Chapter Text

Compared to Snowdin, Waterfall was positively warm. Not that it meant much, when one place was snow and the other one was rather humid, but at least it made it a bit easier to run. No more having freezing air in your face.

The kid guiding Syphus was full of energy, and although Monster Kid fell down on his face a couple times during the trek, Syphus barely had time to reach it every time before Monster Kid bolted again. The kid simply stopped for a second, looked around, shouted something and started running again. It was a simple process, and it was exactly because of how simple it was that Syphus wasn’t able to get Monster Kid to stop for a moment. Or maybe it was more because of how much his lungs were burning when running, not even letting him get the kid to stop. Syphus really wasn’t in conditions to be running for so long.

Monster Kid had more than enough air in his lungs to talk loudly while running, though: “It’s this way!” he’d say, after looking at a crossroads. Are you sure you know where we’re going?

“It’s in this place full of water. It’s nearby!” he’d shout, wading through a shallow puddle. You must be joking! Water in Waterfall?

“We play almost every day. I want to take her to see Undyne” he’d inform, managing to climb a ledge despite the lack of arms. She doesn’t want to go, right?

“But she doesn’t want to see Undyne. I’m sure if she met her she’d be her fan too!” he’d pout, crossing a bridge. I doubt it.

Monster Kid finally stopped after the bridge, pacing around while trying to orientate himself. While he was doing that, Syphus finally managed to reach him, panting and gasping for breath desperately. “A...Are...Are you s-sure...you know where...where we’re going?”

“I’m sure! Yes. Kinda. Maybe?” Monster Kid smiled sheepishly, slowly stopping his pacing “Yo, Waterfall is a big place...”

“Don’t look at me, kid...I know much less than you...about where to go”

“Let me see around again” Monster Kid walked around again, looking at every available path with attention. The place they were at right now showed a lot of different paths. Some went into dark caves, going deeper into Waterfall. Others went along the walls and ascended through cliffs and crevices, leading upwards and to places at the top of the waterfalls. There was also a bridge that crossed over a rather large chasm, and underneath it piles of garbage could be seen, brought by the water and piled in the bottom of the chasm. Finally, a few paths more were filled with very tall grass, much taller than Syphus.

How to know where to go? Monster Kid chuckled nervously before returning to Syphus. “Yo, I...I think we took a wrong turn somewhere”

“...did we.”

“I’m sorry, I thought I knew the path already” he confessed, sitting nearby. Syphus, still, hunched over and with his hands on his knees, shook his head. Of course. Of course things wouldn’t be easy. Of course more of these petty obstacles would get in his way. Of course the moment he felt he as one step closer to finally getting somewhere, it’d be like he was pulled from the nape of his neck back to square one.

It was so frustrating to know that. How was he expected to achieve anything when this happened? Surely right in this moment Lucia was sitting nearby in the tea parlor back at her manor, laughing her sides off at Syphus’ lack of success, while Sisyphus sweated bullets and stared at the game board until his eyes bulged, wondering how to direct his piece now. Everything had to be difficult, didn’t it?! Stupid witches, stupid game, stupid Waterfall, stupid humans who had to hide so damn well!

But Syphus didn’t have the heart to blame Monster Kid. Syphus was rather fond of children, monsters or not. Mustering his kindest smile, Syphus almost petted Monster Kid’s head before remembering he really shouldn’t touch or let anyone touch him. “It’s okay. I don’t mind”

“Really?”

“Really. I have never been in Waterfall before, so it’s good to have a guide” Syphus lied, still smiling “Besides we can always go back a bit and try again. We’re not that lost”

“Yeah...yeah! You’re right! We came this way” Monster Kid stood up and returned to the path they had come from, but before Syphus could stand and go with him, the child ran back. “Yo, wait! I think I remember now. We need to go that way” he pointed with his tail towards one of the corridors with tall grass “We need to walk until we find a lot of that shiny blue water”

“...are you sure about that?”

