Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

How long has it been, they wondered; How long since they took their sibling’s place? They wondered still. Chains dug painfully into their sides, but they had long since grown used to the cutting pressure, grown used to the dull pain. Each second passing by letting them feel just a little less. Was this what their sibling had been going through?

They felt a bit sad, now that they had time to think about their actions, they realized that there was so much they had left behind. Their sister Hornet, now probably stuck in limbo once more, watching over a dying kingdom. Dirtmouth, where the few townsfolks left would surely miss them by now… or maybe not, they hadn’t spent that much time with them now that they thought about it.

“Could you stop thinking so loudly? I’m trying to sleep.”

They looked inward, and saw the moth god, The Radiance, lounging on a pile of pillows. It surprised them somewhat, could she sleep? Wasn’t she already in the dreaming world? How did that work? Why did she need so many pillows when she had so much fluff on her body that she probably felt like a cloud?

“I- What? I’m not that fluffy!” They doubted it, “Oh come on! First Grimm, now you! And, just because you were wondering, sleeping doesn’t necessarily need dreams. I need rest too, you know.”

That made sense, they thought. Most living things needed rest, gods weren’t counted out. They wondered what it would be like to be a moth… maybe they’d be as fluffy as The Radiance? If they could choose, they’d certainly want to be. What would it be like to fly? They had managed to acquire wings, but they weren’t much- only allowing one flap before needing rest. Maybe they could ride on top of Radiance to fly? Hopefully, the sexy moth lady wouldn’t mind-

“What did you just call me?!”

Huh, they thought they had made their thoughts private?

“You can’t. I just didn’t tell you so that I could spy on you. I didn’t think that you’d just- you-” They heard a loud inhale an exhale, odd since neither of them needed to breath, “I did not think that you would… comment on my appearance. In any case, why would you even think of me that way?! We’re enemies!”

It’s either fall in love with the moth lady they’d spend the rest of eternity with or fall in love with the pile of void and cloth that is now their sibling. They chose the moth.

“…Fair.” Radiance grumbled, hugging a few pillows.

Plus, they weren’t lying when thinking about how nice she looked. Maybe it was because they hadn’t seen that many attractive bugs in their life, or maybe it was because of the fact that she was a god. Either way, they could see the appeal.

“I-” Radiance stumbled upon her words, trying and failing to say something. Maybe that bright blush had something to do with it. “Shut up! I’m going to sleep now. Also, you should figure a name out for yourself, it’s annoying to not have one for you.” She turned around and sank into the pillows. They wondered just how she could sleep when constantly emitting light.

She’d asked them for a name. They thought back to all their travels, to the various names and titles they’d been given. Traveler was a common one, but not all that special. They should choose something else. A thought came to them, of something they’d been called by only one person before.

From now on, they would be Ghost.

Time passed, and Ghost grew bored. There was nothing to do! Well, nothing other than annoying Radiance; They were pretty sure she didn’t appreciate it. Still, it was rather interesting when they talked with one another. They could see a bit into the mind of the moth, see why she did what she did. Unfortunately, they still had yet to receive any answer to that particular question. She didn’t seem to want to tell them why the infection had been created. Years had passed by now, or maybe just a few days. It was hard to tell time in here. Time… well, that gave them an idea for their next conversation.

“Time?” Radiance gave them a confused look, all the while playing with a rather nice sounding harp. “What do you mean by time?”

Time, could they travel through it? Was it possible to go back or forward?

A high note played, “Well, not really. Not only would it need a large amount of power- which I have in spades, obviously- but you’d also need something out of time to anchor yourself to. Wyrms can look into the future, I guess, but that doesn’t actually go through time. It’s more like taking in all possibilities they can think of and making an extremely accurate guess.”

An anchor? Why would anyone need that? Couldn’t you just use all that power to fling yourself exactly where you want to?

This time, a low note, “You’d think so, but…” Radiance shook her head, “Think of time like an extremely fast river, without any borders to catch onto. No matter how much strength you have to launch yourself to another part of the river, it’ll never be accurate. You could overshoot drastically and find yourself in a spot where you die immediately or undershoot and waste all that power.”

