You can't escape Death <Frans>

CHAPTER 32: Goodbye

Her desolate eyes remained dispassionate with any conversation Death had tried to stir. She only numbly sat there, slightly shaking from the panic she had previously had. Losing a close friend was the only thing he could relate to when it came to the emotions of the pitiful human sitting right next to him. Death wished to wrap his arms around her, fearing the future for her once she walks across the portal once more to her own realm.

"I think.." She said, her voice quivering as she shook by the side of the river, "I think I would like to go home now.." Her eyes lingered in silence as she only hugged herself tighter. Frisk's gaze remained fixated toward the shallow current of the river, watching the precious memories of her best friend wither away into reticence.

Death delayed attempting to speak once more, her taciturn voice was unbearable to hear for him. His hollow eyes only looked past her weeping posture, contemplating his answer to her statement. He knew she could not go home, for her splintered door only provided a fine line to how much longer she had left to live, before he would be forced to take her to the chamber of souls. Once her door to the mortal realm shatters, her body will cripple away in both the mortal realm and in the realm she persists in.

It was rather ironic, for he had successfully taken her soul to the chamber upon their first encounter with a simple movement. Resting within her body, Life remained unphased and she was able to carry on without a soul.

But why would she be dying? Could it be the compelling nature of Life was eating away her body? Or was it the fact that it was wearing down due to the fact that she had touched Crowa's feathers of anguish?

His memories faintly gathered the lost recollections of his inner mind. He remained silent; Death could almost hear the despairing silence of the church she resided in, as she lied along the tile unconscious.

Death reluctantly reminisced the memory of finding her there along the marble tile. He could recall the feeling of dread he had felt once he realized she was unresponsive to any of his cursory words. Death could see the door that lied behind her, disallowing her to cross back into her own realm. It stood, not as extravagantly as it had used to. Its wood, now fractured and splintered, remained only slightly intact as the intangible shadow of nostalgia withered away.

"Sans?" Frisk asked, breaking his train of thought as he looked into her curious eyes. "Are you alright?" Death was baffled by the fact that she could still inherently ask about his well-being openly without question. Her heart endured its purity against his plagued words. All that remained was a twinge of blackened corruption in her eyes. It was all too unreal for her heart to continue to be bright after the clash of broken trust.

Death did not answer her open questions of empathy, he only stood back up and watched her eyes follow his movements. The area surrounding her blossomed with life, whilst the nothingness encasing Death's presence perished into dust and decay.

"We shall journey back to the border, then." Death said, with a saddened smile. As much as he did not want to let her retreat back towards her own home, it was the only thing he could muster himself to do so she would not die here in this forbidden realm. "We shall meet again." He said, his smile pained him to create such fallacious lies towards her naïve heart.

"Thank you." She said, though it did make him pleased to see that she was regaining her emotional strength back once more.

Death reached back into his cloak pocket and pulled out one of the last of his pearls on him, and dropped it into Frisk's soft hands. "And so it begins." His voice threatened to quiver as he spoke to her so serenely. He did not know what was coming over him so suddenly. The thought of never seeing this human again troubled him quite so and he had grown fond of the visits she had given him.

As the pearl snapped within the palm of her hand, Death's wings encased his body as he closed his eyes. They both disappeared from the river in less than a nanosecond of his body being shrouded in darkness. Revealing himself into the light once more, he tucked his wings behind him yet again as he gazed upon the border with rumination.

Frisk's eyes held a hint of nostalgia within them, and they seemed delighted to return to her family once more. Death could not ignore the hint of corruption in her eyes. He knew he had created it inside of her. Her soul remained unadulterated for the most part nonetheless, and his outlook on the dastardly beasts may have enlightened a bit after crossing paths with this girl.

Her gaze followed back to his expression and she had promptly found the sadness resting within his heart. "Do not be saddened by this." She smiled faintly reaching out for his hand, "We will meet again soon." She said, gently retracting it as she remembered the circumstances between them.

Death hesitated to respond to her painstaking sermon. He could only nod and let out a weary smile, "You remain correct as always, my dear friend." He said, and almost trying to assure himself that she would be returning to his realm afterwards. "We shall meet here again." His soul shattered as he knew he would be forced to end her life the next time she arrived here. He wished to hold her hand just once to forever cherish her in his memory.

As Death heard the summoning of the door from behind her, he stepped closer to Frisk, reaching for her ever so slightly. The moment was beautiful and unlike anything he had ever felt. His heart tugged to see her altruistic smile yet again as his mind escaped from his lips. "Smile for me, would you?" He asked, enchanted by her gentle soul. He was close, too close, however he could not stop as his eyes remained fastened onto hers. "I think it's so beautiful." He said, his tranquil murmurs entrancing her as well.

"What is this feeling?" She said, in a whisper as well, just barely audible for him to hear. Her slight smile and broken heart made her susceptible to anything he said; she craved the affection he dared to give her. His skeletal hand threatened to grace her soft skin along her cheek as her beauty became more and more adherent to the front of his mind.

Her eyes became low and heavy and her lips parted slightly parted as Death crawled closer to her. He could feel her breath against his skull, looking at her splintered door just beyond her shoulder. It was fractured and aged; its stained-glass windows were destroyed beyond repair. He knew this would be her last visit to this realm.

"Sans.." Her voice, a loving whisper, could rest within his imagination for the rest of eternity.

"Fr—LOOK OUT!" Death yelled, louder than she had ever heard him scream. He quickly stepped back, raising his arm up to the ceiling to summon a wall of magic. Frisk let out a dreadful cry as the bones erupted from the ground, providing a barrier from the attack Death had seen coming from behind her frail body.

Her petrified face spun around swiftly as Death stepped in front of her, blocking her view of the fracas. Death was breathing heavily, caught off guard his breath shook has he let out an exhale. His left eye, glowing a bright cyan blue, flared from the socket with the intention to kill.

"So, this is what you've been doing all this time?" The tall Goddess let out a sarcastic smirk as her head flew back in a laughing sneer. "Your disappearing acts lately... keeping secrets from us... and now a HUMAN?!" Her smile disappeared, turning into a disgusted frown. "I'm disappointed in you Sans."