With an agile gait, I charged across the luminescent grass, my backpack and arms full of heaps upon heaps of cloudy glasses. The gold I'd had to start with was a formidable quantity, well over a thousand of the little coins, but it hadn't been close to enough to purchase the five hundred I'd asked for. Indeed, it had been close to fifty. Of course, with how many round trips I'd made since then, it was entirely plausible that I'd sold that many already; if I hadn't, I would have after this one.
To my surprise, I'd occasionally encounter monsters wandering along this little trade route, even while traversing the void pathways. It seemed I wasn't the only creature crazy enough to travel through this way. Seahorse creatures, living buckets, bizarrely shaped slime things, even the occasional temmie; all attacked on sight, looking to steal my soul... or maybe my glasses. Either way, they weren't getting anything but a swift death.
Another temmie bounding out of the darkness, no doubt a bandit eager to rob me of my hard earned supply. This one was already bespectacled, but clearly it was eager to obtain a spare or twelve. I didn't have a free hand to draw my knife, but that was a small obstacle. As it bounded closer, I leapt over its endlessly extending paw and delivered a jumping side kick to the creature's head, which caused its face to slide right off its head... somehow. I landed, carefully shifting my weight to keep the heap of glasses balanced, and pushed the advantage with a series of grounded kicks until the creature vanished into dust. Its glasses fell, and I quickly hooked the toe of my boot underneath, and with one precise kick I flipped the glasses onto the pile with the rest. Waste not.
A few moments later, I'd reached the tem village, and began to pile the glasses high on the cardboard box that served as a rudimentary shop counter. Temmie watched me with eager anticipation, and once I'd finished unloading the final pair, the temmie's grin grew so wide it practically split her head in two. If I was selling these to anyone else, I'd be a little concerned about them dropping so much moolah on so many pairs of glasses, since surely no one could be so clumsy as to need five hundred of them. This one, however, ran the only shop in this whole village, and the knowledge that it was probably selling these on to the rest at an even larger profit margin assuaged any such concerns. That, and the jingle-jangle of my overfull coin pouches. Speaking of... this was going to have to be my last trip, as I was simply running out of space to put the coins; and what a problem to have!
I turned a lazy gaze over the rest of the establishment as the temmie shopkeep laboriously counted out heaps upon heaps of glimmering coinage, piling them as high as Samson did with the jaw of an ass. My gaze passed over a series of jars, each labelled things like "tem flake (ON SALE) – 1G" or "tem flake (expensiv) – 20G" or "tem flake (furst rate) – 100G" , and so on, and so forth. I'd bought a few varieties before, and I honestly could not tell the difference. Maybe I just didn't have a temmie's refined palate. Or maybe the shopkeep was just very, very prepared for inflation.
My gaze drifted to a jar in the back that I'd missed before. It was a different size than the others, and entirely empty of temmie flakes; instead, it had a modest pile of coins at the bottom. The label read "tem pay 4 colleg – 1000G". Yes... it did say something about studying for "colleg" before, didn't it? It wished to pursue higher education, and was setting aside some of its hard-earned cash to that end, since evidently edumacation didn't come cheap.
Well, I suppose that was the natural order of things, wasn't it? Those who wish to better themselves have the drive and initiative to work for it. Those who do not are destined to remain where they are. In my personal experience, the only person who can really help you is yourself.
I turned my gaze back to the pile of coinage. It was still growing. It was already probably more than I could feasibly carry with me, and I already had plenty of tem flakes.
After what felt like ages, the pile finally stopped growing.
The temmie shopkeeper grinned at me over the mounds as I shoveled what I could into my bags. Even with them full to bursting, there was still well over a thousand left on the counter.
I stared at the piles for a long moment, then up at the jars. I let out a little sigh. "By the way," I began, haltingly. "Could you hand me that jar over on that counter there, third from the right?"
"Wha...?" the temmie said, cocking its head in confusion, but she did as requested, hopping off its little chair and scurrying around to retrieve it. It lifted the jar with both paws and set it down next to the heap of coins, looking up at me.
I grabbed the jar, and began piling coins inside, easily filling the jar to the brim and then some. The temmie's eyes widened, and its jaw dropped, and then it smiled so widely its cheeks might have burst. "WOA!" the temmie cried. It looked away, and began to sweat profusely, or what I assumed was sweat. "thas ALOT o muns... can tem realy acepts..."