“Yeah! I’m sure. And if it’s wrong we can return here, you said it” his eyes were sparkling with excitement. Exploring Waterfall was always fun, and although this monster he was taking around was a bit old to be jumping around with him, it wasn’t deterring him from being happy about it all. His panache was contagious, and soon Syphus found himself standing up with renewed energy.

“Alright. Once again you’ll lead the way, kid!”

“Follow me!” and there he went, getting into the tall grass. I like this kid, he has guts and enthusiasm. Syphus mulled, making a SAVE point. Better be safe and sorry. If they got lost again, Syphus intended to return to this point and convince Monster Kid to pick another path. Anything better than waste the rest of the day lost in Waterfall, he guessed.

“Mister! Over here!” Monster Kid’s voice sounded from somewhere on the other side of the tall grass, so Syphus went in, spreading apart the weeds with his hands. The grass was rather noisy, and he literally couldn’t see anything other than the growing plants. The ground he was stepping on was moist and he could feel his boots sinking down to his ankles in the mud. Syphus lifted one foot forward, grabbing onto the grass for support, and stepped, squelching sounds each time. It was a tiring process that slowed him down more than before.

“Hey! Wait for me!” Syphus shouted, trying to get his guide’s attention and wondering how exactly Monster Kid managed to get through here without any trouble. There was no response, which made Syphus hurry up. After a few minutes Syphus finally managed to get to the other side of the tall grass, tripping at the last moment and falling on his back on the ground. In the ceiling, sparkly stones shone, like stars in a pitch black sky. The sound of the waterfalls reverberated everywhere. Syphus managed to support himself on his elbows and looked around.

He had arrived at another crossroads. “Kid! Can you hear me?” Syphus yelled, the echo of his voice getting rather far away. There was still no response. Fearing he had been left behind, Syphus chose the nearest path and walked in briskly, from time to time calling for Monster Kid.

Syphus knew he had made a SAVE point, but it was possible Monster Kid really had managed to get to the place he had wanted to show him, in which case going back and convincing him to not to go through the tall grass was a risk he wasn’t sure he wanted to take, and if the tall grass was the correct path, then it was unlikely he’d be able to cross through there any faster. As he saw it, it was worth it to try to find him before returning back to the SAVE point.

The road was sloped upwards, following the wall in a spiral that went higher and higher along the wall. The chamber he was in was shaped like a dome, the ceiling covered in rather ominous stalactites, as if those were about to fall on Syphus in any moment. The incessant noise of dripping water echoed around Waterfall. It felt as if he was alone in the Underground, walking without anything else other than his own thoughts.

At the end of the spiral the path went deeper into Waterfall. Along the way there were many rather eye-catching places. Pools of bright cyan water, glowing intensely. Torrents of water flowing through the floor. Fields of tall blue flowers, somehow saying stuff said by people who had gone through there before. It would have been a rather nice stroll if it wasn’t because Syphus wasn’t paying attention to any of that. The more he walked, the less patience he had. Monster Kid still didn’t reply to any of his shouting, and Syphus felt it was likely he had gotten farther away from his guide.

Damn it. How much time do I have left...?

The path evened out. Syphus had arrived to a riverbed, recently dried, judging by the slippery rocks littering the place. The riverbed ended in a large cliff, leading into a hole Syphus had no idea how deep it was. Scowling, Syphus walked forward. “Okay, that’s enough. I’m going back” he mumbled, closing his eyes and starting to gather the resolve and determination needed to return to a point in the past.

He had barely started when the headache struck, breaking his concentration. His vision started to fade while the nausea settled in, he was so dizzy he couldn’t even see his own hands in front of his face. Feeling as if something had punched him in the gut, Syphus stumbled forward, trying his best not to throw up. The headache pulsed through his head. Syphus...the piece blinked, attempting to focus his eyes. W-What...? He could see two places at the same time, blurring and mixing in front of him. A bright tea parlor, a dark cavern, both seemed to exist at once, although the atmosphere indicated he was in Waterfall.

