The Silver Soul

38

The first thing I register is, my hair's gone, which is dumb considering the large amount of pain I am currently in. In my panic, I didn't completely shield myself, and I'm sporting some nasty cuts.

Now, instead of the Barrier, there a long, wide corridor with a doorway at the end of it, spilling golden light. Beautiful.

"Hey, Will?" a voice behind me asks. I spin, wincing a little to find Sans already awake. I'd have rather no one awake right now so that my 'surprise' would actually be a surprise, but I'm not complaining. Although Gaster would be more useful since he's actually done some research into the nature of souls.

"Hey." I look around for him, sighing a little when I see him a little way off, staring right back at me. "I have one more thing to do. You're welcome to watch, though." I hobble off, my side feeling like it's been stabbed a couple of times. It's a struggle to kneel down to Asriel's level, but I manage to do it anyway. "Hi." The flower dips his head in greeting, fear shining in his eyes. "I'm not sure how well this is going to work, of if it's going to work at all. But hold on tightly and don't let go no matter what. Alright?" He nods, little head bobbing comedically.

"Wait. What are you gonna do?" Sans asks, making me jump slightly.

"Something Asriel needs desperately." I block out any protests from Sans, sealing Asriel and I in a bubble of hard air. "Ready?"

"Ready."

I extend my hand out to him, and a vine springs out of the ground carrying a small container. He opens it and shakes some dust into my outstretched hand. Asriel's dust, the last of it too. Fighting the urge to retch, I close my fist around it, holding on tightly.

The fire leaps with joy as I scoop it up, barely leaving any of it behind. It must've been replenished by the other human souls. It overflows slightly, wisps of mist swirling around the two of us. I shut my eyes, forcing the magic into every crack and crevice of my body, feeling it warm my fingers and toes, feeling every strand of my hair come to life. Heat begins to build up from behind my eyes, getting almost unbearable. I snap my eyes open again, seeing the world through new eyes. Asriel doesn't falter at all when I lock my eyes onto his. Reaching out with a magic infused hand, I hover in just above the top petals, feeling the ice of the flower's magic counter my own.

I push against the instinctual barriers, pushing into the flower itself, and for a brief second, I see through Asriel's eyes. I see myself, bloodied and dirty, my body radiating power, my eyes burning silver. And then the vision is gone, and I'm consumed by the cold. It bites into my skin, freezes my fingers and stifles my magic.

Asriel's trying to fight it too, reigning it in as much as he can. I release more flames to stop the ice from spreading as I get to work, concentrating my magic around the specks of dust, feeding power into those particles. They swell in size, turning blinding white in colour, emitting a soft light. I wait until they swell to the size of blueberries before I start to clump them together. All the while, Asriel feeds the little orbs magic of his own as well, giving them his own life energy. Ice meets fire and melts away to reveal something new. The orbs glow green now, green with healing, and they stick together to form a rough sphere. As more magic is added, less and less of it being mine, its shape becomes more defined, getting rounder and smoother until a basic heart shape is formed.

I have one more thing to do before I let go.

It hurts. It hurts like hell. Like someone has set my chest on fire. Burning, stabbing pain, my soul cleaving itself in two. Gritting my teeth, I continue. My breaths come as sharp pants, and my chest heaves with effort. And finally, in one excruciating stroke, it splits cleanly in two. I can't help the scream that is ripped from my throat.