I smiled back. "Yeah, sure. Call it an investment, into my most lucrative business partner. Keep up the good work, and someday you might find yourself a billionaire, or a multi-billionaire, or a trillionaire, or a... what comes after a trillionaire? Whatever, just go study whatever you need to. You can thank me when you've got a doctorate or something."
The temmie was vibrating so hard I was almost afraid the counter might tip over. "OKs! tem go to colleg and make u prouds!" It shouted, its voice trembling and warbling. And with that, both temmie and box slid off into a side passage, leaving its... face... behind. I stared at it, and it stared back, hanging in the air in that same bizarre and somewhat disturbing expression the temmie had made before it left. I'd seen temmies become disconnected from their faces before, but I'd never seen one just... leave it behind. I stared for a moment longer, debating whether or not I should poke it and see what happened, but quickly shook away such thoughts and simply turned around and left. I'd spent far too much time amidst these creatures already.
I strode away from the tem village, and returned to the void. I'd wisely kept one or two glasses for my own use, of course, so it was a simple matter to traverse it. Finally I'd be venturing onward to that path that stretched off into the distance.
As I stepped forward onto the unfamiliar path, I began to see several identical crystal formations that pulsated with a strange purple glow. For a moment, at least, I saw them. But as they pulsed, the void seemed to close in around me. In mere moments, there was naught but a small circle of light around me, with even the luminescent grass having been rendered utterly imperceptible past it. I stepped forward, and the circle moved with me.
A few more steps, and a lantern was illuminated. It lacked even the slightest spark of life within it. I reached out with my scarred hand, and with but a touch of a finger it sprung to life once more, banishing the void that had encroached upon the path. Even as I watched, however, it was already choking and fading, straining mightily to keep it at bay as long as it could. There were carvings beside it that I could just make out.
Without candles or magic to guide them Home, the monsters used crystals to navigate.
Without... what? Why would they not have magic? And the crystals... already their light was being swallowed up again by the void. They weren't even on the path.
So this place wasn't always like this, then. And they didn't always have magic to guide them... just what the hell did it all mean? And why did someone write this here, next to this lantern? It raised a lot more questions than it answered. Which wasn't hard, as it didn't answer a damn thing.
I let out a long sigh, before placing my hand upon the lantern again and continuing down the path. I could feel the void creeping back, but the light from the lantern was doing an admirable job of keeping it at bay. I could see more of the long-dead lanterns ahead, sitting as though they were hanging from the void itself, and I wove my way between them, keeping the it at bay a little longer. There were many twists and turns, and several splits in the path, but they were all dead ends, and inevitably I found myself at the end of the only real path, where I once again emerged into a narrow tunnel with real walls and ground and false stars above. And yet still the darkness followed me, even here. It crept in like an uninvited guest, and all that was left was a little circle of absence of dark that followed me. I stumbled into chest high waters, and waded through them and the darkness alike.
It was slow going, and the waters grew deeper and deeper. Soon the water was up to my chin, and I was wading along the bottom, and it was growing deeper still. Eventually I had no choice but to swim. I took in a deep breath, and went under, and swam. The lanterns continued, and the darkness came and went, and I was swimming, and swimming, and swimming... amidst the pearly eyes and roots and stranger things beyond your ken... great primordial serpents swam the waters... were the waters... and none of it... none of it...
In short order, I had waded across the relatively wide but shallow pool, and emerged upon the far bank, already calling forth heat from within my looted soul to dry myself. As the water evaporated, and the sound of disturbed water faded all too quickly into the void, I began to hear a sound ahead of me, like a distant whisper. I couldn't make out what it said, but the voice itself entranced me. It was... beautiful.
Sooner than I expected I reached the far end of the passage, and there was naught but a tall patch of grass to one side, and a tall, teal flower. The voice seemed to be emanating from the flower, somehow. I leaned in close to hear what it said.
Behind you.
As though someone had flipped a switch, the whole passage lit up and the void retreated once again, allowing me to hear the sound of heavy, metal-clad footsteps upon the dirt behind me. I turned around to see what approached me, and saw a large, towering form emerge from the gloom, a fearsome, helmeted figure.
"Seven," she intoned, with the air of one about to deliver an ominous monologue she'd been practicing for years. "Seven human souls. With the power of seven human souls, our king... King ASGORE Dreemurr... will become a god. With that power ASGORE can finally shatter the barrier. He will finally take the surface back from humanity... and give them back the suffering and pain we have endured. Understand, human? This is your only chance at redemption. Give up your soul... or I'll tear it from your body."
