Multiversal Primal Zerg (Semi-SI)

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The first thing Adrian heard was an annoying voice. It had been talking for what seemed like hours, drilling into his unconscious mind until he couldn't ignore it anymore.

"...and then the idiot tried to use me as a backscratcher! Can you believe it? Me! The legendary Derflinger! Used as a common backscratcher! I showed him though, gave him such a rash he couldn't sit for weeks. That'll teach him to respect ancient magical artifacts..."

Adrian's head throbbed as consciousness returned. The emergency dimensional jump had taken more out of him than expected. He blinked against harsh fluorescent lights, pushing himself up from cold tile flooring to sit.

"Oh hey, you're finally awake! I was starting to wonder if you'd died. That would've been awkward, being stuck next to a corpse and all."

Adrian looked down at the rusty sword lying beside him. "How long was I out?"

"About an hour or so? Hard to tell in this strange place. Speaking of which, where exactly are we? And who are you anyway? Not that I'm complaining about the rescue from that dusty shop, mind you, but it's customary to introduce yourself before kidnapping someone."

Adrian rubbed his temples. "I'm Adrian."

"Just Adrian? No fancy titles or anything?"

"No titles."

Derflinger made a sound like a metallic snort. "Well, you might not have titles, but you've got something more interesting, don't you? Void magic. I can sense it in you clear as day."

Adrian stared at the sword. "How can you tell?"

"Kid, I've been around for six thousand years. You pick up a few tricks after that long. The void element has a certain... flavor to it. Can't mistake it for anything else."

"But what did you do anyway?" Derflinger asked curiously. "And where are we?"

Adrian looked around the space. Long aisles filled with modern furniture displays in every direction. Beds, couches, and dining sets were arranged in perfect little scenes, like frozen moments from thousands of different homes. Signs hung from the ceiling with strange words and numbers.

The entire place felt like one of those big stores from Earth.

"I jumped worlds to escape that fire mage," Adrian explained.

"Jumped worlds?" Derflinger paused. "Wait, you already know Void spells?"

Adrian shook his head. "Not magic. Different method."

"Huh. How'd you know about me anyway? And why were they trying to kill you back there?"

Before Adrian could answer, he spotted a figure in yellow and blue clothing pushing a cart down one of the aisles. Adrian blinked several times, unsure if the emergency jump had damaged his vision.

The person stood at least seven feet tall with arms that hung down past their knees. Their legs looked comically short in comparison, but what really made Adrian pause was their complete lack of facial features. Just smooth, blank skin where a face should be.

"Hey!" Adrian called out. "Could you tell us where the exit is?"

The figure continued pushing their cart, showing no sign they'd heard him.

"Well, that's not creepy at all," Derflinger muttered. "Maybe they're just shy? You know, I once knew this knight who was so shy he wore his helmet backwards and-"

The fluorescent lights above them clicked off with a sharp sound. It was instantly dark, broken only by red emergency lighting in various corners.

At least he had very good night vision, so it wasn't a big problem.

"Oh come on," Derflinger grumbled. "I was just getting to the good part of my story!"

The faceless figure stopped pushing the cart. In the soft red emergency lighting, Adrian watched as it turned towards them with jerky movements.

"THE STORE IS NOW CLOSED." The voice boomed from where a mouth should have been.

"PLEASE EXIT THE BUILDING."

Adrian stood up slowly, gripping Derflinger's handle. "I'd love to exit, if you'd point me to the-"

The 'employee' charged at them, arms stretched out like claws. More of them came from behind furniture displays, all identical faceless staff members running straight for them.

"PLEASE EXIT THE BUILDING."

"PLEASE EXIT THE BUILDING."

"PLEASE EXIT THE BUILDING."

The voices overlapped into a droning shout.

"Adrian," Derflinger spoke quickly, "I think now would be a good time to run!"

"No need to worry," Adrian set Derflinger down against one of the shelves. "I can handle this."

His body shifted and changed, bones cracking as scales grew from his skin. In seconds, an eight-foot-long reptilian creature stood where the human had been.

"BY MY RUSTY POMMEL!" Derflinger yelled. "WHAT ARE YOU?"

Adrian didn't answer. He charged forward on all fours and launched himself at the nearest faceless employee. His jaws clamped around the creature's head, teeth piercing through with ease.

One quick twist and the head popped off like a bottle cap.

The body crumpled, but another employee swung at him. Adrian turned to dodge - and the blow hammered his side, scales splintering from the force. The force sent him sliding across the floor into a display of coffee tables.

"That actually hurt," Adrian growled, pushing himself up. These things were far stronger than they looked.

The faceless monsters rushed forward as a group.

"PLEASE EXIT THE BUILDING."

Adrian's mouth opened wide, spraying sticky strands that crystallized into blocky webs. The employees became tangled in the Minecraft cobwebs, moving in slow motion as they struggled against the blocks.

"What kind of magic is that?" Derflinger asked as Adrian pounced on the trapped creatures one by one, tearing them apart with teeth and claws.

"Again, it's not really magic," Adrian grabbed another employee by the leg and slammed it into a shelf of decorative pillows. "Just something I picked up."

More employees appeared from different aisles, all moving with those same jerky motions.

"THE STORE IS NOW CLOSED."

"Yeah yeah, I heard you the first time." Adrian spat another wave of webs. He needed to conserve his limited supply of spines for real emergencies.

His side throbbed where the creature had struck him. The scales were already mending, but not fast enough. Adrian pulled a blocky Golden Apple from his Pearl and it vanished the moment he held it near his mouth. Regenerative energy spread through his body, knitting together damaged tissue and reinforcing cracked scales.

More faceless staff members fell to his attacks. He tore through limbs and crushed torsos, leaving broken bodies scattered across the furniture displays. The fighting continued until finally, the area grew quiet except for the sound of Adrian's breathing.

