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Berdly awoke to nothing.
A Silent, oppressive nothingness that surrounded him. He felt completely weightless, yet as though the entire world was on his shoulders. And he was cold. So, so cold.
“Ah. You’re
Awake”
Any vestiges of sleep Berdly may have had burnt away as he startled awake at the new voice.
“Who’s there?” He asked, trying to hide his fear. “Show yourself!”
And somehow, the nothingness split as a figure stepped, or perhaps floated forward.
They were a skeleton of some sorts, if Berdly had to guess. Their skull seemed melted cracked, and they wore a simple coat that somehow seemed darker than the void surrounding them.
“Who are you? Where are we?”
“Ah. We aren’t quite
Anywhere
Or
Anywhen”
The figure had an odd way of talking, Berdly noted. Like they always had to make sure they were going to say the right thing.
“Alright then” Berdly remarked. “What about the first question?”
“You may call me
Dr. Gaster”
Berdly narrowed his eyes. If this monster really was a doctor, then his intelligence must be worth something. But you don’t exactly trust people in this sort of situation.
“I trust you know why
I brought you here?”
“Uhhh, no. I just woke up.”
“Ah yes.
From your
Dream”
And with the final word, Berdly’s head split open with the worst brain freeze he’s ever had.
”Snowgrave”
“I’m telling you, I don’t know that spell!”
“Snowgrave”
“Fine, see what happens when I use a spell I don’t know!”
“Snowgrave
Eyes white as ice
A flurry of snow
A sheer cold that froze him all the way to his soul.
Through his soul.
The headache vanished almost as soon as arrived, though Berdly’s head was still swirling.
“I-what-but- I can’t be dead!” He cried. “That was just a dream! Noelle would never hurt me like that.”
“It was not
Her choice”
Proceed
“Ok but- Kris wouldn’t have manipulated her like that! Right? I mean, they’ve been friends for years!”
Would they have though? Berdly had played games with Kris before, but he wasn’t particularly close to the only human in town. Had they always harbored that dark side? Had Noelle been in danger the entire time and he had never noticed?”
“You are
Correct”
”I can still hear their voice”
“Then what happened?” Berdly screamed.
“I’m afraid I share
Some of the blame
For this.”
“Huh?”
“I brought the soul within the human
The soul controlling the human
To your world”
Gaster’s face; or what was left of it; shifted slightly to one of remorse
“They were
An unplanned variable
To see what would happen”
“Wait wait wait. You mean to tell me that you forced the soul into Kris, and that’s why they’ve been doing all this stuff?” Berdly squawked in disbelief.
“No.
There was…”
“An accident?”
“An Interloper,” Gaster said firmly.
“The soul was destined for
A vessel.
But they were
Pulled away
At the last moments”
“Ok then… Why did they…”
”Why did they hurt Noelle? Why did they kill me?” Berdly wanted to ask, but the words were frozen on his tongue.
“I do not know,” Gaster admitted.
“Perhaps I
Misjudged them.
Or perhaps
They seek freedom of their own?”
Berdly pinched the crest of their beak.
“Ok, so you brought a soul into this world that’s possessing Kris and using them to hurt people. That still doesn’t explain why you brought me here.”
“I wish to
Fix
My wrongdoings.
But
I also need
Your assistance”
“Huh? What do you need me for?”
“My influence over the physical world is
Limited.
My original body was
Destroyed.
Scattered.
Lost.”
“Alright. So you need me to go back and..?
“Stop them.
Resist them.
Prevent this from happening again”
Gaster slowly stretched his hand towards Berdly.
“Return to your world.
Keep an eye on the human and the soul
And perhaps
We may find the interloper”
Berdly paused for a moment before reaching out, only to pull his arm back in.
“Once we stop them, can I go back to my old life?” He asked.
“Sadly, no.
You may return to your family
Your school
Your passions
But, I’m afraid
Your old life died with you”
Berdly stretched his fingers. They were still cold, just as the rest of his body was. His old life was gone, things would never; could never be the same. But at the same time, any life at all had to be better than none, right?
“Alright,” he finally said, taking Gaster’s hand after not a minute. “You have yourself a deal”
The man smiled
“Excellent.
Truly
Excellent.”
~~~ The Next Day ~~~
“KRIS!”
Seeing the normally emotionless human almost jump out of their skin as they walked into the library almost made everything worth it.
Key word being Almost
“Good news! I’ve talked with Ms. Boom, and we’ve decided that we will waive your overcharge fee so long as you pay enough to purchase a new copy of How to Draw Dragons! A mere 5.99!”
Kris remained silent, fear and… relief? painted on their face.
“Hmm? What’s wrong Kris? You look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
*Studying
“Hmm? Oh right! Noelle told me that she invited you and Susie to study with us. Sorry for falling asleep before you arrived. But the smartest person in class must stay well-rested for such things!”
”Wow” Berdly thought to himself. “I really need to work on my lying”
*Nightmare
“Actually, I did have a nightmare! You were there too, in fact.
The human seemed to pale at the last part.
“You were the first to die, actually. When a book of stupid jokes came to life and ripped your stupid body up limb from limb”
*Snowgrave
It took Everything in Berdly to keep from reacting to that. But Kris had said it strained, fearful. If there had been any doubt about the being possessing them, then it was gone now.
“Snowgrave? Is that a move in the upcoming Dragon Blazers spinoff? It sounds interesting. cool even”
Seemingly satisfied, Kris walked away from the reception desk and wandered around the library for a few more minutes. Inspecting random books and whatever else they could find.
“Oh, and one more thing” Berdly said as Kris walked towards the door.
Closing his eyes, he let the illusion masking him snap. Colors on his feathers and clothes drained to various tones of black, wicks of frost formed along his arms and legs, and his eyes hollowed out, leaving behind geodes of frozen daggers in their wake.
“I hope you didn’t think you could get rid of me that easily”
Kris stared at him in shock and fear, witnessing what he had become.
“Hmm? Oh. don’t worry Kris. I’m not talking to you”
And with that, Berdly slipped back into the void between space and time.
There was still much work to be done, Banishing the foreign soul from Kris’ body, Finding the Interloper... Making sure Noelle could recover. But for now, it was about sending a message. That he was still alive, albeit loosely. And that he knew what the soul was doing.