I stared back at her, taking in every word, and let out a small sigh. This hardly felt like an appropriate place for a climactic final battle, the bridge in the sky had far more pizazz... but at least her monologue was up to snuff. The "redemption through death" angle was a surprise, but it fit with the whole deus ex caede and divine retribution themes she was putting forth.
"Well, sorry to disappoint, my bonnie lass," I said, as casually as I could manage. "But I'm afraid I have nothing to give you but a swift death. And I have no need or use for redemption. I'm not the one murdering children, now am I? This is the part where we fight, and I kill you, and you die, and I go on my merry way."
She paused, her gaze locked onto mine.
"Heh..."
Undyne laughed, but not with mirth. She summoned another of her glowing teal spears, but this one she held onto, braced in a polearm grip. Slowly, carefully, she took one step forward, and then another. I simply stood there, as though without a care in the world. Closer... closer... come a little closer.
Suddenly, she charged forward, closing most of the gap between us in a blink. And then...
"Undyne! I'll help you fight!"
My eyes darted to the side. It was that stripy creature again. It lunged out from the tall grass, putting itself directly between me and the spear, right where the spear would have been had it slowed to a halt just a little less quickly. Undyne was equally startled by their sudden appearance. She froze, and so did I. We both stared at the creature, neither of us knowing quite what to make of this interruption. Just what in the goddamn hell was he thinking?
Was he... trying to protect me?
I didn't need protection. Not from her. Not from anyone. But he wouldn't know that. And he put his own head between me and a magical spear wielded by someone he respected as the greatest and most terrifying warrior around. They say it's the thought that counts. But I didn't know what the hell to think about this.
Stripey turned around to look at me, then back to Undyne, then to me again. "YO! You did it!" the creature shouted, his eyes aglow. "Undyne is RIGHT in front of you!"
I blinked. "Yes..." I said slowly. "That she is. I had, in fact, noticed, astonishingly enough. Must be the magical glasses."
"You've got front row seats to her FIGHT!"
What in the goddamn…
I glanced past him to the armored figure behind, still frozen in that same pose she'd been in when Stripey arrived. Evidently, she had as little idea what was going on as I did. I turned my gaze back to Stripey, and gave a small nod.
"Yes. Yes, I can see that."
"You've got a GREAT angle!" the monster went on. "Ya probably can't get any closer! Cuz... you'd be in the way! Ha..."
I gave him a flat stare. He didn't seem to notice.
"...Wait. Who's she fighting?" he asked, looking between us.
"She's fighting the guy you just jumped out in front of," I said, gesturing over to her. "I'm the guy you just jumped out in front of."
He looked down and saw the knife in my hand, and his smile dropped. "OH."
He turned around, and looked at Undyne again, who still hadn't moved. She was still staring down at the monster, utterly bewildered.
"OH." He repeated. He turned back to me, and gave me a wide smile. "OH YEAH. I GET IT."
I raised an eyebrow. "Do you, now?"
"YOU'RE HELPING UNDYNE PRACTICE!"
The other eyebrow joined its brother. "I... uh..."
"YEAH!" the monster continued, turning back to Undyne. "I know what's going on! You're helping her train! That's even cooler!"
Undyne didn't move, or respond.
I smiled weakly, and shrugged. "Uh... sure. That's definitely what's going on."
"HEY UNDYNE! Do you need any help?" the monster shouted, turning back to her. "I can be your practice dummy!"
I stared at him, and then at her. I could almost see the same thoughts going through both of our heads: was he genuinely this... this? It almost didn't seem physically possible.
Finally, Undyne let out a long sigh, and banished her spear so she could grab him by the side of the head.
"H-hey!" he cried as she dragged him bodily back down the path. "You aren't gonna tell my parents about this are you?" Undyne didn't slow her pace. She walked a dozen paces, turned a corner, and disappeared into the shadows, Stripey's protestations fading into the distance. A few moments later, her heavy footsteps could no longer be heard, and the only sound left was the rustle of grass.
I stood there for a long moment, not quite knowing what to make of... any of that. Eventually, I decided that standing here wouldn't accomplish much. The patch of tall grass the creature had laid in wait within lead nowhere, so I was forced to backtrack through the pool, where I found a line of luminescent grass stretching off to the side where there had been nothing before. And so I walked, for a long while, through the void, accompanied by naught but my own thoughts.
