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Part 1 of The Infinite Tapestry
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Published:
2023-09-21
Updated:
2023-11-01
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2/?
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A Tapestry of Broken Things

Summary:

Long ago I heard a tale, of a god who became a girl.

(Long ago I heard a tale, of a girl who became a god.)

When up it woke in the realm of man, to spare a dying world.

(When down she fell where lost things dwell, to the place where all is naught.)

But away it hid for fear that it, would decide that it belonged
For to live is to be afraid, and to love is to suffer loss.

(As all of time left her behind, and its meaning left her head)
(She mourned the life lost far too soon, wishing simply for an end.)

‘Till daybreak brought to light all of, the lies within its soul.
And it began to see that it, could once again be whole.

(But when her tears ran dry, and the darkness took her name)
(She began to weave the light into, a fate for her to claim.)

A̷̷f̷̷t̷̷e̷̷r̷ ̷a̷ ̷t̷̷i̷̷m̷̷e̷ ̷b̷̷o̷̷t̷̷h̷ ̷g̷̷o̷̷d̷ ̷a̷̷n̷̷d̷ ̷g̷̷i̷̷r̷̷l̷ ̷c̷a̷̷m̷̷e̷ ̷t̷̷o̷ ̷r̷̷e̷a̷̷l̷̷i̷̷z̷̷e̷ ̷w̷̷h̷a̷̷t̷ ̷w̷a̷̷s̷ ̷t̷̷r̷̷u̷̷e̷,̷
W̷̷h̷̷e̷̷n̷ ̷t̷̷h̷̷e̷̷y̷ ̷l̷̷o̷̷o̷̷k̷̷e̷̷d̷ ̷i̷̷n̷̷t̷̷o̷ ̷t̷̷h̷̷e̷ ̷m̷̷i̷̷r̷̷r̷̷o̷̷r̷,̷ ̷a̷̷n̷̷d̷ ̷t̷̷h̷̷e̷̷y̷ ̷b̷̷o̷̷t̷̷h̷ ̷s̷a̷̷i̷̷d̷ ̷“̷██████”̷

Notes:

(See the end of the work for notes and other works inspired by this one.)

Chapter 1: Awakening

Summary:

It may not seem you've done much yet, but as they say, the first step is always the hardest.

I will not pretend this journey of yours will be easy, but you are stronger than you know.
You always have been.

I understand you may not want to speak to me right now, which is why I've chosen to save these letters to gift you at a later date.
Perhaps one day, you will gain comfort in knowing I was watching.

Please remember that your greatest enemy is not the one you seek, but rather the one you do not.
Whatever pretenses you may have about your "mission" being to confront Belos, they are false.
You are here instead to confront yourself.

Stay strong, and do not deny the aid of those around you. They will be more important than you know.

Sincerely,
A Friend

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Chapter Text

Hey you! Yes, you! Reading this fic with creator styles off! I did some weird html trickery with some parts of this fic, so they may look strange if you don't turn on creator styles. Just head to the top of the page, and hit the button that says "Show Creator's Style". It should be right in between "Comments" and "Share". Alright, that's it. Have a nice day!

It could feel its chest pulsing, the pump within pounding frantically like a child on a drum set.
Its mouth opened by reflex, and its breaths reached an accelerated pace.

The pressure in its chest screamed at it to run, to flee, to escape from whatever stimuli was provoking this response.

But it steeled its will. It had a job to do.

Pausing a moment to remember how, it opened its eyes.
A jolt of confusion shot through its unfamiliar body as the sudden influx of light blinded it temporarily. It had forgotten that eyes needed to adjust.

As its surroundings faded into view, it realized it was woefully unprepared for the incoming tidal wave of sheer wrongness.

The colors were too flat, shapes too simple. The sounds of chatter and clanking dishes from down the hall vibrated at just the wrong frequency. The faint scent of stew wafted invasively into its nasal passages. The fabrics of the couch beneath it and the clothes covering its flesh were itchy and uncomfortable, to say nothing of the bandages wrapped around its head.

