King's Heir (A Dadmare fic)

19

If you asked anyone in the castle, they could all tell you that there was a sense of dread hanging in the air. It was almost suffocating and it brought on everyone's fight or flight, even Horror was reacting to it, refusing to come out from behind the protection of his older brothers. The overwhelming feeling seemed to becoming from Nightmare's office and currently the boys, minus Error who was in said office, were all against the door.

Was their brother in trouble? Did Error upset Nightmare and end up getting a lecture? Just what exactly was going on.

It was difficult to hear, the buzzing of Error's glitches adding onto the difficulty. The thirteen year-old couldn't really help it though, he was nervous, unsure of his own fate. He looked up, meeting his eyelights with his father's lone one. The cyan eyelight seemed to bore into him, as if picking him apart piece by piece. He couldn't help but flinch. The gaze seemed so... cold and saddening.

"Error." Nightmare's voice called his longest baring son's name, "Do you know why I wanted to talk to you?"

"Is this about tying Cross near the Mr. Dixon's cattle pin..?" Error ducked his head, not daring to take his eyes away.

Nightmare snorted, a soft chuckled escaping his mouth as his expression flashed with fondness. "No, I wanted to talk to you about your duties." The king's face soured again. "Do you know what it means to be a God of Destruction, Error?"

Error straightened himself, glancing to the side for a moment in thought. "It means I have to destroy things...?"

"It means much more than that, Error." Nightmare leaned back, his tendrils slowly moving to gather some papers and move them into a drawer. "Being a God of Destruction means you will have to take lives, you will regret most of your actions, you will gain LOVE, and you could lose your sanity."

The godling frowned, his eyes finally breaking complete contact from Nightmare's. His phalanges gripped his scarf, the one he had ever since he was a baby, his body fizzling as an unreadable expression crossed his face. "I'll have to kill people... I won't be able to save everyone?"

"While it's good to have the motivation to save souls, Ruru, not everyone can be saved. Some people have codes that are too unstable, if we were to bring them here then it would corrupt this AU's code and the inhabitants." Nightmare leaned on his desk slightly, the tendrils on his back swaying to get Error's attention. "Fate is a cruel goddess. Stunning and beautiful, yet cruel. However, this is your decision, we are second tier gods and while we can't defy our fate, we can delay it."

"Delaying it will only make it worse." Nightmare paused, staring at his son as Error regained the eye contact he left behind moments before. "If I delay it, more lives could be lost due to AU's collapsing, right?"

"That's right..." There was a slight spark of pride in the thicket of sorrow the king was feeling. His son was growing up, becoming a person of his own ideals. "I don't wish to force you however... but, the next AU needs to be destroyed on a time limit."

"You want me to try today?" Error frowned, hands fidgeting together, strings connecting to his phalanges in a sort of comfort action. "What if... What if I can't do it?"

Nightmare stood up, moving around his desk to kneel down in front of his son. Error paused as his dad's hand gently cupped his cheek, Nightmare's soft expression calming his nerves for a moment. The teen leaned towards his dad's hand, craving the comfort from someone he trust. There was a moment of silence, the gentle affection of the elder god's thumb rubbing over the godling's cheek becoming the main focus. Error was thankful, thankful that his dad was so caring and understanding.

"I'm not forcing you to do this." Nightmare spoke up causing Error to look at him. "The decision is up to you and if you feel as though you can't do it, that's fine. No matter what you choose to do; you're still my baby boy, your brother's will still love you, and Fate will not force your hand."