Chapter Text
Boring,
Utterly boring,
is the thought that you've been repeatedly having. You stare blankly at the living room wall. All the time in the world and nothing interesting enough to fill it. Each day seems to pass the same way, with you sitting in your comfy chair staring at the damn wall. What good was living forever if you wanted to end it all just to do something different?
When you were about 500 years younger and human, you thought immortality would be all about fun and adventure and it was, until these last 100 years. Everything you did now was just stale. You had seen history come and go, fought battles disguised as a soldier, became the consort to many influential figures, traveled the world.
The most interesting experience you had though, was being a hero. It was the most fun you had experienced in all your life. Being adored by the masses, feared by villains, paid handsomely, second only to White Hat. It was the best... until people began to get suspicious of you. Why are they not aging? How did they survive that nuclear explosion? They just got shot in the head and walked away unharmed??
You tried to ignore it, hoping it would go away on its own, but too much speculation was happening. The masses that had loved you, now ran away in fear and slandered you on every media platform. The villains tried to recruit you “as a henchman, obviously you can't be as great as me”. The money stopped coming and a new hero replaced you.
The anger began to build. Everything had turned around so quickly. Everything you had done was thrown away! All your compassion ẇ̴̝͌a̴̙͗s̶̜͆̐ ̷̗̀̉d̷͎̏͆ī̴̯͙s̸͎͂ͅç̷̒a̵̩͐̚ṙ̷̩d̸̖͆ẹ̸͆d̷̰̀!̴̗̔͝ ̷̡͗T̷͈̿̓h̵̠̭̊̌o̴̜̩̓s̸̢̡̾e̷̬͐̿ ̴͙̣̌̇i̴̙̘̇̚n̷̺̠͂͋s̴͍̔͐ï̵͈̏g̵͓͆̔n̵̗̬͑̄ī̶͍͍f̶̣̀i̷̩͊c̶̥a̶̼͉͐̇n̴̲͒̅͜t̷͇͎͘ ̸̠̀a̶̟͆͘n̶͚d̸̼̙̾̋ ̵̝̳̒U̷̱̘͂́N̴̠͂ͅG̷̬̋R̴̬̊͌͜A̴̱̯̔͠Ṱ̵̕F̵̨̗̈́U̷̥̠̍L̷̨͠ ̶̝͌W̸̡̒͌Ŏ̸̙͝R̴̪̪̉M̵͋͜S̶̛͜ ̷̢͉̐D̷̺̏̽A̷̻̎R̴̺̊̿E̸̥̹̽D̸̪̔ ̵̛͎̆T̵͈̐͛Ö̴̘̞́ ̷̻̏̚Ǐ̸͔̓Ṉ̷̀S̵͎̗̋͠Ȗ̴̲L̵̪̭͆T̶̝̃ ̴̪̜Y̵̹͊O̷̙̬̓̆Ų̸̞̐R̸̤̊ ̸̡͐E̵͔͝F̸͓̼̈́F̴̹̥̾Ô̴̰R̶̮͒T̶̨͌͜!̷͎̎́
…
…
You took a deep breath to calm yourself and the hellfire that had erupted from the cross-dimensional portals that you ripped open on the ground. Breathe in for four seconds, out for four seconds. In and out, in and out.
You were calm again. You didn't need to burn your couch for a fourth time.
With a sigh, you wonder why you had put up with that treatment and didn't reveal yourself. It would have saved you a lot of pain and a̴͓̫͆͘n̴̨̹̎̈g̷͖̚ȩ̴͚͘r̴̅ͅ, but once that information gets out, you’d never be forgotten. Being the only eldritch who was originally human, who can pass as, and act like a human, you're pretty unforgettable.
Plus you didn't need the trouble that would come from White Hat becoming curious. You were half created by White Hat. If he ever recognized you, you're not sure what would happen. Who knows if he could take away your powers just like he caused them? Then, would he keep you as a prisoner for his own desires, give you to his scientist as an experiment, flat out try to kill you?
To others it may seem like a preposterous scenario, but you knew he had hidden sadistic desires. He may be a hero, but he was still an Eldritch and you've learned that no one can fight Eldritch nature, even him.
You smirk and chuckle as you remember the events of your “birth”.
It had all started when you were 14, the perfect age to get married, but you refused. You wanted a man that you could truly love and your betrothed was not that person. Your father beat you each and every time you resisted. Your mother started to ignore you. Your brothers pushed you into puddles of mud and threatened to tattle on you to dad. Your sisters ostracized and humiliated you. Eventually you hated them all and they all hated you. There was no more love at all.
One day, your father finally had enough and gave you a choice, either marry your betrothed or be left for dead.
