Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A brilliant light engulfed Arathain’s vision as those golden chains tightened around his body. Rat’s shocked face quickly turned to terror as he used his trident to flee the impending disaster. The rat had been warned by him, he hoped that they were able to escape the blast radius.

His daughter cried out for him, he could see her being dragged back by Diansu. His greatest regret was having Lux watch his demise. At least Diansu and Will would be there for her.

As the heat became excruciating and boiled his blood, he began to laugh. It was manic and pained. This really wasn’t where he expected to be taken out. He thought he would at least get a few more decades.

It felt like hours passed before his vision turned white and he could no longer feel. Mere moments stretched until it was over.

Nothing came to the man as he worked to arrange his melted mind. Each thought that passed was slow and foggy. His memories flickered as he reached desperately for them.

His name was Arathain and he was a powerful villain. He loved to cause chaos with his two close friends and daughter. He had practiced the dark arts and changed himself into something that was thought to be extinct. He was an outlier, a survivor, a warlord, an ancient, a father, a lover, and a man.

Even with his eyes open there was only darkness. An endless black all around him. Below him was a black sea that appeared bottomless. Its inky depths not ending within his view.

Golden chains locked around his neck, wrists, and ankles. The product of his long awaited fall. These chains that were once locked onto another were now his to bear.

They were the only light in this void, glowing an ethereal gold. They sank into the bottomless ocean below and disappeared from his sight. 

Arathain tugged his arm up and saw that they would move with him. Carefully he pulled himself to his feet. He stood atop the endless sea, and as the waves rolled over him, he realized could not feel the water. He actually couldn’t feel anything but his own emotions, thoughts, and feelings.

Arathain hummed in thought and looked up, to see it. Mouthpiece floated just above the waves with its arms crossed and feet swinging. It smirked with razor sharp teeth as it condensed itself into its true form.

Dark fur covered its body with golden rings where these chains once were secured. It had large pointed ears, razor sharp teeth, and many golden eyes dotting its face and arms. A spaded tail swung from side to side. Its hands and feet were clawed and it clicked them together as it moved closer to him.

Arathain watched the creature before smiling, “What do you plan to do now? You are no longer bound to me as per our contract.”

Mouthpiece watched him in silence before it tilted its head. “I am not entirely sure… I never thought someone like you would die so soon.”

It then grinned wide and spun itself in the air, “I have some ideas though!” Its claws clicked a few times as it visibly recalled its plans, “I will continue to watch over her. Even with the contract now null, I have grown an interest in your daughter. I cannot say I will protect her directly anymore, but I will do what I can.”

Mouthpiece hummed, “I hope to see her follow in your footsteps. You were a powerful creature of chaos. I want to see what she can do with proper guidance.”

Arathain hummed and nodded, he knew that Mouthpiece planned to meddle more than it led on. He trusted it enough to know it would never directly lead to his daughters' harm. The creature was not evil, just a creator of chaos. 

“You are my greatest creation. I will never regret my actions or decisions when it comes to you. You are just as much my child as Lux.” Mouthpiece stilled as his words processed in its mind.

Slowly it let itself lower to stand on the water’s surface. It was shorter than him in its true form, coming to his shoulder.

It walked unsteadily towards him until it was looking up into his eyes. There was a swirl of emotions there, its lip trembling a moment later as it growled. Their relationship had always been a complicated one.

Mouthpiece seemed to be thinking on something before it wrapped its arms around him and held tightly. It trembled as he embraced it gently.

They stood like that for a while, holding each other. This was the closest that Mouthpiece would come to outwardly showing love and mourning for him.

“You are an idiot! How could you have let him just defeat you like that!? So easily too! In your own trap!” Arathain began to laugh as Mouthpiece yelled at him in frustration while not letting go.

After Arathain caught his breath, they stepped back from each other. For a while nothing was said and they just let the silence settle.

The creature then turned to look around at the empty void. Arathain followed its gaze as it finally fell into place where he was. He had his guesses. “I did think this was a strange afterlife. I assume you plan to not let me go yet?”