Syphus felt something viscous dripping down his arms and back. It felt as if he was melting, disappearing from the world, in a way. “Make it stop...someone...make it stop!” he begged, grabbing his head, his vision clouding. Behind him, footsteps made of ink were left into the ground, quickly drying and vanishing.

After a moment of confusion, the headache started to diminish, although the nausea was still there. Syphus slowly stepped forward, not noticing how far he had strayed from the center of the road. He placed his foot wrongly on the rock in front of him, slipping and losing his balance. “Gah!” Syphus gasped, trying to balance himself with his arms, but he was way too disoriented to be able to do it, and the weight of the halberd blade in his jacket also helped to make him tilt way too much towards the wrong side.

And he fell. Syphus fell over the edge of the cliff, plummeting into the abyss, and as soon as that happened, the very first thought that crossed his mind was: How deep is this chasm?

The fact he had been falling for several seconds already meant he was unlikely to survive, but Syphus was feeling frustrated for other reasons. What a chump, he slipped on the wet rocks while traversing Waterfall, lost his balance and fell over the edge of the cliff! In the big scheme of things, this was no more than an inconvenience, but it was a stupid death nonetheless...at least he had made a SAVE point before. He wouldn’t lose that much progress.

So now what?

He didn’t have time to answer that question to himself before he hit the water.

-ooooo-

“...stop staring blankly into space like that?!”

Sisyphus blinked several times, trying to orientate himself. Yes, he was in the tea parlor. The board was right in front of him, on the table, prepared for the game. “...I...sorry, Lucia, I’m not used to dealing with a piece like this”

Lucia pursed her lips, shaking her head. “I hope you get used to it very soon. There’s no time left”

“What? Already? It has been half an hour!”

“I told you there wasn’t much time. He’ll be arriving in any moment now”

Sisyphus sighed. It was nice while it lasted. The closer the deadline was, the more nervous he felt. Could he really help direct the timeline towards a good ending? “...okay. I suppose I was able to take a good look at the board. Tell me something, though:

Are the humans alive? Are...are my friends alive?”

The witch tilted her head, playing with her hair. “Would it make you feel better if I used the red truth to answer you?”

“That’d be nice” that was better than he had expected! Lucia nodded and got more comfortable in her chair beside Sisyphus before answering with the red truth, like promised:

Nice. There was no way that could be false. If the six humans were all alive and hidden somewhere in the Underground, then this could really be the timeline he had been trying to create for so long. A bit encouraged, Sisyphus nodded and got closer to the board.

There was something about Sisyphus that made Lucia be unsure of what could happen, though. She had no qualms with messing with worlds or causing deaths, if so she wanted, but after letting Sisyphus live with her for thirty years she couldn’t deny she had a soft spot towards him...at the very least. He wasn’t the most determined person – the only reason why he had been given the SAVE and LOAD skills was because Alphonse intervened and passed it to him – and to be frank he was a bit of an idiot, but he was a friend. Kinda. Almost.

“You do know what’s in risk here, don’t you?” she asked.

“Of course I do. That Igor guy told me all”

“Then you also understand losing the game is not an option”

Sisyphus took off his glasses, cleaning the lenses with a bit more of force than necessary. “I know. You don’t have to remind me”

“Well, rejoice. I have decided to give you a hand” Lucia smirked, raising a finger “I’m going to give you hope”

“...really?”

“And what better hope than giving you a hand? With me at your side, you’re going to triumph. I can’t guarantee it, but at least I’ll make sure this doesn’t end in a complete wipeout...for your opponent”

Sisyphus put on his glasses. “I thought you’d have faith on me”

“I have spent the last thirty years with you, Sisyphus. I know what you’re capable of, and what are your flaws. I think some help would do you some good. Don’t misunderstand me...” Lucia furrowed her brow, a bit obscured by the blindfold “...I’m not in your team. Consider me...an advisor of sorts”

She had a point, it was good to know he’d have some help. Lucia wasn’t exactly a team player, she could get way too competitive and wasn’t afraid of playing dirty, so there was a chance having her on his side would backfire, but if she behaved she could be of use.

