Words Count: 543
TW: [???] Genre, slight warning, slight self-degrading. This is just to spice things up <3
Avery stands in front of the book lectern, fingers moving pages by pages, from pages 1, to 3, to 5, to... 6. The words on the book suddenly felt heavy, like an insult to the journey and the poor slime's self esteem. The confidence he carried throughout the entire journey to find the stranger who "saved" him via going down that mind. Words that earlier was supposed to make him feel good, turned into vicious insults.
"Here you are safe."
"Here in this place, you are safe."
The line he reads made him feels.. oddly relaxing.. his guard dropped... slightly, honestly significantly. Until he sees the line that broke him immensely.
"You are nothing."
And lines, and lines that censored, clearly edited by Avery himself.
But after desaturating and editing a few things... the context inside hurts a lot more than the line above ever did to Avery. It was not supposed to do a single thing, but it was like he was in a trance. His mind overworked as he walked around the place, hunger dropping but he didn't do anything other than minding a tree, small number of logs and turned it into planks, then craft a hoe just to make a farm and craft a few breads.
And even after the boring continuation of the same thing. He still runs around, pulling weeds with throbbing aching hands. His eyes look dull. Teary-eyed even. But at some point he forgot to even cry, just silent and going back to the lectern to check the book again. Only to see the words didn't change at all.
"Dℸ ̣ ⨅ ʖリᑑᑑ ꖌ⎓リᑑ ᒲリ∷."
Oh.
"⎓ᔑ⋮∴↸, ↸ℸ ̣ ⨅ ʖ⋮∴⋮ ᓭ⋮ᔑ⋮∴ ||ℸ ̣ ᒲ⋮ᑑ⚍ ᒲリ∷."
The words were such cruel. And hurtful. His eyes look tired. Like someone giving up... "No... I won't fail Derlord... He's-"
"yᒲ⋮∴⋮' ̇/ ⎓ ∷リᑑᑑリℸ ̣ ᓭ ̇/ ╎ℸ ̣ ℸ ̣ ∴ ̇/ ||ℸ ̣ ꖎ⋮|| ||ᒲ∴ℸ ̣ ⨅ꖎᒲ."
"fᓭ╎ ↸ℸ ̣ ⨅'ᑑᑑ ᓭ⋮ᔑ⋮∴ ꖌリᓭ╎ ||ᒲ⋮ ℸ ̣ ᓭ⋮."
.......
Seeing this, it made him go back to walking around, the sky seemed to never turn dark, yet the bright sky still made him feel so.. lifeless. So dull. As if he doesn't have a purpose. What's the point in finding Derlord anymore if he will never make it anyway. Is he even real? Is the videos real? Is this just a hack?
"What am I doing... This is new year eve..."
Avery's mirky head lifted upward, looking at the blue blank sky.
"What do I do, Derlord..."
However, when Avery noticed the signs, the context on it, words start to fill his head as he remembered why he came to this place in the first place. Why he wanted to help Derlord, because, he owed it to D3rlord3, right? He owed it to him for even- no. Why?! Why did he want to save this guy so much...
"You are real, you are special."
"Remember who you are, Avery."
.....
Avery cries silently, murmuring under his breath, his fingers clenched around blue orchid in his hands that now seem irrelevant to saving D3rlord3 right now. But... as he entered the golden door, he never seems to notice the words on the back of the sign.
"You gave me a purpose to fight for you, Avery."