Chapter 1: The Existential Void
The sun shone down on Hometown, a place that was once home to the monsters beneath the Underground. Now, with the barrier destroyed, life seemed peaceful. Birds sang, flowers bloomed, and in the midst of it all, Sans, the laziest skeleton in town, slept peacefully in his bed. Or at least he tried to.
"SANS! WAKE UP, LAZYBOY!" Papyrus' voice echoed through the room, accompanied by a loud knock on the door.
Sans slowly opened one eye, looking at his brother lazily.
"Hey, Papyrus... what's wrong? Let me sleep a little longer," he muttered, turning to the wall.
"No, Sans! It's already two in the afternoon! You can't waste the day sleeping!" Papyrus crossed his arms, his usual tone exasperated.
—Yeah, yeah, I know... but the bar doesn't open until the evening. It's not like we're going to starve —Sans replied with a mocking smile.
—That doesn't matter! It's a beautiful day and you should take advantage of it! And while you're at it, you could clean your room! It's a mess! —Papyrus pointed at the pile of clothes and papers scattered on the floor.
Sans shrugged and, with a quick movement, teleported to Papyrus' side.
—Well, I'm going to the kitchen. Is there still ketchup left? —he asked, completely ignoring his brother's reprimand.
—SANS! We're not done with this conversation! —Papyrus shouted, but Sans was already walking down the stairs, leaving his brother with the word in his mouth.
In the kitchen, Sans sat at the table with a bottle of ketchup in one hand and the newspaper in the other. As he flipped through the pages, Papyrus continued to clean the kitchen, muttering something about his brother's irresponsibility.
"Hey, Paps," Sans said suddenly, pointing at an article. "Spaghetti bundles are on sale at the supermarket."
Papyrus dropped the rag he was using and quickly turned around.
"What?! I can't let those scalpers take everything! I'm leaving right now!" he said, putting on his cloak and running out of the house.
Sans smiled to himself and continued reading the paper. But something on the next page caught his attention.
"Magic density detected in Hometown: Monsters fainting due to high concentration of magic particles in the air. Scientists warn that levels have risen dramatically in recent months."
Sans frowned. The last time there had been such a large increase in magic density was when the human released the barrier. What was going on now?
"Haaah…" he sighed, putting the paper aside. "I better take a walk. Maybe that will help me clear my head."
Sans stepped out onto the street, walking with his usual slow pace. The town seemed quiet, but something in the air felt… different. Suddenly, he saw a cat sitting on the sidewalk, looking at him curiously.
"Hey, kitty," Sans said, coming closer. "What are you doing here?"
The cat stood on guard, arching its back and showing its claws. Sans smiled and, with a quick movement, used his ability to teleport the cat towards him.
"Relax, I won't do anything to you," he said, holding the cat in the air. "I just want to know where your owner is."
The cat meowed, and Sans noticed a collar with a name tag on it. Before he could read it, a little girl came running in.
"Bernard! I finally found you!" the girl said, taking the cat from Sans's hands.
"Hehe, it was up in that tree," Sans said, pointing up. "I had to get it down."
The girl looked at him curiously, as if she had never seen a skeleton before.
"Thank you, sir," she said finally. "My name is Emily."
"You're welcome, Emily. But take better care of your cat. Next time it might be on top of a building," Sans said with a smile.
Emily nodded and ran away, called by her parents. Sans watched her for a moment before continuing his way to the park.
Upon arriving, he sat down on a bench and let his thoughts flow. Ever since the barrier was destroyed, everything had changed. He no longer had a clear purpose. Before, his goal was to protect the Underground, but now... what was left? He had opened a bar, but even that didn't fill the emptiness he felt.
"Jeez…" he sighed, leaning back on the bench. "To think that getting out of the Underground was our only goal. But now that we've made it... what's next?"
Sans closed his eyes, feeling more and more tired. Soon, he fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke up, it was already nighttime. The park was empty, but something in the air made him immediately stand up. The magical density was even stronger than before, almost palpable.
"What the...?" he muttered, looking around.
Suddenly, a flash of blue light drew him towards a group of trees. Sans walked closer, feeling the magical density increase with each step he took. Finally, he came to a clearing where a glowing portal opened before him.
"What... what is this?" he asked quietly, approaching the portal.
Inside him, he could feel an overwhelming energy, as if he was looking into another world. Sans hesitated for a moment, but his curiosity prompted him to step forward.
"Well, here goes nothing," he said, and stepped into the portal.
Author's Words
Hello everyone! I'm Its, the creator of this fanfic. This is my first attempt at story creation, so I hope you like this chapter. The idea is to explore Sans' existential void after the events of Undertale (Pacifist Route) and his journey to the Threshold of Worlds. Thank you for reading and I look forward to your comments!