Joshua sighed as he stood before his wooden desk, hand hovering over his keyboard as he stared at an open text document on his monitor. Seemingly frozen, wishing he could move but unable to do so.

Joshua's mind was blank, uninspired yet forcing itself to try. It had been six months since his last post, and this was supposed to be the last one. The story's ending. He clenched his hand close, biting his bottom lip as he stared at his laptop for a few more moments. "Not today either huh?" he then mumbled, to nobody in particular but himself and maybe at the still empty document ahead of him.

He pulled down the laptop's screen, closing it and setting it on sleep mode before dropping it into the case he held within his other hand. He watched the computer's blinking with a gloomy expression, as he closed the zipper over it.

"Josh it's breakfast time!" His mother shouted from the other side of the flat, seemingly undeterred by walls and doors.

"Yeah..." He pulled himself together, motivating himself for the rest of the day "Yeah!" he then shouted, to make sure his mother knows he heard her the first time. Already dressed up for the last day of school before the holidays began, he raised his laptop case straps over his shoulders and stepped out of his room. Eager for breakfast.

---

Joshua stared up at the massive school building, two decades old and still holding. This was a place of learning, a world of wisdom and intelligence. Yet still, no matter where he looked inspiration for his book seemed to evade him. Even as he threaded through the long hallways, full of adverts, posters, and straight up art. He sought it out openly, but nothing came to mind.

The rest of the day was as expected, homeroom with his teachers and the few breaks in between spent with his classmates. Then finally it arrived, the time for the entire school to gather at the main hall. Lined up, as well as students could be. Joshua stood at the back with three of his friends, as always speaking under their breath and snickering.

But as of today, he couldn't get himself to fake it anymore. He couldn't hide it, as it now bothered him all too much.

And his friends noticed.

"Something off Josh?" Rainer asked, his childhood friend since preschool.

Joshua shrugged "It's nothing..."

Rainer elbowed him in the arm "Spill it, it's all over your damn face."

"It's nothing, really!" Joshua responded while rubbing his arm. He was never the athletic type, unlike Rainer.

Rainer sighed while glancing at the other two, still bickering over the previous topic "Fine man, can't help those that don't ask for it." he said, before returning to the conversation.

Joshua, on the other hand, looked away. He wasn't in the mood ("I can't ask them for help...do they even write? No I need to figure this out myself, it's my story after all.")

He spent the next few minutes contemplating, the same things he'd been for the past few months. As if hoping, that thinking about it further will bring out results within this short span of time where an eternity in comparison did not. He began as usual, listing his characters then plotting the story in his mind.

For the characters, he listed who they were, where they were and what they were doing. Thinking of what they were capable of last, as that was the most tangible part of Fantasy. Then the story as a whole, what had occurred, what is happening now and what should happen compared to what he wants to happen.

Joshua was a very imaginative person, as his mind raced for ideas. Those ideas seemed to come to life before him, as he pictured them, heard them, felt them.

Suddenly he stood at the scene he was stuck upon,

The lone warrior, bloodied and bruised from the head down as he kneeled. The warrior was seemingly on the brink of defeat, his weapon shattered, his armour falling apart. His body was also void of energy, the magic he once wielded so expertly now emptied. A well ran dry.

And before him, as the world rose and shattered around them. His enemy stood, staring down at his weakness in amusement.

The demon chuckled, a wicked laugh as the power of pure darkness flowed about its embodiment. A triangular torso and long skeletal arms ending in six sharp claws, entirely black and made of a tough glistening carapace. It had no feet, it merely hovered in mid-air uncaring for this world's rules. Its face was also part of its torso, two cruel pitch black eyes shaped like the slits of a snake. Its mouth, a wide lipless smile of wicked fangs.

The warrior...No, the Hero stared up at the creature. He wouldn't fall, he couldn't fall. He didn't want to fall.

This was his time, his destined moment. Will he give in to the darkness? Allow it to shatter this world?

He stood up, shakily so and trying hard not to fall back down. Facing the malevolent being, as it cackled at his struggle.

