Chapter 4

Chara walked into her room tired and frustrated. Today hadn't exactly been a good day. She had spent the day in the town square preaching to the people, and things hadn't gone well. Only a minority of the villagers were reverent to her messages. Most of the townsfolk had lost faith in the gods and were committing outright blasphemy. It was a situation that she had never encountered before. The things that they said were just wrong. That they didn't owe the gods anything, and that people shouldn't bother giving them respect. Their words nearly drove Chara to an angry fit, and anger was not something that came easy to her. Some of the more devout townspeople were less restrained. A few punches were thrown before Chara stepped in and kept things from devolving into a riot.

She plopped down on her bed in exasperation. She had never felt like this before. The people of the world had always treated her kindly and with respect. When did everyone lose their faith? Even if they decided that the gods didn't exist, why were they treating her with such scorn? For the first time in her life, Chara had felt hatred towards another person. It wasn't something she was proud of, but she couldn't deny it either. The things that they said to her had hurt deeply. What possessed them to hurl such blasphemies at all she had ever loved? Why couldn't they see how dangerous such talk was? The gods, as a general rule, weren't cruel, but Chara was sure that some of them would take offense at what these people had said. Last time she checked, the gods determined what was right and what was wrong, and also dispensed justice when they saw fit. She shuddered thinking about some of the punishments the gods would be capable of. She didn't want anyone to have to suffer in such a way.

She sighed, thinking about how miserable this visit was turning out to be. Maybe she could get Asriel down here for some encouragement. She turned around and knelt before the bed to say her evening prayers. She was just about to start when she heard footsteps. That ticked her off. She didn't have a lot of rules, but one of them was to never disturb her, or any acolyte for that matter, when she was praying or communing with the gods. She had made that point abundantly clear to the elder. She turned around, ready to berate whoever had dared to-

She froze, because it wasn't another human that had walked into her room. Before her stood a being clothed entirely in black with a large scythe on its back. For some reason, she was filled entirely with fear from just being in his presence. She could barely make out a skull beneath his hood, along with a faint blue light. This wasn't a human, which left only one possibility. She steadied herself and said, "Greetings. I am Chara, the Acolyte of Faith. I don't believe we've met. May I ask your name?"

The god raised his head in surprise. "You can see me?" he asked.

"Of course. My siblings and I are the only humans capable of seeing the gods at all times," she replied. "Something's wrong, he should've known that," she said in her head.

The god sighed. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting this. Since you can see me, and you're obviously someone special, I suppose I'll answer your questions. The name's Sans, and I am the God of Death. Chara Dreemurr, your time has come."

Chara simply stared. God of Death? She had never been introduced to this god. For that matter, she had never seen anyone die. Humans were immortal, weren't they? Her legs started shaking. "Death? You mean you're here to kill me?" she asked.

Sans sighed again. "In a manner of speaking, yes. You are destined to die this day, and it is my job to reap your soul."

Chara couldn't believe what she was hearing. Her, destined to die? But she was the Acolyte of Faith! If she died here, who would bring the gods' messages to the people? What did she do to deserve this fate? Was this punishment for failing her mission of teaching the people? What would death even be like? Now, her whole body was shaking.

Sans took his scythe off of his back. At its sight, Chara stepped back a few paces. "Great," he thought. "She's going to make this difficult."

"Please," he said aloud. "Don't struggle. It will all be over soon."

Fear consumed her whole body. Chara wasn't ready to die. She couldn't die here. Sans swooped forward slicing at her with his scythe. She rolled to one side, but the blade nicked her in the arm. She cried out in pain. This was a pain she had never felt before, and it burned. She cried out, "Mom! Asriel! Somebody help me!"

Hearing her desperate plea, Sans grimaced. "Better make this as quick as possible." His eye and scythe erupted in blue flames.

