Y/N's POV
I'll preface this by saying, well, I guess I'm not the best at reading maps.
And yes, I should've taken cartography classes back at the castle, but combat just seemed so much more practical.
And yes, I should've asked Karl for help, but my ego and objective to get back to Tommy got in the the way of that.
I mean, how hard could it really be to read a map?
...
Apparently pretty hard.
The simple descriptions of landmarks matched nothing around me. In fact, the map showed a clear shot from Las Nevadas back to Tommy's house, and it was an easy trek through grassy fields the whole way.
Only problem, I wasn't walking in grass anymore. Around 30 minutes ago the grass had faded from a vibrant green to dead and dry ground, and into sand and desert.
Still, I had hope I'd come across something. Occasional signs of peoples past presences, such has torches that had burnt out long ago and old shacks that were now useless, provided hope to me that I'd run into some sort of guidance to where I needed to be.
At least that's what I thought about 3 hours ago. The sky was slowly darkening into a reddish color as the sun set beyond the horizon. I only have an hour at most of daylight left, so I should probably look for somewhere to stay safe from any monsters that might appear in the desert tonight.
I wandered a bit longer before finding a shallow cave that would have to do for tonight. I couldn't find any method of covering the entrance, so it looks like I won't be sleeping much tonight.
Nightfall came fast, and outside I saw the slow accumulation of zombies and skeletons as they wandered aimlessly with their only intentions on harming any life other than their own. Although from my position it seemed they couldn't see me.
The only nice thing about being out in the middle of no where was the intense visibility of the stars in the sky. You can't see stars from prison, or very well in the 24 hour bright lights of the SMP territory.
Thousands upon thousands of stars lighting the sky were the last thing I saw laying on the rough sandy floor of the cave as I reluctantly drifted off to sleep. It was almost perfect.
Almost.
I couldn't shake the feeling I wasn't alone. But I decided to blame it on my years of paranoia and let exhaustion overcome me for the night.
_____________
"Ǎ̷̭r̴̥̔e̵͎̽ ̴̮͑t̶̪̒h̵̛̲e̶̯͗y̶͙̾ ̷̻̈́d̸̻̕e̷̙̽a̴̪͋d̴͈͑?̶̖̿"
"No they're not de- well- I'm not sure. Maybe."
"H̴̰́m̶̹̾m̶̯͝m̷̛̝"
"What are you doing?! Don't poke her with a stick!"
"H̷͙́ó̴ͅẅ̵̯ ̶̞͌e̵̢͝l̸̻͐s̵̲͒e̸͖͘ ̷͓̌ď̸̯o̵̞͠ ̴̌͜w̴̞̑e̷̱͠ ̷̘̊k̴̻͗ń̴̮õ̸̙w̸̲̒ ̷̥̏ȉ̷̗f̴̖͛ ̵̨͛t̸͇̽ĥ̴͖ȅ̴̲ÿ̷̺'̶̛̫r̶͙̊e̴̯̓ ̶̛̗a̸͈͛l̵̮̊i̶̲͋v̷̝̾e̴̡̾?!"
"You're an all powerful god and you can't think of anything else-? Wait, they're moving, quick hide!"
"Ȋ̵̩ ̸̗́w̷̯̅ȉ̶̜l̶̃͜l̵̺̄ ̷̪͐m̴̹͗o̸̙͑š̴̬ṭ̵̽ ̷͙͑c̵̣̑ẽ̴͜ȓ̵̳t̶̖̄å̴̞i̶̟͛n̷͕̕l̸̦̔y̶̨̛not- hey!"
———
I sat up slowly, stretching and taking in the sun that filled the dust covered cave, causing grains of sand to glimmer as if spotted with gold.
I stood up and grabbed my sword, without sheathing it to my belt loop as I stepped outside.
A light breeze blew dust clouds into the infinite wasteland of sand. And then came a sound that caused me to spin around in surprise.
"Hey!" A voice said, accompanied by a light tap on my left shoulder. I pointed the sword towards the sound of the unfamiliar voice.
This man had almost unnaturally vibrant green eyes, brown hair, and wore golden apparel, clearly meant for the environment we were in. He had a black cape and hood, with a golden clasp to hold it together.
I gave him a sharp glare to urge him to get on with what he wants, or leave if he knows what's good for him.
"Uh, hi." He said, reaching up and using his hand to gently point the sword out of his way, to which I immediately moved it back to its original position.
"Okay then." He said. "Okay how should I say this. I'm not here to hurt you, I was just watching you because- well no, I wasn't watching you. Well you were sleeping but I thought-"
"You were watching me sleep?!" I asked. He smiled awkwardly and took a small step backward. I matched his actions and stepped closer.
"No, I wasn't. Well, I was just passing through and gathering some supplies for a project of mine, and saw you in a cave, and well- we thought you were dead."
"Well I most clearly am not dead." I said, lowering my sword slowly. "So if you don't mind, I'll be leavi- wait. Did you say 'we'?"
