Jin, a 27-year-old man, grew up feeling somewhat excluded from the other kids during his teenage years. Still, he found something that gave him joy: Sonic the Hedgehog. But what truly captivated him were the AUs—especially the darker, gore-themed ones. At first, they frightened him. Eventually, he came to love them. His favorites were 2011X and, later on, the new guard—Shin Sonic. Even after all these years, his fascination with those two never faded in the slightest.
…
Now, in a pitch-black void, Jin stood before a mirror he had created himself. Yes created. In its reflection was an anthropomorphic hedgehog with dark blue fur and slightly wrinkled skin—barely noticeable unless you looked closely. Across his torso was a massive red X.
"It's kind of poetic how I became you, X…" the hedgehog said, his voice tired yet calm. With a simple flick of his hand, the mirror vanished. The space around him was empty. Completely, utterly empty.
"Well, technically I am him… just not a psychopath," he added quietly, revealing a subtle difference from X.
His eyes, which should have been blood-red, were instead a serene, tranquil green. The tears of blood were still there—but that was beside the point.
"Well, I guess I should do something. First, let's change the space itself."
He extended his hand. With visible mental strain, the void bent to his will, reshaping into a vast expanse filled with floating rings of countless colors drifting through the air.
"Okay. Better," Lord X said with a hint of satisfaction.
He pointed toward an empty stretch of space. Red energy gathered in his palm, crackling violently, and with immense effort he forged an entire planet into existence.
"God… that was exhausting. I'm still not on X's level," he muttered, steadying his breathing before teleporting down to the newborn world.
…
Some time later, Lord X sat on a stone, breathing heavily as he tried to recover.
"X, I love your lore and all, but seriously—couldn't I have a younger body? I don't even have souls to use as batteries and—"
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, an idea flashing across his mind.
"Of course! I just need souls to come here. I'll take only a small portion of their energy, and that's it."
A grin spread across his face as he stood up and stretched, cracking his back. With a snap of his fingers, he manifested an old brown hoodie—resembling the one worn by his counterpart, Lord Mortis.
"Well, time to work. Let's start with the place of my first devotees. I just need to do something like the All-Father does. The more knowledge I gather, the more power I generate. But how…"
He struck a thinker's pose, staring at the distant hills.
"Let's take a look at the mortal world."
A projection formed before him, like a floating screen. He scrolled through it until something familiar caught his eye. The image stopped on a house.
"Where have I seen this before…?"
He frowned.
"Better to explore it myself than stare at a screen."
He began considering how to leave this realm. Then he remembered a detail—in the Archie comics, Anti-Sonic, later known as Scourge, possessed a special ring that allowed him to travel without the Cosmic Interstate. Almost instantly, a massive red ring materialized before him. He blinked in mild surprise.
"Well… better than nothing."
He stepped through. The transition felt similar to Sonic CD's time travel—reality warping and twisting as he passed through the portal.
…
In the middle of a forest, a gigantic red ring appeared. A ball of dark blue quills shot out of it, hovering in midair before reshaping into Lord X.
"Not bad. This brings back some nostalgia," he said calmly as he walked through the trees, observing everything around him.
Nothing seemed out of place. Perhaps this was simply his world from years earlier—at least in theory.
Then he felt it. Something was wrong.
He turned sharply in a certain direction and, on instinct, turned invisible.
"Shit… I think I have a pretty good idea where the hell I am…"
Tension crossed his face as he watched three beings emerge from a portal in the distance.
(Oh—and one last thing. This story is adopted and reimagined. The original version belonged to mastermanking. Think of this as a kind of remake. If you get the chance, go read the original story—credit where credit is due.)