Undertale - A New Home [ENG]

Chapter 2 - A strange world

The last thing I saw was a bright flash in the sky outside the cave as I fell, gasping for air. I hoped for all the world that my fall would stop soon, but the cave entrance was getting further and further away from me. My field of vision slowly blurred and I couldn't make a sound from the fear of death. The fall seemed endless and I couldn't find my footing even when I stretched my limbs. I had no time for thoughts, even though I had just been torn from my favorite activity. I was in a deadly situation and probably had no chance of surviving. The dull gray light from the cave entrance grew dimmer and dimmer the deeper I fell, but as I fell I wondered what was waiting for me at the bottom of this mysterious mountain. My heart was beating so hard that I could barely feel my limbs, a thousand images whirled around in front of my eyes, what if I really died here? I would certainly be missed. The longer the fall went on, the more peaceful my thoughts became and I started to calm down, even though I was probably going to die. It had never been my will to die so soon, but I had always been happy. I had never given a single thought to what it would be like to die now. That proved that I was a positive person after all. Losing others would sadden me more than losing my own life. It must have been minutes since my fall began and the light at the top of the mountain had completely disappeared. Only a small glimmer remained. However, my body came to an abrupt halt and I thought I was dead. My eyes were closed, but I could still think clearly. I was not dead. My hands felt something soft; something I had never felt before. I slowly opened my eyes. The glimmer from the top of Mount Ebott still reached me down here. I took it as a metaphorical symbol for the glimmer of hope that was in me even in this life-threatening situation. No shining light of determination shone down on me, but I had the hope from the beginning that my life would take a turn. Here I laid now, on a soft bed of golden flowers cushioning my fall. The last minutes of my life buzzed through my head like a fever dream. My life took a strange turn from then on. Some time after I landed, I simply laid motionless on the soft patch of flowers. Something about this place was relaxing. The hope that this day would be something special came true, but I imagined a turn quite different from plunging kilometers down into a cave. After a while, I had enough of lying on this bed of flowers and slowly moved my limbs. My whole body was cramped from the fall. I carefully sat up and looked around. It was pitch black and the only glimmer of light fell gently on me. The darkness was a little frightening, but somehow I made myself move forward. I kept my arms to myself and thought about what dangers might be lurking down here. It didn't look like I was going to get out of this cave any time soon. I had no choice but to wander around helplessly in this room and look for a way out. Something stirred in the golden bed of flowers I landed on and I was worried that I hadn't been stranded down here alone. Deep down, I doubted that it could have been another person who had landed down here. Slowly, my eyes adjusted to the darkness and I could make out a kind of path in front of me. Down here, the cave walls seemed less naturally overgrown with plants and more like a past civilization. Pillars and bricks of pale purple rock protruded from the ground, cracked and battered. It was as if monuments had been built by people, trapped in this mountain and weathering away. This place seemed stranger and stranger the deeper I went into it. A kind of entrance formed in a cave wall, which was surprisingly well preserved. It towered in front of me like a rectangular archway and reached astonishingly far upwards. Although I was a fairly tall person, it still towered a good way above my head. I thought to myself that the room I was about to enter behind this mysterious entrance must be visited on festive occasions. It was the only logical explanation for the pompous appearance of this ancient structure in which I found myself. I walked on and the grass and moss-covered ground was gently illuminated by faint glimmers of light. A large patch of grass was covered with a fine golden flower. It seemed a little bent as I approached it. Its blossoms were beautiful and shimmered in the faint light. I slowly kneeled down in front of it to take a closer look. Suddenly, a bright voice sounded from its direction."Humans," came the voice. I flinched a little and stood up again as the flower began to twitch."You speak?" I asked the flower quietly. I felt a bit stupid asking a flower something when it clearly couldn't understand me."Weren't you the ones who didn't want to avoid a war?" I had no idea who was talking to me or what the voice meant. The flower moved now and turned in my direction. A small face formed on it. A smile spread across it, but the flower's eyes were not filled with joy, sadness or happiness. They were empty and reflected no emotion."Hello, I've never seen you here before. You're unfamiliar," the flower said directly to me. I thought about the words this creature had said before, completely puzzled."Tell me something, you're human, right? Why are you here?" Apparently I seemed like a threat. The flower moved curiously in my direction."I am. It wasn't my intention to fall down here. Excuse me, but could you tell me how to get out of this place?" I asked. There was a moment of silence. However, the flower did not respond to my curiosity:"You have a soothing voice. You also seem like quite a friendly person. I bet your soul is filled with pure kindness. Your soul- ..." the creature spoke, lost in thought. Now I thought about whether I should ask the question again. The flower's face began to smile brightly."I am Flowey, the flower. It's a pleasure to meet you, human. Down here, we share our love and affection in a very special way. Feel free to come closer!" Flowey introduced himself. This sudden grin didn't seem quite right to me. I stood still on the spot. The flower's expression changed a little."Buddy. You seem like a smart guy, and you're not as young as- ...But listen. If you want to survive down here, I'm going to help you. To understand that," Flowey spoke and suddenly my chest began to glow. A green light radiated out of me and formed a heart in front of my body."you must learn to control your soul. Do you see this green glowing heart in front of your chest? Of course you do, it's your soul. Now don't look at me so surprised. Every child learns that the soul is the very culmination of their being! But what all souls share is the desire for LOVE, right?" Flowey told me. Now it was clear to me what this glowing heart meant. Unsure whether to agree or not, I stayed in the same place as before and waited for Flowey to show me what this was all about."We share our compassion through little friendliness pellets! You already seem to be familiar with kindness. I don't know people like you yet, maybe you'd like to show me..." Flowey began and his face contorted again. He didn't seem nearly as friendly as before and I was beginning to feel uneasy about the situation. His voice changed to a demonic depth and his grimace turned into a diabolical grin.
