Entwining Lives - A Hermitcraft & The Life series crossover

Chapter 11 - The sun begins to set...

TW: Body Horror, Gore

POV: Sun

Sun sighed, staring at the sky. Another dream.

"3... 2... 1..." He whispered, knowing what to expect.

"Well hello there Grian!" An energetic voice called out as a beaming Scar walked forwards.

"Hey-" He paused. He couldn't play this game anymore... It hurt him too much... "No. I'm not going to play along. This isn't real." Sun looked up, glaring at Scar. Scar sighed, their face slowly morphed as instead of the innocent face of man, the imposing being stood.

"Ah, the puppet finally stops playing our games. Have you finally remembered, duplicate?" The being spoke, a small smirk crossing their face, their true emotions masked.

"I am no duplicate." He whispered quietly, the small bit of rebellion was all he was able to force out of his lips, his mind screaming at him to stop. "And I am no one's puppet."

"Ah really? Bow." The being snapped their fingers, sounding almost amused.

Automatically, he bowed before the being, habits he didn't even know about taking effect. He quickly jumped back, staring at the being with terror. Why had he obeyed them?

The being chuckled at his distress, twisting a coil of violet light between their fingers. "Play dead." They commented, almost like he was a dog.

He wanted to stand, to shout at them, fighting the movements as he collapsed into the sand, remaining still. "LET ME GO-" He screamed, terror flowing through his mind. Why was he listening to the being? He wanted to stand, to run, but he couldn't... His body wasn't listening anymore!

The being's smirk grew. "Very well. Stand, bow, and admit you are under our command, and I will allow you to do as you wish."

He stood, bowed, and said loudly, "I'm a mere puppet of the W̸̙̣͌͗͜a̵̺̠̹̿t̸̿͜c̵̪̍ͅḧ̵͉̺͚̳́̿̈̾e̴̞̰̭̹͑͘r̸̬͙̰̉̈̉͂s̵̰͝." He couldn't even hear the last word he said, it was blurring into static in his mind, as if his ears - or more likely the being - wasn't allowing him to hear it. He hated how he was obeying every word they said, with no free will of his own.

"So the puppet remembers..." The being whispered, flicking their hand. "I release you from the binding." They said dismissively.

He stared at his hands, flexing his fingers. They moved to his command, and his eyes widened. The relief was temporary though.

His hands morphed into the purple of being's skin, long and clawed, monstrous and unnatural. He screamed, holding them away as they would attack him. All of sudden pain flared, burning and blazing, as his hands were being burnt off. The purple slowly melted off his flesh, his own flesh beneath it, miraculously unharmed. It dripped onto the sands and dissolved.

Hyperventilating from panic, he looked back up at the being. "WHY-" He shouted, terror coursing through his veins.

"Puppets should be seen, not heard." The being said, sounding quite amused at his suffering. His throat seemed to close up, muting him. No sound came out of his throat, no matter how he fought.

"Now puppet, be a good little duplicate, and listen. You have a job... You don't know it yet, but it's important." The being spoke as if nothing had just happened. "Let me help you along, reveal a little... something we hid from you." The being snapped their fingers again.

Agony split across his back as a sickening CRACK came from his back. He instantly fell into the sand, kneeling. Tears of agony instantly formed in his eyes as he began to scream. His throat was apparently unblocked, because he screamed as something pushed through his shoulder blades, screaming until his lungs burned, until he could barely scream. Screaming as blood poured down his back, the crimson liquid mixed with the sand under his legs, which weakened, sending him falling forwards. He landed on his hands and knees, screaming in agony and terror.