~(Y/N)'s POV~
Dust and I stayed cuddled on the couch for a while, just enjoying the company of one another in silence. Every once in a while, Dust would look and mumble something, but I could rarely understand it. He did it at least four times before I sighed. "What's wrong, (Y/N)..?" "You keep mumbling- what's up?" Dust glanced off somewhere for a minute before turning back to me. "Uh, I'll tell you when you get back..." I went to protest, to object- I wanted to hear something that could be significant, but there was a knock at the door that undoubtedly belonged to Nightmare. I sighed and kissed Dust's cheek, his boney cheeks blossoming into a dull purple-grey color.
"Okay, but you have to promise me we'll talk about this, okay? I'm worried about you." "I- shit, I really don't like making promises, (Y/N)..." "Fine, then...just...please?" "...okay, we'll talk about it. I'll do my best." I wanted to ask what he meant by 'doing his best', but Nightmare knocked again, more agitated. I rolled my eyes and kissed Dust gently, the other cupping my cheek with one of his cold, boney hands. I lingered for a moment before pulling away. "You can go chill in my room if you want...just don't go through my stuff?" "Wouldn't dream of it...bye, (Y/N)." "Bye, Dusty."
I got up from the couch, walking over to my front door and unlocking it, pulling it open a bit. Lo and behold, it was indeed the dark king who had so creepily insisted I go with him to Error about my training. "About time." I scoffed and rolled my eyes, leaning against the door. "Well? Go on, make an interdimensional portal or whatever." "Most humans would not be so dismissive of my immense po-" "And most humans aren't training with a God to develop lost long veins of magic residing in their Soul, so I guess I'm just built different, mm? Now open the fucking portal, dude."
Nightmare muttered under his breath, calling me an insolent mortal or something before finally opening a portal with a swish of those tentacles. In all honesty, it was pretty badass, but I'm not feeding that dangerously high ego any more. He gestured to it, as if he weren't coming as well. "You're not going?" "Ha! Of course not, I have other, much more important things to attend to. I am simply allowing you to enter, considering I am one of the few beings who can create a portal to the Anti-Void." I blinked slowly. "...what? Sorry, you're just so boring to listen to that I disassociated." Nightmare used one of those inky appendages to push me through, making me stumble a bit.
I blinked, slowly feeling my eyes adjust to the vast expanse of nothingness that I've come to know as Error's domain. Speaking of Error, I saw him sitting on a singular bean bag with a window open to another dimension. He turned to look at me, seeing as I was the only other scrap of color in the near vicinity. Of course, I knew other things resided in Error's domain now; things hidden above tangled in his blue strings, or even just things so far off in the distance, that Error couldn't see until he got closer.
"WElL, it toOK yOU LoNg enOUGh. Did THAT gOoPY OCtOpUS fOrget HOw To crEate POrtals?" I snorted and moved closer, tucking my hands into the pockets of my baggy jeans. "No, he just interrupted my breakfast and wouldn't let me shower. Us humans have to make sure we don't stink." "Yeah YEah, SkeLeTon moNSteRS sHOwer TOO." "Even Nightmare? Isn't he, like, completely made of that nasty, goopy shit?" "yEAH, evEn tHAT StINKy ASs OCtOPus. LOoK, yOu'rE gEtTING mE OFf topIC- wE're TraiNIng, oKAy? gOnNa trY AnD GEt You tO the nEXt lEVel. LitERaLLy." I cocked my head, confused. Is he talking in video game references now? That's super fucking weird, even for him. "Level?"
"WELl i've TOlD yOU KiNdA aBOut stats AND sTufF, RiGHT? i SAY "LevEl" aS In lv oR lOVE- lEVel Of vIOlEnCe." "Oh yeah- LV, EXP, uh...I forgot the rest-" "iTS nOt ThAT imPoRtAnt, Exp, or eXEcuTioN poINTS, SlOwlY ACcUMUlaTe INTO LV. We wANT to INCrEasE YOUr Lv In a cHaNge Of GEtTINg YoU UP To 10. iNCREAsING youR LV inCreaseS YoUr at, Df, AnD Hp." I nodded, trying to think of what those meant. Keeping the game-ish theme, "AT" was probably attack, "DF" defense, and "HP" hit points...neat. "So you're telling me I need to get EXP to increase my LV and get better stats?" Error's mismatched eyelights seemed to sparkle. He nodded, starting on one of his monologues about how incredible he is as a teacher.
