Chapter Text
Killing Shedletsky could only go so far when death was temporary in purgatory. Even now, as 1x1x1x1 cut him down with 3 precise strikes, turning the man’s front into a patch of fleshy strips of skin that dangle from the muscle, that left crimson ribbons that follow in the wake of their Daemonshanks. The third and last swing sent Shedletsky tumbling across the ground, smearing a messy streak of blood that looked almost like a red carpet leading up to his body.
1x1x1x1 gaze carried blaśe indifference as they settled on what used to be John Shedletsky — once a feared admin, their creator, the source of their hatred — now reduced to a bloodied, crumpled heap on the ground, a shell of the man he once was.
It’s a pathetic, humiliating sight. Yet despite this, 1x1x1x1 found that they no longer felt the rewarding rush of malicious glee and satisfaction from watching Shedletsky writhe underneath them. Revenge was a dish best served once, even a favorite meal can become bland once you’ve had it for enough times in a row. For so long, 1x1x1x1 had indulged in the savoury taste to their nonexistent heart’s content, that along the way, it had lost what made it desirable in the first place.
These days their acts of violence were not out of bloodlust, but obligation. Not of their own whims, but its — the one who offered them what had seemed like a golden opportunity at the time, who condemned them to an eternity of this purgatory.
Now as they stared at the cooling corpse on the ground, only one thought came to mind;
It’s over.
Not an ‘I’ve won.’, ‘I’ve done it.’, or even ‘He’s dead.’ because that would imply they actually accomplished something. In a place where death was a mere fleeting state, so was victory. What use was winning if what they did changed nothing? Shedletsky was still alive, so were the others that 1x1x1x1 had killed.
It’s over — this particular round. And so they stood amongst the massacre, waiting to be sent to their personal limbo, until the time came that it would want more out of 1x1x1x1. Then they would be placed in another round to play what had become a game of cat and mice rather than a quest for revenge.
Being transported from one map to another was a seamless process. There would be no warning when they would be moved, no given moment to brace themself, it was an easy thing to miss. 1x1x1x1 blinked, and they were no longer at Planet Voss. Except, rather than a dark, small, and confined space that made them forget that they existed, where they were was quite the opposite from their limbo.
The first thing they took notice of was the blinding light assaulting their vision. 1x1x1x1 hissed and recoiled, they brought a hand over their face, shielding their eyes. As their eyes adjust, they peek through the gaps between their fingers and realize they were staring at a sky. It’s been so long since they’ve stood underneath a clear bright sky that the sight of it was an experience akin to one of the survivors’ tripmines sans the loud noise. They slowly lowered their arm.
1x1x1x1 found themself standing on an empty grey baseplate, it spanned hundreds of thousands of studs, stretching beyond the horizon.
…This was new.
— 1x1x1x1’s eyes narrowed. They shifted their grip on the Daemonshanks and took on a battle-ready stance as they cast a wary glance at their surroundings. —
But was this a good thing or bad thing?
‘Hello, 1x1x1x1.’
1x1x1x1 reacted immediately, shifting their weight to the balls of their feet and winding their arms back, they spun behind them and threw an entanglement. The projectile hit nothing but air. It continued in a straight line, disappearing into the distance.
No one. Yet, “I do not wish to fight.”, there was a voice. Someone .
1x1x1x1 turned around again, slowly this time. “There’s no use in stalling the inevitable.” They then activated Unstable Eye, their vision blurred as it scanned for nearby lifeforms only to end up blank.
‘I agree. Let us talk, you and I.’ It said.
They turned again. Nothing.
“Big talk for someone who’s hiding like a coward.” 1x1x1x1 exclaimed. “Show yourself!”
‘I am here.’ It lied. Irritation flared within them, they were not in the mood to be toyed with.
“Don’t play with me.” They snapped. “I don’t see anyone but myself.”
‘Yes. But you hear me, do you not?’ It spoke in a slow and calm manner. This did not bode well with 1x1x1x1, they were an embodiment of hatred — not a child to be taught.
“What do you think? I’m talking to you-”
‘Stop trying to see, and listen .’
1x1x1x1 did not appreciate getting cut off and opened their mouth to retort. Yet as the words form, a small realization dawned upon 1x1x1x1, and they never got to leave their throat.
The voice , they realized. As they had listened carefully to it speak, trying to gauge out a sense of direction to pinpoint where exactly it was hiding, they realized that no matter where they pointed, it was all the same. It was as though it was everywhere at the same time, speaking from every direction.
It was .
“What are you?” They eventually asked, their tone thick with caution.
‘I am 2x2.’ It- ‘2x2’ merely said, ‘Just someone who would like to offer something I know you will want.’
“And what’s that?”
