Chapter Text

Asriel stumbled as he raced through town, his new chainmail chestplate clinking on his shoulders as he ran. He heard the bewildered chatter of the other townspeople around him as everyone poured onto the streets, staring up in confusion, awe, and fear at the monster floating above the church.

“BE NOT AFRAID!” the girl cried out across the crowd, her radiant wings shining and pulsing against the endless black backdrop of the sky behind her. “I am here to save you all from your tired, lamentable existences. Bask in my light as you leave behind your dreary world and enter Heaven!”

The muttering of the monsters around Asriel grew louder and more panicked, until one voice pierced over the rest: “SHE’S TOTALLY GONNA KILL US!” The effect was instant, and the streets exploded into chaos and screams as people fled every which way.

“Why are you shouting? Why are you running?!” The self-proclaimed Angel’s voice grew sharper, the pleasant musicality of her words tainted with a sudden dissonance. “You should be rejoicing! I have finally returned; give me your PRAISE!”

“Crap, crap, crap,” Asriel mumbled to himself, turning the corner towards his house. He needed to get inside, now.

“KRIS!” came an accusatory voice from somewhere in the mob. “Where are you? You have some explaining to do, my child!”

“Mom?” Asriel turned, and saw Toriel pushing her way through the other monsters, a determined look on her face. “Mom!”

Toriel caught his eye, and they made their way towards each other, elbowing their way through the crowd. “Asriel!” she exclaimed once they were close, grabbing him by the arms. She was dressed in strange purple robes, the symbol of the Deltarune emblazoned on her chest. “What are you doing here? Your semester does not end for another week!”

“I—I wanted to surprise you!” Asriel said, voice quick and shrill. “I got all my work done early, don’t worry.”

“Oh, how sweet of you, Asriel!” Toriel said, putting a hand over her heart. “It is so good to see you.”

“Yeah, you too,” Asriel said with a smile. “I’ve really missed—”

“ATTENTION ALL HOMETOWN RESIDENTS! PLEASE GET INSIDE!” came Officer Undyne’s voice, blaring through a megaphone from somewhere vaguely in the direction of the police station. “STAY CALM AND MOVE INDOORS! LET THE POLICE HANDLE ALL SCARY FLOATING WOMEN! WE HAVE THE SITUATION UNDER CONTROL!”

Asriel turned back to his mother. “Yeah, uh, maybe we can catch up later. What the heck is going on?!”

“You know, I am not particularly sure myself,” Toriel remarked, tilting her head up to the sky. “This happened to me once before, with Kris and Susie, but it was… different. Kris didn’t seem to remember it, so I assumed it must have been a dream, but I have a feeling they may not have been entirely honest with me.”

“What? Really?” Asriel looked around wildly. “Different how?”

“Well, before, it was localized entirely within our living room television,” Toriel explained. 

Asriel stared at her, eyes wide and unblinking. “What?”

“This Angel girl is new, though,” Toriel went on, ignoring Asriel’s puzzled look. “I wonder if we’re about to be raptured?”

“No, that—that can’t be the real Angel. She’s a historical figure, not some actual magical goddess.” Asriel glanced nervously at his mother. “I-I mean, I know Church means a lot to you, and of course I support people of all faiths! But I’m just saying—even if the Scriptures are true, what are the chances the actual Angel makes her return today of all days? It’s been thousands of years!”

“Let’s ask her,” Toriel said, beginning to walk down the street towards the church.

“What? Mom, no! MOM!” Asriel jogged to catch up, falling in step at Toriel’s side. “Are you out of your mind?”

“Quite the opposite; I am the only one thinking calmly about this,” Toriel said. “When we were inside that television, most of the other monsters we encountered were simply misunderstood, and talking to them easily resolved any issues. This girl has not even attacked anyone. Why assume she means harm?”

“Uh, because she’s talking about sending everyone to Heaven?” Asriel suggested. “She seems a little… very insane.”

“Well, I still think we should try.”

Since they were going against the flow of the crowd, it wasn’t long before the streets opened up, and they stood among only the bravest, most curious, or perhaps most foolhardy Hometown residents. They slowed to a stop as they saw, at the foot of the church, Father Alvin, who was knelt in prayer, looking up at the golden-winged monster above them. Several other members of the local clergy were prostrating behind him, heads bowed low.

“O, Angel!” Alvin called up. “Has the Prophesied Day truly come? Have you finally answered our endless prayers? We are blessed!”

“Uh oh,” Asriel muttered.