A pile of monster employee corpses lay around him, some still twitching. The red emergency lights lit up their broken faceless heads.

"Well," Derflinger broke the silence from his spot against the shelf. "That was... different. You're full of surprises, aren't you? First the void magic, then turning into whatever you are, and now you're eating golden fruit that heals wounds?"

Adrian shifted back to human form and retrieved the sword. "The fruit is from another world. Like I said, not magic."

"Right, right. Not magic." Derflinger sounded unconvinced. "So what exactly are you? Because I'm pretty sure you're not human."

Adrian considered what to tell the sword. The human memories suggested caution, but what did it matter? Derflinger had already seen him transform and fight. Besides, the sword was probably more accepting of the unusual considering its age, and having an ally who understood the situation might help, especially one who knew about Void Magic.

"I'm a Primal Zerg," Adrian explained. "I teleported to your world during some kind of student summoning ceremony. They assumed I was a summoned familiar and tried to bind me."

"Tried to?"

"The girl who claimed to be my master wanted complete obedience. She humiliated me, tried chaining me to a wall, even brought out a spiked whip and magic shock collar." Adrian's voice grew cold. "I had an item that cleared mental influences, so nothing stopped me from killing her and escaping."

"And it turned out she was a Void Mage. I had the Gandálfr runes before they faded away, but one of my… abilities let me take her Void Magic when I killed her."

"YOU WHAT?" Derflinger nearly fell over in his hand. "You can't just TAKE someone's Void Magic! That's impossible! They're tied to bloodlines-" The sword stopped mid-sentence. "Well... I suppose you did. I can sense it in you clear as day. But how?"

"Like I said, not magic. Just something I can do."

"Huh." Derflinger went quiet for a moment. "…you know, my maker was Gandálfr too. Brimir's familiar. She ended up killing him with me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Sometimes masters need killing when they go too far. Not proud of it, but it happens." The sword paused. "So where are we now? Some strange shop?"

"No idea. Emergency teleport to a new world. We're stuck here for at least two weeks before I can jump again."

"TWO WEEKS?" Derflinger shouted. "In this place? With those faceless things trying to kill us?"

"Could be worse," Adrian shrugged. "They only became aggressive when the lights go out. Maybe they'll ignore us when the lights turn back on?"

"Oh, that makes me feel so much better! We'll only get murdered at night!" Derflinger's voice dripped with sarcasm. "And what happens when you run out of food? I don't see any restaurants around here."

Adrian tapped the center of his chest. "I have enough stored food to last a while. Golden Apples, steaks, even some potions."

"Stored... where exactly?"

"In here." Adrian pulled out a blocky steak from his Crystalline Minecraft Pearl, showing how it appeared from thin air. "Another trait I picked up. I can store and create items following specific rules."

"Create items? Like what?"

"Basic tools, weapons, armor. Nothing too advanced." Adrian looked around at the scattered bodies. "We should find somewhere defensible before more show up. Somewhere we can block off the entrances."

A distant shout of "PLEASE EXIT THE BUILDING" spread through the store.

"Good idea," Derflinger agreed quickly. "Very good idea. Any thoughts on which direction?"

Adrian sniffed the air. "I smell humans that way." He pointed down an aisle. "Living ones. Maybe they know more about this place."

"Or maybe they're all crazy murderers who'll try to kill us!"

"Then I'll eat them." Adrian started walking.

"Wait, what do you mean 'eat them'? Was that a joke? Please tell me that was a joke! Adrian? ADRIAN!"

Adrian ignored Derflinger's protests as he followed the human scents through the maze of furniture displays. Every so often they passed more faceless staff members lying broken on the ground.

A flicker of light caught his attention. Not the red emergency lighting, but something brighter.

They rounded another corner of shelving units, and Adrian saw it - a massive wall built from furniture going up toward the ceiling. Flood lights mounted along the top illuminated the area, and he could make out people moving along walkways near the top.

"Would you look at that," Derflinger whispered. "They've built themselves a fortress out of furniture!"

Two figures stood at an open gate in the wall, waving frantically at Adrian.

"Hey!" One of them shouted. "Quick, get inside before more Staff show up!"

Adrian walked toward the gate, studying the construction. Beds and tables had been stacked and secured together to form surprisingly sturdy barriers. Power cables ran up the walls to the lights above.

"You're lucky," the other guard said as Adrian stepped through. "Most people don't survive long out there at night."

The gate closed behind him with a heavy thud. Adrian found himself in what looked like a small town. Makeshift buildings filled the space, constructed from various pieces of furniture. People were carrying supplies or huddled around portable heaters.

A sign hung from the ceiling far above: "Exchange and Returns"

"Welcome to Exchange," the first guard smiled. "I'm Sandra, and this is Jerry. You're safe now."

"THE STORE IS NOW CLOSED," echoed from outside the walls.

"Yeah yeah, we know!" Jerry yelled back. "Damn Staff never shut up about it."

"How many people are here?" Adrian asked, looking around at the settlement.

"About fifty right now," Sandra replied. "Other towns have more. Some less. How long were you out there?"

"I just arrived."

Jerry's eyes widened. "Just arrived? Like, you just appeared here?"

"Something like that."

"Well, you're gonna want to talk to Chris then," Sandra pointed toward a building made from office furniture. "He's been here the longest, knows more about this place than anyone."

"PLEASE EXIT THE BUILDING."

The voice outside was joined by others, and they steadily grew louder.

"Sounds like they're gathering again," Jerry sighed. "Better get inside. They'll lose interest eventually."

Adrian nodded and headed toward the office building, while Derflinger muttered quietly:

"At least these humans seem normal. You're not really going to eat them, right? Right?"