Syphus smiled sheepishly, knowing a few of the pub's patrons were staring at him, mostly out of curiosity what the guy they had seen scrubbing the walls and floors was saying to Grillby with all that nervousness. Sans, sitting to his side, wasn't being of any help, resting his head on his hand and looking at Syphus with some sort of playfully cruel amusement. Stop enjoying how I'm floundering, you jackass "...so yeah...thank you for everything. I'm really grateful for all your help"
Grillby said nothing.
"So as I said, uh, thank you. I won't forget your kindness"
"smooth"
"Shut up, Sans"
Grillby nodded, putting aside the glass he was cleaning. "...take care". It was hard to know how Grillby felt, but Syphus had the feeling he was largely indifferent.
"I will! Thank you!"
Sans took a sip of the bottle of ketchup, chuckling. "'phus, lemme ask you somethin': how long did you last in this job? almost two weeks?"
"Don't say it like that, it's not like I was fired!" it took him a couple seconds to realize what he just said, he turned his head around to glance at Grillby. "No pun intended" All Grillby did was sigh as if this was something he was very used to. "Sans, I'm just going to work for Undyne. You know what they say about looking for greener pastures"
"in other words: she pays you more"
"...okay, that may be true, but—"
The dots of light inside Sans' eye sockets focused on Grillby. "you hear that? he thinks you're cheap"
"That's not what I said!"
"i know, i'm just teasing you" Sans got off the barstool, pushing aside the empty bottle of ketchup. "put it on my tab" he said to Grillby before walking alongside Syphus out of the pub.
It was hard to think of a day as sunny when you were underground, but somehow the day was almost...bright. The ceiling of the cavern couldn't be seen, all there was up there was pitch black, but it still felt like it was a rather nice day. Sans and Syphus walked through Snowdin, greeting the residents of the town along the way, until they exited Snowdin, going in direction of the Ruins. "frisk's staying with us for a while. they said they got to the resort but they don't want to go in yet"
"Are they feeling nervous?"
"they're not sure they want to meet mtt. can't blame them, mettaton can be a handful" they ascended the cliffs, entering the forests of Snowdin "what about you? having second thoughts after yesterday's ordeal?"
He'd be lying if he said he wasn't having seconds thoughts despite what he had said the day before, but it wasn't like backing down was an option. Either they shattered the barrier, or they stayed trapped in the Underground forever, and Syphus had very clear what he preferred. Sure, he wasn't sure if what the team had accidentally done had been harmless and inconsequential, but it almost seemed like it was! He asked several people if they had noticed anything off anywhere, but nobody had seen any changes or something that could indicate there was something going very wrong somewhere.
"I HAVE SEEN NO CHANGES HERE IN SNOWDIN, AND THE HOUSE IS STILL INTACT"
"The guards have seen nothing strange"
"Nothing has changed in our village"
"I asked the king, he hasn't seen anything weird either"
Now he was going to the Ruins, intending to ask the queen if anything had changed in there. After leaving Sans at his sentry station, Syphus entered the Ruins, walking down the purple corridor until he entered Toriel's house. Toriel seemed to be rather glad to see him, although once they started talking she went straight to chiding him for going out. "I'm aware you have a useful disguise, but you shouldn't leave the village" He had kept the firefly brooch on. Even though he was with Toriel and she knew how he usually looked, he didn't want to risk someone entering Toriel's house and seeing a human talking with the queen.
"I'm sorry, I just wanted to talk to you again"
"We could have talked later. Today I have to take more food to the village" she looked at the pile of boxes she had in the hall. "Now that there are seven humans in the Underground, I'll need to prepare more food for you all" Looks like she still isn't aware of Frisk.
Syphus opened one of the boxes. It certainly was a good thing that monster food didn't spoil. It wouldn't taste as good the more time passed, but it wasn't like anyone would get food poisoning from it. Pies, fruit, containers that were full of grains, smaller packages with varied foods, it all was packed carefully in large amounts. "You really take care of us all so much..."
"It's the least I can do for my children" she smiled sadly "Although only two could be considered children. I suppose once you get to be of my age you think of a lot of people as rather young..."
"Your age?"
"I have lived a long life, Syphus, thousands of years. Some of them were rather happy, others not so much, to say the least!" she laughed a bit, but there was something empty in that laugh "But I think I'd like to focus more on what I have now and in the nice things there are to see. Life is a beautiful thing; don't you agree?"
"Yeah, definitely"
"Children are just starting their lives. You humans don't live as long as some monsters do, but it's a long life nonetheless. I know the place you're living in now is rather small, but I'm going to try to make your life more bearable than it'd otherwise be down here"
"It's the same than how monsters feel underneath this mountain; I guess..." he divided the piles in shorter stacks, to try to make her task easier.
Toriel looked at him with resigned expression. "Goodness, no! That's not an excuse for you to be feeling trapped. If it was up to me, I'd place you all in New Home or in any other place you want. I know you may not believe it, but monsters are rather welcoming" she closed another box, putting it with the rest "But the war is making the current situation rather...troublesome. All these years I have been trying all I can to convince monsters to stop the war. I may be the Queen, but that doesn't mean I can tell everyone what to think"
"That means you weren't successful with that?"
"Oh, I'm doing a good job so far, if I may say that! The problem is that there are too many monsters in the Underground, and Asgore continues his efforts to perpetuate this war. At least I have convinced many of the guards to support me"
"Even though they don't know about humans actually being down here?"
Toriel looked away, pretending to adjust her crown. "It's not that I don't trust them. It's just a precaution, just in case..." She doesn't trust not even the guards that support her, I guess. Syphus had no idea if that was good or not. Maybe it didn't matter, as long as they were on her side.
You understand Toriel's efforts to help in this difficult situation
Your bond with Toriel will get stronger soon.
