Immortals and Empires

Chapter 6: Tragic Success (Trust)

Dreams (flashes?) of the previous world interrupt the present.

Ink feels emptier (how far is he willing to go?)

The Destroyer and Protector negotiate.

Swap trains with Ink as they discuss a familiar story.

Success and failure; one and the same.

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A/N: Caution, this chapter's longer than the previous ones.

I'm also temporarily changing the cover image to hopefully get more readers ;v;

Carissima means "dearest" in Latin.
Amata means "beloved" in Latin
Basically, latin pet names :D

A lot of backstory dumps here too! Brace yourself :D

(also, 95% of this chapter's errorink.)

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A glitching skeleton looked off into the distance.

"Error?"

"Huh?....oh, mhm?"

"You alright?" Ink wasn't looking his way. "You seemed to be zoning out."

Error smiled. Just a tiny bit, though.

"Hey, did you know you glitch differently when you're zoning out?" Ink's gaze slid to him momentarily before lifting off and away once more.

"Really?'

"Yeah, you start humming. It's a low tone, barely noticeable at first." A soft laugh. "Gets louder as time passes, though.."

"Hm. What's the difference from, uh, say my regular glitches?"

Ink paused. "Well, typically they're more of a buzz. Sometimes they interrupt you. Usually not, since, uh, you don't talk much. High pitches, low pitches, sometimes they fade into each other."

A soft chuckle left Error.

"Oh, and sometimes there are beeps. Rapid beeps mean you're about to crash."

"Can't believe you know my own glitches better than me."

"All part of the job. How's that?" Ink passed braided yarn, the evidence of the past few hours of Ink attempting to learn how to crochet, to Error.

"I guess so. Not bad, you're not horrible at it. You're fraying the yarn, though."

"Doesn't matter so much, does it?"

Error sighed but humoured him with another tiny smile. Ink lowered his gaze and picked at the ball of yarn. "Thanks for teaching me, by the way."

"Only took a few hours. Maybe too many."

"Time is but a mere concept." Ink's laughter mingled with glitched chuckles. Eventually it faded away, and a silence both comfortable yet not at the same time was born.

Ink could feel Error's gaze, unintendedly heavy, resting on his smaller form as he fidgeted with the yarn.

"You're going to ruin it," Error commented. His gaze wasn't on the yarn, but on Ink.

Quietly, Ink raised the yarn as if to pass it to Error but let it fall at the last second. Error's strings rose as if to catch it but never moved any further.

Ink's fingers remained outstretched.

"Are you still comfortable with this?" Ink was offering a hand to him. Error was silent. Ink waited for a few more seconds.

Sapphire threads tangled themselves with his open hand, but Ink remained still.

"I can try," came the hesitant response. Still, it was a response. The tricoloured phalanges slowly neared the offered hand and grazed Ink's fingertips.