"A pointless effort, why endure the agony when I can end you so painlessly?" The demon asked as it opened its arms wide. The earth around them rose higher, stone shattering, vegetation tore out and ripped apart..."You should know by now yet you deny it, you struggled and endured for so long...Yet what have you earned by it? Nothing but more pain, more loss. You live a tragedy, blinded by the belief that it is some heroic tale that won't end as one."

The hero grimaced, a mixed response caused by the pain that riddled his body and the heavy feeling that weighed down his heart. "This won't end...as you want it to!" he shouted at the demon, his voice wavering.

The demon's smile widened, stretching out impossibly so as it bared its black fangs oozing a greenish saliva "The foolishness of you...Hue-manz, astounds me." it laughed openly now, a wickedly wet cackle that pained his ears to even listen to "Beyond stubbornness, beyond ignorance. I will never understand, why you pride yourself so of your weaknesses."

It loomed over him, a giant before his human form. He felt it then just as before, the mind-shattering power that he'd been fending off all these past hours. It seeped into his very mind, scrambling his thoughts, messing with his emotions. Making a mockery of his inner voice, as it spoke directly into his thought.

Kneel and crumble you lowly creature, begone from our path for we are truly just. This world is ours, it was made for us, it was formed for our pleasure and hunger. You have no claim over it, alas we would take it even then. It is ours and there is nothing you can do to make it otherwise.

The hero fell back to his knees, grasping his head in pain as his eyes reddened and opened wide. Blood oozed out, from his nose and ears before spurting out from behind his eyes.

Time seemed to freeze, as Joshua's mind locked up. Unsure, unable to think of what will happen next. The same frozen feeling he had been experiencing for a while now, so bad that he ended that chapter as a cliffhanger hoping to write the ending later...

Then suddenly Joshua snapped out of his dreamy gaze, the fantasy world around him revolving back to reality as the hall's bell rang.

"Hey man, you sure you alright?" Damion asked, his other friend. With a worried expression as he shook Joshua by the shoulder "The speech is over, not that you seemed to be on earth while it went on."

"Home-base calling back astronaut Grandwizard, Grandwizard do you receive?" His other friend, Charlie. Speaking with a muffled voice as he covered his mouth with both hands, making static sounds in between. As he stood behind Joshua, before leaning around to look at him.

Joshua groaned as he grabbed Charlie's left arm and pulled it off his mouth "Receiving, tard-base." ("It happened again...") he thought, bummed out but trying not to show it he let go of his arm then turned about "Come on jokers, we still have the last homeroom with Prof. Cornwall"

Charlie raised his hands back to his mouth, breathing strangely and very audibly now "Oh, you think darkness is your ally. But you merely adopted the dar-"

Rainer elbowed him "That's Bane dumbass."

---

Christmas had arrived. Yet still, Joshua lay staring at that empty document.

His mind at war. Between the part screaming for plot-armour and be done with it against the ever-present and stern voice begging him to see reason, to ignore the first voice entirely. He sighed as he lay on his bed, his laptop on the sheets in front of him. He laid back, legs still crossed while resting his head on the pillow. Sighing once more, as he stared up at the room's ceiling.

Should he just pull out the plot armour and be done with it? Or should he just stop? Abandon the story before he ruined it?

He couldn't think of anything else, even as his mother peeked into the room "Come one hun, gran's waiting for us." before quickly walking away, seemingly in a rush.

Joshua forced himself to stand off the bed, quickly shutting his laptop off before putting it away. He was already mostly dressed, only the shoes remained as he leaned down and put them on too. ("I'll figure it out...at some point.") he told himself while leaving the house and approaching the van outside. His mother and two younger sisters already inside, waiting for him.

The drive to his grandparents was, uneventful and mildly depressing as he remained stuck to his phone the entire way. Not writing, or researching. Joshua was reading off the comments that had piled up on his latest chapter over the past months.

Something that he had done several times already, yet new ones kept popping up. The website would notify him and as always, he would end up glued rereading them all.

'Did the author stop writing?' New followers would think.

'Come one, it's been months!' They then would shout, as if it did anything to bring his pen onto the paper and make it move.

But he couldn't move it, he could barely touch the paper with it let alone do so. Yet he just couldn't get himself to put the pen down either, it was his lifeline, his goal, his only true power.

