My Friend Over the Phone

Chapter 49

  Error joined Ink on the ledge of the Universe of Dreamtale one day. Ink felt lost, but he didn't know if the previously infamous "Destroyer of Worlds" could give him the answers. Ink decided to dig for the answers he used to want instead. Maybe it'll give him a sense of closure.

    "Why did you do it?" Ink asked him. "How did you do it? How could you kill all of those people? Destroy all of those Universes for so long?"

    Error turned to him, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to think of a response.

    "I don't fully know, Ink," he finally said. "I think, in part, it was for the same reasons you created. You, at the beginning, wanted to, you know? No one was particularly telling you to do it, at least from what you could tell, it just felt right. But then one day, it felt wrong, but how could you stop after doing it for so long? After it was all you were known for? And then there's that voice that's suddenly always there, telling you to keep doing it. Before all of this, I used to think that voice was just me."

    Ink thought about that. "Maybe it is us. At least partly."

    "Yeah, I'd believe that," Error responded. "I guess we've both made some pretty horrible mistakes, huh?"

    Despite himself, Ink chuckled hysterically, "That's putting it lightly."

    "The amazing thing is that you have the power to fix it all. You worked so hard to make this place, to earn your gift. You've spent the last millennia honing your skill, and now, you have a blank slate to paint for yourself," Error said, waving his hand and gesturing to the broken islands of the Doodlesphere.

    "But I'm not a good creator," Ink said. "I've destroyed everything. I can never care about the people who's lives I create, anyway."

    "Maybe so, but you're a better option than any of those crazy deities up there," Error replied, chuckling. "Despite all of this mess, isn't it refreshing to have a blank slate? There's no expectations of you now, you can make whatever you want of this place."

    "...I guess it is nice," Ink replied. He turned to Error, his white eye lights boring into him, "Is that why you liked to destroy?"

    "...Originally, I think so. The chaos of the Multiverse was annoying to me. I thought this place was such a mess, with so many different Universes, each with millions of different timelines. There was just so much."

    Error sighed. "In a way, I think I was jealous of all of those people. I was jealous that they all had a place where they belonged. It's hilarious how selfish I was then, isn't it?"

    Ink brought his hand up to his sternum, remembering for the millionth time that his vials weren't there. "Sorry, before I forget, I need to go get some more paint. I don't feel like this is a conversation I should be having while emotionless anyway." Ink stood up, walking into the Anti-Void with Error. "Do you want to come with me?" He asked. Error paused. "Well, I don't know if I can, if I don't know where you even get that paint from. Y'know, with having to make a portal and all."

    "Don't worry, I think you can actually, physically, be there with me for this," Ink replied with his eye lights shining, one a faded yellow and the other a darkened turquoise.

    He cracked a grin as he told Error about the place, "the paint comes from the very core of the Multiverse. I went there eons ago with huge jugs so I could collect a big amount of every colour without having to come back regularly, since it takes a lot of magic to get there and all." At Error's look of confusion, Ink tilted his skull, "have you ever been there?" Error shook his head. "I didn't even know there was a 'core' of the Multiverse."