Lucia seemed to sense what Sisyphus was thinking. She sighed, surely having a rather condescending look behind that blindfold of hers. “Don’t get me wrong: you’re going to do all the work. I’ll just be your assistant. Hell, I won’t even have a piece on the board.

You’re on your own, it’s just that you will...you will have someone holding your back so you don’t crash and burn. Think of it like that”

Despite the flippant tone, there was a sympathetic facet in her voice. She did mean the part about helping him and supporting him, and even if she wasn’t going to be useful, some encouragement would be nice. It was the least she could do.

Lucia has appointed herself as your assistant.

You feel a faint bond forming between you and Lucia

As soon as that happened, Lucia gasped slightly, frowning. “What the hell...?”

“Uh, Lucia? I think we just established a Social Link”

“But that’s impossible! I shouldn’t be able to be one of your...” Lucia’s voice trailed away while she calmed down, until she finally cleared her throat and smoothed the dress over her knees “A-Anyways...just curiosity, which one am I?”

“The Star arcana. What does it mean?”

“It means things are going to be less predictable than I thought they’d be. Funny...and here I thought watching the game would be a snooze fest” she tilted her head “I thought it was impossible for you to form a Social Link with someone who is not from that universe. Guess I was wrong”

“I know that already! The assistant from the Velvet Room didn’t come from that universe and I got a Social Link with them”

“Is that so?” Lucia was silent for a moment “Anyways, since I’m your assistant now I should start doing my job. Here, allow me give you a tip:

Be more assertive”

“I think I’m rather assertive—“

“No, you aren’t! Look back at all the conversations your piece had. In how many of them your piece started the conversation?” Sisyphus wasn’t even able to answer before Lucia pointed at him with her finger “One! Just one conversation.

You won’t win this game if you go pussyfooting around. You need to take action, Sisyphus! Grab the bull by the horns, throw it to the floor, look at it at the eyes and make sure it knows who is in charge! Got it?”

“Got it...” she wasn’t wrong, everyone else had started the conversations, and he wasn’t going to get anywhere if he didn’t make sure he was in charge. The problem was that he wasn’t sure how.

Before Lucia could give some other advice, the tea parlor acquired a strange atmosphere. It was as if a comforting yet strange aura had seeped into the place, making Sisyphus both want to run away and relax at the same time. Both Lucia and Sisyphus turned their heads to the empty armchair on the other side of the table, where the opponent was supposed to appear.

And he did appear. Slowly, a sorcerer appeared in the armchair, as if he was formed by particles that had been formerly floating in the air nearby. He looked rather out of place in the otherwise sophisticated tea parlor. He was rather tall and lanky, his grizzled hair looked more like a mane, thick and long enough to get to his shoulder blades, and his clothes were tattered and without any bright colors. He looked more like a vagrant than like a sorcerer.

The man scratched his head, looking around meekly. “...Ho...How are you?” he asked. Although his voice was clear and strong, he was behaving more like someone who had no idea why he was there.

“Greetings, Cornio. Welcome to the Hopeful Star” Lucia said, bowing slowly and rather pretentiously “I’m sure you remember my name, don’t you?”

“Miss Lucia” Cornio dared to give a small smile. Smiling made him look younger and calmer, as if a weight on his shoulders had been taken away for a moment “Thanks for letting me be here”

“Don’t mention it” Lucia turned her head towards Sisyphus “Here’s your opponent today. This is Cornio, a novice, just like you. Don’t underestimate him”

Cornio grimaced for a moment before plastering a rather awkward smile on his face. After taking a moment to gather his resolve, breathing deeply and squaring his shoulders, Cornio looked at Sisyphus straight to the eyes. He couldn’t allow himself look vulnerable when talking to his opponent, after all. “You must be Sisyphus” he said slowly, appraising Sisyphus. Somehow, he looked at much more ease dealing with Sisyphus than with Lucia, if only because he looked more confident now.