It focused on its right arm, which dangled limply over the couch.
It attempted to contract the strange muscles in the limb, successfully moving it but in the wrong direction. Its skin brushed the side of the couch, causing it to jerk involuntarily as it felt every covered inch scrape fabric.
An unintelligible grunt of shock and pain emerged from its throat, as a storm of alien sensations shot through its nervous system.

It took a deep breath, and after considerable effort (and a bit of accidental tongue-biting) it managed to grit its teeth. Slowly, clumsily, its arm was raised above its chest, caramel hand dangling limply in front of its face.
It shakily raised its wrist and tightened the hand into a claw. Further attempts to make a fist were thwarted by the sudden sensation of its fingers brushing against each other, evoking another jerk reflex that reverted the progress it had made.

It was preparing itself to try again, when a muffled voice nearly stopped its stolen heart.

"Mrs. Noceda, may I go check on Luz please?"

"Ah! Of course, er-"

"Amity, ma'am. Amity Blight."

"Of course Amity, you don't need my permission. And please, call me Camila."

"Thank you, Mrs. Camila."

Its eyes snapped shut, and it forced its breathing to slow.

Soft footsteps marched closer, closer, ever closer.

At last, they stopped.

It held its breath.

"Luz..." Amity's voice broke at the name, causing its heart to follow suit. "Get well soon, sweet potatobatata. I- We need you, now more than ever."

Luz's girlfriend kissed it between the eyes, just underneath its bandages. It fought back the urge to flinch, though its traitorous heart sung at the contact.

It dared not relax until the footsteps faded into the sound of running water from the kitchen.

The ache in its chest seemed to have shifted to a new position, compressing its heart until the organ cried for mercy.

As much as it craved the affection of the girl for whom it still felt such love, one crucial fact remained.

It was not Luz.

But it would do everything in its power to keep its her friends safe.

Luz awoke to a throbbing in the back of her skull.

The water(?) beneath her splashed as she groaned and sat up.

Confused, she opened her eyes to the sight of an endless canyon.
The walls were pale green and maroon, with hostile jagged edges pointing every which way, and carved lines twisting and turning without direction.

Above and below sat vast lakes of inky black, glowing celadon ripples extending outwards where disturbed.

Between the two extremes, far out of reach, floated numerous pearlescent cubes, colors shifting as they each emitted a nauseating high-pitched sound that wormed its way into Luz's ear.

"This place again?" She wondered allowed, words echoing deep into the darkness. "How did I-"    "This place again?"                                                              "How did I-"

"Luz, I'm so happy I had you as a big sister!"

"WEH!!!"

Clang!

Silenced by the onset of painful memories, Luz blinked away the emerging wetness in her eyes.

She rose to her feet.

She didn't know why she'd been sent here instead of the human realm, but she needed to make sure her friends- her family, was safe.

"King!" She cried into the void. "King Clawthorne!"   "King!"                       "King Clawthorne!"

Her heart hammered in her chest as she waited for a cube to appear.

She waited.

Her breathing quickened.

She waited.

The cut on her eyebrow burned.

She waited.

Her chest ached and her limbs shook. Nothing was happening.

She called another name, voice cracking under the weight of her desperation.

"Edalyn Clawthorne!"    "Edalyn Clawthorne!"

Luz nearly wept with relief when a cube emerged from the darkness below.

She took it in trembling hands, and peered inside.
In a flash of light, her surroundings changed.

An unfamiliar hallway loomed before her, pearl-white and gold-trimmed walls faded to a twilight hue in the dim light.

The walls were lined floor-to-ceiling with alcove after alcove of shadow-wreathed humanoid figures dangling limply from strings.

It wasn't until she took a closer look that she realized just what she was looking at.

Witches. Hundreds of witches.
Or, at least, what used to be witches.

Luz felt bile rise in her throat as she nearly crumbled from the judgmental glares of so many empty glass eyes.