‘Escape,’ It whispered. 1x1x1x1 froze. ‘a way out of that pocket dimension you are trapped in. I can help you. ’
“…How?” They asked doubtfully. Amongst the handful that had been brought here, they knew 3 of them were admins — Shedletsky included. And so far, none of them were close to escaping this realm. What could this entity have that some of Roblox’s most powerful admins did not?
‘That is for me to know, and you to decide if you would like to take a risk. Rest assured, the process will not harm you in any way.’
“What do you want from me?”
‘Hm?’
“You can’t possibly be offering me freedom for free.”
There was a short pause. ‘I was just getting to that.’ There was a faint hint of amusement in its voice, neither surprised nor offended by 1x1x1x1’s accusation. ‘I do need a favor from you — I need you to collect a few items for me.’
“That is?”
‘The Sword Fighting on the Heights swords. I am sure you have heard of them.’ They were well aware of the swords that Shedletsky made, but that was it? Really? They were expecting a body.
1x1x1x1 nodded and 2x2 hummed, taking it as a sign to continue. ‘To reiterate, I will be taking you out of the realm you are trapped in so that you can gather the swords then you are free to live as you please. It is a fair deal, yes?’
They took a moment to contemplate. “…You only want the swords?” they asked slowly. “Nothing else?” 1x1x1x1 held no interest in knowing about what it wanted the swords for, but they would like to avoid becoming another pawn for someone else’s game again.
‘Yes. That is all I need.’ It said. ‘Once you do this, rest assured I will not be asking for anything else and you are free to live as you please.’
“…When do I start?”
If the voice were physically present, 1x1x1x1 could imagine its smile widened.
“Hey. Wake up…”
“Get up, goober…”
1x1x1x1 stirred, there was a groggy weight slowing down their movement as they let out a low groan and turned to lie on their back.
“Whuh…” Their eyes cracked open slightly, just enough to make out the image of a penguin towering over them. Then they open fully and their eyebrows furrowed in confusion — because why was there a penguin towering over them?
“GET OUT OF MY BED!” Said-penguin yelled, 1x1x1x1 stared.
They sat up while it kept yammering about irrelevant stuff that they didn’t bother to pay attention to — they were instead wondering how the hell they ended up in someone’s bedroom. The last thing they remembered was agreeing to 2x2’s deal.
Not only that, but they also felt…. odd . 1x1x1x1 flexed their hand, wondering why they felt this way. They looked down and saw their body — except it wasn’t.
Rather than their own glorious form, it was a body with unremarkable physique, grey skin, and clothes they’d never wear.
1x1x1x1’s eyebrows furrowed further. This wasn’t their body, yet as they tried to move their limbs, the not-body followed in suit.
“HEY! Are you even listening?” The penguin waved its fin in front of their face, disturbing their train of thought. “First you sleep on my bed, and now you’re snubbing me. Wow. Unbelievable .”
1x1x1x1 glared at the penguin. This thing was starting to get on their nerves. “Shut up before I kill you.” They said.
“…” It stopped talking, yet the penguin didn’t cower at their threat, it just stared blankly. “You wanna fight, dude?” It asked, having the gall to sound annoyed. 1x1x1x1’s eyes narrowed.
“Just for that tone, we are.” They tried to be nice, really. But the penguin just had to keep pushing their buttons.
They reached their hand out to the empty air then summoned their weapon. They expected the sleek hilt of their Daemonshank to materialize within their grasp — yet as they closed their grip, their fingers wrapped around a smooth curved surface that definitely wasn’t a hilt. 1x1x1x1 held their hand up in confusion and found a red ball resting on their palm.
“What the ####?” They said out loud.
“Dude. Language.” It said in an irritatingly deadpan tone. They shot it with an annoyed look.
However, before 1x1x1x1 could go off at the penguin not to tell them what to do, it pulled out a comically large bazooka and pointed it at them.
Their eyes widened, and as it pulled the trigger, they jumped out of the way. But of course, how could they be expected to dodge a missile practically pointed right at their face.
The next thing they knew they were being thrown out into a hall, 1x1x1x1 grunted as their back hit the carpet floor.
The penguin stood in front of the door, looking down at them. “Next time, put money where your mouth is, bro.” It said then shut the door.
1x1x1x1 stayed in their position on the floor for a good few seconds, stuck in a state of disbelief, followed by a wave of abasement and anger. Their face felt hot, they clenched their teeth till their jaw ached and closed their hands into tight fists.
They have experienced loss before — but not like this . Certainly not to a 1v1 against a small blue penguin.
‘Oh good, you’ve woken up.’ They heard 2x2 speak up for the first time.
1x1x1x1’s head snapped up, glaring at the ceiling as though it were the god. Them! They must have had something to do with this! “What have you done to me?!” They yelled in an embarrassingly shrill cry.