And before he knew it, the car had stopped. Snapping him out of his daze, as his younger sisters screeched like banshees while dashing out of the vehicle.

"Gran gran!" the twins shouted, running towards their grandmother's embrace.

Joshua took a deep breath, as he stepped out of the car after his mother. He tried to look fine, he didn't want to worry others over something like this. He approached the large two-story house, a forced smile on his face.

"Come in come in! Everybody's already here." His grandmother exclaimed as she showed them inside. Joshua followed through the large wooden door, through the first decorative room and then into the living room where most of his family resided around a rather extreme Christmas tree.

"Alright, we're all here so let's eat first!" She then shouted, pointedly so at her husband as he snoozed off on the main couch. Everyone gathered around the dining table, more than large enough to fit all two dozen or so of them. The dinner went on without a hitch, briefly moving Joshua's thoughts away from his writing. Laughing at the jokes, listening attentively to everyone's stories.

But he couldn't escape, he couldn't hide from the urge. It crept back, every so slowly reforming in his thoughts.

It was absurd, why couldn't he even enjoy a Christmas dinner without thinking about it?

The dinner finally ended as everyone moved back to the couches and generally laying on the floor, around the large tree with so many presents beneath. Joshua's mind was so out of place that they had to call his name twice, snapping him out of his daze as he rose to take the four presents laid out for him.

He thanked everyone, the presents, as usual being a group effort by several people. Before sitting back and starting to slowly open them up, little excitement on his face as his thoughts reverted back to the issue. Half watching what the present's contents offered, half pondering his story.

("Clothing...") he thought after opening the first present ("Something unknown about the mc's armour?") yet his mind then moved.

("Ah, a Switch and the new Zelda...") opening his second, he was pleased to see it was something he had longed for. But again his mind was relentless ("The weapon? Sure the demon broke it but that doesn't mean it's magic is completely gone?")

He moved on to the third, then fourth. All four times, the thought of what he received being somehow used as fuel to think of how to continue from where he left off. But nothing stuck, nothing piqued his interest. Nothing felt right. Holding back a sigh he again thanked everyone, putting the present aside before sneaking back from the group and into the corridor.

Joshua walked off from the room, so jolly and full of spirit. Yet he felt demoralized, frustrated even. He walked up the stairs, finding his way to the balcony. His favourite spot as a child, looking out at the sea. The ocean wasn't very calm today though, the strong winds forming hungering waves that crashed onto the rocky shores off in the distance. ("That's about how I feel at the moment...") he thought, watching the back and forth of the waves with great interest.

As his mind wandered with the aggressive waters. Finding himself once again, standing, staring down at that one scene.

As the demon hovered its wicked hands over the hero, dark energy oozing out from its fingertips and down into the struggling warrior. The scene though was frozen, an image in time. Joshua watched as it slowly began to wind once more, time recovering. And the scene began to move again.

The hero screamed while blood spurted out of his every orifice, as the demon laughed wholeheartedly "The end is ny, huemanzity's time has come. Long enough was your existence, and this? This weak being is your champion!?" it roared, ferociously so while baring its long fangs. Spitting out the green saliva as it bellowed once more "If only they could see...the weak insect you truly are. Before us, before us Demonkin. Just what fraction of nothing you exactly are!"

The hero felt his throat grow sore from the screaming, as the agony that traversed his body reached its peak. His consciousness waned, but his will to fight was retained. He endured, he fought back against the power that invaded his mind. As suddenly his armour began to glow-

("No...Just no...I'm not going with literal plot-amour!") Joshua thought to himself, breaking out of his own daydreaming to find the waves still crashing ahead. He groaned in annoyance, sinking his head into his arms.

"Something the matter?" said a familiar voice from behind him, making Joshua look up to find his uncle standing leaned onto the doorway.

"Gah...something yeah." Fin was his name, the brother of Joshua's mother. The person who Joshua looked up to, as someone who was not only a writer but had an actual followship, unlike Joshua's meagre hundreds.

Fin moved to look out from the balcony, standing next to the still gloomy Joshua "What's up, little man?"

Joshua cringed, Fin liked to make people cringe "Heh...It's my story." he finally admitted, now pondering if this world's deities had rejoiced.