This was all her fault.

Frantically, she searched the hall for the woman who cared for Luz like she was her own daughter. Hoping beyond hope that she was mistaken. That this was all some elaborate prank, that the real Eda was just out of sight, waiting to jump out with a "Boo!" and that trademark snort-laugh the human had grown so fond of.

At last, her stomach dropped as her eyes rested upon it.

The Owl Beast.

Its formerly wild coat was now soft and downy, not a feather out of place. Its joints and mouth sported puppet-like hinges. Its empty onyx eyes glared accusingly into her soul, and on its forehead...

It bore the mark of The Collector.

Luz's vision blurred. "No," She whispered. "No no no no NO NO!"

Her surroundings flashed again, returning her to the space between, but it was too late.

The results of her actions had embedded themselves on the insides of her eyelids.

Tears dripped into the darkness below, creating shimmering ripples where they landed.

Heartbroken sobs echoed through the cavern, and the whispers in Luz's head grew to a booming cacophony.

"Your fault!" They cried, "You helped him, it's all your fault!"

The voices roared too loud for Luz to notice how badly the cuts on her body burned.

Too loud for her to see herself slowly sinking deeper into the abyss.

Until it was too late.

Until she slipped down, down, down into the endless void.

When it opened its eyes again, it was greeted with the darkness of twilight.

The Noceda household was sleeping soundly, the earlier chatter reduced to a mere memory.

Satisfied that it was finally alone, it took the time to ponder the blanket of shadow that enveloped the room.

It wondered if it could...

It mentally shook its head. One thing at a time.

It focused on its right leg. The alien limb twitched.
It cringed once again at the shift in sensation.

Seconds turned to minutes turned to hours, and by the time the sun peeked warily over the horizon the couch sat empty.

While it wouldn't exactly consider the level of control it now had over its body ideal, it was at least proficient.
Or at least, enough so that when at last Camila came to check on "her daughter", it was able to manage an only slightly slurred "Hi Mom!¡Hola Mamá!"

It stiffened as the full force of a worried mother rushed forward and wrapped it in familiar arms.

Guilt and regret gnawed vengefully at its insides. Still, it stretched the skin on its face into a forced smile.

"Daughter!¡Mija!" Camila sobbed. "My beautiful daughter! I missed you so much!¡Mi bonita mija! ¡Te extrañé mucho!"

"I-" It choked on its words. "I missed you too mom." The sentiment felt hollow and empty in its throat.

Camila didn't seem to notice. She stepped back and began to fret over the imposter wearing her daughter's face.

"Are you alright honeycariño? How's your head? What's the last thing you remember?"

"I'm fine!" It reassured unconvincingly. "I remember what happened, and my head really doesn't hurt that bad!"

A worried frown overtook the older woman's kind face. "Luz, I..."

Camila had so much to say to her daughter, her little light, who she had so foolishly pushed away. She had practiced in the mirror for weeks for this moment, where she would finally apologize for her mistakes and tell Luz just how much she loved her.
But now, seeing her little girl standing in front of her, wrapped in bandages and looking like a stranger, the words died in her throat.
Was this even her daughter anymore?

Camila blinked back tears, she had to be strong. Even if Luz had found a new identity, a new home, a new family, she and her friends were still kids.

They needed her.

At last, she found her voice.

"I'm going to get some ibuprofen from the kitchen, okay baby?"

That was the wrong thing to say. "Luz" squirmed in place.

"I promise, I'm alright mom. I'm gonna shower before the others wake up."

"You promise?¿Lo promotes?"

"Yes. I love you mom.Sí. Te quiero mamá."

Camila called after it as it left.

"I love you too honey!¡Te quiero tambien cariño!" If you need to talk, I'm always here!"

It looked back at her. "Thanks mom..." It choked, before disappearing down the hall.

It blinked back tears from eyes that it shouldn't have.
It shouldn't be here, it shouldn't even exist!