Mouthpiece grinned sharply, “I have plans that I’ll need you for.” A softer look then came to its face, “I plan to one day let you pass on. Just… Not yet.”

The endless void began to morph then. Soft light entered and then shapes formed. At first it was not something he could comprehend. Then it was all too familiar.

The living room with a warm fire forever burning. The couch where Will would fall asleep on Diansu’s chest. The chair where he would sit with a book and watch his daughter play. A set of bookshelves were filled with his notes and theories on the dark arts, summoning rituals, and experiments.

A staircase was against the right wall, he knew if he went up it he would see all of their rooms. Pictures lined the wall along the stairs, each bringing new emotions.

A kitchen with potted plants and working appliances attached at the back. It had a large table with four chairs. An endless forest was outside, while the house sat in a clearing.

Lux’s childhood home, the place he had settled to raise her and let them all take a break from the constant travel and chaos. It had been a place of rest, love, and companionship. A place they all got to grow in, just as much as his daughter did.

Mouthpiece looked around with a smile, “This will be your resting place for now. If you ever need anything then call for me.”

The voidling smiled, “I will. Thank you.” Mouthpiece faded after that and he was left alone.

Arathain noticed the pictures on the wall and approached them. He remembers the stories behind each.

The largest was a selfie taken by a grinning young teen Lux. She was holding the camera out to show off everyone behind her.

They had just been successful in breaking a server’s whitelist barrier and were invading. It was her first time getting to come along during their endeavors. She had been shielded from the main battle and bloodshed, but they let her get a few shots in. A complete and utter victory on their part, and swift annihilation of their enemy.

He had been known as The Spider Lily, a name given to him by his wife. Everyday he misses her…

Behind Lux was a much younger softer Will, a cackling Diansu, and his own cloaked form. They were falling from the sky, waiting for the right moment to initiate their landing gear and open the portals to let their forces in.

Only those within his group knew of his true past. The others suspected him of being something of a villain but he was much more than that. He was an ancient sorcerer of the dark arts and a warlord that commanded a powerful and loyal group of warriors.

They would invade servers that neglected safety protocols and wipe out the inhabitants. Anyone who was deemed strong was given the choice to join them, securing protection for themselves and their families. Not all took the offer but many did. He hopes they are all living happily now with their families.

He always believed he would meet his end on one of those battlefields, surrounded by explosions, screams, and death. Here he was now, having been taken out by his own trap.

Rat was an outlier, someone he had not expected. He had come here to use the server’s gimmick as a way to ‘invent’ illegal weapons, the Charter Weapons. 

Arathain had never met his match in anything, so he assumed as always that they would be uncontested here. He messed with the spawnrates during the server’s creations and had Mouthpiece enhance his Charter research. Everything had been going perfectly to plan.

Then Rat came forward, he had discovered his trickery and was ready to wage war. Arathain expected a quick victory on his side, a short but fun conflict before he would take his artifacts and weapons with him and leave this server. He would be truly unstoppable, a force to become legend.

It was on that bridge, when he looked Rat in the eyes, with Clown just behind him, that he came to understand. Rat was a force of chaos like him, something that could be his equal. It was during his last moments that he came to grin because… He wasn’t alone in this pursuit of power with chaos.

The man could not come to hate Rat. He only wished that maybe they could have become friends…

Arathian wandered the house, looking in at each of the rooms. They were just as he remembered them. Lux’s room even had her drawing supplies laid out across the floor.

He went in and sat at her bed.

The room had soft blue walls with animals painted on the lower half. Diansu always encouraged Lux’s need to create. The synth had painted her room blue like the sky and said she should now add her own brilliance.

Each painting added to these walls grew more alive, more refined, and more loved. Lux’s creativity as an artist was amazing to behold. Diansu was an inventor, so he was always her idol.

His daughter once painted him standing above the battlefield, back lit up by the sunrise. His hands outstretched before him as he chanted the next devastating spell towards his enemies. 

He kept that painting above his desk.

