Entwining Lives - A Hermitcraft & The Life series crossover

Chapter 19 - Tying up a couple loose ends

TW: Trauma, Manipulation, mentions of death, slight derealization

POV: Lastlife!Scott

The shouting of his brain, the pounding of his heart, the thoughts screaming that blood was on his hands...

They never had disappeared...

He just blocked it out.

He didn't think about it.

He knew they wouldn't help.

And he'd gotten good at it.

He barely noticed them anymore.

It was one of the few things he admitted prowess at.

That was why he hadn't fallen apart like the other victors, he supposed.

But here, suspended in a lime tinted void, all the voices screamed at him.

He didn't know when he'd lost consciousness, but he knew he had. Now the voices, yelling that it was all his fault, that he killed people, that he should have stopped it, surrounded him.

He couldn't think, they took over his brain. Tears streamed down his face, warm and wet, the only thing keeping him realizing he wasn't the voices, that he wasn't just the embodiment of the screams of vengeance and bloodlust, or the screams of guilt...

The voices never had left, not even when the game had ended. There was always something whispering, to grab the axe and slam it into someone's head. He just ignored it. But the ones screaming for him to repay for his sins were far louder.

He had tuned them out. He had barely noticed them after a few days.

But now they were back, and louder than ever.

"Scott Smajor." A voice spoke suddenly, echoing, shattering the voices' screaming.

"Huh?" He looked around, but he was still alone. It was blissfully silent, just him and the mysterious person.

"Listen for my voice, close your eyes." The voice spoke, calm but seemingly caring.

"Oh... Okay?" He obeyed. Darkness flooded his vision as he closed his eyelids, unsure what to do nest.. "What now?" He nearly jumped. He could... Hear where they were. They could tell where the sound waves bounced around a humanoid form. It was similar to echolocation, he supposed, but more... detailed. He could tell they had feathered wings, and were taller than him. That they were standing with their arms relaxed, and were still, barely even moving to breath, but the soft breaths, the beating of their heart, all came into his ears as he focused on them.

"Good. You learn fast, Scott Smajor. Do not rely on your eyes. Sound is far more elegant, and as a listener, sound is your domain." The voice spoke, causing him to startle. It was far louder than he expected.. There was something calming, soothing about the speech, causing him to listen to them.

"Okay..?" His voice shook more than he intended. He couldn't stop his brain from running a thousand meters a second, trying to make sense of whatever this person was saying, but voiced the more pressing issue. "Where... Am I?"

"You are in a place known as your mindscape. Everyone has one, but it is difficult to access without training. However, Admins, Celestials, Watchers and Listeners are able to access them innately, naturally."

"Oh... Well I'm not any of those." He chuckled. "So you must be mistaken."

"No, I am not mistaken. Think back to what just occurred. Recall what I just stated."

"... I'm becoming... A listener? What the heck's that..."

"Not becoming, you are a Listener, Scott Major. You will know soon, very soon. You must comprehend the gravity of the situation you've found yourself placed within."