When Syphus asked if they had noticed anything strange in the Ruins, she replied nobody had seen anything – and then contradicted herself almost immediately: "Now that I think about it, someone mentioned something unusual..."
"Unusual? Like what?"
"Someone spilled ink near the fence I placed deep in the ruins. It's odd the guards that patrol those areas didn't see who did that, but it's something to note"
Ink...could it be part of a Shadow? Was the large gaping hole Syphus had come from still active deep in the Ruins? Syphus tried to ignore the creeping feeling on his back, his feathers bristled. "Uh, um, that's...strange, yeah"
Unsurprisingly, Toriel noticed his unease. She put aside the box she was holding a put a hand on his shoulder. "There's no reason to be unsettled. That must have been just a monster being careless with ink, there's nothing to be afraid of"
Unconvinced, he nodded. Explaining to Toriel what the ink stains meant would be a problem, it was better to avoid that. "...yeah, you're right"
He really hoped she was right. If Shadows came into the real world, it was unlikely they'd come in peace.
-ooooo-
Syphus threw the rock, hitting the wall on the other side of the hall. Having heard the noise, the guard in front of the fence hurried to go to where the sound came from, giving Syphus enough time to sprint to the fence and jump over it, making sure to not stop until he was far away enough of the fence to not be heard.
What Toriel had said about ink having been found worried him a lot – mostly because of what had happened in Waterfall. The thought of Shadows swarming into the Underground was anguishing, he wanted to stomp any thoughts that indicated that was what was going on. Indeed, there were puddles of ink on the floor, still fresh and goopy. Syphus poked one of the puddles, making a face of disgust. "Tell me this is just ink, for real..." he hoped, going towards where he remembered the entrance to where he had come from was. Along the way, he found more sludge, until he entered the right room. There it was, the pool of ink on the wall, bubbling and looking like something would come out of it in any moment. For a moment Syphus regretted not having gone to get his halberd first, but maybe it was okay to take a look, as long as he stayed near the entrance. Syphus approached, turned off his brooch just in case, took a deep breath, and hesitantly started reaching with his hands, until the tip of his fingertips touched the sludge, feeling how the viscous substance glued to his skin. Grossed out, he withdrew his hands, staring at his fingertips. They were pristine.
"I better not regret this" he murmured, making a SAVE point, crouching and extending a hand through the rift. It felt like he was passing his hand through thick pudding, but once he was past that, he was able to touch floor on the other side. A bit encouraged there wasn't a large empty void on the other side, Syphus slowly passed through the rift.
The other side looked like it was part of the Ruins. Was it like the other Waterfall and Snowdin he had seen just the day before? It was hard to know, since any purple mist would blend with the walls and floor of the Ruins, once he entered it was clear something was very wrong, though.
Many parts of the room right on the other side were covered in the same black sludge that supposedly formed Shadows. It was actively dripping, moving around like slugs, but he saw no mask that could show any of it was a Shadow that could attack him. Syphus stepped further in, avoiding any big puddle of sludge, looking around himself for anything that could be dangerous to him.
Right outside the room there was a bifurcation. Syphus peered as far as he could in them, seeing how the paths continued in opposite directions. The Ruins weren't labyrinthine, but he didn't think the other side of the Underground would be exactly like the real Underground. The vines on the wall swayed as if there was a constant breeze passing through, the ink caking the place rippled. It all felt eerie, he really didn't like to be there. Slowly, he chose a direction and got deeper in. He didn't get very far before he accidentally stepped on one of the many puddles.
Immediately, a mask surfaced on the puddle, like a mushroom sprouting from the floor. The brown mask stared at him, a pair of arms emerged. "Oh, crap...!" he said loudly, dodging the Devious Maya's attempt to grab him. One by one more Shadows emerged, mostly Mayas. I have to get out of here now!
As if they sensed he was going to run away, one of the Mayas attacked, a large white orb appeared in the air, swiftly descending to the floor. Syphus was too busy running away to realize the extent of the Megidolaon attack he just avoided, but he felt how the air heated up, how it felt like a static charge filled the air, his hair felt like the wind was going to tear his hair off his head. He was out of his league right now.
He didn't look back not even once until he passed through the rift back into the real world. Syphus fell to the floor, slamming his hands against the surface and rolled to see the rift, crawling backwards and feeling how his heart pounded against his ribs. The rift kept moving like something large was coming out in any moment, but nothing happened. Had the Mayas not followed him? Were they unable to pass through? Maybe Syphus himself had been able to pass through when he first arrived because he was meant to be in the real world, thanks to the manipulations of higher beings, but still...
...he really didn't like what was going on recently.
-ooooo-
Igor didn't react much when Syphus asked if it was possible for Shadows to swarm into the real world. Alphonse looked at him nervously, clutching the book and looking like they really wanted a negative answer, but Igor nodded.
"Yes, it's possible for that to happen"
"Master?" Alphonse suddenly stood up, approaching Igor and conferring with him quietly. They sounded like they had an urgent matter to talk about. Even though Syphus tried not to listen, he felt his curiosity flaring up, he almost wanted to lean forward to hear better, but before he could take a decision, Igor and Alphonse separated. The attendant huffed and sat down heavily on their chair, annoyed. "I have bad news, Syphus"
"Really now. What is it?" It couldn't be worse than the possibility hostile Shadows could invade the real world, right?
Alphonse closed their eyes, uncomfortable. "I'm sorry for not telling you before, but you have to complete your mission before a certain date"
"What...?"
"If you don't, Shadows will invade the Underground"
Syphus stared at Alphonse and Igor intermittently, as if expecting any of them to start laughing and say that was a joke. "...no, seriously, what?"