The Angel, if that’s really what she was, seemed to take note of him, and slowly descended to the ground, grinning fiercely. “Ah, yes! I knew there must still be some of you who had the sense to recognize me. It has been far too long since I have last been on this side of the universe if my legacy has been reduced to a waning religion.”

“You know, Asriel,” Toriel said quietly, “I think she might actually be the Angel.”

“Or she’s completely delusional,” Asriel said.

“She is flying on gigantic golden wings of light, my child.”

“That’s… a point,” Asriel admitted.

“Many of us never stopped having faith,” Father Alvin said, his already-raspy voice choked with tears. “We congregate in your worship every week. Sing your praise to the Heavens, in hopes it shall reach you. But though I prayed, though I believed, I never in all my years thought that I would live to see your return myself…” He paused, closing his eyes. “I can feel my soul is whole once more. I can feel the magic of your Light shining within me. Blessed be!”

“Blessed be!” echoed the other monsters behind him.

As he talked, the Angel’s smile grew wider, her eyes flashing with a manic sort of pride at Alvin’s exaltations. “Your faith shall be duly rewarded,” she lauded. “Once I transform this world into Heaven, yours shall be a position of envy compared to those who have forsaken me.”

“That is very different from how the Scriptures described the Holy Rapture,” Toriel said warily.

“Mom, I think we should go,” Asriel mumbled, grabbing the sleeve of her robes.

“Please, O Radiant One, have mercy on their souls,” Alvin pleaded, clasping his hands. “They are good people. They have just lost their way after so many years without your Light.”

“Then they shouldn’t have forgotten,” the Angel said darkly, her lip curling slightly. In the next second, though, it smoothed into a warm smile. “You, though. You have done well, my acolyte. Rest, now, for Heaven awaits you!”

She removed an intricate crystal dagger from a rope belt around her waist and thrust it towards the sky. A column of air around Alvin brightened noticeably, stretching infinitely upwards towards the darkness overhead, and a second later, a beam of brilliant, sparkling golden light shot down from above, slamming into him. It lasted for only a brief moment, and when it dissipated, a glittering golden statue knelt at the Angel’s feet, in the shape of Alvin praying on his knees.

“Oh my Angel,” Toriel breathed out. Asriel would have laughed at the irony of the expression if he weren’t staring in horror at the frozen, lifeless sculpture that Alvin had been turned into.

One of the other clergymonsters stood, backing away slowly. “D-did you just kill him?”

“Of course not. I saved him,” the Angel said. She flourished her dagger in her fingers. “Once I have torn this pathetic world to the ground and built my resplendent Heaven in its place, he, and all the rest of you, shall be restored to live under me in blissful perpetuity. And it shall be glorious!”

She punctuated the statement by once more stabbing her blade into the sky, and, once more, a blinding beam of gold light streaked down from the heavens, this time centered on the monster that had spoken. In seconds, he, too, was encased in beautiful gold.

“Mom, we’re leaving,” Asriel said, grabbing her paw and tugging her away. “Now.”

Toriel didn’t protest, and they ran off deeper into the town.

Susie groaned as she awoke, her snout smushing awkwardly against cool metal. She got her claws under her and pushed up onto her hands and knees. Kris and December were laid out on the floor next to her, slowly coming to their senses.

“What… what happened?” Susie asked cautiously, getting to her boots and looking around. They weren’t in the Throne Room anymore; rather, it looked like they were in some sort of futuristic laboratory. Susie’s brow furrowed. “Did Noelle close the fountain somehow? What is this?”

“Holy shit,” Dess muttered as she got up, looking around. “I’m actually out. I’m actually…” She looked down at herself, staring at her shadowy left arm. “No, this—something’s up. Why do I still have all my magic?”

“Because the fountain wasn’t sealed,” came Red’s voice as Kris stood. They were still wearing their armor, bracing the point of their sword against the floor as they regained their balance. “A new fountain was created. A Neo Dark Fountain.”

“The Roaring,” Susie breathed, eyes narrowing. She took a step towards the door that led out of the lab, but her boot clanged against something on the ground; she jumped as she looked down, summoning her axe instinctively, but then relaxed. One of the robotic vessel bodies was lying on the floor in front of her, but its lights were dim and the glass window on its chest was shattered, broken glass littering the floor around it.

“My old body,” Red explained. “I left it here after Noelle opened the fountain, since I was inhabiting Kris.”

Susie grunted in acknowledgement, letting her axe dissipate into purple flames that quickly died in the air. 

“Where is Noelle, anyway?” Dess demanded suddenly, looking around the lab. “Why didn’t she wake up with us?”