They had thought something was wrong — and they thought right. 1x1x1x1 had been feeling off ever since ending up here, they didn’t realize immediately, but run-in with that bird pointed out what should have been glaringly obvious — their power was gone.
1x1x1x1 couldn’t summon their Daemonshanks, any attempt to do so only materialized that damn red ball, neither could they use Mass Infection, Entanglement, Unstable Eye, nor any other abilities they had prior to getting stuck in purgatory. The usual thrum of power that coursed through their very being, was missing.
‘Calm down. You noticed the changes with yourself, right? They were not done out of malicious intent — I can explain.’
“ Explain. ” They demanded impatiently. 2x2 was quick to work.
‘To start, since you are a manifestation, you technically aren’t a real Robloxian, nor have the body of one. Are you following?’
1x1x1x1 rolled their eyes and grunted. “Yeah, whatever, just continue.”
“Alright! It’s part of the reason why I chose you, actually. Since your previous form was just a materialization of how you were perceived,” Ok, they kinda lost them there. “you don’t have a real body. Which made transferring you from one world to another easy. And since you don’t have a body, I put your soul into a Robloxian vessel,’
“What.”
“and sealed your power.”
“WHAT?!” They screamed. There’s a bang from one of the doors in the hall and someone screamed for them to ‘Keep it down’.
‘For good reason!’ 2x2 exclaimed in a placating tone. ‘You haven’t had enough time to adjust, the tether between the soul and the vessel is unstable. Your raw power is too much for your body to handle and there’s a high chance that your soul will get kicked out!’
“I’d rather take the risk than be stripped of my power.”
‘Well I don’t.’ 2x2 tutted.
1x1x1x1 scowled. Great. Well that’s great. They were stuck being a Robloxian, a weak, mortal Robloxian, for who knew how long.
Noticing the openly seething look 1x1x1x1 wore, 2x2 continued; ‘Don’t be upset… You’re still quite strong. I’ve specially molded your vessel to be compatible with your soul so adapting won’t take long. Soon, it’ll grow accustomed to your soul and make changes accordingly.’
1x1x1x1 wasn’t upset — they were pissed. “You expect me to retrieve the SFOTH swords like this?” They gestured wildly at themself. “Even if I regain my powers again, how long will that be?”
2x2 was quiet. “…I apologize.” they suddenly said, catching 1x1x1x1 off guard. “I suppose I was expecting too much of you.” Wait a minute. “If you think that you cannot do this, then-”
“Hey- Hey! I never said that.” 1x1x1x1 immediately cut them off, affronted.
‘But you said and I quote-’
“I meant that it’d take longer than expected, not that it was impossible.”
‘So… you can do it.’
“Yes,”
‘Even in your current state?’
“Yes.”
‘Really?’
“ Yes, really! ” 1x1x1x1 shouted, tired of this back and forth conversation. They got to their feet, patted themself clean of dirt, and declared; “Watch me!” before storming down the hall to the stairs.
‘Splendid! I place my full faith in you.’ 2x2 said cheerfully.
(Something deep in the back of their head told them that they’ve been played.)
Exiting the building was an easy affair, all they had to do was walk through the exit door. Although one of the staff did approach them – he had been concerned because he didn’t remember seeing 1x1x1x1 enter the building. He was rather daft if you ask them, they were already on their way out, there was no need to waste both of their time.
“Where do I go from here?” 1x1x1x1 took the time to look around and see if it was a place they’ve been to, but it didn’t look familiar at all. Wherever they were, it was surrounded by classic-style structures reminiscent of the earlier days of Robloxia.
‘Why are you asking me?’ 2x2 asked, as if they weren’t the one who tasked 1x1x1x1 to retrieve the swords.
“Um. Because you sent me here?”
They snorted. ‘I may be a god, but I’m not omniscient.’ They said like it was common knowledge. 1x1x1x1 couldn't believe that this was the same mysterious entity that had offered them this deal.
1x1x1x1 was baffled. “Do you even know where the swords of SFOTH are?” They asked, brimming with outrage.
‘...No…’ 2x2 said sheepishly. Why do they sound so sheepish? ‘See, I’ve been dormant for quite a long time, I’ve lost track of the exact locations. All I know is that something important related to the SFOTH swords happened around this place and time.’
“...” 1x1x1x1’s lips pressed together and formed a thin line. “Okay, so I have to figure it out by myself. Great.” They already felt the beginnings of a headache start to creep up on them, they let out a heavy sigh and massaged their temples in an effort to soothe the stress this damn god was causing them. And they were yet to actually start collecting the swords of SFOTH!
“...Hold on. Place and time?”
‘Ah. Yes. I suppose I should have mentioned that I also sent you back in time.’
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