"What you saw yesterday was the mass unconscious. You should have never been able to enter it from Waterfall, but you did! Do you see what's the problem now? Just like you went into the mass unconscious, it's possible something from there can enter the real world"
It made some sense, but Syphus didn't fully understand yet. He opened his mouth a few times, at a loss of words, and finally shrieked, exasperated. "Why wasn't I informed earlier?!"
"S-Sorry, it slipped from my mind" Alphonse lied and looked away.
"Indeed...it appears you weren't meant to find out until now" Igor said.
"Why?" Syphus insisted.
Igor extended a hand, soothing. "Because you may not have realized the gravity of the situation if you had been told before. Now that you saw firsthand what we mean by this possibility, you'll be able to endure your task properly"
Syphus wasn't sure if that logic made sense or not. It still felt like suddenly he had been thrown into the deep end of the pool and told to sink or swim, but at least they were right about something: he fully realized just how bad things could get. "I see...okay, uh...how much time do we have to shatter the Barrier?"
"Four months counting from the moment you arrived to the Underground" Alphonse answered.
"So...120 days. Right now this is the—"
Day 20
Okay, it could be worse! There was still a lot of time yet, and if they had done so much progress in just twenty days, that should mean they'd be able to complete their goal before even two months passed! Well, actually, it all relied on how soon someone would get attacked. Supposing it all continued at the same rhythm it had so far, he'd have around two months to complete all the Social Links. Not too bad! Sure, there were nine he still had to start yet, if his knowledge about tarot was accurate, but hey, he had all the time in the world!
As if Igor guessed what was going through Syphus' head, he added: "Another reason why you didn't hear about this until now is because otherwise you would have gotten complacent"
"Just because there's three months left doesn't mean you can rest easy" Alphonse said, standing up and extending a hand "Come on, let me help you"
"What's the plan?" Syphus accepted the hand, getting pulled up to his feet and being led towards the couch near the entrance of the Velvet Room. Alphonse tilted his head, looking at the couch with inscrutable expression.
"Lucia and I spent the last few days looking for someone you should talk with. Lucia says you owe this man an apology"
"This man?" Syphus slowly questioned, passing a hand in the air above the couch. "There's nobody here"
"There's someone, but his existence is very faint. Tell me, does the name 'W.D. Gaster' mean anything to you?"
The mere mention of that name made Syphus freeze, blinking in surprise. That was a name he didn't expect to hear again. Old buried guilt resurfaced. How not to know that name? He had accidentally killed that scientist after he tried to help him. "Y-Yeah, I know that name…"
Alphonse didn't seem too worried, putting a hand on Syphus' back, calming. "Don't think too hard about what happened. Take it from me, when you did something wrong, the best thing you can do is apologize and try to fix the situation" he took his hand off Syphus' back "Besides you remember the contract you signed, right?"
I chooseth this fate of mine own free will.
He made his choices. He needed to take responsibility of his actions. That was impossible to forget. Syphus fidgeted, twiddling with his fingers with doubt. "So what am I supposed to do now?"
"Go ahead, apologize"
To the empty air? That seemed silly, but no more impossible than the existence of the Velvet Room, Shadows and Personas. Feeling a knot in his throat, Syphus licked his lips and hesitantly spoke: "Uh, Dr. Gaster? It's—it's me, Syphus. Long time no see…"There was no reply. Syphus glanced at Alphonse, who gestured him to continue. "Look, I'm sorry for…for what happened forty-six years ago"
Nothing happened, the couch continued as empty as before. Maybe he had to go into detail about what he did? Admitting to an accident that led to such an unfortunate action ashamed him. He considered telling Alphonse to leave him alone with Gaster. Before he could do that, Alphonse smiled sadly. "It's okay. Lucia already told me all about it"
"She did?"
"…I know it was an accident. You didn't mean to hurt Dr. Gaster…you're not the kind of person that'd harm someone intentionally" they hid their eyes with their cap "I know it doesn't mean much to you, but I know how it feels. I accidentally caused a person's death, too, and left friends suffering because of my actions"
"Alphonse…"
Alphonse clutched the book of Personas tighter, as if they feared letting it go would mean everything around them would disappear. "I know how it feels…the guilt, thinking constantly how stupid you were…I know how it feels to want to pretend it never happened…but you can't. You can't continue pretending that forever" the more they talked, the quieter they were, their voice was trembling a bit "It hurts, Syphus, being so cowardly hurts. It's hard to look at those you hurt and say you're sorry. I wouldn't blame you if after this you never talk to Dr. Gaster again, even if he stays here forever. Running away would be much easier…I know that. I want to run away too"
"Alphonse, are you okay?"
Their voice got much louder. "You were given a chance to apologize. Please, please don't waste it"
There was a very tense and awkward pause, where Alphonse stared at Syphus expectantly and Syphus wasn't sure what to say. Clearly this was a matter of importance to Alphonse, even though Syphus didn't understand why.
You saw a bit more of what's tormenting Alphonse
Your bond with Alphonse isn't ready to get stronger yet.
Time to bite the bullet, I guess… "I'm sorry, Dr. Gaster" he shook his head, getting his thoughts in order. "I was scared, I was afraid to die, and I lashed out. I didn't realize I'd accidentally kill you. It's my fault you were dispersed throughout time and space" What else to say?
The empty space didn't say anything, but it felt like something changed. Where before there was empty air now there was a faint outline of…someone. It was impossible to recognize it as W.D. Gaster, but maybe he really was there. "What did just happen?" Syphus asked to Alphonse, unsure if he should touch the outline.
"Dr. Gaster has been largely forgotten. Your soul was coated in his dust, you should be able to access his memories and rebuild Dr. Gaster bit by bit" the attendant had returned to their normal behavior, talking measuredly. "The more time you spend talking and giving him back his memories, the more Dr. Gaster will exist"
"You mean he'll be resurrected?" he couldn't stop himself from sounding hopeful. Alphonse dashed those hopes immediately, though.
