d3rlord knew that there was still something wrong with him.
the King in Yellow was in him now. in his mind. living there as a subconscious, an evil he couldn’t tear from within his own cranium. he had no choice but to live life with it, knowing every thought that passed the King in yellows mind as well as his own.
he was still himself, for the most part. thankfully. he hadn’t told Avery of the King in yellows persistence in his mind; he didn’t find a need to worry the boy & put him through more grief than he’d already suffered.
d3rlord & Avery were free now. they’d survived the altercation with the King in Yellow, at the consequence of d3rlord consuming the King in Yellow as a second conscience. Avery didn’t know this. he just thought that d3rlord had defeated the King in Yellow once & for all, believing naively what d3rlord had told him without a single doubt.
d3rlord wanted to protect Avery. as much as he could. he loved Avery. so much. it was borderline obsessive. every single passing shadow, every single dark region they passed, d3rlord was always on the lookout, borderline paranoid, of any mob that could jump out & attack Avery. he clutched his sword tight in wait, eyes darting side to side in his obsession to keep Avery safe.
it was no doubt that d3rlord was obsessed with Avery. the King in Yellow was, too, although for a completely different reason.
the King in Yellow wanted to consume Avery. turn the man into a second vessel for the King in Yellow to properly overtake so he could destroy d3rlord in a separate body. the King in Yellow knew of Avery’s fighting skills, & wanted to weaponise them against d3rlord.
d3rlord hated sharing his subconscious with the King in Yellow due to this, if he hadn’t hated it already. yet, he couldn’t control the thoughts, & oftentimes, he found himself succumbing to them too.
attack him.
attack Avery.
get him.
consume him.
do you not see?
do you not see how naïve he is?
so vulnerable.
take him.
d3rlord’s hand twitched for just a frightening second, as if he truly may make a grab for Avery… yet he suppressed the urge. for now.
Avery & d3rlord were now exploring the library. the same library he & Avery had first met up in. Avery was busy flipping through the books he’d gone through before, smiling at all the familiar pages…
d3rlord didn’t do such a thing. his hands trembled, clenched into fists, down by his sides. his eyes were wide. he didn’t care how they ached. his mind ached. the King in Yellow was speaking to him. not yelling at him, speaking to him, so gently, so calmly…
look at him… is he not vulnerable? he trusts you, you know. you could just… take him right now, with no fight whatsoever….
d3rlord’s mind was drowned in that haze. he quietly stepped forward, whilst Avery was preoccupied with browsing through another book. he wasn’t breathing. he didn’t quite remember to, not when Avery was right here, within his reach, so beautiful, so… so… naïve. so malleable.