Oh. Guess they did need an anchor. Well, that sucked, Ghost would rather like being able to slap the Pale King in the face for what he had done. They felt the distinct approval of Radiance in the back of their mind. It felt nice to finally have someone agree with them on something. Even Hornet had been a bit… well, she hadn’t really disagreed with anything they did at the very least. Now, back to the anchor problem. How could they get anything out of time? Oh. Wait. Wasn’t the void considered timeless or something?

“It is. However, our only source of void at the moment is you. Going back in time using you as our anchor would force my being to become linked and woven with yours in such a way that it would become almost impossible to separate us. It’s debatable if we’d even be a separate being at that point- well, maybe our minds could stay separate somewhat. But, still, that’s a rather large risk and-”

Ghost didn’t mind, the both of them wanted to slap the Pale King, right? So no matter what happened, they would still do that. They saw Radiance, swimming in a sea of pillows, with her mouth hanging down in disbelief.

“What? Really?” It didn’t sound that bad, “Alright… I don’t mind much either, not like there’s much left for me in this world anyway. With no one alive, there’s no one to remember me. This will most likely use most of my remaining power to do, so brace yourself. I should be able to recover once back in the past, what with having more followers, but it still won’t be pleasant.”

Light gathered around them, void clinging onto it desperately, it pressed into their body, their soul, and burned. They were wrapped in layers upon layers of light, silk like layers of glowing threads creating an odd cocoon. It burned hotter than acid and brighter than lava, it was light made physical, and it was the opposite of void. It burned, it burned, IT BURNED.

Their vision grew dark all the while light filled their view- the oddest contrast possible. Ghost wanted, needed, to scream out into the air; To let out the pain and suffering into the world. They couldn’t. Just as they were about to pass out, they felt something, felt a contrast to their body and soul that had never been before. Light and Void woven together into threads of darkness that lit up the world and then formed their body, soul, and mind. Their back tore, light blooming and forming into new appendages threaded through previously existing abilities. Cloak was shed and replaced, a now cream-colored coat of fluff acting to protect them from the elements. Horns reformed and grew longer, three spikes now decorating their head.

This really hurt.

The Pale King worked quietly in his office, signing off on different projects and spendings. Some new benches were being installed, and they needed the appropriate pay for the ones that would work on them. He sighed, leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his face. He had a terrible headache today, probably because of him not having slept for the last five days due to nobles pressing him on the infection issue. The thing had started a few years ago, first as just a few out of place bugs… but then it grew to a full-on plague. It stole minds and replaced them with instincts, driving once friends into death battles for their own lives.

He had already increased funding to the Soul Sanctum by fifteen percent this year alone for them to research ways to solve the problem. While they were working on that, he was putting into motion his own plans, created a pure vessel to train to maturity. No mind to think, No will to break, No voice to cry suffering… No cost too great. He looked behind himself, at the vessel standing in front of the door, protecting him by his order. He shuddered at those empty eyes, unseeing yet looking.

He was just about to order it to send a message to the ground floor, when the floor started to tremble. An earthquake shaking the earth like the steps of a giant. This, he recognized, was something rarely felt. This was more than the earth shaking, no, this was the birth of something new, the birth… of a god. The ground had trembled the day he had ascended to heights previously unknown, the earth had shaken and bowed to him. And now another was doing so in his own kingdom.

He rushed to the windows, uncaring of the times he almost tripped, and looked outwards. He spread his senses far and wide, he perceived and- Light and Void mixed together, Light and Void grew into one being, one god, one divine. It rose higher and higher up, it shone upon the land and yet made the shadows seem all the darker for it. Another of his senses, one of higher beings and gods only, shook him. His own sense of time stretched and thinned, space ruptured and yet stayed in place. This being, whatever it was, had made not only the earth bow, but also time itself.