"R̴̨̈́e̶̲̅á̴̙l̸̩̉ ̶̗͋s̸̳̾m̴̫̀o̵͇̾ȯ̶̻t̸̞͠h̶̪͝ ̵̠͌F̶̳̎o̸̬̎o̷̫͒l̴̤͐i̵̢̕ṡ̶͍ḧ̶͚́." A voice said from behind me.
It sounded...eerily familiar. Like...
Dream.
I spun around and instinct and range got the best of me as I drove the sword blindly in the direction of Dream's voice. I felt the sword penetrate through him, and looked forward at the green and golden cloth I had penetrated.
The strange thing is he didn't react. I looked up and realized the person I had just put my sword through wasn't Dream. Hell, it looked like him. His face, his blond hair, and a mask too.
But his attire was composed of a nicer silk material, apart from the fact I had just pierced through several layers of it and to through the other side. A golden light surrounded his head, and almost appeared like a pair of halos. And he was much taller, easily beating Ranboo and BadBoyHalo.
He looked down at me, and although I couldn't see his full face, it was clearly with an expression of annoyance.
"Cute." He said. "Ŗ̶̕e̷̤͝ȁ̸̤l̴̠̚ ̴͎͘c̶̣͛ṵ̷̑t̴̗͂ę̶̿."
He grabbed my hand and I noticed how his hand lacked a normal amount of heat you'd get from a typical person, especially one spending their time out in the dessert. He retracted my hand away from him and the sword out of his torso.
I looked at the injured sight, and there was no sign of blood. His cloths were completely unstained.
"How did you- who are-?" I stammered, still confused by this man who so clearly looked like Dream but so obviously wasn't.
"I should ask you the same thing." The man who looked like Dream said, his voice returning to a less powerful and twisted tone, and tilting his head to the side curiously. "I don't know who you are. And I know ẹ̶̃v̴̲̈́e̵̮͛r̶̹̋y̵͕̾ŏ̸̖n̶͍͗ë̷̱́."
"Okay..." I said, finding that I was the one stepping back. I looked over to the other man, who now seemed normal in comparison.
He shrugged.
"Sorry. We're not the best at introductions." He said. "My name is Foolish, and that right there, is DreamXD."
That explained the XD shape engraved in his mask.
"So you are related to Dream?" I asked DreamXD.
"What? No!" DreamXD said, sounding insulted. "Why do people keep associating with a mortal who has sadistic attachment issues with a kid?"
"Tell me about it." I said.
DreamXD let out a defeated sigh, before looking up again. Suddenly, massive white wings emerged from his back, causing me to dodge out of the way to avoid being sent into space by the speed they emerged at.
He locked eyes on me, or rather, something on me. I looked down, attempting to follow his line of sight, although it was hard with the mask in the way. It was my ring, which now had massive cracks in it from years of damage and corruption.
He grabbed my hand aggressively, practically ripping the ring off.
"How did you do that?" I asked. "How'd you take it off? The only other person who's been able to separate it from me is Bad, who had help from the egg."
Foolish spoke up from beside me, as we watched DreamXD examine my ring.
"You should know," Foolish whispered. "He's kind of a god."
"A what?" I asked.
"You heard him." XD said without breaking eye contact with my ring. He admired it for a bit longer.
"Do you want me to explain what it does-?" I began to suggest.
"I created it. I know what it does." XD said. "I made it to help capture the souls of thousands of sadistic mortals who committed unspeakable acts. It wasn't meant to be worn by a mortal.
Ẇ̸̞ĥ̶̪o̵̡̎ made you do this?!"
"It's kind of...a family thing." I said. "My brother and I kind of took the thousands of tormented souls, and we'll, split the torment between the two of us. 'For the prosperity of the kingdom' and what not."
"Your brother, is Technoblade correct? Yes I know him. I can hear the screams that echo in his head. The same ones inside this ring." XD said. "The reason it grants you immortality is because the souls inside want the wearer to suffer the same torment for eternity with them."
Eternity huh?
I slowly pulled up my sleeve, seeing the one remaining mark signifying my one remaining life.
"No offense, but your ring might have a few design flaws." I said l.
DreamXD's head snapped up in surprise.
"Ẅ̷̞́h̵̲́ḁ̸̓t̶̝̚?̷̛̬" He asked. "My creations are perfect. Explain yourself."
I lifted my sleeve up and revealed my remaining tally mark.
XD threw the ring up in the air, and I watched as it slowed down and froze in midair. XD grabbed my arm, and pressed his thumb on my wrist, seemingly feeling my pulse.
"Interesting. Very interesting." XD said. "Tell me something Y/N, do you want to be immortal?"
I never asked for it, that's for sure.
But it wouldn't be so bad without the negative side effects.
"Is that a yes or no?" XD said, answering my thoughts. "The choice is yours."
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A/N
Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I left it open so you can leave suggestions for what happens next. Be creative and let me know some possibilities.
Suggestion box ———> 🎁
ALSO: I'm going to be updating a lot on my dsmp book "history" so check that out while waiting for updates.