I let him ramble on while I tried to recall everything pertinent to my training (and to any readers who don't remember the ONE chapter this was mentioned in forever ago)- SOUL weaponry, something manifested from the depths of your SOUL that is almost only exclusive to monsters. You can manifest your SOUL weapon for the first time through extreme torture, fighting a battle where you're almost sure to die, or an intense feeling of despair. "Hey Error?" "i- whAt?" "Do you think increasing my LV will change my SOUL weaponry?" "Oh MoST DeFInItely. DrEAm RECEntLY hIt a HiGhER lV AnD, bECausE He's jUst eXtRa, He ChANgeD his wHoLe OutfIT And evERythIng. noW HE JusT lOOkS likE a slUT IN sPAnDex WitH Dual bLADES- WHiCH IS SO LamE! i MEAN, CrOSs did iT first ANd He WAs Just like-"
Error pitched his voice higher, in that girlish mocking tone. " 'Oh LOOk At Me, i'M SO SPECial! mY maGicAL boW TUrNs INTO TWO StAbby StaBS THAt I almoST LOSe EVErY FUCKINg bATTLe!' God i HaTE hiM-," Error said, crossing his arms and pouting on his beanbag chair. Through...all of that, I managed to grasp that, yes, my giant anime-esque sword would probably change when I hit LV 10. As Error started on another tirade of how stupid the Star Sanses' weapons were, I took a moment to think about what new weapon I could have my longsword turn into. Error was blabbering on and on about some weird thing named "Broomie" and honestly I was getting kinda tired of him talking- I missed my little introvert-
"So, uh, Error." The glitch stopped and looked at me, a slight pout on his mouth. "When are we gonna start the training?" The sudden realization donned on Error's face- it was likely he forgot it with his apparently poor memory. "sO THat'S WHy YOu'rE heRe- i FoRGOT. anyways, YOu'rE gOinG To bE doinG SoMEtHing diFferEnt THan oUr NOrMAl sParriNg MAtches. A liTtLE GAmE IF yOu WoUld." I cocked my head to the side, confused. The inflection he used was...suspicious and murder-y. Very murder-y and even more suspicious. I was 99% sure he was going to make me straight up stab a bitch. But honestly? The skeletons I came to befriend were- much worse than that- not Cross, though. He's, like, adorable. I don't think he's ever willingly killed someone- and if he has- how??? He's so fluffy, like oh my god???
"Okay- what kind of game, then?" Error merely chuckled, his strings summoning to wrap around his, admittedly pretty, phalanges. A portal was ripped open and Error walked through, motioning me to follow. I did, finding myself in some sort of cold wintery wonderland. Error's strings tore through reality and grabbed onto...a small box? Honestly it was a bit reality breaking. It was like he just plucked something out of thin air. "What's that?" "ThiNk of iT as...the cODE fROm this WORlD. i can sEe and mAniPuLATE it. And tHEreFore, tHiS wIlL be Your NeW tRAIniNG gRoUND!"
Error smiled wide, the box slowly beginning to glitch out and change colors. The world around me started glitching as well, trees shifting and becoming inverted- magenta leaves and light blue trunks. It was honestly a bit mind breaking at first, but I managed to tear through that and focus on my job at hand. Uhm, not that I knew what the fuck I was doing. "Neat- so uh- what am I doing?" Error once again dodged the question, this time, with a command: "sUmmON yOUR SoUL WEaPoN." I sighed and did as instructed, the longsword falling into my hand with grace. The tip of the blade laid on the ground, considering it was one heavy chunk of metal.
Suddenly, Error's strings lowered a monster in front of me. "nOw lET me walk yOU thRougH tHIS, okay? wheN yoU EntEr thIs fighT, yoUR SOUL Will apPear IN frONt of yoU. you NeED tO Move And prOTECt BOTh YoU and YoUr sOuL. YOU'LL kNOw iT wHeN You seE it. NOw gO AHEAd ANd APpROaCh " I nodded, trying to take in the spew of information as I took a few steps towards this...thing. I felt a pulling deep in my chest and watched as a dark pink cartoon heart appeared from my chest. There was a healed scar across it- when was I ever hit here? What even is this?! This weird heart felt so connected to me and I had the urge to pull it close and hide it.