It should be Luz getting kisses and well-wishes from Amity, Luz getting hugs and care from Camila, not it!

As its destination came into view. It stumbled in an attempt to move its legs faster.

If only it didn't- if she hadn't-

The drums resumed as it fumbled with the door handle.

Its breaths quickened, joining the drums in an unordered duet that flooded its mind with dissonant rhythm.

At last, with both hands it turned the knob and tumbled inside, taking as much care as it could to ensure the silence of the closing door.

It rested against the wooden exit, barricading itself inside. Away from the world that wasn't its own.

It took a deep breath.

1-2-3-4

4-3-2-1

1-2-3-4

4-3-2-1

Slowly, the blood pounding in its ears began to quiet. Thank The Titan for Willow and her dads.

It rose from the tile, and met eyes with the figure in the mirror.

The reflection stared disappointingly, with pupils just a bit too deep.

It broke the contact and shambled to the shower, turning it on such as to not raise suspicion.

Cold water struck flesh, and it jumped backwards, barely avoid slipping on the hard floor.

After composing itself, its gaze returned to the mirror.

Had it been looking the face of its reflection, it would have seen something besides anticipation fill its eyes. Instead however, it focused on its hand. It reached out, fingertips grazing the cool surface.

From where contact was made, ripples emanated across the reflection.

The corners of its mouth twitched upwards as it pushed its hand deeper.

On the other side, its nerves felt neither hot nor cold nor the slightest whisper of an air current.

Careful not to disturb the toiletries placed neatly across the marble, it climbed awkwardly atop the sink and into the mirror. 

Its newly-limited mortal senses were unable to fully perceive the new environment, but it didn't mind.

It was enough just to know that it was home.

It inhaled the scent of blessed nothing with a faint smile, and closed its eyes as it listened to the orchestra of the floating cubes.
Each one had its own melody, their harmony resonating pleasantly through its ears and right down to its bones.

It shifted the space around it such that it now floated on its back atop the water.
It willed the liquid void to flow over its form, healing its wounds and seeping into its clothes to provide relief from the sensation of rubbing fabric.

It directed its gaze upward, taking a time to enjoy the brief reprieve from mortality.

For just a moment, it considered slipping below the water, returning to the deeper layers of The Space In-between. Below the surface, it was far too deep for linear time to seep in from the realities above. Traveling back to this exact place and time when it was ready would be practically a nonissue.
It quickly shook itself from those thoughts. It had been difficult enough to take on this responsibility in the first place. If it turned back now, there was no telling if it would return.

It sighed, before once again rearranging its environment to set it upright.

"Edalyn Clawthorne." It called into the void. "Edalyn Clawthorne."

A cube sang an eager response, racing into its hands.
On the cube's surface, an image appeared of a graying witch, missing an arm but still very much alive and, more importantly, animated.

Eda drunkenly sloshed a bottle of apple blood in her hand as she made conversation with an unresponsive mint-haired puppet.

Perhaps not in the best situation, but at least she was safe.

It decided not to question where she got the apple blood.

It let out a sigh of relief, before it's face hardened with determination.

Next came the messy part.

It released the cube and called out:

"Philip Wittebane."    "Philip Wittebane."

The cubes sang undisturbed. 

It groaned, frustrated. It had to put an end to that monster before he could hurt anyone else.

It would keep searching. As soon as that damned pile of rot was within view of a large enough reflective surface-

"Luz?" A voice echoed from the cube it had entered from. "Are you okay in there? Your friends are waiting for you!"    "Luz?"                                                  "Are you okay in there? Your friends are waiting for you!"

"Coming Mamá!"    "Coming Mamá!"

It spared one last glance back at the waters below, before climbing back through the mirror.

Notes:

Hiiiiii, sorry for disappearing for like 6 months!!
Lotsa stuff happened, but long story short, I got a lot better at writing, learned some css and html trickery, made some new friends, and did not lose my interest in this fandom or in writing fics :)

I'm really excited for this fic in particular, I really wasn't sure if I should actually write it cuz I didn't know if people would be interested. I really hope you enjoy it!
I'm excited to see what sort of theories you come up with for what happened to Luz and the nature of the main character (I have been calling it something, but I want to see what everyone else comes up with, so gl with that!)

