Entwining Lives - A Hermitcraft & The Life series crossover

Chapter 18 - Dawn and Dusk

TW: Derealization, Manipulation, Trauma

POV: Grian (Hermitcraft)

"I was thinking about it, you two... I had my theories." Gem smiled, turning to stare at the two. "And, it appears I was correct. Greetings, Xelqua, Bringer of Dawn. Greetings Erra, Bringer of Dusk." She spoke their watcher titles in Galactic, dipping her head in a bow.

He knew the recognition shone in his eyes, and he quickly made a lie to cover himself. "Bringers of dawn and dusk? Wow, it's been a while since I've heard of that old legend." Grian chuckled. "I thought that was a bedtime story made up by admins to tell their misbehaving children."

"Heh, Grian, you understood what she said?" Pearl appeared to be picking up what he was putting down, following his lead. "It seemed like random sounds to me...?"

"It's galactic. The blessed tongue, as it is sometimes referred to. or the cursed tongue. Depends who you ask. It's the language of Watchers, Listeners, Admins... And similar beings. Grian, how do you speak it?" Gem tilted her head.

"I'm an admin..." He quickly lied. "I don't talk about it a ton. I really don't like all the order that came with the role, not gonna lie. You know me, I feed on chaos. All those laws, Ick. I prefer to be more of a..."

"Menace?" Pearl supplied with a chuckle.

"... Loose cannon." He shot a joking glare at Pearl. The more they joked about it, the more it stung, to talk about it so casually... But he had to. Jokes made it appear less serious, and Gem couldn't suspect. They couldn't LET her have any reason to suspect. It was too risky.

"How... odd, considering that in the database, there are no players listed as Grian or PearlescentMoon. Odd, isn't it?"

"How did you get access to the database- Er- Okay, you want the story?" Grian blurted out, trying to come up with a half-truth to tell.

"No, let me try to tell this tale. I think I may have filled in the blanks myself. You two were players, names long since lost to history, who were taken by the Watchers. They turned you, and forced you into their life." Both Grian and Pearl nearly objected, but a glare from Gem stopped them.

She paced the room, her eyes darting between the two, before resuming. "Erra, Xelqua, you two were reborn into those roles. The bringer of a new dawn for the Watchers, the bringer of a new world, Xelqua. The bringer of dusk, the traitor, the one who opposed all that watchers stand for, Erra. The two Players turned from their origins into weapons of mass destruction. Destined to fight, as prophesied by Yii, the Allknowing."

Yii the Allknowing... That seemed so familiar, but the memory kept slipping out of his mind. Like just as he was about to grasp the situation he knew it from, it slipped through his fingers. Why were his memories so foggy? They'd been coming back, but he'd never found the reason...

"I suppose you want an explanation. I will merely reintroduce myself. Greetings, Erra. Greetings Xelqua. It is truly an honor finally meeting you. My name is Gemini Tay, and I am one of the celestial beings." She smiled. "I am not a sun elf, and I apologize for lying, but it was the only way I could explain this," She summoned a handful of light. "Without my cover being blown. I hold the powers of the sun's healing rays, and I answer to the council. They sent me out as they sensed a disturbance within this server, and I figure I have found it."

The speech seemed to blur into static... His head hurt, as memories flooded back.

It was colors and lights all at once. It was as if everything he'd been seeing and thinking had been through static, and now everything was suddenly clear. Like suddenly surfacing from darkness, and being blinded by the glare of the sun. It was sudden, shocking, and... Horrifying.