Chapter 1: Of Humans and Flowers.

Long ago, two races ruled the earth: HUMANS and MONSTERS. One day, war broke out between the two races. After a long battle, the humans were victorious. They sealed the monsters underground with a magic spell.

Or, so we thought.

It was always that there were humans, and there were monsters, and one was evil, the one that lost. I knew that. Monsters had attacked us, monsters had been defeated, and monsters had been sealed away, never to be seen again, because they were evil.

But, I was always curious what a monster looked like. I would read books about the time of monsters before bed, but they were never picture books. I longed to see one for myself.

X777...

I think it was a time in July.

Mt. Ebott is a fabled mountain. Nobody who climbs it comes back.

...

The flowers were soft beneath me. I recognized them from the surface. They were called golden flowers, and their pods really stuck to your clothes. I had fallen in them when playing outside before, and knew I wouldn't be getting them off my clothes any time soon. I just sat up and began to walk in the only direction I could. I once again came to a flower bed, but this one was rather suspicious.

"Howdy!"

I leapt nearly a foot in the air when the golden flower spoke. Looking closer at it, it had big bubble eyes and a wide grin. Talk about creepy!

"I'm Flowey! Flowey the flower!" he said, then lowered his eyelids in a knowing manner, "you're new to the underground, aren'tcha? Golly, you must be so confused! Someone ought to teach you how things work around here. I guess little old me will have to do!"

How things work around here...? Isn't it the same as on the surface...?

"Ready? Here we go!"

Then, I felt the breath get sucked right out of my chest. For a few moments, my eyesight seemed to sharpen, and I could see every detail of the flower. Then, my view changed. Between Flowey and I was a stereotypical depiction of a heart on television. Then, suddenly, I felt as if I WAS that heart. In fact, when I focused enough, my perspective shifted so there was nothing between Flowey and myself. After a few tries, I could make a split perspective in my mind, so I could see from my body and from the heart. I discovered that, with great mental ease, I could move the heart around within a certain area. I also discovered that my body was completely transparent, and wasn't doing much in terms of movement.

"That heart? It's your SOUL! The very culmination of your being! Your SOUL starts out weak, but can get stronger if you gain lots of LV! LV stands for LOVE, of course! You want some LOVE, don't you? Don't worry, I'll share some with you!"

Little white things shot from his body to surround him. They reminded me of ninja stars.

"Here in the underground, LOVE is shared through... Little... White... 'Friendliness Pellets'! Here! Get as many as you can!"

The friendliness pellets shot forward, and I moved forward to get one.

Pain instantly coursed through my body. It was worse than tripping, or even breaking your arm. I felt as if all of my body was crunched into one place, then shot. If it was a bit worse, I imagine I would have fainted.

"You idiot!" Flowey said, his face suddenly contorting into a demonic smile. "In this world, it's kill or be killed. Why would ANYONE pass up an opportunity like this?"

I clutched my side, barely able to register his words through the pain. However, I could tell I was in danger.

"DIE."

He formed a ring of pellets formed around my SOUL, slowly closing in. Even when I focused, there was no opening to escape, and I knew another hit would kill me. Desperately, from every perspective I could muster up the concentration for, I searched for a way out. Then, the pellets vanished, and a blast knocked Flowey into the darkness.

"Oh, my. What a horrible thing, attacking an innocent who knows nothing of the underground. I'm glad I arrived in time."

A stunningly beautiful woman appeared before me. She had long, white hair, her bangs tied up to give her face an almost childish look. She wore a red dress decorated with pink ribbons. Somehow, her presence made me feel much safer.

"Hello, child. Welcome to the ruins. My name is Mirajane. Here, come with me. I'll help you make it through unharmed."

With that, the woman turned to walk away.

"Are you... Are you a monster?"

"Hm?"

Mirajane turned around, blinking at me.

I repeated my question.

"That's what you call us on the surface, isn't it? Yes, I'm a native to the underground," she replied.

"But you look like a human..."

"Monsters ARE humans, so it's not very surprising," Mirajane replied with a smile.

"What?!"

"Oh my. They don't tell the truth anymore, do they?" Mirajane sighed sadly.

The truth...?

"Monsters are just humans who have been locked down here. There was a big civil war... And our side lost. The human leaders used magic to lock us down here forever... And the magic barrier had a side effect on us down here... It changed our bodies' composition, and how we work... Oh, my! How tense you are!"

I had tensed up during the story.

"Don't worry," Mirajane said, smiling gently. "The barrier won't have an effect on you. It only changed those down here when it was put up and those born here. Now, it's like we're a completely different species... Some of us are more affected than others, of course, but it doesn't hurt anyone, so we've learned to live with it over time. Now come."

Mirajane then walked away. For all my doubts and fears, I felt I could trust Mirajane. She was so kind, and had a warm, loving feel to her.

So I followed.

Even in the darkness, a flower blooms. So sayeth the river man.