"theRe YoU Go! So tHat, MY DeAr (Y/N) iS Your souL. tHE cuLmiNaTION of yoUr BeINg, AS sOme mAY sAy. BASED on tHE CoLOr, yOUR SOUL traIt iS SOMeTHinG CLOSe TO PacIFISm. Now, oNcE YoU stARt kiLlINg, It'LL tURN iNTO diSTurBeD pACIFISm. dOn't WOrrY, it WON't KiLl YoU! HEHEh...now jUsT gO FOr It. You'LL nEEd tO sTRIKe now ANd dOdge When IT CoMES snowDRake's tuRN." I nodded once again, holding my sword firmly and striking as Error has taught me. The broadsword swung and collided with the body of the odd monster, and immediately, attacks started bombarding me. Error had helped me to dodge while holding the sword, facing off against his strings, bones, and blasters, so this wasn't anything new to me.
After a couple minutes of dodging, the attacks stopped and I swung my sword again. It came down on the monster, his face contorting as his body dissolved into a powdery greyish-white substance. A rush of something came to me as Error started talking again, but it was hard to listen. While not bloody and visceral like murders on TV, there was no doubt I'd just killed a monster. I felt sick- how could I just take away someone's life so...so easily? It made my stomach turn as Error stood in front of me and smiled. He was proud of me for killing an innocent monster? Why? Why was he proud of me for becoming a killer?
I hardly had time to mope around as Error started sending in enemy after enemy towards me. There were Snowdrakes, Ice Caps, and Gyftrots, monsters with a snowy theme fitting the area we fought in. Error gave me bits of information as I struck them down, that feeling of something rushing to me each time I dusted an innocent monster just trying to survive. I can't even tell how long I was there until the enemies stopped coming. I stood, breathing heavily and clutching my sword, waiting for another innocent monster to come close. Error appeared in front of me instead, his hands on his hips.
"yOu DID iT! Lv 10! NoW, WHY dON't YOU Put tHaT SOUL Weapon AWAy ANd get a nice sHOwER? Go HomE, relAx- AnD NEXT week, WE'll sEE whAt IT'S BeCOme, YEaH?" I nodded again, my throat feeling closed and swollen. Error made a glitchy portal back to the outside of my house, ushering me through verbally. I waved tiredly to him and dissipated my weapon, my Soul finally going back into my body. The portal disappeared and I walked closer to my door, trying it and seeing it was unlocked. I walked in and went to my bathroom, immediately stripping down naked and getting back into the shower like just hours before.
I scrubbed and scrubbed, the feeling of the grainy dust on my body remaining for much longer than I would have liked. Luckily, it hadn't seemed to get into my hair, which would have been an entirely different problem. I heard a soft knock on the door, holding the shower head to my leg to silence the pitter patter of water. "(Y/N)..?" "Yeah, hey, Dusty. Sorry, needed a quick shower. You okay?" He hummed in affirmation, asking if I needed clothes. "Yeah, please?" Dust was quick to walk off to my room and find clothes, stating a bit shyly that he tried not to directly touch my underwear. Aw, sweet boy.
I shut the water off and headed out of the shower, grabbing a towel and drying off. Dust passed me my clothes through the barely open bathroom door before he shut it and said he'd wait outside. I rolled my eyes fondly and started getting dressed. He'd picked out some nice and soft grey sweats and a baggy navy cotton shit. I got dressed and the second I was out of the bathroom, his arms were wrapped around me. "You were gone for hours." "Yeah, I...sorry, Dust." His teeth touched my cheek gently. "Was scared you were hurt." I tried not to think about the damage the attacks had done or how Error berated me as he healed me.
"Well I'm not, so it's all okay...you wanna go cuddle in my room?" Dust nodded, breaking the hug just to hold my hand and arm instead. I smiled tiredly, letting out a soft, breathy chuckle. "You're clingy, huh?" "Um- yeah, kinda. Is that bad?" I shook my head and leaned against him as we walked to my room. "Um...I can tell you about it now, (Y/N)..." I yawned, climbing into bed and making grabby hands for my skeleton. He crawled obediently into my arms and we snuggled up together, his head in my chest. "Maybe after a nap..?" "Yeah...okay. Night, (Y/N)" "Night, Dusty..."
Wow- sorry for the hiatus. College kinda zaps all my time away. I did want to make this chapter a bit longer, just based off my friend's chapters (They do about 2000 words). Hopefully you like the 2x chapter? If not- just let me know- Anyways yeah, lore <3
Also, I used some of the Undertale Wikis for this- the one on Stats, the "SOUL colors," and one on Snowdin. They're easy sources, but I'm glad to send them to anyone who asks via comment or DM
Date: 12/16/23 16:32
Word Count: 2406