“...I am”

“I’m Cornio, and I’ll be your opponent. Is that okay?” Well, not so confident.

...rather meek, for a witch. I’m not sure about all this. It wasn’t like Sisyphus could protest and call it off, though. This game was his chance to get the best timeline possible. If it meant to deal with Cornio, then so be it. At least it would mean Cornio could be an easy foe. Someone like him wouldn’t be able to create the necessary obstacles for this to be a difficult challenge, the game would be over in no time.

“Have you done something like this before?”

Cornio grinned naively “This is the first time I’m a game master! It wasn’t easy to create this story, but I’m ready to challenge you. Just because you and I are on different sides doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, right?” he extended his hand over the board, looking at Sisyphus with the same hopeful look a child would have when introducing himself to a new friend. That was rather unusual, as far as Sisyphus knew. Witches weren’t exactly the type to have sportsmanship towards their opponents, unless there was some sort of big ulterior motive. I can’t trust this guy. He must have some sort of trap prepared Sisyphus mused while he shook hands with Cornio.

“I guess? I’m not really into making friends right now”

Lucia acted immediately. She grabbed Cornio’s hand and pushed it towards him hurriedly, waving with the other at Sisyphus. “Nevermind that!”

“...what? What did I say wrong?” the reaction caught Sisyphus by surprise, it was way too strong, even more in response to such a simple statement.

Lucia buried her face in her hands. “...the game hasn’t even started and I already have a headache”

“What do you mean?” Sisyphus whispered to her.

“I better start doing some damage control here” Lucia removed her hands from her face, getting closer to Sisyphus “Look, let me tell you something: he’ll try to get under your skin, or at least mislead you. Got it?”

That made sense. Anyone would expect such thing. “Now give you my second tip:

You’re going to need several Social Links. Trust me, you’ll need the power boost”

“So...Social Links are for powers?”

“Personas are divided by arcanas. The stronger the Social Link is, the more powerful the Personas in the Velvet Room will be, and since you’re going to fight alone for the first one or two dungeons...you’re going to need to be strong enough to survive by yourself”

That explained almost nothing! Dungeons? But the core of the message was clear. “Got it”

“Cornio is not the kind of player that takes his time idly. Focus on Social Links before his onslaught is ready, because later you may not have time to do it”

It would be easier if I knew how to make the links stronger.

-ooooo-

...I’m not sure I like this.

Cornio watched Sisyphus and Lucia confer on their strategy. He couldn’t hear a thing they were saying, but he wasn’t worried. He was more...uneasy than worried. Lucia was okay, not the kindest or most considerate person, but she was a friend and someone he trusted.

The other witch, or sorcerer, whatever he was supposed to call them...he was different, and not in a good way. There was something about him that was off, very off. Not that he himself was normal or stable.

Trying to push those thoughts away of his mind, Cornio leaned forward and softly touched the rim of the board, looking at his hand with discomfort. I shouldn’t have come here. Cornio knew the board and its world in every conceivable way possible. All the pieces in front of him not only represented people. Those pieces also could represent places, events, every single thing that could happen in the Underground. As the game master, he had control of what could happen in the Underground, while all Sisyphus could do was play along with everything he said and did. After all, the game master was in charge of the story, no matter how dark, complicated or cruel it could be. Sisyphus, on the other hand, had ways to direct the story in some directions, but it’d be difficult for him to change the fate of the people inside the world.

Having control wasn’t all the game master needed. Game masters also needed to understand absolutely everything about the universe they were dealing with, and that was something Cornio exceled in. He knew the hopes and dreams of most of the monsters in the Underground, what their wishes and personalities were, and what exactly could break them down. Theoretically he could push anyone to do whatever he wanted, and so far, it had all gone like he had thought it’d go.

He had been the one who created the timeline and the game board, after all. Not that it made him happy to play with everyone’s lives, if there was any other way to solve this all, he would have taken it gladly. This wasn’t going to be pretty or fun, but he had to do it.