"That's impossible. Dr. Gaster is dead and nothing can change that, but maybe, just maybe, he won't have to be nonexistent anymore" they smiled "Do you understand?"
"I don't understand anything of what you said"
"…that's fine, what matters is that you can do it" Alphonse looked at the outline, still talking to Syphus "If you want to do it. Nobody's going to force you, and like I said, I wouldn't blame you if you don't talk to Gaster again. It's just something else you can do"
You were given a chance to rebuild W.D. Gaster
You feel a faint bond forming between you and Dr. Gaster
Thou art I... And I am thou...
Thou hast established a new bond...
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Hermit Arcana
"So this is what you meant about you helping me" They didn't want Syphus to live with guilt. In Alphonse's opinion, that was a huge favor. Besides, a new Social Link was always useful, although...he doubted he'd try to cultivate it much. To be perfectly frank, he was afraid. He didn't want to face what he had done. Alphonse and Lucia's efforts were a nice gesture, but it was likely it was wasted effort.
He simply didn't feel ready.
Alphonse started leading Syphus out of the Velvet Room, guiding him to the door. "You're doing well so far. Keep going"
"I admit I kind of didn't expect everything to be going so smoothly! Sure, I have died two times, but other than that it's going rather well!"
"It's not that surprising. With all the humans alive and without Flowey getting in your way, it'll all be okay"
Something about the way Alphonse said that got Syphus' attention. He stopped, having placed his hand on the doorknob, and turned around. "Now that you mention it, I haven't seen Flowey at all this whole time"
"Is that strange?"
"Well, yeah! I'd have thought he'd be interested in watching something he hadn't seen in any other timeline, but I haven't even heard about him" he scratched behind his ear "Frisk was wondering where Flowey was, too. I feel like there's something off about all this"
"No, what I mean is why would that be strange? Flowey doesn't exist"
For a moment Syphus stared at Alphonse. "...sorry, I think I heard wrong. Did you say-?"
"Flowey doesn't exist. Didn't Lucia and Cornio tell you?"
It made sense now. It was absolutely impossible Flowey wouldn't show any interest in something so new and different. The only way that'd be possible was if…Alphonse was telling the truth… "No way…" What was the sense of trying to save everyone, if not even everyone existed? Why was Flowey gone?
…the humans. Of course. Flowey existed because the flower Asriel's dust was on had been injected with Determination. Without a human soul to extract Determination from, there was nothing to inject. Alphys never made her experiments. Now that he thought about it, what he had just heard in the MTT Resort restaurant made sense now. Without Alphys' experiments, those monsters whose bodies had been experimented on had all died.
He really should have deduced it long ago.
"…why wasn't I told this?" Syphus murmured, feeling a bit numb. Having realized that maybe they shouldn't have said anything about the topic, Alphonse opened the door out of the Velvet Room, nervously looking away.
"Uh, you should ask that to them, not me" they said rather quickly, and pushed Syphus out of the door "Thank you for visiting the Velvet Room, come back soon" they said, closing the door and leaving Syphus alone with his thoughts.
The piece took a deep breath, feeling cold all of a sudden. Okay, this isn't the end of the world. It was a nasty surprise Flowey doesn't exist, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing.
I can accept it.—I must accept it. Thinking that made him recover a bit from the shock. There's a lot to be done. It's a pity he's gone, but…it's not like I could do anything about that. I shouldn't do anything about that. Right?
He wasn't sure. What if part of the game was to find a way to make Flowey exist despite the timeline's events? No, that couldn't be possible, it was impossible for Flowey to exist – unless…unless he sacrificed one of the humans to use their soul, that is.
"I'm not going to sacrifice anyone!" Syphus shouted without hesitation. It was unthinkable he'd ever do such thing! He was here to help everyone, monsters, humans, himself…to take one of the humans' souls for the sake of someone else was simply unthinkable! Furious at himself for thinking about that for even a moment, Syphus hurried back into the Ruins, running as if he was fleeing from the mere idea.
The thought never left his mind.
-ooooo-
The piece took the news rather well, all things considered. He immediately dismissed the idea of killing a human to acquire their soul and revive Flowey that way, but Sisyphus...he didn't reject the idea. Lucia could see it in his eyes. The way he stared at the board, the glint of a scheming mind...
...not even she could foresee everything that could happen in her own plans. She never thought the tiny fraction of Sisyphus' soul they had placed inside the piece would slowly absorb the rest. She never once considered the possibility this would bring to surface Sisyphus' worst traits, embodying the closest thing there'd ever be to Sisyphus' Shadow.
She could only imagine how far his Shadow would be willing to go for the sake of his goals. Just how much hope and earnest desire to see a good ending for everyone had Sisyphus in him? And how much raw frustration at his lack of success and unfettered determination would turn his otherwise well-intentioned desires into a twisted and sociopathic will to achieve what he wanted?
Apparently his now-twisted desires were winning the battle in Sisyphus' mind.
"I'm starting to feel like you guys are hiding way too much stuff from me" Sisyphus said rather measuredly, closing his eyes and rubbing them with his fingers "The time limit, whatever happened with some of the pieces not long ago, and now Flowey not existing..."
"I didn't know what'd happen with the pieces" Cornio clarified, Sisyphus ignored that.
"I didn't know either" Lucia lied, playing with her hair.
Sisyphus looked at them from over his glasses. "You deny that part but not the rest. I knew it, you were hiding these details from me"
Cornio's eyes flickered nervously at Lucia, but he nodded. "We thought it was necessary. I'm sorry, I'd have told you, but—"
"But we made the right choice. Look at yourself, you're not reacting well to the part about Flowey not existing in the first place" she said "That reminds me, do you know that adage? You can't have your cake and eat it too?"
