Chapter Text
The human mind, such a fascinating thing. Always creating new ideas, fantasies, some depraved and some worthwhile. Mankind, sprouting from the ground from an unknown seed, cultivated in sacred soil. The top of the food chain, Earth's most astonishing creation.
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Panting, withdrawing, KEEP running, KEEP retreating from the inescapable D3rlord3.
D3rlord3, the perfect embodiment of humanity, running as if it were natural, like a blade of grass flowing in the wind. Cave walls collapsing, thoughts racing, head throbbing, eyes burning, golden tears dribbling. LIGHT, ESCAPE AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL, THE MOUTH OF THE CAVE. GO ON D3RLORD3, I WILL CATCH UP IN THE END.
D3rlord reached the light, and the cave collapsed behind him. He hit the ground hard, staining the green, lush grass with blood, dirt blending into his wounds. He gripped his helmet, the endless thoughts they wouldnt stop, mind racing with endless possibilities, the inevitable, the King's rancid yellow. The same yellow that poured from his eyes, the same yellow that filled his head, the same yellow that was embroidered in his torn cape, the same yellow tint that shone on his once-honorable golden armor.
D3rlord lay in the meadow, blood steadily leaking out of his body as he gazed up at the night sky. Night? How long had he been in that cave? Why is his vision blurry..? His body trembled; he needed to get home before monsters came out. D3rlord tried to stand up on shaky legs, but he collapsed as fast as he stood up.
He grasped at the nearest tree and leaned himself up on it. He was left panting; he was weak. Weak, Mankind is frail, my knight.
“Who's there..?” D3rlord forced out. He wielded his pickaxe, holding it tightly; it was the only weapon he had. D3rlord forced himself to run; he held his last torch he had on him, as well as his compass. He had to get home; he's in no shape to fight any monsters. He held out the light, letting it illuminate his way home. The tiny spruce wood home in the distance was a sanctuary. D3rlord reached it against all odds.
D3rlord weakly turned the doorknob and quickly entered his home and locked the door behind him. At last, he could rest; D3rlord didn't even take off his armor before plopping straight onto his bed. He immediately fell asleep; all the adrenaline that had kept him up wore off as quickly as he ran out of that blasted cave.
Rest well for now, my dear knight.
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It had been a week since D3rlord had laid eyes upon the (HIS) King. He had disinfected his wounds and bandaged himself up, though his once dark brown eyes now had a hint of sickly yellow in them. No matter what he tried, he couldn't stop the endless thoughts and possibilities from flooding his mind. He knew everything: the past, the present, and the future. Things a human like him should never have the knowledge of, things that weren't written in a simple book. Depraved, Gruesome, Sickening scenarios flowed through his head. And a voice that didn't belong to him spouted nonsense in his head. The voice that called him towards those golden gates, the false savior, the nasty king in yellow.
Nasty? Do you believe that's a fitting way to address your king, my dear knight?
“I'm not your knight, stop calling me that.”
If you aren't going to be a rightful knight, I will have to punish you, D3rlord3. You ARE my knight, and I AM your king, and you WILL address me as such.
Visions flashed into D3rlord's head. His skull felt like it was being crushed; a future of his not yielding to the king was death. A slow, excruciating demise, in front of the king, stripped of all his glory, bleeding golden ichor, and being crushed by the pressure of the universe on his shoulders. Another future was shown to D3rlord, a future where he served under the king for all of eternity; the curse of immortality.
“I'm sorry, my king, I will address you as such for I am your knight..” D3rlord folded. He wouldn't admit it himself, but he was scared of what the future held.
That's what I like to hear, my dear knight. I will now relieve your headaches for as long as you promise to serve me loyally for eternity.
Bony, almost tendril-like hands ghosted over D3rlord’s face. He couldn't see the king, yet he could feel his presence surrounding him.
I will be the air you breathe, the earth you tread, and the blood that pumps through your veins.
D3rlord shivered at that, his golden armor shuffling slightly.
“Of course, my king, I only need you after all,” D3rlord said a little shakier than he would have liked.
D3rlord was reluctant to submit fully to his king; the King could tell, yet he didn't bring it up quite yet; he liked to observe his knight. He had never met one like D3r, no one as curious and as interesting as him. The human mind could be so interesting in the right mortal possession.
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By the time it was evening, D3rlord came home with some more food as well as two sheep he could use to get wool. As much as he loved his home, simple and basic, he decided it needed some more decor; in his favorite color re- YELLOW….
D3rlord had to pause at that thought; the king had to be messing with him once again, for an ancient deity, he was quite envious and clingy. D3r really hoped his king didn't hear that thought. It was sort of embarrassing, having the privacy of your mind seized from you so abruptly. Though it was worth it, ever since D3rlord had accepted the king's offer, he hasn't had any headaches or nightmares related to the gates.
It was almost like everything was normal, except for the ghost of touch or the paranoia of always being watched and exclaimed. D3r felt like a puppet, a thing to toy with and to be led into fate over and over again.
You aren't a thing to be toyed with, little lord.
“Do not call me that…” D3rlord sighed audibly, his face flushed slightly, though it remained hidden beneath his helmet, hopefully.
Hmphh, you're such an odd creature, so unpredictable, aren’t you?
D3rlord physically had to stop himself from speaking any longer; he didn't want anything to slip out of his mouth. He hasn't been able to express his thoughts as freely as he used to, especially around HIM.
Such silly little thoughts, my dear knight.