"Hm, what about it?" Fin then asked, as he also watched the rolling waves.

"I'm sort of stuck, well have been for a while now," responded Joshua, his shoulders slumped down.

"Hah, Writer's block eh?" Fin chuckled "An author's most feared illness."

"Something like that..." Joshua sighed.

"Want to know the cure?" Fin hinted, a playful smirk on his face.

"Do I?" Joshua asked, preparing himself to cringe.

"Tell me, kid have you looked for inspiration?" Fin asked, s he turned to gaze out at the waves.

"Have I..." Joshua responded, heavy-hearted and depressed.

"Ah, but where have you looked?" Fin pressed on.

"I was thinking about it as I opened my presents...It's bad." Joshua admitted.

"Not that, have you looked at other people's works? Talked to others about it?" Fin then asked.

"I don't want to copy off anybody though...and it's my story, I'm the only one that knows the entire plot. How can others help me?" Joshua asked, in disbelief if anything.

Fin chuckled at his reaction "Ah, there's your problem. You don't copy off others son, you take inspiration. Listen to their words, then speak them as yourself. Not as they said them but as you would. Alter the content that inspired you and make it your own."

"But...they're still not my ideas? They'll just be my words..." Joshua countered.

"Ahah...Hm..." Fin thought for a moment, picking his words carefully before responding "Words are just a way for people to express themselves, they give you identity. Ideas on the other hand...they have no identity, ideas flow freely. They come and they go, they're not something people can claim although many try. An idea is...an undrawn image, it can be expressed in many ways so it has no specific identity. It is you, the writer, who gives it one. So let others inspire you with their words, you take the idea and express it in your own words."

Fin turned to glance back as he noticed his sister look into the room, he waved her off not to bother them "Believe it or not that's how this world works. Even the greatest of writers and artists took inspiration from others."

"Right...Did they also have their work haunt them in their dreams?" his expression seemed to be melting with depression now.

Fin laughed "Probably yes, but you shouldn't think too hard about it either. The stress will get to you, just take it slow. Tell yourself you're taking a break, tell your readers too if you need to." he scrambled Joshua's well-kept hair before walking off "Either way, some stories just don't have an end. Maybe you can leave it up to your readers how it ends." he said, waving him off as he walked away.

"I could?..." ("But they'd probably mess it all up...") Joshua thought before suddenly realizing something "How did he know I was stuck on the ending?"

---

The days passed by, with Joshua still stuck on that one scene. It wasn't like he didn't try, he searched and searched. Thinking back to stories he read, movies he watched and even games he played. But nothing fit, nothing stuck with what he wanted for the story.

And it was already almost new years. Slowly, Joshua began to believe he really should just stop. That all this just had to be unhealthy.

"Come on J! or we'll miss the festivities!" shouted Claire with great excitement, one of his twin sisters, as she ran past his open door.

He smiled at her enthusiasm ("Hyper, the both of them.") he thought as the second twin briefly after ran by as well.

"J! J! Come!" Krissy shouted as she ran after her sister.

Joshua rose from his chair, pushing it back under the desk. He closed his laptop but took his phone with, he never went anywhere without at least either. Putting his phone into his pocket Joshua left the room, now glancing around as he took in everything within sight. His mind raced, searching for that one idea that escaped him.

And escaping it continued, right up until he stepped out of his mother's car. Having arrived at their destination. Joshua tried to put it out of his mind, to not think about it anymore. ("New year new me right? I guess if I can't I can't, no point pondering on the impossible.") he resigned himself, hoping to at least enjoy himself at this new year's party.

And he did, for what few hours went by before the adults pulled out the drinks. It was nearing midnight as he sat next to his two sisters, exhausted from running around all day the kids were left on the long sofa in this hall. Asleep, snoring with the weariness.

But Joshua wasn't tired just yet, even as his eyes disagreed he simply couldn't fall asleep. He thought it must be the noise, the others were making quite the ruckus with the music and shouting after all. It was getting obnoxious so he decided to find a quieter place, climbing up the stairs to the second floor where they were and then the next set up onto the roof where there was barely anybody.

He still heard them up here but at least the roof had a door he could close, which he did. And it helped ever so slightly.