"That's not the point—"
"Choose, Sisyphus: the humans or Asriel. You're not going to get both"
It was cruel to try to make him choose between who among his friends would live. Both Asriel and all the humans were extremely important to him, he owed them a lot. He had started this all to help all of them, it was unfair he was being forced to choose! Cornio, feeling the situation could worsen, tried to smooth over Lucia and Sisyphus' tension: "I think keeping your friends safe would be better than trying to revive a soulless flower"
"It's not like you could do it, anyway. Besides the human soul you'd also need the flower with Asriel's dust. It has been decades since that kid died, the flowers that grew from him must be gone by now"
"Also what she said, it's impossible!" Cornio nodded as if the matter was settled satisfactorily.
"I don't think it's impossible" Sisyphus said, stubborn.
Lucia's face was carefully inexpressive. "Speaking of flowers, all those golden flowers in the underground were rather pretty...I want to plant some in my garden" both sorcerers didn't understand what she was talking about, but she continued "It's too bad I couldn't get many. I could only get a single golden flower. One is better than none, right?"
"One golden—where did you get it?" Cornio asked, not understanding what she was talking about.
"Secret" Lucia smiled, hiding her mouth with a hand. "Don't worry too much about it, I'll have a garden in no time"
The meaning of what Lucia said didn't go unnoticed to Sisyphus, though. He stared at her, mouth slightly open in surprise, and then stood up, leaving the lounge in a hurry. He didn't even bother to say anything to Cornio or Lucia. "Well that went just fine" Lucia raised her eyebrows jocularly at Cornio, smiling "What say you?"
"...wait..." the double doors locked audibly. Now that ASRIEL felt safe, he disabled the illusion his firefly brooch gave him. "That flower isn't—it's not from the throne room, right?"
"What gave you that idea?"
"Lucia, I'm serious!" ASRIEL tried to sound as firm as possible. He was starting to realize what kind of situation this could lead to, given Sisyphus' current state. "Where's that flower from?"
Finally noting ASRIEL wasn't in mood of beating around the bush, Lucia scratched under her chin, talking indifferently. "Yes, you're correct: it comes from your father's throne room"
"So that flower has my dust! He's going to—" ASRIEL stopped, a sliver of hope entering his heart. Maybe...maybe this all wasn't as bad as it seemed at first! The young former prince eagerly looked at Lucia, his eyes shining. "Wait, it has been a long time since I died! My dust can't be on those flowers anymore, even if you brought one here!"
"Yes, you're correct"
"It's impossible anything will happen, I knew it!" he giddily shook his fists, like an excitable child. Lucia laid her face on her hand, letting ASRIEL's hope grow before she crushed it.
"That's right. The only way he could do anything is if that flower was fresh"
"And we witches can't even enter the world, it's not like you could have gone there whenever you wanted!"
"That's true. I'd require someone who can enter the world, resides in a place completely separated from the time flow of the world, and doesn't know the significance of the flowers in the throne room. But what are the odds such person exists?"
Even though she talked with a rather easygoing and friendly tone, ASRIEL felt a chill down his spine. His hope disappeared, he immediately realized what she was talking about. "...you didn't ask them to do it, right?"
"I think you're worrying too much, ASRIEL" she said. "You're playing against your friend here. You know what kind of person Sisyphus is, you know the iteration of yourself your soul came from trusted him with his life.
Do you think someone another you appreciated so much...someone Asriel believed in and wanted to see safe...would do something despicable?"
That wasn't the most convincing argument, in ASRIEL's opinion, but inside him it felt like something warmed up. Yes...he could trust Sisyphus. He could trust his friend, reliable and determined. He wanted to trust him. No, wait, that was wrong, he couldn't trust him. Sisyphus was no more than a stranger, someone who seemed nice but that didn't guarantee anything.
He really disliked when his soul's feelings were almost opposite to what he was thinking.
"...I guess you're right" he said mutedly.
As long as Sisyphus hadn't lost enough of his soul for his bad traits to influence his decisions, that is.
-ooooo-
It wasn't often that a guest left something inside the Velvet Room. Igor and his attendants were some of the most trustworthy people the guests could ever meet, but that didn't mean the Velvet Room could be used as a storage or anything like that. That was common sense! When Sisyphus entered carrying a flowerpot with a golden flower planted inside, Igor made no comment, but he wasn't pleased about it.
Sisyphus put the flowerpot on the table. "Could you hold onto this for a moment?"
"This flower? Why?" Alphonse leaned forward to take a better look at the flower.
"I want to give it to my piece. You can do that, right? He'll know what to do with it" It was convenient to have a place that wasn't bound by a world's time and space. His piece still had the tickets Alphonse had made that granted him passageway through the Velvet Room to travel the Underground quickly, didn't he? If they could do something like that, why wouldn't they do him a favor and serve as couriers, in some way?
Alphonse took the flowerpot, unsure of what to say, so they simply nodded. Satisfied, Sisyphus bowed his head to Igor as a farewell, and left the Velvet Room. Not even a minute had passed inside the Velvet Room when Syphus entered. A cold gust of wind accompanied him, Alphonse shivered.
"...hello?" Syphus sounded a bit confused. "...I'm not sure why I had to return here. I was almost at the Hidden Village when I felt the need to come here again"
Alphonse took the flowerpot and passed it to him. "Your master wanted you to have this, and he says you know what to do with it. What's he talking about?"
Syphus' fingers curled around the ceramic of the flowerpot. His expression was clouded, he was staring hard into the center of the flower, like he expected it to come to life and talk to him in any moment. "...I understand" he said with a surprisingly harsh tone.