With a shuddering breath, the world righted itself, and a beam of light frowned. The Radiance felt her domain tear, felt one of its parts fall away from her and into the hands of another. The realm of the unconscious, of those dreaming of dark, tore itself away from its master and into the hands of another. That was fine, The Radiance had no need for that particular part of her powers… but how had another being taken control of dreams? Even if it was only a small part of it, it shouldn’t have been possible, only those born to her parents could have been, and they were long dead. Perhaps her brother, Grimm, had gifted some of himself to a mortal? That did not explain why her own powers were dragged into it, but it made far more sense.

She frowned, someone else was entering this war, and she had no desire for it. She crushed another mind under her power, let it rise into mindless servitude, and took all of the worship now given. That newborn god could try to interfere, but she’d crush them, destroy them. They had no worshippers, no power, they wouldn’t be able to fight. In fact, maybe this could play into her favor, let the Wyrm panic and search for a useless god. It would only increase her own power.

Shades looked up, their dark forms staring without expression at the ceiling above. The Void sensed a new shade, and yet an old shade. The Void felt the union of light and dark, and felt the connection through time made within it. It twisted their arrival, twisted their destination, and landed them in the abyss, on the edge of the endless sea. It could tell, the new yet old shade was more than Void now, it was filled to completion, the hunger sated. It didn’t think, and yet it couldn’t help but give a slight gift to the one who had traversed time. A part of itself, the beginning of a true anchor, the gift of permanence.

Today, earth, time, and void bowed to a new god. Or, rather, gods.

Chapter Text

“-Ghost! Wake up! We need to get out of here!”

Ghost was taken out of sleep rather rudely; They were quite comfy at the moment. But no, the screaming moth in their head just had to interrupt such comfiness. It was quite a bother. They rolled on their side, getting a bit more comfortable and- wait, they could turn?

“Yes. You can turn around. We time travelled, remember? In any case, we need to get out of here! This place is not good, not at all and I won’t spend a single second longer than I need to in here!”

Grumbling slightly, Ghost got up and stood on their feet. Something felt… off, they weighed a bit more than they remembered. A quick look around showed them just what had the Radiance so concerned, they were down in the abyss and right next to the sea of void. They really didn’t know why she was panicking; They were a being made out of void, no need to worry about it. Even if the Void seemed to press down on them, to take away sensations.

“…Ghost. Just… look at yourself.”

They looked down and found a rather interesting detail, their cloak had been replaced with an extreme amount of fluff. Probably the reason why sleeping on literal dead bodies didn’t feel too bad. A quick look over their shoulders made Ghost stop for a moment. They had wings. They had proper, functional, fluffy, wings. They were a golden color, shining brightly like they remembered the Radiance’s own had done. But, in a rather striking difference, the wings had dark veins of black spreading all over them- like a rock about to break. They liked them quite a bit. Oh, wait, maybe that was why the moth was scared. They weren’t just void anymore, were they?

“Finally, you understand!” They could see the radiance, in their mind, throwing her wings up, “Now let’s get out of here, I don’t want us to die so quickly. I have no idea where to go so you’ll have to do it without my guidance.”

Ghost felt some measure of amusement; There was no need for her to guide them when they had memorized every path in Hallownest. They sent what could only be the mental version of a headpat to the nervous moth, ignored the offended look she gave them, and quickly made their way to the first of the platforms… Only to find that jumping wasn’t as easy anymore. Apparently, adding a bunch of weight makes you heavier, who would’ve guessed?

“Okay, alright, I’m done with this. I’m just going to…” Ghost felt something akin to a shove as they lost control of their body, “Here, I’ll fly us out. You can get this weird body back once I’m done.”

Well, that felt odd. Their vision shifted, and it was like looking through a window into the outside world. They saw themselves look around, go back a few steps, and then run into a leap that took them high up into the air, wings catching on air. They went up and up, dodging and weaving in between floating platforms. They could tell just how much joy Radiance was feeling, could tell just how happy she was to be flying with an actual body once more. They quite liked seeing her happy. Unfortunately, the flight soon came to an end as they reached the top of the abyss, setting down onto the metal platform.