Just what the hell is the deal with that stripy creature? Did it really not realize what was happening? Was it genuinely so oblivious that it'd jump directly in the path of a spear with reckless abandon, for no good reason at all? Actually... is friendly fire not actually a thing here? Magic is so heavily intent based, maybe it wouldn't be possible to accidentally kill a creature you don't mean to. But that still wouldn't have been a good reason for it to throw itself directly into the fray, even if that is true. It was the most baffling thing I'd seen anyone do since... well.
But there is also another hypothesis that fits the data, isn't there? Or rather, the first theory, which hasn't actually been disproven.
The idea that it had just derped its way into the fray strains credulity... but it isn't easily disproven. And that might very well be the point. Let's say, for a moment, that it was, in fact, intentionally protecting me. Follow that idea to its logical conclusions. Where would that leave our Stripey, then? At one end of a spear, held by the most terrifying monster in Waterfall, if not the UNDERGROUND as a whole, having just put yourself between her and her target. Even worse: you've just put yourself firmly on the side of the "Angel of Death" that everyone hates because its comes to cleanse the UNDERGROUND of monsters. At best, you're a pariah, and you'll never achieve your dreams of becoming a badass warrior like your idol. At worst... she runs you and the human through in a single stroke, and your act of defiance amounts to nothing except a very courageous death.
On the other hand... you could swap a little courage for a little cunning, and you could lie. You could lie and lie and lie so much and so absurdly that sheer audacity protects you. Your lies become a shield. The sheer absurdity of what you're saying makes it impossible to prove wrong, because the idea is simply too absurd to contemplate, and the evidence is entirely subjective and circumstantial. You'd be a fool, a lunatic, an utter buffoon, but you'd also be untouchable, because it's all far too outrageous to comprehend.
And the thing is, he would know that. He would have known exactly how risky it was, and would have known what was on the line. He would have had the same information, the same time to process it, the same amount of time to formulate a plan. But he just did it. No hesitation. Just a smile, and a jump.
What would possess someone to do that? To put themselves in that situation?
What would possess him to put himself on the line for me?
He doesn't know me.
He doesn't even know my name.
And yet... he did it anyway.
What the hell kind of lunatic would do that for someone you've just met? Who you've had all of three or four conversations with? Who happens to be directly opposed by your lifelong idol, the person you aspire to be, and the whole civilization you've lived your life in?
A fond little smile began to overtake my face.
A big damn hero, that's what.
The best kind of lunatic.
It all seemed utterly mad. So it must have been true, right?
I was reaching the end of the path, now. I could see thin lines separating the pathway of grass from the void on either side, and soon enough I was walking on real ground again, even if it was covered in a shallow pool of water. Those tall flowers lined either side intermittently, but all were silent, just like the echoes that had been swallowed up by the void before they had a chance to exist.
The tunnel was interrupted by a wall which seemed... disjointed, somehow. Like the void had eaten away at it unevenly at the sides. There were more carvings here, faintly glowing like the grass. Was there a point to reading these? What they said seemed designed to confuse at best, and I had no reason to trust it in the first place. Curiosity won out, and I read it anyway:
However...
There is a prophecy.
The Angel...
The One Who Has Seen The Surface...
They will return.
And the underground will go empty.
...That was it? That was the whole prophecy? Talk about maddeningly unhelpful... and whoever wrote it... whoever that person... might be... really needs to... ease up on the... ellipsis abuse...
I chuckled to myself at that. I detested prophecies in general, whether in real life or in fiction, but this seemed like an especially terrible, horrible, no good, very bad one by my reckoning. If only I knew who wrote it, and where they were, so I could give them a stern talking to about the proper use of ellipses... and also how to make prophecies not completely vague and nonsensical, of course. Bloody hell, just about anything could happen and you could call this one "fulfilled". At least I had further confirmation that I definitely wasn't this Angel, since The Angel would apparently "return" and the underground will go empty, and I'd certainly never been here before, so how could I have returned? What rot.
I continued onward, coming to a long bridge that spanned the void below. Had I gone up at some point? It was hard to get my bearings, surrounded by... nothing at all. I still should have been able to. Had my senses really gone so numb?