"It sounds like he wants you to do something"
"Yeah. I know very well what my master wants me to do" he said.
"Why don't you simply not do it?"
"...it's not that simple. I'm his piece. I'm like his limbs in this world"
A gripping sensation of dread grabbed Alphonse. Something about the way Syphus said that turned on alarms in their head, they were suddenly invaded by the feeling something horrible would happen if they didn't intervene. "You're not just a piece, Syphus. You have your own will, and you can take your own decisions.
Don't do something you don't want to do if you don't think it's the right thing to do" They tried very hard to emphasize those last few words. For a moment Syphus looked at him with hope. Could he truly defy his master? Yes, maybe he could! He had to do it! No way he'd simply do what Sisyphus wanted!
At least that's what Alphonse wanted to believe. They had no idea what Sisyphus wanted, but if the piece was taking this so glumly then they guessed it may not be a pleasant task. Cheered up, Syphus left the Velvet Room, walking with determination. Alphonse watched him leave, smiling.
"Do you believe he'll be okay?" they asked to Igor. Igor closed his eyes, meditating.
"I cannot say with certainty. Our guest is rather preoccupied, trapped between what they want, and what's right. Only time will tell which path they'll choose"
"I don't think Sisyphus would do anything bad" Alphonse said, although they didn't fully believe their own words. "I know him, he's not a bad person"
"Are you certain you're not placing him on a pedestal, so to speak? You may be clinging too hard to the image of a person you once knew, Alphonse"
"No! I believe in him! He's a good person" Repeating it again made it a little bit easier to dispel their doubts. "And even if he had something bad in mind, his piece isn't a bad person either. It'll all be okay"
"Perhaps...you're being a bit too trusting" for a moment Igor's ever-present grin wavered. "What about the flower our former guest asked you to get? Are you aware what it was for?"
"For her garden, I think. She said the golden flowers in the king's throne room grew much better than those from the human village near Mt. Ebott"
"Did she also need to specify the exact timeframe she wanted the flower from?"
When Igor put it like that, it was impossible to not think Lucia had some ulterior motive to be so specific about the time and place she wanted the golden flower from. It also was odd she had given it to Sisyphus. "We may be overthinking it" they said. "It's just a flower...
...what harm can come from a flower?"
-ooooo-
While knowing his master wanted him to do something to bring Flowey back into existence – and therefore make Asriel be alive again – made him apprehensive, what Alphonse had said had also been rather encouraging. Sure, Syphus would have liked Asriel to have been alive, but making it happen would be too cruel towards everyone.
After all, once Flowey was revived, that'd be Flowey, not Asriel. To make Asriel exist even for a moment, you'd need much more than just one human soul. That simply wouldn't be worth it.
Better say how things will go, I guess. There were other matters to focus on right now other than what to do with the golden flower. A hundred days were left to gather seven pieces more for the spear that'd break the Barrier, and that'd depend on when seven people more would be attacked. Meanwhile he should be focusing on making the team stronger, build onto the Social Links, make sure the armor, weapons and complements were the best they could all have. Being the de facto leader of the team was a lot of work!
And as if that wasn't enough, he also had a job in the Royal Guard. His days would be packed full of work, but the thought of having so much to do and plan didn't deter him. Syphus put the flowerpot in a corner of the cottage he shared with Cohen, humming a bit. Through the window of the cottage he could see the one Graham was building for him. It was already half-done, rather impressive for something only one person was working on.
"There you are! Finally!"
His thoughts were interrupted by a female voice from the entrance of the cabin. Syphus turned around, finding Byssa standing there with her hands on her hips. "Byssa?"
"I have been looking for you for hours. You were out of the village, weren't you?"
"Y-Yeah, I had, uh, permission"
Byssa stared at him with intrigue. "I know you leave every day, that's not a secret, but you know you can trust all us here, right? We're all in the same situation, trapped in the same place. If there's anything you're looking for outside, you can ask us for help"
Syphus raised his eyebrows. "Do you leave the village too sometimes?"
"No. I don't dare to do that" she shook her head, trying to change the topic. "Whatever. Look, Grandma wants to meet you"
"Grandma?"
"Yeah, my grandmother" she then clarified: "Okay, she's not my grandmother, she's more like my...relative. It's a long story"
Apparently even though everything changed so much in the current timeline, some things really were the same than in the timeline he knew them before. Byssa and Celia were still relatives, although now it seemed the roles were inverted: instead of cousins and Byssa being the older one, now Celia was the older one – and a grandmotherly figure, too! Curious, Syphus followed Byssa to the oldest human's cottage, staring at her back.
Byssa was in her forties already, wasn't she? Her brash attitude made her seem somewhat younger, but she was a fully grown adult. Cohen was much older than her, being eighty years old...and if Celia was even older, then that meant... "How's her health?" Syphus asked, concerned.
"...she has had better days" was Byssa's grave reply, refusing to say anything else – that seemed to be a touchy topic to Byssa. She accompanied him in silence to the cottage, entering first and making Syphus wait outside. "Grandma, I finally found him" He couldn't hear the reply. "Do you need anything else? I could call the queen if you want—" More silence. "No, there's no news from him yet"
When Byssa exited the cabin, bringing a tray with her, she seemed worried. Without looking up from the empty plates she talked to Syphus: "You can go in"
"What should I say to her?" Syphus asked. Byssa shrugged, the plates rattling because of the movement.
"She's just an old lady, Syphus, not the Queen of All Monsters. You'll be okay" sighing, she walked away, leaving Syphus to enter whenever he wanted. Why was he hesitating so much? He just was going to talk to an old woman...who had also been an esteemed friend once. There was no reason to be nervous! Unless she was different than how she had been before, of course. But what were the odds she'd be behaving differently now?
Very high, I'd say.
Staying outside would be cowardly and therefore wouldn't be an option, so he prepared for whatever was going to come, crossing the entrance and trying to see into the dim lighting of the cottage. What she saw was quite the nasty shock.
In his original timeline, Celia had been a young girl, around ten or eleven years old, full of energy, vivacious. Even in her unfortunate circumstances she managed to be bright and friendly, even towards a monster.
The old woman he was seeing lying on the bed was gaunt, consumed. Her head was lying against her shoulder, her hair, instead of short and neat like he remembered, was now long and filled with a lot of gray strands. When she noticed he was there, she looked at him and smiled. Even though she was so old and tired, her eyes still had the same kindness he remembered. "Oh...hello. It's good to finally meet our new friend"
Syphus approached the bed, sitting on a nearby chair. "My name is Syphus"
"I am Celia. I was the first human to fall down here...at least in recent times" she stared at him for a moment, looking at him up and down. "My...you're much older than we all were when we fell down the mountain. I didn't think I'd see an adult fall..."
"It's a long story" he hoped she wouldn't ask him why he'd go to a renowned dangerous mountain.
"I'm not going to pry into your personal matters, but my door is always open, if you want to talk about anything" she managed to sit up on the edge of the bed, slouched over and with her legs dangling uselessly from the edge. "...on second thought, I think I'll stay here for today. I wouldn't want to burden you with having to push my wheelchair around"
Ah, that's right! Cohen had mentioned Celia had an accident when she was sixteen years old, she fell from a high place and got rather injured. "You mean you can't walk?"
"I'm paralyzed from the waist down" she smiled sadly. "I wouldn't want to be a burden on anyone, but it's unavoidable. Ever since then I have been a burden"
Syphus helped Celia lie down again. "I'm sure nobody thinks you're a burden, Celia"
"Even if they don't think it, it can't be denied my accident caused a lot of trouble" noticing what she was seeing made Syphus uncomfortable, she laughed under her breath, messing with her hair. "Don't listen to everything I say, this is just me thinking aloud. Don't worry about some old woman's rambling"
"Are you sure? I wouldn't mind listening to you if you have something to say"
"I'll be okay, but now that you offer, I guess I can accept that—" Celia moved on the bed as if she had a backache. "But not right now. I'd like to sleep...how about you come back from time to time?"
"From...time to time?"
"Yes. You don't have to be here every day; I'll be happy as long as you visit me once or twice per week. What do you say?"
It wasn't a bad idea! He did want to talk with Celia, try to reconnect with her in some way, and this was a good way to do it. Celia was behaving partly like he remembered, although...in the Celia he was talking about now he could see some melancholy he didn't remember she ever had. True, the circumstances were very different, but he couldn't chalk that up to the current situation.
...maybe I have gotten too attached to how these people were like in a completely different timeline.
Celia has welcomed you to her life
You feel a faint bond forming between you and Celia
Thou art I... And I am thou...
Thou hast established a new bond...
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Strength Arcana
Celia looked like she wanted to smile but felt self-conscious, so she settled with a contented expression. "Thank you very much. Frankly, I'll be looking forward to that"
"Why, you don't get visits often?" It was possible he asked that a bit too flippantly, but Celia didn't care. She made a so-so gesture with her hand.
"Byssa is who comes here the most, and Graham is here often to bring me my food and make sure I have everything I need, but generally I'm left alone...most of the time. I can't say I'm surprised. I told you, didn't I? I'm a burden"
"You are not a burden, Celia"
Ignoring what he just said, she continued. "I don't mind, though. Do you want to hear a truth?" she leaned forward until her mouth was close to his ear. What she said made Syphus feel cold – or maybe it was the atmosphere, turning icily cold in mere seconds:
"To get what you want; you have to make sacrifices"
He didn't know when exactly he jumped back, falling to the floor in a heap and looking at her with horror, but that was how he found himself the next moment. "W-What...?"
Celia continued, a strangely empty look in her face. "I'm willing to be the sacrifice" she shook her head. "If everyone needs to cut something out of their lives to succeed, then it's okay if I'm what they leave aside" As if to emphasize her words, he looked straight at his face. Her voice sounded just like normal, but Syphus had the feeling there was something else behind her words:
"Do you understand what I'm talking about?"
Syphus slowly stood up, trying to ignore the shivers down his spine. "N-No, I don't really—"
"Of course you wouldn't" her smile returned to her face. "Please don't pay attention to the ramblings of some old woman. I say a lot of stupid things"
"That was not just some rambling! Celia, what's wrong—"
"I feel like sleeping for a while. Thank you for your visit, Syphus" without even letting him say a word, she turned around on her bed and got snuggly, not responding to anything he said. After several minutes of unsuccessfully trying to get her to talk, he left the cottage, extremely worried. Not knowing what had happened inside, Byssa approached him.
"So! How did it go?"
"...not very well. She was..." how to describe it...? Byssa got the wrong idea, looking at him apologetically.
"Did she ramble at you? She tends to do that, please don't hold it against her. But I think you can do her some good" she said. "You're the only adult who has fallen in this hell. Even if you're a stranger, you're not someone she saw growing up, she'll treat you differently.
I'll trust her to you, okay?"
Syphus was silent for a moment. Celia clearly was burdened by some quite heavy stuff, and he wasn't sure how to approach the topic nor how to deal with it, but he had to try, for Celia's sake.
"I'll do my best", he said.
-ooooo-
So many red flags! The more Cornio watched how everything went, the more convinced he was this wasn't going to end well. Sisyphus had just manipulated one of the many pieces to try to force his piece do what he wanted to do – it was impossible for a piece to act 'out of character', so it wasn't impossible for Celia to actually mean everything she said, but what Sisyphus had done was to influence Celia to give in to her internal despair. From what Cornio could see, that had disturbed Syphus a lot, the hidden implications of what Celia said hadn't gone unnoticed.
I have to do something Cornio decided. "I don't think you should have done that" he said.
"What do you mean?" At least Sisyphus didn't sound annoyed, that was a bit encouraging.
"Did you really have to do that to Celia?"
Sisyphus looked at him, as if he had no idea what he was talking about. "I didn't do anything. That's how Celia feels" Despite his words, Sisyphus sounded rather strained, and his eyes were filled with doubt. Even though the person in front of him was degrading into a rather unfettered individual at an alarming rate, he wasn't completely gone yet.
"I know that's how she feels, but—"
"Cornio, I know what you're thinking. Trust me, I..." Sisyphus scratched behind his ear. "I don't like this either. But it's not like I have a choice. If I don't encourage my piece to take someone's soul, someone I consider a good friend will stay dead. Forever, since this will be the last timeline"
"Sometimes you need to let go of something you want" Cornio said, although he did understand to a point how Sisyphus felt. He didn't approve at all, but he understood.
"I can't just let go like that. I have been messing with the timelines for much longer than you'd think. Sixteen years in the void, and then another thirty after Lucia found me. I'm over seventy years old, Cornio" he shrugged. "I may be much younger than Lucia, but I think I have gone through just as much trouble in my life as she has" That elicited a derisive snort from Lucia, even though she said nothing, just smiling serenely as if she was enjoying a private joke.
There was an awkward pause while Sisyphus examined the positions of the piece, mulling what moves would be good, until Cornio broke the silence, leaning on the back of his chair. "I...did you know? I once knew, uh, another sorcerer who did something like what you did"
"Really?" Sisyphus' tone had a hint of curiosity, but it was mostly defensive. Do all witches have to be so stubborn? Cornio wondered momentarily before trying to take back the control of the situation.
"He lived for countless years, RESE—checking other timelines..." luckily for him, Sisyphus didn't look like he caught onto how he almost slipped. "...and manipulating the people inside. He wanted something interesting to happen because he was tired of seeing the same events over and over, so he befriended people. He learned how they thought and why they did everything they did, and manipulated them into doing something different every time he wanted that"
"Go on..." Sisyphus leaned his chin onto his hand. At least he was listening.
"I think...I can't say for sure what he was thinking, but I'm pretty sure he did all that partly because he didn't want to let go of his world and everyone in it" Cornio said measuredly. "Or...it's more like he couldn't. He did try to! But at the last moment he returned, and—it's a long story" It wasn't really a lie. True, he was too determined to let himself die, but...even though he literally couldn't feel any positive feelings towards anything, he had stayed around, watching everyone...
Some people would say he longed to be with them. Flowey would simply say it was fun to play with them. Not even now ASRIEL knew what exactly he had been thinking back then.
Sisyphus closed his eyes, seemingly waiting for him to continue. "He changed his mind. He didn't let go, but he regretted everything he did. He hurt a lot of people, and he wanted to make amends! Even though he...never got the chance" Talking about it made Cornio rather uncomfortable, but he was willing to endure that if it got the point through Sisyphus' thick skull.
It was a valiant effort to get the message through, to maybe influence Sisyphus' growing bad traits from leading him to do something he'd regret, but Sisyphus gave no sign of understanding. He blinked, staring at Cornio with such passivity the disguised monster simply couldn't tell if Sisyphus was taking him seriously or not.
"Right. And this someone you know...is it you?" he finally talked. Cornio passed a hand through his false mane of hair, smiling sheepishly.
"No, of course not!" Was it that obvious?! Cornio thought.
"If you say so..." Sisyphus' expression softened. "I could tell you had a bit of a hard time telling me that. Thanks"
"It was nothing, you don't have to—"
"No, seriously, thank you" Sisyphus said. "Do you think I'm less approachable than before?"
Better be honest on that regard. "Just a bit" Cornio said diplomatically.
"I'm really sorry. I guess I just need some time to get over this" he said, a bit darkly. "I'll get over it...most likely"
Cornio tried to share a personal experience with you
The Unusual Witch Social Link has reached Rank 3!
Your power to create Personas of the Death Arcana has grown!
Cornio tried to find the right words for what he wanted to say, finally settling on what sounded rather cliché once said: "You know you can rely on us, right?" Lucia shook her head almost unnoticeably, as if disapproving such words, but Sisyphus seemed to be glad to hear that.
"You really are a strange witch, Cornio. I'm not sure why, but there's something familiar about you I just can't pinpoint"
"That must be your imagination!" he hurried to say. "We never met until this game started, right?"
Sisyphus nodded, almost carefree. "Yeah. Thanks, though"
Maybe the situation won't be as bad as it could be.
Just maybe.
...hopefully.
SOCIAL LINKS:
Fool - Frisk - RANK 5
Magician - Burgerpants - RANK 2
Priestess - Alphys - RANK 4
Empress - Toriel - RANK 2
Emperor - Cohen - RANK 4
Hierophant - Ciruel - RANK 2
Lovers - ? - RANK 0
Chariot - Ananas - RANK 5
Justice - Undyne - RANK 4
Hermit - Gaster - RANK 1
Fortune - ? - RANK 0
Strength - Celia - RANK 1
Hanged Man - ? - RANK 0
Death - Cornio - RANK 3
Temperance - ? - RANK 0
Devil - ? - RANK 0
Tower - ? - RANK 0
Star - Lucia - RANK 2
Moon - ? - RANK 0
Sun - Papyrus - RANK 3
Judgment - Team - RANK 4
Aeon - Syphus - RANK 3
Jester - Alphonse - RANK 2