Chapter Text
"I've been expecting you."
"I know."
"Then you know that I won't grant you your wish?"
"...I...Believe that there is a chance."
"It's a small one."
"But you must understand, I-"
"No, YOU don't understand. Just because you're some stuck-up demigod doesn't mean that you get this. No one does. If I let ANYONE, God or not, give mortals immortality it'll mess with the balance of life and death. Everything would fall apart."
"...I know."
"Then why are you still here? Just-"
"You touch the grass and it withers away, the shadows your robes casts leave marks of death to whatever may have been once thriving in the sun. Is this not true?"
"...It is."
"And you have killed both plant, animal, human, and monster both with purpose and unintentionally, correct?"
"...Right. What's your point?"
"Can you kill a 'stuck-up demigod?'"
"..."
"Can you or can you not?"
"Nightmare... Do you realize what you're asking for?"
"I do."
"I... Listen, I know that your gang-"
"My family."
"Alright, I know that your FAMILY are mortals and you don't want to loose them, but... But they're just mortals! Eventually they'll just be a blip in the past. I felt the same way to some people when I was your age but now-"
"I'm not going to change my mind."
"Just listen to yourself! Dream didn't-"
"My 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 has nothing to do with this. Do not involve him."
"How do you know you wouldn't regret it?"
"I can't regret something when I'm dead, can I?"
"..."
"...Can I?"
"I don't know. I've never died before. It doesn't matter. I'm not going to assist you in 𝘴𝘶𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦. I don't care if I owe you a favor or not."
"Ironic, isn't it? How you've helped so many other-"
"I was doing my damned job! I reap the souls that are destined to die. This-This is different!"
"How so?"
"I- You don't- Mortals have timers, you don't!"
"..."
"Leave."
"You mentioned others not being able to make their loved ones immortal."
A sigh. "Yeah, I did."
"And you mentioned that it was something that you aren't able to give them. Is it wrong to compare it to something that can be gifted?"
"I guess you can put it like that. It's kind of similar."
"Am I capable of giving my immortality to a mortal in return for their mortality?"
"..."
"Answer me."
"No, not for mortality. You could... Nightmare, listen-"
"I could 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵?"
"You could trade it in for their lifespan. You would die when they died, with the same symptoms of whatever caused it."
"Explain."
"It's... unpredictable. You're... A skeleton, aura, apple-goo creature so-"
"𝘌𝘹𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦?"
"-if you were to trade your immortal life with a human's and the human was to die of a heart attack I wouldn't know what you could expect."
"Is there any way of knowing what their cause of death may be?"
"No. Another reason to just drop this whole thing; It's unpredictable."
"I would know when I am to die."
"You wouldn't, actually. Even if I was able to show you the timer it's hard to tell."
"What do you mean? Does the timer not give a set time for when it's to end?"
"Not really. It's hard to explain and I've already told you more than you should know. And hell, you might even die BEFORE the timer ends. Your consciousness would be stuck inside a deteriorating body, or worse, broken up into fragments and scattered with your dust... If your body is capable of dusting."
"I trust the others to keep me safe."
"And how are you going to tell them that their 'beloved leader' turned into a mortal?"
"They... would understand."
"Right... And what if you die before them?"
"Cross knows how to open portals and Error visits us often."
"You're being selfish. This is going to upset them."
"I know."
"Are you really willing to face the consequences?"
"Yes."
"..."
"You don't believe me."
"I 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 believe it! I can't believe a lot of things... That you're STUPID enough to do this, that you're willing to upset the others, giving away your immortality... And you don't even know what the consequences 𝘢𝘳𝘦!"
"Then I am willing to face the unknown."
"...Fine."