As he entered that old office he saw it there.

So this really was a replica of their old home. It still existed on that server, hidden away from the prying eyes of those in power. A place of refuge where he also allowed his old group to settle down without fear of repercussion from observers.

This place held memories, many he would need to explore as the wistfulness wore off and he moved to come to full terms with his end.

This was his final chapter and he can move on with that. Heh, life really was an unpredictable adventure.

The fire was still crackling but he could not feel its warmth. Afterall, this was all only an illusion to keep him comfortable in this prison.

A sigh escaped him as he sat down in his old chair. His hands gripped the arms and he stretched his legs out. Here he would rest, here he would think, here he would wait until he was allowed to pass on to his final resting place.

Chapter Text

It had all happened so quickly. One moment, Void and Zombie had been fighting Blake, hoping to protect the others and make up for their mistakes. The next, nothing…

Blake had been talking about Charter, some type of perma killing weapon. Honestly, Void didn't understand what he was rambling about. The guy was crazy, so who knows if he was being truthful.

It was quite the shock to not respawn and go back for a rematch. Guess he hadn't been lying… Heh.

Everything felt wrong here. Well, wherever here was. They still couldn't open their eyes yet.

On the rare occasion, they had pondered what the afterlife would look like. Even talked about it by campfires when the battle seemed a little closer to death than not.

Void personally thought it would be some twisted Valhalla. Where they would be thrown into morbid games and face a worse fate upon defeat.

Zombie had a more optimistic outlook. He thought of an endless sunny field with daffodils. They could watch the sun set and rise while running to their hearts' content. 

This didn't feel like either of those; if they were being honest, it fucking sucked. Cold emptiness in an endless void. Hehehe like their name. That was dumb... Zombie would yell at them.

Where was Zombie? They couldn’t move to find him, and not a sound led them to his whereabouts. Was this really all there was?

They finally felt something, a wooden floor against their back. It was odd to feel sensations after floating in nothingness.

“Fucking… Ugh. Asshole.” A smirk instantly came to them as Zombie’s gruff voice sounded to their left. So they hadn’t been separated.

Void dragged themself up and took a deep sigh while hunched over. They finally opened their eyes.

This was not what they expected… A cozy cabin with a crackling fire.

Zombie was rubbing his face with scarred hands. A rattling sound drew Void’s eyes to the golden chains now locked onto both their wrists. They disappeared into the floor, but somehow still gave them unlimited movement.

“This is odd.” They giggled, and Zombie sent them a tired look. “Is this actually the afterlife? I think it is a bit… Small.”

Zombie laughed at that and stood, “I don’t know but we won’t find out here on the floor.” He easily lifted the shorter up and took a lay of the land.

The cabin looked well lived in and cared for. On the wall were pictures that they instantly recognized Diansu and a younger Luxintrus in. She looked to be a preteen in most of them, but a few had her younger and being held by someone they only recognized from stories.

Noises in a neighboring room startled them, and they met each other's eyes. A short nod was exchanged before they moved to look inside.

Peaking around the corner showed them that the room was a kitchen. The cabinets were a dark earth green with oak counters. Soft yellow light glowed in stained glass fixtures. A hand carved table with four chairs was pushed against the wall.

Moving between pots and counters was the one they knew through stories. They had never personally met Arathain, as he was killed before their arrival.

They had heard of him, of course; the man was a legend after all. He was a powerful warlord who had toppled numerous servers. A ruthless sorcerer who communed with dark powers for his victories.

He looked softer here, cooking a meal like nothing was wrong. The clinking of the matching chains he bore said anything but homey.

Void was the first to venture into the kitchen. Zombie tried to pull them back behind the wall, but they were quick to dodge. A soft groan was heard before the taller followed them in.

It took a moment for the voidling to notice them, focused on cutting the vegetables before him. Eventually, though, he turned and froze, eyes wide.

A few emotions crossed his face, shock and confusion being the most obvious. The silence that followed was long and awkward, no one really knowing how to start.

