually she was overtaken by the Chasm, leaving every memory behind.
The third Lord of Chaos is Tails the Giant. He was given the name “giant” since the energy from the Chaos Emerald caused him to grow abnormally to nearly 140 meters tall, towering over most landscapes. He was renowned for being the leader of the capital, Godfred, and also the strongest of the lords.
But his attempts to try and protect his people were not respected in history, as seen in the Siege of the Great Wall, thus becoming a tragic figure of failure and despair due to the Chaos-Flame corrupting his mind.
Tails now guards his title of being Lord of Chaos with his life, even if it kills him. And now, he resides in the Ashen plains, many miles away from the capital, guarding it with his very soul.
The fourth and final Lord of Chaos is Blaze of Mothric. Before the Bell of Kaiden rang its first solemn tune a near century ago, she was a Lord of Chaos like many others. But her actions are what led to her downfall.
After the fall of the Emerald City during "The Fracture", a civil war between the lords, she was banished into exile and drained of her power.
Now there she sits in her throne, linked with the First Chaos Emerald and tarnished as a fallen lord. But soon, she was able to regain some of her power from linking with the emerald and was able to ultimately become the ruler of Mothric.
In the end, Sonic encounters one final being called "The Soul Of Chaos." The embodiment of the 4 lords' souls he has fought and freed into one being.
In the end, after defeating it, Sonic can choose 4 endings with the First Chaos Emerald...
1 (The Chaos Heir ending): Prolong the Chaos Age and become the 5th lord of Chaos. (Ending theme: Stargazer -Nine Sols, Troy Lin)
2 (Liberation ending): Destroy it and let the cycle of Chaos end and have Mobius return to its pure form… slowly. (Ending theme: Comfort Chain -Instupendo) (TRUE ENDING)
3 (Lord of Morthric ending): Seize its total power, AKA achieve godhood across the planet, but the cycle still is there. (Ending theme: Erdtree Knights -Elden Ring)
4 (Lord Of Ash ending): Use the Ashes of the Lords of Chaos to corrupt the First Chaos Emerald to ash, thus naming him the Lord of Ash and plunging the world into an eternal Age Of Ash. (Ending theme: Secret Betrayal -Dark Souls 3)
Light the ash, spark the embers, and let our journey from the pits of despair begin…
The bell tolls, only being heard faintly ever so slightly… and the cemetery is quiet, as the cemetery is the place of the honored ones who have died under the rule of the Lords Of Chaos…
The statues of great generals, senators, scholars, great knights, and Lords of Chaos all have faded and have parts and pieces fallen off, with dust and dirt collecting.
The graveyard is more like a tomb, with the eerie quiet being louder than silence, dust particles slowly floating through the air, and the fog overtaking the vision of the graveyard, slowly and painfully.
Then, something happened… A slab on the front cover of a grave slowly slid open, and the silver of faded sunlight creaked inside, shining on the dark inside the grave again.
And suddenly, the slab falls on the ground with a thud, not violent and not gentle, just enough to be heard a couple of feet away, with the slight fall kicking up some dirt and leaving itself leaning against the wall of the grave. Someone crawled out, in forgotten knight armor…
SONIC, THE DISDAINED ONE
Sonic, after fully crawling out, collapsed on the dirt, breathing heavily, and sharp, almost as if he hadn’t seen the light or breathed air for a century.
He slowly got up from the ground, his hands and legs shaking, and soon he was on his legs, barely, with his legs and arms feeling weak after disuse, and his eyes were practically overtaken by a bright light after being buried for so long.
"I must… end it.." Sonic muttered, his voice raspy, and with a hint that it might have been 100 years since he first spoke.
He got up on his feet, his strength now regained, and he looked at his surroundings. The number upon number of coffins, along with the broken statues of honor, made it clear this place was the final resting place for the coming of the Age of Ash.
As he wandered the graveyard, he found a dusty sword and a dusty steel shield, all resting on a gravestone, slanted, begging to just be picked up and used by someone else.
Sonic picked them up, but they felt heavy due to how tired his arms were; they felt like carrying bricks if they were made of pure tungsten.
But after a minute, his strength came back, and they were able to carry. With the weapons in his hands, he walks down the narrow, dirt-covered stone path that leads to the Chaoslink Shrine, a checkpoint for warriors who have gone on great journeys, and also a place to rest.
Sonic walked down the path by the tree into the water, where he saw a Hollow Mobian standing there, staring at him. It wasn't until the Hollowed began to run at Sonic, limping in the process.