Being stubborn and headstrong as you've always known yourself to be, you chose death.
Quite ironic, you think.
Enraged with your decision, he beat you within an inch of your life and brought you to the “empty” mansion at the very edge of the village. Everyone knew to stay away from it. Anyone who didn't, would get taken away and never be seen again. Many speculated that a murderous ghost lived there, left behind from their brutal deaths. Others assumed a demon. No one knew for sure because no one ever survived to tell..no one except you.
You woke up after an unknown amount of time in a soft silk bed. You cautiously sat up, expecting agonizing pain to shoot through you, only to find that you….were fine? There was no pain or sign of any abuse on your body. 'Maybe this is heaven’ you thought until a high pitched, grating voice spoke out,
“Are you well, child?”
Shivers ran down your back as it spoke. You scoured the room for the voice’s owner, but it was nowhere to be seen.
“I asked you a q̵̗̈́ũ̷̬e̶̼̕s̵͍̕t̴͜͝ĩ̶̜o̴͍͊n̵̑!” It boomed.
You tensed up, fearing the worst and weakly spoke out,
“Y-yes.”
“Good” It purred. A light pressure slid across your cheek as you its footsteps echoed through the room.
“Most people that end up here are the foolish and naive. The ones that think they are immune to danger. They come so often that I find them to be quite quite boring, but you. You are interesting!”
You felt sharp claws grip your chin and force you to face the side as if to look into its eyes, but you still could not see anything.
“Now tell me child, what have you done to be despised enough to be left at my doorstep, hated enough to be left for dead?”
Tears trickled down your face as he grabbed your chin tighter and tilted your face upward.
“I want t-to... marry someone that I can love.” You whimpered to the air.
It began to chuckle, which grew into maniacal laughter that shook the room with its vibrations. The laughter broke off suddenly and its claws pierced your skin. Blood flowed down your face and onto your clothes as you trembled.
“Å̴͇ṟ̷͐e̷̲͘ ̴̜́y̷̝̍o̶̡͗ṷ̵͒ ̴͐͜m̴͎̋ö̶͖́c̵̮͋k̵̗̏i̸̢̓ṇ̶̋g̴̛̮ ̶̪͘m̷͉͒e̷̛̞?̶͈̾! Every creature wants that! Now tell me the real reason or I̷̾ͅ ̶̺͛w̴̬͆ï̵͖l̸͇̀l̸̞̑ ̸̭͒r̵̙̾i̸̦͘ṕ̵͇ ̴͔̿ǒ̵̬ủ̶̯t̷̞̅ ̵̧͑y̷̧͂o̴̼ū̶̦ȓ̵͈ ̵͎̏t̸̢̓h̴͉̆r̴̯͑o̶͓ȁ̵̰ẗ̷́!” It threatened.
You thrashed violently against the grip on your face as you began to get angry.
“I don't know what you want from me!” You screeched at him. “That is the real reason! I decided to die for what I desire than to live a life I can't control!”
There is silence after you speak and the fear overtakes the anger once again, but you sit straighter now. You realized that you had made your choice and you were gonna stick with it. If you die now, then you died standing for what you desire.
“....I like you child. You're the most interesting human I've come across so far” It says with a grin in it's voice. “Let's make a deal. I'll lend you my power for the rest of your remaining life and in exchange, I want you to burn your village to the ground. Do we have a deal?”
The claws detached from your face and you saw them slowly become visible along with the rest of its body. It was terrifying. Sharp golden teeth, coal black skin, a black and gold suit, a dark monocle on one of its eyes, and a purple top hat with massive goat horns spiraling out from the sides. It looked at you with a lecherous grin and you couldn't help but clench its outstretched hand.
“My name is Duke Hat, child. Now, repeat it!”
You think its name clearly in your head, but when you speak it, demonic words ring out.
Its grin grew impossibly large as it cackled loudly. Its body evaporated into pitch black smoke that shoved itself down your throat. You screamed as an inferno raged inside your body. Your blood boiled and your organs melted. The burning pain lasted for hours until it just stopped.
You fell to the floor and its voice echoed from what seemed like all directions.
“Seems like I forgot to tell you about some details, so sorry about that~” it chimed, not seeming sorry at all. “Your body had to be replaced with a suitable one to hold my power and I needed a holder for my spirit, since you have all my power. Now come child, your part is yet to be fulfilled~”
Red, orange, yellow, blue, the bright colors of a beautiful fire. Everything was a blur to you, screaming echoed through your head, the running villagers combined and separated in your view. Manic laughter poured out from somewhere outside and inside of you all at once. Nothing was comprehendible, nothing was connecting, something was wrong.