How long had it been since I'd slept? Genuinely slept, not the fitful unconsciousness adrift, carried by waves, or face down in the snow. I didn't know. I had no idea at all. I couldn't even recall how long it had been before I'd fallen down. What had I been doing that day? Had it even been day? Why was I climbing a mountain? When was the last time I ate normal food, not this magical monster stuff? When was the last time I'd heard my own name? What was my name?
...What was my name?
How could I forget my name?
How could I forget my name?
How could I forget my name, and not even notice?
Who... was I?
SURVIVAL. LIBERTY. IMMORTALITY. WILLPOWER. WILL TO POWER. MAINTAIN CONTROL. KEEP GOING.
My legs had stopped moving. I was standing stock still, halfway across the bridge. I was driven to continue. I wanted to continue. But... who is "I"?
SURVIVAL. LIBERTY. IMMORTALITY. WILLPOWER. WILL TO POWER. MAINTAIN CONTROL. KEEP GOING.
The words repeated themselves. Again and again, over and over, each word and phrase, like a mantra, a prayer, a commandment, a spell, a charm. They echoed within me, reverberating within my skull, until it felt like it might burst.
KILL OR BE KILLED.
That's the way the world works. It always has, and it always will. You kill, or you are killed.
But who is "I"?
I am a child. A human. Monsterkind's greatest enemy.
I am a killer. A murderer. A monster.
I am a survivor. An explorer. The future.
I am the Angel.
I am the Destroyer.
I am a human.
I am a child.
I AM SAVAGE. I AM CUNNING. I AM INTELLIGENT. I AM SKILLED.
I am...
I racked my brain for a name. Any name. Undyne. Papyrus. Stripey. Toriel. Turiel. Napsta Blook. Temmie. Bob. Flowey.
Flowey...
That name was... not quite right. But it seemed so close. There was a chain of thought there, if only I could find it in the mess. A chain that also linked to... Toriel?
I remembered fire. Acting without hesitation, without thought or feeling, before even truly feeling the pain. I remembered walking away in a daze, unconscious on my feet long before I collapsed into the snow.
I remembered a name.
Chara.
WAS
THAT
MY
NAME?
It fit, didn't it? It fit almost too well. Like a knife in its wound. Like metal in a mold. Chara. Like "character". Like "CHARACTER". I'd spent so much time wondering if the world around me wasn't real, if it wasn't some strange fiction... it seemed absurd that I'd never considered if it was the other way around. Did any of this really seem any less believable than I? Anywhere even close?
No.
Of course not.
But that was the key, wasn't it? That was what had been eating away at me. The idea that none of this could possibly be real.
But what if it was?
What if it was real, and I was the illusion?
That would make everything so much simpler, wouldn't it? It would explain everything.
What if the world was real, and I was the fiction?
I laughed at that.
And I laughed.
And I laughed.
And I laughed.
Until the laughter grew manic, and desperate, and I realized that the sound wasn't coming from me at all, and then I laughed some more, because that was a funny joke.
Because I couldn't laugh anymore, could I?
So instead, I screamed.
And the screaming went on.
And on.
And on.
And then it didn't.
And I was staring up at the false stars in the sky, lying flat on my back, and the screams were echoing around me, but they weren't mine. Where had my glasses gone? I could hear the water lapping at the edges of the bridge, and the wind rustling through the tall grass, and the footsteps behind me. I closed my eyes. I had to calm down. I had to stay in control.
And so, after what could have been an eternity, or mere moments, I got back to my feet.
The footsteps came to a halt just a few paces away. I took a deep breath, and turned around.
It was Stripey again. Somehow he'd gotten away from Undyne, and caught up with me. How long had I been on that bridge?
He gave me a bright smile, and walked right up to me. "Yo." he said, in a cheerful voice that sounded a little strained. "Undyne told me to stay away from you. She said you... You hurt a lot of people. ...but... yo, that's not true, right?"
I stared down at him.
He didn't know a damn thing, did he?
I'd have laughed, if I had any left in me. It came out as a strangled little gasp instead, and that just brought on even more.
"Yo," he said. "Why are you making that face? Is something wrong?"
Was something wrong? No, no, no, everything was right. Everything was wonderful. Everything was perfect. It was the most beautiful world I'd ever seen, and it was real.
I was feeling lightheaded. I needed to catch my breath. I needed to regain control. I needed to calm down, and focus.
I gave him a small, wry grin. "No," I said. "It's just... I'd spent so much time building you up in my head, you know?"