After it lasted too long for the Enigma, they waved at him with a large sharp toothed grin. Zombie sighed and flicked the back of their head, causing Void to squeak and nearly fall over in surprise.

It snapped Arathain out of his trance, and he glanced at their chains. An emotion they couldn’t recognize darkened his face as he drew in a sharp breath.

“How did you get here?” The two locked eyes once more before Zombie grimaced, “Blake, you wouldn’t know him as he was an addition after your death. He gained access to something called Charter and used it to perma kill us.”

Void tilted their head and gave a sheepish grin, “We kinda thought he was bluffing sooooo we were very unprepared. He mortally wounded both of us and then BOOM! Bright blinding light and here we are!”

Arathain turned off the stove he had been using and then ushered them out into the living room from earlier. Now that he was standing next to them, they could see just how imposing and tall he was. Zombie was already very tall at 6’3, but somehow this guy still had some height on him. He was over a foot on Void! So unfair!

Arathain took a seat in the worn chair while beckoning for them to join him. Zombie sat down first on the edge of a couch. Void then bounded over and plopped down in the center before leaning against him.

The man was used to it, so he only huffed with an amused grin. Void was very clingy between the two. Zombie personally did not like physical contact, but he made an exception for Void.

The voidling glanced between them but did not comment. Looking at him again, they could tell he was stressed. He had started to fidget with his hands and continued even as he spoke.

“I am sure you both know who I am, or at least have heard legends. I am infamous, whether I want to be or not.” Void snorted, “That’s one way to put it~”

Zombie sighed, “Yes, we do.” Arathain nodded and pressed his fingers together. Void grinned as this was certainly about to be an interesting story.

“I have some explaining to do then… As much as I hate to go through my history, it will be relevant to explain the origins of Charter, so bear with me.” Arathain then leaned back and took a deep breath.

“I was once human. It was a long time ago now, and when I was still young and naive. I grew up constantly fighting for my life as the server safety laws were not yet put into place. I saw my family and friends massacred without a thought. There was no one to protect us but ourselves.”

He looked to the side, uncomfortable. “I wanted power, to protect those I cared about and to finally bring those who hurt us to their knees. I had an innate ability to learn spells, so I found ruins that hadn’t been totally looted. There I found books on summoning and began to learn.”

“I would like to say I stayed true to my valiant quest and saved everyone, becoming some great hero. You know of my legends, though, and I am not so self righteous as to believe a lie that I did this out of the goodness of my heart. I strayed away and began to search for power for my own need to dominate.”

Void glanced up at Zombie and saw the stern cold look he held. Zombie hadn’t always been… Well, a zombie. Once, he had also been a human looking for power and found it in an unconventional source like Arathain. It was no wonder he stiffened under Void as the man spoke.

“It was during one of my ruin expeditions that I discovered something never meant to be found. Something no one should have been allowed to handle. I was too young to understand and honestly wouldn’t have cared if I did.”

A nostalgic smile came to the man as he raised his hand to let wisps of pure darkness swim between his fingers. Void shivered with wonder as something ancient called to them. Void was a younger angelic enigma but they could tell when something was from a time before players.

“Pure darkness~ Or the dark arts as the council dubbed it. It is not just darkness as they like to fear monger, but the very universe itself and the dark matter in it. I speak to it and it welcomes me, for I am one of its lovers. Only those of true ambition and the thirst for more can harness it; otherwise, it will consume you from within.”

The tendrils slithered over to them, and Void happily let one swim up their arm. It chittered to them before racing back to Arathain.

“I knew this would cost me, but I didn’t care. I had lots of time to make the most of this power before the consequences caught up. Darkness began to cover my arms and legs until eventually I was a shadow of the man who sought out this power.”

Void gasped and sat up, “You’re not a voidling are you?” Arathain smirked, “It was the easiest species to hide as with how rare they are now. There was no one to see through me. No, I am now composed of the very dark matter I wield. From my knowledge, the only one to survive to this final stage. Every other wielder has either been killed prior to final evolution or was consumed.”

