Two crowns, One memory-book. (COTL AU)

Chapter Nineteen: One remains.

Chapter Nineteen: One remains.

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[A/N]: Let's play a game. How many references to previous chapters can you find here?

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Ichor.

Ichor stains their hands... No, wait... Claws?

Whatever replaced their hands. Ichor coated its tips, their stunning violet now being coated in a black, tarry substance.

It rolls off their fingertips... The tips of their claws...? Gah, whatever. It rolls off the tips slowly, a slight tingly feeling being left as it dripped down.

Their hands... No wait.. Claws? WHATEVER! Whatever their hands are, they're shaking, trembling.

But from what? Why were they afraid, what happened? What is this?

Whatever was going on, they didn't feel like they were where they were supposed to be, or perhaps... Something had to be misplaced.

They felt misplaced. But from what? The ichor? Whatever used to be their hands?

Something- no. SomeONE is in their lap. But who? There's someone- no. SomeTHING laying in their lap.

They can't take their eyes off of the ichor dripping down their hand- no. Claws? Whatever. They couldn't stop watching it.

The longer they spent, the longer the purple hue from their skin seemed to desaturate, instead completely being covered in the liquid.

It slowly travelled down their arm, now soaking into the black silk of their sleeve, its golden accents being spoiled by the tarry substance.

They still felt misplaced. But from what? Their odd looking hands? The thing laying in their lap?

Wait... What is that.

...

There is a corpse in their lap.

It's a godly corpse.

...

Two grey soulless eyes stared back at them, a spear lodged deep into their chest, ichor pooling into the stranger's lap.

The crown on the corpse's head had fallen, left lying on the ground carelessly in the puddle of liquid.

Luck had run dry, it seems.

...

It was their corpse, wasn't it?

/////////

"GAH- OW!"

The fox hit the ground with a loud, audible thud, having rolled off the bed rather violently in their sleep.

Groaning, they furiously rubbed their head, getting up from the floor, and stumbled their way back to bed.

As they snuggled closely back under the covers, with tails wrapped around them neatly, they couldn't help but shake the feeling of being watched.

...As expected, it was the company of the crown left placed on the bedside table, its semicircular eye staring back at them.

The crown glowed a soft vermillion color, which they had learned not too long ago was its way to speak to them.

Loudly sighing, they hesitated, before reaching out to pick up the crown by its base, and set it atop their head.

A small pulse was felt, before some soft, unvoiced message popped into their mind.

What are you thinking? The disembodied voice seemed to ask.

"...Thinking of getting some proper sleep, maybe." They snarked back, not holding back the edge in their tone.