The felt another push and- Back in their body. “There, we’re up. You can have your body back.” She seemed tense… Maybe she’d like being in control from time to time? “Ghost. We’re literal mortal enemy, and you’re considering lending me your body.” They spent a bit of time thinking over the decision, and then nodded, certain. Not like they could keep her from taking control if she wanted to. “…Alright then. Thank you, Ghost.” It was no problem, they thought. In fact, it could even prove to be relaxing to not have to constantly worry about where they were going. Letting the sexy moth lady take care of it was a good way to rest up.

“Would you please stop calling me that?”

Now! Onto the door! Ignoring the disappointed sigh from Radiance, they looked at the giant door locked with a seal. They weren’t exactly strong enough to break it… An idea came to them. They focused, concentrated, and let loose a beam of light that split the door open. Nice to know that they shared powers now.

“That was the worst light attack I’ve ever seen. You wasted so much power…” Something like a groan came from the moth, “If you need my powers, just ask me. I’m way more experienced, I should be able to bring the cost down by a massive amount.”

They stepped out of the abyss, and into the ancient basin. The presence of the Void finally disappeared from their senses and let them fully process what they could feel and sense. A moment passed, and then another, and then they realized just how good they felt. Their body as healthy as it could be, their mind as sharp as possible. A little ‘oh’ was made from their moth companion.

“Oh. Oh wow. Ghost, it seems congratulations are in order. I hadn’t been able to tell up until now, with the Void pressing down on us… but you seem to have ascended to godhood. Or, in fact, it’s more likely that we have ascended, combined as we are.”

Ghost pondered a little, on the implications of such a grand event, of being a god, of holding such tremendous power. They wondered about how complex such a thing was, how godhood was so vaguely defined and how it could never truly be. And decided that they didn’t really care. At least, as long as they did not require worshippers to survive. That would suck.

“I- …okay, sure, just disregard being a god. Not like you now have powers beyond mortals understanding… So, what now? Do we go beat up the Pale King? I would rather like that.”

Sadly, as much as they wanted to make their father suffer for having murdered hundreds of thousands of their siblings, they couldn’t do that just yet. They had another goal in mind; They needed to protect their sister, Hornet. Right now, she was probably a very young child and therefore was quite vulnerable. Sure, she had lived in their own time, but now that they were changing things, they didn’t want to take any chance. Plus, Deepnest wasn’t under the Pale King’s rule, and therefor was a safer place to hide in and plan.

A moment of silence passed, and then, “You just want to see what Hornet was like as a child.”

Ghost chose not to respond to the spot on assumption from Radiance and began walking straight out into the basin. However, they very soon noticed something quite odd… the place was clean. There were no stray bugs trying to kill them, no dangerous spikes, nothing. The place was just a boring maze of tunnels. That was quite boring, after living their entire life with a nail in hand, ready to attack, this felt… too quiet. Speaking of nails, they reached to their back and found absolutely nothing. Dread filled Ghost as they remembered one important fact from their imprisonment into the temple of the black egg. When they had been chained up, sealed away, they had dropped their nail. They really wanted the ability to speak right now, if only to let out their frustrations in a tangible way.

“You know,” began the strangely attractive moth god in their head, “You- stop calling me that- you could make a new nail for yourself. You have, as previously stated, powers above those of a mortal. You are a god now. A higher being.”

Ghost looked down at their hands, thoughts swirled into being, ideas given and discarded. They asked a few question to Radiance, how do they make something physical? How do they make it permanent? Was it like their other spells? And slowly but surely began to understand the process. They reached within their body, within their soul, and drew it out. It twisted and shifted into the vague shape of a nail, an outline at most.

Now, to fill it in. They thought about using the void, but it was too unstable, it needed something present to keep it in place and anchor it. Instead, light slowly grew in the mold, flowed like a liquid and yet kept its shape like a solid. Right as it began to properly change and shift into metal, they slammed void into the weapon, forced it into the light and let it coat every inch. It solidified, became metal, and slowly patterns started to emerge. Hundreds of little swirls and waves made it look like water frozen in movement. Darkness made it almost too dark to see, and yet light made it the brightest thing in the room.

