Loving Every Bone in Your Body

Chapter 1.17 || This is Asriel as it Gets

        You can't hear anything. The lack of noise cups your ears and presses in on your momentarily healed body. You suck in a breath but you can't even hear your own breathing. Or your own heartbeat that pounds violently in your chest.

"Finally..." The voice rings out through the nothingness. The child's voice... You know this voice. This was the same voice from the phone. The same child from the video. "I was so tired of being a flower." So slowly, ever so slowly, too slowly, he turns around. His clawed feet drag as he does, the noise is so loud in the silence.

He faces you, eyes closed. He looks exactly like the child in the video, as if a day hasn't passed since however long ago it'd been filmed.

This was the son of Asgore and Toriel.

When he opens his eyes, he smiles so sweetly, so kindly, up at you.

"Howdy!" He sounds like a small Asgore. "Chara, are you there?"

You glance behind you, seeing only more infinite darkness. You look back to Asriel with confusion.

"It's me," He continues. "Your best friend."

"I don't-" But your words are swallowed by a flash of light that blinds you momentarily. The air in the nothingness changes and you know something's gone wrong.

Now, before you, is a beast as tall as Asgore. A large, black eyed monster that floats before you. He wears something like Toriel, a purple tunic that you think might've been worn by all the royals at some point.

This is Asriel Dreemurr.

This child... Child? This flower, child, monster, took your friends to become this.

You can't hear their souls.

Your green heart pulses in front of you.

Your hands are empty, your bat lost to the past room. You don't know anything about the monster before you. You know tidbits of his long ago past, but nothing about him from Frisk or anyone else. You don't know why he's fighting you, why he's here now instead of Flowey.

You don't know how to talk to him.

You don't know why he keeps calling you his best friend or really what Flowey was talking about at all.

All you know is you can hear... something.

You hear music slowly growing louder as his hands rise higher. Your heartbeat grows louder as flames drip from his fingertips.

And yet, you hear something else. It's quiet, barely noticeable with the loud song blaring in your ears. But through it all...

You hear a little boy crying.

It fills you with the need to show Kindness.

You dodge balls of blue flames. They fly at you in a similar pattern that reminds you of purple stone walls and tear filled eyes. For a moment, you think you can handle this fight.

Then there's shooting stars.

"You know, I don't care about destroying this world anymore."

The black around you pulses, color melting in and out of it like a bubbling pool of oil. It shines and shimmers hundred of colors, oozing down all around you. The stars glint above your head like the night sky before they come raining down. As sharp as knives and as hot as heated metal they aim for you as you run and dodge. There's only so much you can do to avoid them as they hail down.