The connection was cut. The SOUL, vivid and bright inevitably faded away into the darkness of the cage. You didn't open it. You didn't look at it for any other reason to remind yourself that it was over. For now. The knife in your hands clattered to the floor, now unnecessary. You had managed to scare this one off.

You let yourself feel a swell of relief. It was overoverover.

It was only you.

You had no doubt that it would be a fleeting break. That they would return. That some determined and fiery and overwhelming would flood through your veins and bend your will underneath its own. Especially given the circumstances of... whatever earlier today had been.

You took your time moving around, feeling the relief that came to being able to control your own movements. You wished this was something you had gained when you were with Ralsei and Susie.

You strongly wished you could have done more. Expressed your happiness. Told them how glad you were for them to be friends. That you appreciated Ralsei's help, and Suzie's eventual acceptance and friendship. Even Lancer - you wanted to say more. To say anything.

You had been friends with Asriel. They had never let your persist with any other friendships, if they weren't already put off by Toriel's overly mothering nature in regards to spending time with you. But Asriel had been subjected to it too, so he hadn't minded.

But Asriel had been gone for a while now. You were lonely.

You fell back unto the bed, the soft comforter soothing and tightly gripped in your hands. You were tired of this. Of being a prisoner in your own body.

You looked at the shelves around you, empty and void of trinkets. It was impossible to keep anything precious and untouched and wholly yours. You had tried fighting against it, and had even tried hiding objects under the floorboards. They were inevitably found by the more determined ones. You remembered the ball of junk that had been in your pocket, something that had been important once, but had been broken by another. It had been discarded with ease.

You hated it.

You stopped trying.

You resisted the urge to crawl into Asriel's bed, knowing it would fail to soothe your upset at today. You almost longed for Toriel's presence but refused to wake her anymore. She was tolerant but if you pressed too much she would become concerned.

You knew, with knowledge as set as the fact that one day you would die, that there was nothing to be done. That it would only make things harder.

So you sat in your bed, something in you aching and the seeds of dread planted in you, staring at the glow in the dark stars plastered on Asriel's side of the room. You tried to relax, but knew it was futile.

Tomorrow would come, and you would have to play puppet once more.

You too, will begin the futility of your actions. You recalled Seam's rasping voice, clear in your mind. Those words meant something to you, even if they were not what may have been intended.

It felt so very hopeless.

You didn't sleep.

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