“Once again, a terribly inefficient use of light magic. You could have just done a lattice shape with the light and then filled it in with void. The void would’ve had something to hang onto and there would have been less light used up.” Radiance let out a small sigh, “I guess I can’t blame you; I have been using it for my entire existence while you… are at your first interactions with it. I do remember it being somewhat of a struggle at the beginning.”

Ghost nodded, it was in fact quite difficult to use such magic. It was so… different from the void, less malleable, more rigid. It had preferred shapes and forms, preferred positions, void never had any such problems. They climbed up a wall, jumped off, flapped their wings once, and found themselves in a rather familiar area. A large tunnel with metal structures forming complex machinery. The tramway that connected to Deepnest. They took out their pass, put it in the slot, walked into the newly unlocked door, and pressed the big glowing button that indicated the dark passages of Deepnest.

“What are you doing Ghost? Aren’t we supposed to go see Horne-” She let out a slight shriek as the tram suddenly moved and gained speed, “WHAT IS THIS DAMNABLE CONTRAPTION!? GET US OUT OF HERE THIS INSTANT GHOST!”

Ghost fell down, clutching their sides, they might not be able to laugh out loud, but they could certainly get quite close. They could feel and see the Radiance trembling within a pillow fort inside of their mind, warily looking out.

“This isn’t funny!”

They sent another headpat her way and saw her flinch before relaxing a little. It was cute. Of course, as soon as they thought that she immediately frowned and turned around in her pile of fluff and pillows. They sort of wanted to cuddle with what resembled the greatest amount of comfiness. And maybe, just maybe, they really wanted a hug. The tram slowed to a stop, and they stepped out into Deepnest. Oddly enough, they glowed just enough that they didn’t need to take out their lantern in order to see.

“What… was that thing. It screeched and moved on its own! It doesn’t have a mind, it doesn’t have legs!”

Ghost tried their best to explain, but being unable to speak and being forced to rely on shaping their thoughts into coherent streams was a bit difficult. In the end, they at least managed to get through that the trams weren’t dangerous, and that should they ever go back on, they’d send plenty more headpats towards her. She did not acknowledge that last part.

They walked slowly, jumped over pits filled with spikes, avoided spiderwebs, and overall had a whole lot of difficulty traveling. Truly, Deepnest was a hostile place to all outsiders. More than once, Ghost had to slice through a few bugs that had tried to attack them- but their new nail was sharper than any other blade they’d used. It felt quite satisfying, tearing apart those that had given them trouble before.

“So, what do you plan on doing after making sure Hornet is safe? Hopefully we’ll slap the Pale King hard enough to knock him unconscious. But, apart from that, what will we do?”

Ghost had a pretty simple plan in mind, actually. Wander around and help people, find the next crisis to get rid of, kill a god or two. Simple stuff. They heard a slap, and saw Radiance with her wing to her face. She probably didn’t approve of the plan. Oh well.

“Of course I don’t approve! You can’t just wander around hoppi-” A scream rang out in the caves, high pitched and not too far away. “Oh, come on!”

They turned at incredible speed and immediately began running towards the source of the sound. Jump, flap, slice, they used their sizable experience in exploring dangerous areas to avoid enemies and quickly approach a familiar looking place. Fuck.

“Ghost, what is it?”

They recognized this place, recognized these walls and tunnels. They remembered crawling after shadows and familiar faces. They felt and saw broken silk, tied up individuals blocking their way from time to time, all of them dead. Another scream, this time pain lacing it. They had to go faster. Up, down, left, right, they went in all directions and still did not feel any closer.

Finally, finally, they arrived into an arena all too familiar to them. And right there, in the middle of a raised platform, stood a creature they had long despised ever since they had met it. Nosk. It stood tall, loomed over its target, its victim. And Ghost saw red. Both literally and metaphorically. Hornet, their little sister, was pressed against a wall, breathing harshly and crying.

“This thing deserves to die. Painfully.”

Ghost fully agreed.