Chapter Text
The feeling of darkness, thick and oppressive, weighed upon Kris, and immediately they knew where they were.
They tried to take a step back, but their feet were frozen to the ground. Even though every part of their mind screamed for them to run, to leave before they'd be crushed, their body didn't—wouldn't—listen. They were stuck here.
A somehow wet sound came from their left side, and as if by instinct, Kris turned towards it. They regretted it, the moment they lay eyes on what was there.
"Kris...I'm–" A harsh, rattling breath. "I'm sorry..."
Their brother. Their friend, their companion, their one and only sibling. Was now contorted into some sort of grotesque creature, tendrils of darkness somehow deeper than what surrounded them stabbing their way through him, shards of white light scattered around him. His SOUL...somehow...it'd been broken.
Kris wanted to run towards him, to rip away the black, to grab him and run and forget about this stupid plan, but all they did was stand there and stare. Stare, even as the black tendrils rose up and then dove towards them.
They closed their eyes, accepting their fate, only to shoot them open at the sound of a desperate–"Live!"
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Kris woke up, panting, covered in sweat. It took a moment for their eyes to adjust, gaze landing on the glow in the dark stars across the room as their breathing began to slow down.
It was the same dream, again. A dream they couldn't escape, whether in sleep or in reality. After all, no matter how desperately they wished for things to change, the bed across from them was still empty.
The room was bright, though, sunlight trickling through the window. Wait. Hadn't they shut it?
"I will wait outside for you, alright?"
Oh. So it was Mom, then. That was probably what had woken them up, too, earlier than they usually did. They hoped they hadn't screamed or anything—they didn't want to be sent to art therapy again, just to have to draw pictures and lie about it, because they still couldn't tell anyone what had happened.
They pushed the covers down, arms and legs aching, and then paused.
Kris didn't want to go to school, especially not like this. They already felt awful enough without Susie shouting in their ears, or Noelle smiling at them awkwardly across the classroom, a dull reminder of what they'd both lost.
Mom probably wouldn't get angry at them too badly if they stayed in bed, right? Maybe she'd just think they were sick. It wasn't like they were ditching to do anything interesting...though maybe Mom would be happy enough to see them doing anything to let them get away with it.
The thought soured Kris' already bad mood, and they pulled the covers over them again. They'd deal with whatever the consequences were later, for now they just wanted to sleep and not think about anything.
Soon enough, exhaustion crept over them again, and they fell back into a deep sleep.
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The feeling of darkness. It was something Kris could recognize blindly, no matter how long it'd been since they'd felt it. That overwhelming weight, crushing them down with every step. The eerie emptiness of it all, shadows whichever way they looked, only the faint light of their SOUL to lead the way.
Suddenly, they regretted going back to bed. Kris had never dreamt of it twice, but they guessed their mind enjoyed tormenting them too much to stop. They wanted to wake up, but they'd had this dream enough times they knew there was no way out but living through it.
Their eyes opened off their own accord, but...
...?
The scenery surrounding them was somehow different. Even though they could feel the darkness, now that they thought about it, it wasn't as heavy as it always was. And somehow, they could see around them - only a short path, the rest shrouded in shadow, but...that was more than they'd seen before, away from the dim light that shone from them and from Asriel.
Asriel. Panicked, Kris tried to move their head to look around for him, but they couldn't. Instead, their feet marched forward, continuing on the path.
Oh. So it was the same as usual, then. Still a dream, even though the world around them had changed so much from what it usually was...
Next time, they'd just go to school.
They kept going, walking through the darkness. It was strange, but interesting - they didn't know they had this sort of imagination. Was this dream just going to be walking off into eternity, then, or at least until they woke up?
Just as they thought that, they felt a sharp pain in their abdomen. Kris looked down, startled, preparing themselves for the sight of darkness curling its way through their chest. But instead, what was pulsing there was...a red SOUL?
Had their SOUL always been red? They didn't think so, but when they tried to remember, nothing came to mind.
Well, it was a dream. That sort of logic probably didn't matter, right...
They heard a sound, and looked up, before tensing. But still no Asriel. Just something red, waving side to side, a white pellet shooting towards them. Was that what had hit them?
Kris tested a step forwards, and then stayed there. Waiting for the white pellet to hit them.
But before it could, their body moved again, this time out of the path of the pellet. They kept walking, an unknown feeling stirring in their chest.
It didn't matter. It was a dream, after all.
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It was a long, long time before Kris finally woke up in their bed. Longer than it should have been. It was dark outside, the glow in the dark stickers finally shining as it should, and their body was still stiff. Maybe because they'd spent the whole day sleeping, then...
...
As if.
It was obvious enough by now that it hadn't been a dream. They'd kept waiting, and waiting for it to end, and then it hadn't. They'd just kept going through a world, a life, much brighter than theirs, their body moving through a brilliant adventure while their mind just lurked in the corner. Susie had turned out to be nicer than they'd thought, even though they still felt uneasy around her, and Ralsei had been kind but somehow suspicious. And then there were the others, so many others. How could that just have been inside their head?
Even that could've been possible, maybe, if they hadn't just...left. Sealed away the darkness and exited out into the light, back at school, before going around the town and greeting practically everyone. Kris would never have talked this much, even in their dreams, and yet somehow their mouth moved without their consent, stray thoughts coming into reality.
They didn't know what was going on. But what they knew was that whatever had lived through today, fought and ACTed and brought everything to a close, wasn't them.
Kris flexed their fingers experimentally. It was hard, as if they were caged by a thick, oppressive strength, but they could. It was different, than before.
It took a monumental effort, but they pushed, and pushed, until they could finally turn over in bed. And then further, until they collapsed to the ground.
Somehow, the impact seemed to have jolted the control on them. Arms straining, they pushed themselves up into a standing position. Then, step by step, as if they were wading through a sea of darkness, they stepped forwards through the room.
The control was weaker. They could do it. Kris raised their arm up, slowly, flexing their fingers experimentally. And then, driven by an unknown instinct, they shoved their hand into their chest.
It hurt. It hurt so badly that Kris wanted to scream, but instead they gritted their teeth together and forced it down. They'd felt more pain than this, after all. Much, much more.
With one final push, they yanked their heart out of their chest, red glowing bright in their hand. Was this it? Was this what had been carrying them through the day? It looked so innocuous, like a normal SOUL, but the way it pulsed in their hand was anything but normal.
It didn't matter. Kris raised their hand up, preparing to throw it to the corner of their room - into a cage that they couldn't quite recall being there.
Instead, it pulsed once more, and then shone bright. So bright that Kris had to close their eyes, stepping back and shielding themselves with their hands.
When they opened their eyes again, the heart was gone. Instead, standing in front of them was a near-exact copy of Kris. Not quite, though - its colors were somehow...dull, monochrome. Like a version of Kris that had been stained by darkness from the inside out.
Inside out, because its eyes were the worst part. They shone like a deep, deep darkness, cold and heavy and all-enveloping. It felt so familiar that Kris couldn't help but shiver, even though their bedroom wasn't anywhere near cold.
The copy smiled, slightly.
"I finally found you, Kris." Its voice, too. It was the same as Kris' own, and yet so different. The calmness of its voice, and the muted current underneath - like darkness, hidden below.
"Who are you? What are you here for?" Kris spat back, one hand reaching down to rest on their knife.
It just smiled again, walking closer to Kris. They pulled the knife out and raised it up, shaking, holding it right in front of them in warning. But it just kept coming closer, until it rested its hands over Kris' own, holding the knife in place between them.
"I'm the Angel. And I've come to eat your heart."