Cornio had a few plans in mind already, challenges he could use against Sisyphus, as well as a couple mysteries to muddle up the story, and while he wasn’t sure how well mixing Shadows into the universe would go, it wasn’t like he could back down now.

I can’t quit now. This has been going for long enough.

Damn it, he was having second thoughts again. To try to gather resolve again, Cornio put his hand into his pocket and touched the only object he had: a firefly brooch. As long as he had it, he’d be okay.

The one that wouldn’t be okay was Sisyphus, apparently. He was starting to look like he had been given some very bad news. “Will you be okay?” Cornio asked.

“Yeah! I’ll be okay! Don’t worry about me” he replied, a bit more forcefully than it was necessary. This is going to be bad.

Forget about Sisyphus. Focus on the game. Try to suppress the guilt of having to try to ruin the fates and lives of hundreds of monsters if Sisyphus doesn’t counter anything Cornio did.

-ooooo-

Who was Cornio trying to fool, pretending to be concerned for him? That was what Sisyphus wondered. He didn’t believe for a second that Cornio had asked that because he was worried, it was more likely it was because he was trying to find any weak points to attack.

“You don’t trust me, do you?” he asked.

“...to be honest I don’t” Sisyphus answered.

Cornio looked disapprovingly at Lucia, who merely shrugged. “Sisyphus, I’m not your enemy. All I ask is that you understand that”

That actually sounded a bit more sincere, Sisyphus wasn’t able what to respond. ...what are you planning? “I-I understand that...” That was true, he did, it was just that he wasn’t convinced Cornio really was willing to have a friendly stance.

That simple statement seemed to have been enough, though. Whether Sisyphus wanted to admit it or not, part of him did want to believe Cornio was being honest, and since it seemed Social Links required both parties to have a certain amount of interest in each other...

You’re now acquaintances with your opponent.

You feel a faint bond forming between you and Cornio

...it sparked the Social Link. Whatever works, works. Sisyphus certainly wasn’t going to complain if he had even the smallest advantage in the game. He was taking rather seriously what Lucia had said about the need to start as many Social Links as possible before things got too tough to focus on those.

“Okay, enough of this. Let’s start the game already” Lucia said

“Now? I...” Cornio scratched the back of his head before sighing “Okay, let’s do this”

And so the game started. Cornio grabbed a piece and, after a few seconds of hesitation, he moved it forward, making the story commence.

-ooooo-

Sans drummed his phalanges against the frame of the machine, watching the inexorable moment arrive. In matter of seconds, they’d all reach the point the timeline started to heavily distort. “five...four...three...two...one...”

The game started. As soon as the clock indicated they were all in the distorted part of the timeline, Sans looked around, but there was absolutely nothing strange. Nothing was imploding, there were no black holes anywhere, it all looked rather...rather normal.

“welp”

-ooooo-

Ciruel ducked when crossing the doorway of the shed, the fake antlers were too large for him to walk without crouching when passing there. Papyrus hadn’t returned yet, but Ciruel couldn’t afford waiting anymore. He had waited an hour, and that was enough. After making sure to close the door behind him, the man started walking towards Waterfall, to the Hidden Village located in the depths of that area.

-ooooo-

Frisk continued climbing Mt. Ebott. Somehow, they were late. They knew they should have gotten to the Underground some time ago, but there had been many delays. They had gotten lost somehow. Their feet started to hurt. They felt compelled to sit in the shadows until the sun wasn’t beating down so hard on the mountain. Those were al small annoyances that, when added, made them be arriving to the mountain cave too late.

Right in from of them there was the hole where they were supposed to fall down into. They knew they’d be relatively safe when falling, the golden flowers would stop their fall without hurting them. Frisk wasn’t sure how exactly that was possible, but they weren’t going to complain.

After taking a moment to peer down into the abyss, Frisk stepped back a few steps before running forward and jumping in.

-ooooo-

Alphonse pretended to read into the book that contained all the possible Personas a Velvet Room guest could create. There was something bothering them, it felt like something was wrong... “Master, can I ask a question?”