"Show me what people like you can do," Flowey's voice bellowed through the cave I was in. My heart began to beat faster and fear spread through me. White 'friendliness pellets' flew towards my soul like razor-sharp daggers and Flowey's diabolical grin turned into a bloodcurdling laugh. I raised my left arm to protect my soul and suddenly a shield formed around my elbow. It secured the glowing green heart in front of my eyes and blocked all the projectiles Flowey aimed at me. After every single dagger clanged on the floor, a silence fell again, filling the room. I slowly lowered my arm and caught sight of the monster's face, still rooted to the ground while shivering like crazy. He was no longer grinning, the smile had vanished.
"Kind people like you have no business in the underground. Here the motto is kill or be killed. You, human, will come to a bitter end if you use your kindness as your only means of defense. Follow me and we'll train your strength to rule the Underground together," Flowey spoke his last words and buried himself in the ground, laughing like a maniac. My heart was still beating rapidly and my breathing was shallow and short. I had to get out of this mountain as quickly as possible, even if that meant that I had to see this horrible monster again to achieve my goal. Footsteps rushed in my direction and I frantically thought about which way I could hide, but I had no choice but to retreat as another creature I had never seen before in my life was already catching up with me.
"Oh, you poor human, don't flinch! Don't be afraid, please. I'm here to save you from this cruel monster," spoke the person in front of me. She had a soft female voice and was surprisingly tall. She was at least a head taller than me and her skull resembled that of a goat. She was completely covered in short white fur and wore a long purple dress with a strange symbol on it. Three small triangles, alternately pointing in the other direction, were printed under a winged circle. I had never seen this symbol before, but it looked like a kind of rune whose meaning seemed important. Two small horns protruded from her head and long large ears laid over her temples. Her long eyelashes accentuated her shimmering red eyes, but their color was so faint and hard to make out that the black pupils almost drowned out the color of her eyes. In comparison however, her expression did not seem as lifeless as Flowey's. It was warmer and more open by far, and so much kinder than those of this monster that was trying to kill me. She seemed to notice that I looked at her for a long time.
"You don't seem to be used to the monsters underground yet. I can understand that, please follow me. I promise you that I will never hurt you. How could one even want to harm a poor human being? You're just a child," the goat-like woman said to me.
"Sorry, but I don't trust this creature. I don't trust you either to be fully honest... All I want is to leave this place. Can you please help me with that? I also promise not to hurt anyone as long as I am promised that I will get home one day," I negotiated with this strange woman. I was skeptical... She was almost too nice. I was also intimidated by her size. She could attack me at any time and, with my slight build, she could easily push me aside. She was a stocky monster with strong arms and I pictured in my head how she would win hands down in a fight against me, after what this meager flower demonstrated. She hesitated a little before speaking to address my negotiation.
"If it appeases you, I will help you make your hopes and dreams come true. You will be able to return home, but I fear your life will be taken if you try to leave the Underground. You seem like a kind and gracious person, but with all due respect, I fear you won't get far negotiating like you just tried with me, here in the Underground. Let's talk about this in a quieter place. If you would be so kind as to follow me? My name is Toriel, by the way, and I will guide you through the Underground as far as I can!" I let her words run through my mind again, stopping at the part where she made me believe that I would be killed if I tried to leave the Underground. How would I be able to return home like she told me? Moreover, she didn't seal her words with a promise, but I couldn't stay here any longer. I had a long way to go... So I hesitantly nodded with an uneasy feeling and  ultimately decided to follow Toriel.