With any luck I'll be able to get back into the swing of writing at least to some degree!
Some stuff to expect in the (hopefully near) future (in rough but not guaranteed order):
- A complete rewrite of "A Different Form" (Plus 3 brand new chapters! I'm already halfway through chapter 3 so hopefully this shouldn't take too much longer!)
- A rewrite of "Cain and Abel"
- A brand new Lumity fic set immediately post-finale
- A rewrite of "Magenta Eyes" (which may or may not include one or more new chapters)
- A rewrite of "Perhaps we were destined to meet..."

Chapter 3: Update, Teaser, and Fanart

Chapter Text

Hi! Hello! How are you! You may have noticed that this is not, in fact, chapter 2! I apologize!

I don't feel super comfortable giving a lot of personal excuses, but I hope what I am about to give you can make up for that! Below you will find some amazing art of my favorite eldritch cinnamon roll done by the amazing LeumasP, go check them out!!!!

After that, I've decided to release my first draft for Chapter 2's opening. Keep in mind that this will likely go through a lot of revisions before the actual chapter is released, but I hope you still enjoy! This next chapter will follow Luz's perspective, since a lot of people seem to be interested in how she's doing (understandably so)
Feel free to give feedback, offer theories, ask questions, etc! I'd love to hear what everyone thinks!

Pictured: Not-Luz being mecore. This is supposed to be it feeling guilty/ashamed. For what exactly? Guess you'll have to see! Not-Luz: "Holy shit I got hands... wtf..." "Wow! Look at that thing! It's so awe-inspiring! Man, I'm so glad I'm looking at that thing and can see it, it's so cool! Would sure be a shame if anyone couldn't see that thing! This is surely a life-changing experience!"

 

Luz was surprised by the sudden drop, but she couldn't bring herself to care.

What did it matter? Her friends were gone. Her family was gone, and it was all her fault.

It would be better this way, for her to meet her end on the ground below, and never hurt anyone again.What ground?

Tears leaked from her eyes as she fell, down d̶̺̈́ͅõ̷̫͜w̵͔̾́n̶̡̙͊ ď̸̙̄o̵͖͈̻̪͆̌͋̇̓w̶̡̧͎̔͒n̴͍̮̟͓̔̊̇͂͌ d̵͙̦̖͎̔̊̆̚o̵̻̬͕̻̗̖͛̀̎̒̉͝w̸̛̺̬̥̲͙͙͚̪͐͂̿͋̊͘n̴̛̫̦͇̗̩̦̦̺̿ into̸-̵̡̗͠-̴̲͈̂͛-̷͇͚̮̣́̒̉-̵̛͓̠̍͌̋͗-̶̞̂̊̽́͐-̶̼̬̘̯̼̑-̴͎͓̙̺͑̀̔̎̑̓̑̚-̵̡̢̜̟̣̠͇̪͒͋-̶̟̯̯͖̟̝̦̉̈́̉͜-̴̞̜́̅̐̎̄̈́-̶̲̪͖͐̈̀-̷̨̟̹̮͖͓̪̥̖͖̖̹̱͌̉̍͛̈̚-̸̢͙̝̱̼͚͚̣̯̣̩̦̜̀̽́̈́̂̃̓̈̈́̚͘̚͜-̴̛̫̝͍̿̓̈̌́͌̊͋͠-̷̪͋̉͆̔̑-̵̡̛͕̹̙̯̭̳̝͕̪̼̝͔̠̉̊̏͊͆͛́̋̀͊̇͋͜͠͝-̸̡͙͉̰͉̜̯̯̟̦̻͇͍̜̺͉̘͙̐̏̒͗̉͌̑̕̕͝-̵̨͎̝̯̿̕ͅ-̶̺̯̣̗̣͖͎̇̓̃̇̊̒͂̈́̃̀̐̓̔̂̀̌̊̕͝͝-̸͍̫̏́͐͗̅̌̅̒̀͝-̸̨̛͖̦̅̈̍̊̂́͆̿̇͂̉̌͑͑͌̿̎̆̚͝͝

 

Luz is surprised by the sudden drop, but she can't bring herself to care.