Sonic, timing it right, slashed diagonally, quickly, and swiftly at the hollowed, killing it with blood streaking on the dirt and cobblestone, with the hollowed releasing a long, raspy, almost demonic gasp. It collapsed on the ground with a thud, with it lying on top of the blood streak of its own blood. Sonic, without looking down, continued walking down the water trail, with the surrounding cliffs on his side narrowing it into a linear path, only one way to go.
Sonic went down the path, eventually encountering ruins and other Hollows, taking minimal damage from some of them while he killed them for standing in his path to try and kill the Chaos Lords for betraying him.
It wasn't until he entered a slight Ravine, filled with teal crystals, sharp and painful to touch, even if it was not on the sharp point. It wasn't until Sonic heard a roar, inhuman, almost other-worldly… THE GLINTSTONE-LIZARD.
Sonic looked at the Glintstone-lizard; it was bigger than him, and it was ready to attack. It hissed and rolled towards him, fast and heavy, the crystals on its back scraping the ground. He rolled out of the lizard's way in time before he got rolled and crushed by the glint stone.
Sonic tried to retaliate, using a right-hand slash to the lizard, but its shell barely even hurt. It wasn't until he struck again with an uppercut slash, cutting unprotected skin underneath, dealing heavy damage. He now knew where and when to strike. But the lizard, after he got cut underneath his shell, roared in pain. It then grabbed Sonic with its teeth, crunching down on the steel armor, and threw him against the cave wall, small rocks tumbling and dust surrounding Sonic, as he tried to get back up.
Sonic's vision blurred as his mind tried to get itself together, and the only thing he saw was a teal blur rushing towards him.
In one last-ditch effort, he grabbed the sword in time and right before the Glintstone-lizard could kill him, Sonic lunged his sword into its skull, ceasing all movement, and as blood started to leak from the skull. And soon, the lizard collapsed and disappeared into dust. Sonic finally killed the Lizard, but he still has a long way to go in terms of killing the Lords of Chaos.
Sonic, limping towards the exit at the end of the ravine, sipped his Flask of Kaiden Tears to heal himself. Suddenly, he felt himself feeling better than he had ever been, just by taking a drink from the flask, as he felt his wounds disappear from existence.
As he passed under the arch of rocks, holding up the exit barely, he saw he was on a narrow cliff-side, with a beautiful view of the capital of Godfred, nearly miles away, with the color scheme of the landscape being muted grays, blues, and blacks, with striking accents of yellow and orange.
[Song cue: Gwyn's theme from DSI]
Sonic walked up the narrow cliffside, as the view of the desaturated landscape and the capital was seen, tens of miles away, a tiny spectacle lost to time.
The beautiful view sparks a memory in his head, the times when he and Tails were running across the landscape before the event of “THE GREAT SPLIT”, and before the lords turned their backs on their duties.
The times when Sonic and the team would go out on picnics and have fun in the woods while Eggman caused a ruckus somewhere on Mobius, the smell of the rain as the rain gently fell upon the landscape, the arid winds blowing across the mountains, but now… the grass is ash, the sky never returns to the joy of blue, and the world has forgotten itself…
It is no longer Mobius… it’s MOTHRIC
He climbed up and up until he saw the ancient temple ruins, with the Chaoslink Shrine just up ahead. But someone was guarding it, but there the figure keeled, with a sword in his chest, in Knight armor, and the symbiotic corruption coming from him after being corrupted by The Chasm, and there he held a large halberd.
RYKEN, THE WITHERED
Sonic approached slowly, with the quiet howling of the wind being heard as the burnt banners sway in the wind, and the forgotten weapons of war are implanted in the ground, showing others tried to fight Ryken, but failed. As he approached the sword that was implanted into Ryken’s chest, he got a grip on the sword.
But he had a moment of hesitation; he didn’t know what this would do, but he had a bigger objective ahead of him… Liberate the lords
He then slowly pulled it out before he yanked it out swiftly, the particles of chasm dripping onto the ruined cobblestone ground.
Suddenly… Ryken began to rise up from his kneeling position. And soon, he was on his feet. The Withered has now been awakened again, but this time… By the DISDAINED ONE.
[Song cue of the boss fight: Iudex Gundyr's theme -DSIII]
The deep and ancient groan from Ryken was heard as if it were from a giant from long ago. Sonic prepared himself, raising his shield and putting his sword by his side as he raised the shield.
Ryken, using his two hands, used a slash downward with the Halberd, with Sonic dodging to the right. But Ryken fought people using this tactic before.
And so, Ryken yanked his halberd out of the ground and caught Sonic off guard with a hit to the right side of his chest, piercing the armor.
Sonic managed to get some distance away from Ryken, with his hand on the spot he was hit with blood leaking, he took another drink from his flask, healing the wound.