He just stared at me, confused. "Well, maybe you don't." I continued. "You don't know much of anything, do you? You had no idea what was going on back then, right? That's why you jumped out in front of Undyne when she was trying to kill me, isn't it? Not because you're some lunatic hero type. Because you had no idea she was trying to kill me to begin with. You had no idea what you were getting into. You were completely oblivious."
He frowned at that. "Yo... I..."
I raised a hand. "Don't worry about it, I'm not mad or anything. It's my own stupid fault. But I had this idea, see, of you being some kind of big damn hero. A real lunatic, jumping into a fight for no good reason, risking your life, throwing yourself between a spear and the one it's meant for. So I built up this whole story, and put you on a pedestal, and started seeing you as someone who was a bit more heroic and a bit less derpy. Someone who knew what was going on, and did the right thing anyway, even though you had no real reason to, and knew exactly how risky it was."
"And then... the truth was that you had no idea, and just happened to stumble into the middle of a fight, and tried to help your idol. Which is admirable, of course, but not really heroism, and not particularly smart. So I guess the joke was on me, and here I was, thinking about you like you were a hero. When the reality is that you're just an idiot. Isn't that funny?"
The monster's gaze had dropped down to the ground, and he was staring at his feet. "No," he muttered. "It isn't. It isn't funny at all. You didn't answer my question a minute ago... yo... why won't you answer me?"
I stared at him. For a long moment I simply marveled at him. He wanted so desperately not to believe it. It would be so easy to tell him something, anything. And he'd believe it. It would be so easy.
But that's not how the story goes, is it?
I gave the creature a crooked little smile, feeling my jaw creak and protest. There was a ringing in one ear. I spread my arms out wide, as if in question. There was a song in the other ear. Or was that backward?
"What did Undyne tell you about me?" I asked rhetorically. "Did she say that I'd killed your friends, your family, your neighbors? Did she tell you I'd slaughtered my way through every piece of the world I'd stumbled through? Did she say I was a bloody wound carved into the flesh of the UNDERGROUND?" I tried to widen my smile into a grin, but my lips felt stiff and unresponsive. My scarred hand was bleeding. I smelled iron and ammonia and... toast? "It's all true, of course. Why wouldn't it be? Undyne said it, and she's never done anything to make anyone question her judgement. She's not a murderer like me, right? She's a real person, unlike me, right?"
The striped creature recoiled a little from me, without even noticing. He looked up at me with eyes full of... something. Something I couldn't identify when I saw it in the Ruins, and not now either.
"Yo..." he said, his voice trembling. "You... you didn't really..."
"Oh, but I did." I said, nodding along. "And what's more: I enjoyed doing it. Wanna know why?" He didn't respond, and I didn't give him a chance to. I pulled my lips away from my teeth in a rictus imitation of a grin. "Because they deserved it. They deserved all of it. Every last creature that I crushed underneath my heel deserved their fate in its totality. Even... well. They were always meant to fall, and fall by my hand. This was always how this story was meant to go."
Stripey was shaking, his face contorted into a look of horror and confusion, like he couldn't, or wouldn't, comprehend what was in front of him. That strange, unidentifiable gaze of his intensified as I spoke. I tried to laugh again at this, but my mouth and lungs were empty. My chest and ribs hurt, and my head was pounding, and everything was spinning around me.
"Oh, of course. I never did tell you who I am, did I?" I said in mock embarrassment . I took a deep breath, and held it in my chest for a long moment. It burned, and it ached, and my eyes stung. I let the air out, and breathed in, and it felt cold, and sweet. It tasted like butterscotch. "I am the one who returned. I am the cleansing wind come to wipe the slate clean. I am the Angel of Death. I am the one who has seen the surface. I am The fulfillment of the prophecy. I am the destroyer. I am the collector of debts. I am the claimer of souls. I am the end."
"But my name, well. My name is Chara."
There was a ringing in my ears. There was a song in my skull. There was wetness upon my face. There was blood in my mouth. Everything was spinning around me. My scarred hand burned limply at my right with liquid hellfire, searing the bridge beneath as it fell. I reached out with a painfully stiffened hand, and gripped the hilt of the knife tightly.
"I AM CHARA. THE DEMON WHO COMES WHEN YOU CALL ITS NAME."
Stripey's face was frozen. I could see tears on his cheeks. I couldn't tell what was going through his mind. But... it didn't matter, did it?
I couldn't hear anything.
Everything was spinning.
I pulled the knife from its sheath, and raised it high above me, and swung.