Joshua stood at the railing, leaning over as he watched the city's lights flashing all over from the festivities. He took out his phone, and finally decided to do the right thing as he thought it was right ("It really is unhealthy.") he thought, whilst opening his story's webpage.

His finger hovered over the delete button, for what felt like an eternity ("I don't want to deal with the backlash of abandoning and trying something else...Would they ever forgive me for leaving? Guess not huh?") his finger drew closer when suddenly his phone vibrated.

The lock screen appeared as if blocking him from making a mistake. Over it was a message, with a link to some Discord server on it.

Fin; Thought I'd introduce you to some people, knowing you, you're probably still trying to figure it out on your own eh? Ask for help kid, there's no shame in it. Try your best, try anything you can. Just don't give up until you've drained every resource possible. Also, happy new years o/

Joshua's face filled with colourful hues as the sky above him lit up like the fourth of July, fireworks of all kinds filling it. He glanced up briefly at the bright lights, as they exploded, flashed and spread out. "No harm in it huh?..." he looked back down at his phone, pressing the link. The app opened, notifying him if he wished to join the selected server. "Ask for help..." he mumbled out loud as he agreed to join.

And then his mind began to race. As the dreaded scene appeared before him once more, the hero frozen in a losing fight against the villain. He looked at it, still unsure of what to do. So he held his phone, already set on the appropriate channel.

And he asked for help.

He asked people he didn't know in the slightest, people that didn't know him either. It wasn't many, a handful of them at best. But they flooded him with ideas, good and bad it didn't matter. They tried, they sent them his way. Small snippets of how to continue and even downright elaborate scenes.

"This is it..." Joshua spoke to himself, as he glanced away from the chat and at the frozen scene that his mind presented "There's nothing wrong with asking for help..." he smiled widely, a childish smile full of joy and excitement. "I can do it, with help, I can finish this story."

And Joshua tried, setting into place each idea they sent his way. Giving each his own twist, made through his own words. Even when they didn't fit, even when they were just stupid they were still funny. He enjoyed it, he truly did. Asking for help might not help him finish his story but at least it elevated the weight on his heart.

That is until he realised. "Asking for help..." Joshua mumbled out loud, still in a daze and picturing the scene. He realised, his uncle wasn't just giving him advice on where to find ideas.

He was giving him an idea in of itself.

The philosophical gears inside Joshua's mind began turning after so many months spent frozen, as the scene before him took life once more.

As the hero struggled and bled, barely holding out against the malevolent demon. "The end is now, huemanzity's time has come. Long enough was your existence, and this? This weak being is your champion!?" it roared, ferociously so while baring its long fangs. Spitting out the green saliva as it bellowed once more "If only they could see...the weak insect you truly are. Before us, before us Demonkin. Just what fraction of nothing you exactly are!"

The hero could do nought but struggle, the demon's strength overcoming his own willpower. Then the demon suddenly hovered back, as it looked around in surprise. Giving the hero a breather from the pain, as he felt the demon's power slowly retreat from his mind.

He looked up and through his smudged, bloody vision. Glancing from left to right...tears filled his eyes as he saw them appear one by one.

Warriors he had fought and defeated for the title of champion. Mages he had brought down and foiled their selfish plans. And others, many he knew not at all.

They surrounded him, weapons ready as they faced the demon.

As the wicked creature chuckled "And what exactly do you peons think you're doing?"

The Hero rose, aided up by two others before he stood his own ground. He wiped the blood and tears from his eyes, now able to somewhat see more clearly. He looked up, meeting the demon's gaze of hatred with his own. Staring up not with amusement or equal hate, but instead sympathy.

As he spoke "You being who knows not companionship, you creatures who only know the self. You will never take this world as long as we stand upon it, for even when we are separate we shall stand together in the time of need." he raised his hand up towards the demon, pointing his finger shakily "One of you might be stronger, but you are alone."

He then gestured at the small army around him "We, on the other hand. Are only alone if we decide to be." and the warriors charged, weapons held ready as they leapt at the screeching demon. While from behind them mages flared their magic, flames and sharp winds flying over and converging on the wicked creature.

The battle for earth, had only just begun.