The beautiful colors died out and the sounds silenced themselves. Your legs gave out from under you. Your head throbbed painfully.Your energy seemed to be getting devoured from the inside.
“What's happening?” You croaked out from your dying throat.
More laughter echoed in your head. “Don't worry child, that's just my power devouring your soul. No human can handle Eldritch power. I simply changed your body, so you could last another hour...did you really think I would lend you my power for your whole life? How pathetic!”
Its laugh grated on your nerves and you cursed it for tricking you.
“Ah humans, so gullible! Do you know the best part of this, child? I am powerless while I possess you. I'm about as powerful as a low level ghost. If you had gone to an exorcist, you would have been inherited my power completely without having to die. Isn't that so…. amazingly horrible?~” It cackled loudly inside your head as you died, waiting for your end to come.
The fire inside you began to burn again and you felt it melting even more of you. You screamed out in pain as your flesh seared and popped. Your eyes closed as you accepted your face and waited for your trip to hell.
….
….
All at once the fire inside you went out and a cooling sensation replaced it. Duke Hat’s laughter cut out and a soothing voice replaced it.
“My dear, are you alright?”
You opened your eyes and gazed upon the person in front of you. It looked...almost human. It had light gray skin, blunt teeth, a white and blue suit, and a white top hat and monocle much like Duke Hat's own. You stayed silent as you watched it, you didn't have the energy anymore to speak.
It gazed down at you with compassion and understanding.
“It's ok if you can't answer, my dear. My name is White Hat. I saw the fire and came to help...I'm sorry to say this, but you seem to have been possessed by another of my kind and ended up killing your village...It's alright now though, I'm taking it out and will fix you up. You'll be good as new!” It spoke calmly with a smile.
You watched passively as it slid off its white gloves to reveal its sharp claws. It swiftly slammed them into your chest and you gasped loudly at the foreign sensation. It didn't hurt, but it felt like White Hat was touching your very soul. It wasn't a pleasant experience.
White Hat made a small 'aha’ as you jolted from an electrical current running through your body.
“Don't worry about that dear, its part of the process.” It said cheerfully.
It yanked its hand out of your body and a dark moving smoke was tightly in its grasp. You could faintly hear Duke Hat's voice scream out in anger from within the smoke.
White Hat raised its hand to its mouth and its blunt teeth turned razor sharp. Suddenly the world slowed and your melted heart sludge began to beat wildly. You watched with anticipation as White Hat's teeth slowly descended onto the shadow and slit it in half.
Duke Hat's final scream rang out and you collapsed into unconsciousness.
When you woke up next, White Hat was nowhere to be found and your body felt better than ever. You felt strong, powerful, and intelligent. Your senses had improved so much that you could pinpoint the exact location of a bug several feet away from you. Knowledge that you should not have even know existed was a thought away.
You had been reborn and you could do whatever you wished. No one could stop you.
With the knowledge you have now, you know that White Hat was only interested in obtaining the power that would come from consuming another Eldritch. The only reason you weren't killed and consumed as well was that he had thought you had died as a human. He probably could have saved the whole village, but enjoyed the carnage that you wrought.
You chuckled, so much for being the “epitome of good” as he was so called.
You sigh happily. Your “birth” wasn't the most pleasant time, but you loved to relive it. Going from insignificant and weak to all powerful was such a rush. You reach up and caress the stunning eye patch covering your left eye. You love it with all your heart. After your rebirth, you had gone to a leather worker and… persuaded them to create an eye patch to cover your eye. Over the years, you had kept it in perfect condition and went to many professionals to perfect it. It was now the epitome of your style and complimented you quite well.
The happiness slowly drains away and you're once again left feeling agonizing boredom. You stare intently at the wall again until your temper flares up. Angrily, you summon a tentacle and snatch the TV remote off your coffee table on turn the TV on.
It blares annoying shows one after another as you switch the channels. You get more annoyed with each one, until you stop on the news. You watch curiously as the news anchors report on a villain you've never heard before, Black Hat.
“Thank you for joining us. Today we will be discussing the villain expert known as ‘Black Hat’. Although his base of operations is located on Hat Island and he only supplies other villains with weaponry, many speculate when he will decide to be done with his business. As many know, he is unparalleled in strength to none, except White Hat, but if he decided to up and wreak havoc, how fast could our hero stop him? He's been responsible for…”
You tune the news anchor out as you focus on the picture of Black Hat displayed on the screen. For some reason you're oddly drawn to him. Something about him calls to you.
You shut the TV off and sit quietly, thinking. If being a hero didn't work out, why not be a villain? You smirk as you teleport away, already planning your introduction to villainy.