Chara felt a magic force take hold of her body, and she was suddenly slammed into the nearest wall. She was crying openly now. "No. No no no." Sans closed the distance and raised his scythe. "No. I can't die here. I won't die here!" she thought. She mustered every ounce of determination and will she had, but all she could do was raise her head and look the God of Death in the eye.

Sans was halfway through his swing when he saw her eyes. They were full of pain, sorrow, and denial. But there was something else. Something about those eyes that shouted, "I will not die!" The strength of her determination was something he had never seen before. He hesitated. Was this really necessary? Could he spare this human? He shook his head. No, this had to be done. He had to do his part to keep the world's balance. "Nothing personal, kiddo," he said. The scythe started forward again.

"What are you doing!" he heard someone shout behind him. A second later a blast of magic hit him from behind, throwing off his swing. The scythe cut across the girls chest and she screamed in pain. The magic that hit him had temporarily cleansed his scythe of the flames that brought death on contact. Still, the wound was a mortal one, but she wouldn't die quickly. Sans whirled around to face his attacker. He was starting to get angry, and he set his scythe aflame once more. Before him stood a goat-like creature that had to be another god. No mortal magic would have been able to faze him. He stared at this god, whose hands were surrounded by flames as well, of a bright glowing gold.

"I am Asriel, God of Hope and prince of the realm! What are you doing to my sister!?"

"My job, God of Hope. Now go home before you do something you'll regret," Sans replied.

"Never!" Asriel shouted, and he charged.

Sighing, Sans quickly sidestepped Asriel's attack and struck with his scythe. The blow took Asriel full on in the back, and the blade stuck fast. Sans channeled a burst of magic down his weapon and surged it into Asriel's body. The blast tore a hole almost a foot long across his body and threw him across the room where he landed next to Chara, his body dissolving into dust.

"Sorry about that, Hope. But you're a god, a true immortal. That probably hurt a lot, but you'll reform your essence in a little bit. Maybe one day you'll forgive me," Sans thought. "Now, to finish the job."

Chara had witnessed the whole confrontation from where she lay dying. True to his name, Asriel's appearance had filled her with a spark of hope. That hope had just been brutally ripped away, along with her best friend and brother. The God of Death turned towards her and raised his scythe once more. She hated him. That thought burned in her mind as she watched him come. He came to kill her, an acolyte who had served the gods faithfully. He hadn't even made it quick, just unbearably painful. To top it all off, he had hurt and killed her family, the only god that cared enough to come to her aid.

"Why? Why me? Why Asriel? None of this was supposed to happen!" she screamed silently in her mind.

"The gods have betrayed you…"

They had. She and her siblings had been promised a world with a happy life. No one had said anything about death. And when she had cried out to the gods, only one of them came.

"Was it all a lie? Did they really care about us? About me?"

"They never cared about you…"

"They never cared about me. If they did, they wouldn't have sent Death to kill me. And now I'm going to die here."

"Determination…"

"No. If I stay determined, I can cheat death. I can survive."

She felt her body growing stronger. As if a unseen force was filling her with power. She stood and faced the God of Death, clenching her fists. Her choice was made.

"I will live. I will grow strong. Stronger than any god. And I will have…my…REVENGE!"

Sans walked over then paused as the girl stood, her head slightly bowed. Man, the girl was tough. He didn't think she had enough strength to do anything. He readied his scythe, then noticed that something was off. The girl no longer had fear in her eyes. Now, they were replaced with anger and hate. She stood there, her fists clenched, and Sans got the sinking feeling she was about to try something. Something he wouldn't like. He lunged forward, preparing to end it, when she raised her head. She was… smiling? Then, without warning, she let loose a hellish scream and an explosion of magic that forced him back several feet. Driving his scythe into the ground to steady himself, he looked up and saw shadows wrapping around the girl, covering her whole body. Then, they parted, gathering in a pool at her feet. She looked at him with pitch black eyes and a wide smile and spoke:

"I called out to the Gods. But the wrong ones came."

Before he could do anything, the shadows swallowed her, leaving behind nothing but a pool of dust covered blood.