What does it matter? Her friends are gone. Her family is gone, and it is all her fault.

Tears leak from her eyes as she falls- as she falls- as she-

Despair all but forgotten, she opens her mouth to scream butthereisnosoundandnothingcomesoutandshecan'tIcan't-

I can't move-
I can't scream-
I can't breathe-
I can't see-
I can't feel-
I can't hear -
I can't 𖡄𖡄𖡄𖡄𖡄𖡄𖡄𖡄𖡄𖡄-

What's happening? I don't understand                 I don't understand, what's happening? Shhh... everything is going to be alright.

Neurons in my- in her head shoot panicked signals back and forth and to and fro, scrambling to make sense of- of nothing/of everything/of something/of everything/of nothing that's surrounding her as she descends ever downwards.                                            Not to be pedantic, but the direction you're going is actually kata.

She fell for-
I fall for-
She falls for Seconds                                  MinutesDecades.Time works differently here.

She can no longer determine if she started falling before or after she was born, before or after the big bang, before or after the end of everything.

She's been down here for days.
She's been down here for years.
She's been down here for eternities.
She's been down here for only moments.

 

But then something changed.

Luz now stood upright, no longer falling.
One hand clutched her chest as she gasped for breath.

She nearly sobbed with relief. And yet...

She could feel no air in her lungs, no fabric in her grip, no ground beneath her feet.

She couldn't hear the sounds of her heavy breathing, of her heartbeat, of the ruffling fabric of her clothes.

She couldn't taste the inside of her mouth, couldn't smell the air.

At first, Luz assumed she couldn't see either. It wasn't until she looked down at the glowing yellow outline of her body that she realized the world around her was more than a hallucination.

Nonsensical colors and patterns and shapes that were just on the edge of Luz's comprehension surrounded her. She could have sworn the scene almost made sense, as if she just needed to squint a bit and the environment would take form.

Through the corner of her vision, she could see mundane landscapes and liminal spaces. When she turns to look however, she is met only with visual gibberish.

“Hello Luz, it's good to see you again.”

Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think! I have a rough outline for the chapter already, I just gotta find the time to write it and also edit it and refine it and etc!

Massive thanks to everyone that checked this story out, especially all the authors that came here by my request. It means so much to have so many talented people interested in my work!

Have a fantastic day/night!!!

Notes:

If you hadn't already noticed, this story exists in the same cannon as a few different other fanfics made by extremely talented people. Some may be referenced in this fic, some may have references to this fic in them, all to different degrees. Regardless, I would highly recommend giving them all a look! Please let me know if you want something you wrote to be added to this list!
- The Syntax of Your Smile by laurlovescookies
- Feathers like Gold and Blackberries by thatcosmicdragon
- Luz Rucio Noceda by zxcxdr
- My Bones Can Scream by Geci10
- Hunter's Hunt for the PS5 by xXx_RULERZREACHF4N_xXx
- A different form by ChloeIsNobody
- The Titan's Last Song by thatcosmicdragon
- Unfamiliar and Hostile by CrustySoap

A massive thanks to LeumasP, laurlovescookies, xXx_RULERZREACHF4N_xXx, thatcosmicdragon, zxcxdr, Geci10, MemoryOverload, and CrustySoap for all helping out or giving their thoughts on this fic at some point or another. It wouldn't be the same without you all!

Comments would be much appreciated! I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts on the lore I've created! What do you think? What theories do you have? I'll respond to as many people as I can!
Who knows, your suggestions may even influence the fic!

Series this work belongs to:

Works inspired by this one: