Chapter Four: The Puddle World
Frisk had no idea how long he had been walking.
It seemed that every direction in this distorted world led back to the door- he'd tried walking north from the door, west, east, south, but it was no use- he always circled back to the door.
Frisk wondered if this was some sort of trap world- was he able to go back the way he came?
Would that door even open again? Was he forever doomed to wander this lifeless, abyssal landscape?
Part of him wanted to collapse and cry, to call out for help, but he fought down these thoughts and pressed forward- he had faced much worse than this, after all.
He came up with a plan- he would try going south one more time to see if he could spot anything that could move him forward, and if he found nothing, he would go back and see if the door still worked. It wasn't much of a plan, but it was something, at least.
As he slowly crept south, scanning the horizon for anything unusual, he saw a small light to the east.
It was like a star- small and distant, but almost overwhelmingly bright against the stifling darkness of the plain. Squinting as he cautiously walked closer, he identified it as a perfectly ordinary street lamp.
Resting a palm against the metal post and finding it to be solid, he sat down on the ground with his back against the post, basking in the stark light of the lamp. He felt as if the small halo of light cast by the lamp was the only safe place in this hellish world, and if it went out, he would be dragged into the darkness.
After sitting in the light to relax and collect his thoughts, he finally stood up again to look around and see if this conveniently- placed lamp marked anything important. As he suspected, he saw only puddles, but as he looked more closely, he found that a few seemed to be placed deliberately, a trail of small puddles leading off into the darkness. Seeing as this trail was the only defined feature he had seen aside from the lamp and the door (and that he had lost track of the way he came), he concluded that the only thing he could do was follow it.
Moving away from the lamp, Frisk began to follow the trail. Keeping his eyes peeled for puddles as he walked through the barren land, he found himself moving further and further into the darkness, until the lamp was once again only a point of light in the distance.
His journey would be brought to a halt, however, when he tripped over something thin and hard, causing him to tumble forward. Taking a moment to pick himself up off of the ground and dust himself off, he looked behind him to find… an umbrella?
Picking the umbrella up off the ground, Frisk inspected it for anything unusual. To his surprise, it seemed to be perfectly ordinary, and in good condition, if a bit dirty.
After a brief moment's contemplation, Frisk decided to take the umbrella with him. After all, If it belonged to someone, he could find them and return it... and if it didn't, well, then, it was just a free umbrella. His mind made up, Frisk turned to go, opening the umbrella experimentally to make sure the mechanisms worked. No sooner had he done this, however, than a loud clap of disembodied thunder sounded from the clouded sky, and rain began to fall, pouring down in thick sheets from the heavens.
Realizing his sudden predicament, Frisk sighed in agitation. Now, his objective was simple: find shelter from the storm. Picking a direction- he could see the glow of a lamp in the distance- he began walking once more.