Igor turned his head around, acknowledging and giving permission with a glance. The assistant closed the book and put it aside. “Why is our guest aligned with the Aeon arcana? I thought only those of the Fool arcana could have the power of the Wild Card”

“It’s an...unusual situation” Igor conceded “But there’s an explanation for that.

It’s true Sisyphus the witch signed the contract, and indeed, he’s of the Fool arcana. However, the person who has a Persona is different. It could be said they’re the same person, yet at the same time they’re not exactly the same person. Do you understand?”

Alphonse mulled it for a moment. “I’m not sure I do”

“A person isn’t defined by an arcana for their entire lives. They change, according to their experiences and mindsets, passing through most if not all the possible arcanas during their lives.

Syphus the piece is no more than the part of our guest’s soul that represents the Aeon arcana. Do you understand now?”

“...I think I do” Alphonse stared at the inactive cogs lining the walls “What does that imply? What’ll happen to our guest?”

“Our duty is to aid our guest to fulfill their task. Other than that, the only ones who can decide what’ll happen to them...is our guest himself, or in this case, our guest and his piece.

No matter what happens, we shall have to accept it, Alphonse, no matter how difficult it may be”

Alphonse nodded, pensive. They had some faith nothing outright anomalous would happen, but there was always a chance the guest would screw up in such a way the contract would be broken. What’d be the consequences of that? They didn’t want to find out.

Come on, Sisyphus, don’t screw up. Please.

-ooooo-

When Syphus was able to understand what he was seeing, he noticed he was back where he had made the SAVE point, and Monster Kid was nearby. “...me see around again” he said, examining all the paths.

“Uh, kid, you don’t have to do this” Syphus said slowly, still a bit dazed. He remembered every single second from before he died, but he didn’t feel any pain, nor anything that indicated he had crashed onto water and rocks in what was technically just a few seconds before.

“Dude, are you sure? I can find the way, just give me a moment”

“It’s fine. Come on, let’s return to the town” after the death the perspective of passing through Waterfall and looking for the village had been greatly soured. Maybe he should return later, after he had calmed down enough to not to think about his death without clenching his fists.

“Okay...let’s go before the patrollers come around here” Monster Kid requested, starting the walk, thankfully this time slow enough for Syphus to follow easily. Syphus took a deep breath, shaking off the daze, and stepped forward.

The game has started.

“What the...”

“What’re you waiting for? Let’s go!” Monster Kid called from the distance. It was unlikely the Social Link was with Monster Kid, it just didn’t fit very well. Then who exactly was it with? There was no one else around!

A bit confused and at a loss of words, Syphus hurried to get to Monster Kid’s side, and together started the trek back to Snowdin Town.

-ooooo-

At least the pool of oily ink stopped growing.

It had by now covered half of the floor of the room, and anyone who looked into it would feel like it was some sort of void, leading into places one shouldn’t be able to see. The black oil didn’t seem like a simple stain anymore. It had grown in volume, looking more like globs than anything else.

There was something unsettling about it, though. The ink bubbled and moved as if there was something right underneath the surface, struggling to get out. Slowly, on the edge of the pool of ink, a large sticky hand emerged.

It was as if it was made of nothing else but ink. Slowly, a rather large arm extended behind the arm, until the blob showed a blue mask. It was what could be considered the most basic Shadow, emerging from the collective unconscious of the world.

It didn’t mean it could just leave the pool of oil, though. After a moment where the Shadow tried to leave the pool, without any success, slowly the Shadow sunk back into the ink until it was as if nothing had been there.

Despite the world being filled with magic, Shadows couldn’t simply roam anywhere. Shadows weren’t meant to exist anywhere except in the collective unconscious or in the souls of people. It was true there was a way into the world, but not any Shadow could go through it.

Only particularly strong Shadows, Shadows having an ego almost as defined as any human or monster’s, would be able to cross into the Underground.

It was matter of time before more like those arrived.

Prologue: Setting Up the Pieces – END

Act I: Opening