Between Stars And Shadows ~Evil Sanses x F! Reader

CHAPTER 10~ Heated

The throne room was quiet. Too quiet.

Nightmare sat slouched lazily across his massive, jagged throne — shadows dripping like black ink from his form, curling and twisting across the cracked marble floor. His single eye glowed faintly, a pale sickly teal, tracking the faint ripples of magic that stirred around the castle walls.

Error had returned.

He didn't announce it, of course. He just... stepped out of a rift, or a portal tearing through the air at the seams, strings snapping and sewing themselves back into place behind him before they disappeared, like the universe had reluctantly stitched itself closed.

Nightmare tilted his head slowly, resting his cheek against his hand. "You're late."

Error didn't answer at first, adjusting the hood of his glitching jacket, eyes darting to the floor. "Got... caught up." His voice cracked like broken audio, sharp and clipped. "There were... distractions."

Nightmare smiled faintly. The kind of smile that carried no warmth — only sharp edges. "Distractions." He rolled the word around like venom on his tongue. "And yet... you came back. That means you found something."

Error hesitated.

Nightmare could smell it — the hesitation, the weight of knowledge Error was still holding back. He slowly straightened in his seat, shadows curling tighter like snakes preparing to strike.

"Speak," Nightmare said softly, and somehow the quiet command hit harder than a shout.

Error's voice glitched again, sharp and uneven. "...Blue and Ink."

Nightmare's interest sparked instantly. He didn't move, but the darkness around him shivered, stretching toward Error's boots like the floor itself was alive. "Go on."

"They've been... poking around," Error muttered, hands deep in his hoodie pockets. "Blue got some... gadgets from Science Sans. Beacons. Scanners. I overheard 'em talking. They've been... tracking soul signatures."

"Tracking... here?" Nightmare asked, his tone low and lethal.

Error nodded stiffly. "They think... they found something."

Nightmare's grip on the throne tightened ever so slightly, the black ichor seeping from his fingers pooling on the armrests. "...And what exactly did they find, Error?"

Error hesitated again, longer this time. His code glitched along his jaw, his strings twitching violently. Bright red [ERROR!] signs briefly flickered in the air around his arms. He didn't want to say it.

Nightmare already knew the answer.

"...Y/N."

Silence.

A slow, low sound escaped Nightmare's throat — halfway between a hum and a growl. "Hnn... So they do know she's alive."

He stood now, unfolding his tall, monstrous frame with deliberate slowness. Each step down from the throne was soundless, shadows rippling outward like waves on black water.

Error's breathing grew shallow, and faint blue [ERROR!] warnings popped and fizzled across his hoodie. His glitching intensified, his hands buried deeper into his pockets to hide the tremors.

Nightmare stopped directly in front of him.

"You didn't tell them, did you?" Nightmare's voice was soft — too soft.

"No."

"Good." Nightmare's tendrils slid around him like whispers of smoke, close enough to suffocate but not yet touching.