Void was giddy with excitement at this discovery. Something that shouldn’t even exist was here right in front of their eyes. The creature pointed to the photos on the wall. They were the ones the duo had looked at earlier and seen Luxintrus in.

“Luxintrus is my daughter. It is not something I would say often for her own safety but she loved to proudly declare it to anyone who would listen.” The man fondly smiled and played with an amulet he wore, “Her mother was a lot like her. Sadly, she was killed during a raid when Lux was three. Diansu took care of her while I grieved.”

Silence sat between them for a while as Arathain shifted. It was obvious even now, the toll her death had on him.

Void did not know what it meant to lose someone. They had no family, like a typical player, and they had never fallen in love. Zombie was the closest thing they had to a family. They considered him their platonic life partner.

Zombie, though, had lost a lot of people. At one point, he’d tried to teach Void of loss, but the immortal couldn’t grasp the concept. Honestly, even with their death, it still hadn’t hit Void. Yes, they may have died, but they did so together, and even here they weren’t gone from each other’s side.

At this point, Arathain had gotten himself up to speaking again. It seemed like the truth of their situation would finally be revealed.

“After losing my wife, I decided that I was going to do everything in my power to make a weapon so powerful that no one could ever hurt me again. It took a while, but I created a ritual where I would break off a piece of my soul and infuse it with pure dark energy from the void. It nearly killed me, but in the end, there stood Mouthpiece.”

Zombie perked up finally, “I heard of them. I think Lux mentioned their name while speaking to Blake.” Arathain nodded, “Mouthpiece created the Charter Weapons. The deal I made with it was for the creation of powerful perma-killing weapons I could use to get around respawn mechanics. The other half of the deal was it would protect my daughter from harm. In exchange, I would let it explore as it wished and cause chaos.”

He chuckled, “I never knew the consequences of my deal. Not until I died and these appeared.” He raised his hand and the chains rattled. “I’m sure you both must be curious about where we are.”

Zombie looked out the window where the endless forest surrounded the cabin, “I am assuming it is not the afterlife.” Arathain nodded, “Charter doesn’t just perma-kill but also harvests the souls of those it slays. Mouthpiece then collects them into its own realm. Here, it uses us like tokens towards its final evolution. Only it can decide when we finally get to move on.”

“So we are dead then?” Void chimed in. “We are. There is no reviving us either unless a god or godlike entity steps in after you are released.” They sighed loudly, “Damn… Well, this sucks!”

Arathain smiled sadly, “I am sorry you were caught up in whatever game it is playing. I doubt you were direct targets.” He stood and began walking back towards the kitchen. “You do not need to eat, drink, or sleep here, but I like to for the routine. I will do anything I can to make your stay comfortable.”

He then paused in the doorway, “Don’t hate Mouthpiece for all of this. It is only doing what it can to survive and evolve, just as I taught it.” He entered the kitchen, and they soon heard him moving pots.

“He’s awfully fond of Mouthpiece.” Void mumbled as it tilted its head and fully got off of Zombie. The taller huffed, “He probably sees it as a second child. He did imply that he raised it alongside his daughter.”

Void pauses, “If that is so… Wouldn’t that mean it is younger than her? Lux only recently turned 23, and if she was around 3… So it must still be a teenager. No wonder he views it as an unruly kid!” 

They sat side by side on the couch for a while as Arathain continued to make noise in the kitchen. “So what now?” Zombie looked thoughtful, “Not sure, but right now… I guess enjoy our vacation before the afterlife.”

With that, Zombie stood and stretched himself. “I guess I’ll go talk to the old man and see if there is any other information on Mouthpiece. It will be better than doing nothing. Hopefully, he has some books around here too.”

Void pouted as Zombie then made his way to the kitchen, “If Egg knew about this, it would kill me…” They groaned. Their cousin could be such an asshole the second it realized it had one upped them. Their death was the ultimate one up. Well… At least they wouldn’t be able to hear Egg’s gloating here! Hopefully. Void then got up and ran after Zombie.