The Silver Soul

35

"I was wondering when you'd come back, Chara."

Another nightmare, facing off against the demon again. After what happened too.

"Did you really think I'd forgotten about you, then?"

I shrug. "No. Not really," I mutter. She grins at me, but her eyebrows furrow when I sigh in vague annoyance. "What?" I snap.

Chara rolls her eyes, the outline of a kitchen knife already appearing in her hand. "What's wrong with you? No bark or bite." I bite my lip.

"Just get on with it," I huff.

She leaps at me with superhuman speed, and I close my eyes, bracing for impact-

Agony rips through me as the blade tears through muscle and skin. I gasp, blinking away tears of shock and pain. As I fall, I involuntarily grasp Chara's wrist.

It's like watching a movie. Images float by at a leisurely rate, slow enough for me to put the pieces together.

It starts with a fall. One long, terrible fall. Looking up at the patch of sky that I can see, growing ever-smaller. It's a miracle I survived.

Hours pass. Long, lonely hours where I lie on the floor. Until finally, someone appears.

A goat, with fluffy white fur looks down at me, worry in its eyes. He stretches a hand out to me and I take it.

"My name is Asriel."

Years pass. Beautiful days, full of light, and fun and life pass in my mind's eye, slipping through my brain like water does when you try to hold it. Laughter and family and yellow flowers in a vase.

And then I'm sick, I'm dying, wavering in and out of consciousness. The only thing left is the promise.

"Six souls, right? We only need six souls..."

The Barrier splits open for just us as we lumber out. Over a hill, into a village.

The humans attack us with all their might. With spears, swords, bats and even rocks. They batter our body, and we stumble out of the village, wounded all over. Together, we make our way back, over the hill and through the Barrier.

His dust scattered the ground, mixing with his parents' tears. I lay there, cold and stiff and unmoving.

I watch, as a tiny yellow flower emerges from the dust. I watch as the king and queen break apart. I watch as one of the thrones is lugged into the corner of the room and covered with a white sheet. I watch as the flower's mind crack; with no soul and no limits, it grows insane. I watch as humans come and are killed, one by one.

I watch as the red one comes, and dies, over and over. I watch as the red one kills, over and over. I watch as the red one succeeds and fails. I watch as the red one comes back, again and again.

I watch as the silver one appears for the first time. I track her footsteps, I watch her fall.

I study her. I confront her.

I kill her.

Over and over.

Wheezing, my hands covered in blood, I steal a glance at Chara. Her expression is frozen, the grip on the handle of her knife white-knuckled.

"How much did you see?" she asks softly.

I only hesitate for a second.

"I didn't see anything."