Sonic and Ryken fought for a while with dodges, slashes, blocks, and pierces until Sonic landed a critical hit on Ryken, causing him to fall to his knees, gripping tightly on the hilt of the halberd.
Sonic backed away, with his shield and sword ready for anything. But the only thing that wasn’t prepared for Sonic was the horror behind the armor.
Quickly, the Chasm began to consume his head and upper torso. In the black symbiote-like mass, it took form. This infection then started to quickly grow a large, black, grotesque mass with a white, clawed arm on its right hand. He is no longer a noble warrior…. HE’S A BEAST.
Sonic had a moment of hesitation for a moment. He fought demons like Ryken before he was sent here to the cemetery, but not like this.
Sonic pushed through, but the sight of the beast is what almost got him killed. Sonic was nearly stabbed by the clawed hand before finding the weak spot. The main body.
Sonic went in quickly, but nowhere near his original speed, just normal running speed. He ran in and quickly stabbed the host body.
As Sonic's sword penetrated, the beast let out a horrifying and deadly screech before quickly dissipating back into the body, and Ryken’s physical form collapsed.
After a moment of silence and rest, Sonic looked at the Shrine that was just up ahead. He slowly walked to the entrance as the two giant doors towered over him.
He used his hands and pushed against the doors; they were feeling heavy, yet light. Upon reaching inside, the doors closed behind him. He has finally entered…
THE CHAOSLINK SHRINE
[Song cue: Song Of Healing (Piano version) -Majora’s Mask]
Sonic walked down the spiral stairs that were linked to the walls, and saw the coiled sword in the ground, stabbed in the ashes; a checkpoint of safety, and a travel point.
Sonic approached it slowly, his boots lightly kicking up ash and dust from the cobblestone ground.
He stretched his hand to touch the hilt of the coiled sword, and it lit up.
CHAOSPIT REACHED
The checkpoint has finally been reached, but he saw someone mysterious in a keeper's outfit, with the cloth of the fillet covering her face, possibly the keeper of the shrine.
He approached the mysterious keeper, and she spoke in a soft yet elegant voice.
“Ah, a newcomer looking to dine with the other champions. Looks like you made it past that parasite-infested Ryken out there. Very few ever get past them, and they are the ones who are the strong and brave.” Her voice was familiar, almost echoing a past memory of Sonic… She removed her hood, and her orange dreadlock quills were fully revealed, with her green eyes now shown...
TIKAL, THE CHAOS-KEEPER.
“Oh, apologies for my manners. I am Tikal, the Chaos-keeper of the Emerald and this shrine. Feel free to make yourself at home, but you’re probably looking to find the emerald, aren't thou?”
Sonic looked down slightly and then made eye contact back at her.
“I see… A quiet one, yet so much potential. Well, that should explain everything about me, but if you ever seek to fight the lords, beware. Each of the 5 lords holds a snippet of power from the emerald, with itself alone being told in tales to control stars… But I digress. Go on your journey, and... Oh! Take this.” Tikal's hands Sonic an Ocarina. It is white, dusty, but still usable, with a slight bit of ash upon it, along with an ember staining it.
“If you ever need me to turn the souls you collected into power and strength, you can summon me at the Chaos-pits, checkpoints for you wherever you need a rest. Oh, and one more thing…” Tikal slowly extended her hand outward to Sonic, her palm slowly opening. “I shall convert the souls you collected into strength. Don’t be shy, lend me thy hand, and great promises shall await thee.”
Sonic's hand slowly glided to Tikal's palm, and upon contact, Tikal had a soft yet firm grip on his hand. Then, Sonic's hand began to glow a white, blurry, but almost heavily lit. Sonic suddenly had a feeling of being stronger within his veins, a power flowing within him.
Suddenly, it stopped; the process was complete. Tikal lets go of her grip softly, her hand returning to her side, with her hand slightly grazing the side of her white, elegant robe.
“Now go, Disdained One… Let the people know the legend of your name, for Mothric has forgotten it…”
Tikal watched as Sonic walked away to the Chaos Pit in the middle. Sonic sat down at it and played the Ocarina, with its heavenly and melodic tune, teleporting him with golden and dark yellow ash surrounding him.
Sonic closed his eyes as golden and dark yellow ash surrounded him, with a sense that he was being transported somewhere.
Until he opened his eyes and saw himself inside a stone structure, with the wooden door, covered with dust and accents of ash right there, waiting to be opened. Sonic opened the door and saw himself inside a city, but not any city…
And the land of Mothric was as visible as far as the eye can see… But now, the next area ahead was known to many as...
THE GREAT WALL OF MOTHRIC.
The DISDAINED ONE’s journey… has begun.