“The vessels aren’t here either,” Kris said, pursing their lips. “Noelle and Lailah were in the other room, so I can understand why they would’ve appeared somewhere else, but—”

“Shit! I gotta find her!” Dess interrupted. She shoved past Kris and Susie, throwing open the door to the lab and racing up the staircase on the other side. 

“Hey, wait up!” Susie called, running after her. Kris was at her heels, and they took the narrow staircase two steps at a time as they raced after Dess’s retreating form. 

After a minute or so, they reached the top of the stairs, and Dess blew open the metal doors to the bunker, stumbling out into the forest on the other side. Susie followed behind her, gazing up into the starless black sky above them. “This is freaky.”

“ELLIE? ELLIE!” Dess shouted, looking around wildly through the trees. “Dammit, where is she?!”

“Ralsei’s gone, too,” Kris said, pursing their lips. “He claimed Boss Darkners wouldn’t be petrified by the Roaring, so he should still be able to exist out here.”

“Maybe he’s back at Castle Town,” Susie figured. “Wait, how does that work? Can we still have a Dark World if the entire town’s become one big Dark World?”

“The bastard probably ran off to save his own skin,” Dess bit out.

“No, he wouldn’t do that,” Susie said, shaking her head.

Dess scoffed. “Oh, he wouldn’t, would he?” 

“He wouldn’t,” Susie insisted. 

“Guys!” Kris said sharply, cutting an arm through the air decisively. “We don’t have time for arguing! We are literally in the middle of the apocalypse!”

“…They’re right,” Dess said, crossing her arms. “We have more important things to worry about than Ralsei, like making sure Noelle is safe. Let’s split up to find her—cover more ground.”

“Uh, you sure?” Susie raised an eyebrow at her. “That sounds like an easy way for us to all die.”

Dess rolled her eyes. “I’ll be fine. Some asshole with a god complex doesn’t scare me. So unless you need me to babysit you two, I’m gone.”

“Dess, wait!” Kris called—but she’d already disappeared into the shadows. “Ugh. Well, she’s the same as ever.”

Dess’s head popped out of the shade from a nearby tree. “I heard that, Kris!”

“Good! Get back here, you idiot!” Kris shouted after her, but she was gone again, and this time didn’t reappear. 

“Well.” Susie let a heavy breath out of her nose. “We’re off to a great start, huh?”

Kris rolled their eyes. “Come on, let’s get back to town.”

They picked their way through the woods, moving as quickly as they could around the branches and foliage, and eventually crossed back over the treeline right outside of Town Hall. Susie’s jaw dropped as she glanced across the street at the Church, which was several times larger than she remembered and featured a gigantic golden fountain spilling out between its tall spires. “What the…”

“Looks like Lailah used the power of the Roaring to turn the Church into a fortress,” Red said. Their voice fell as Kris added on, “And she went for the building that was already constructed to honor her image. So much for the timid, humble girl in the mirror, I guess.” They squinted their eyes. “I mean, sheesh, are those golden statues of worshippers out front? Talk about ego.”

Susie jogged across the road, turning around the corner of Town Hall for a better view, and her throat went dry. “Uh, Kris? I don’t think those are statues.”

“Shit,” Kris breathed, catching up to her and staring at the petrified forms of Father Alvin and several other monsters. “That’s not good.”

They both jumped as a beam of bright light struck down from the sky a little ways away, and Susie turned, seeing a golden-winged monster that could only be Lailah floating in the air above the hospital. She had her back to them, and seemed to be directing her attention down to the people on the street below her, which was hidden around the block.

“Stop resisting! You are making this so much more difficult than it needs to be,” she yelled, raising the spellblade above her head and calling down another column of light. “Once you are in Heaven, you all shall regret opposing me now!”

“Shit, we gotta help those people!” Susie called, dashing down the street. “Come on!”

“Susie, wait!” they called after her, breaking into a sprint to catch up. “What are you even planning on doing? You think we can actually fight her?!”

“We have to do something,” Susie insisted as they raced past various monsters that lined the streets and sidewalks, all frozen in glittering gold. “She’ll kill all those people!”

“I don’t think they’re dead,” Red spoke up, head turning to appraise a nearby blob monster that Lailah had gilded while he was halfway through the doorframe of a nearby house. “She seems to be preserving them for some reason.”

“Yeah, that doesn’t sound much better, dude,” Susie said as she skidded around the corner. 

Lailah was harassing a small group of monsters congregated outside the hospital, several of whom had already been turned into statues. Susie growled, reaching out a claw and summoning her axe between her talons, dark purple flames dancing to life along the blade. But before she could fire off an attack, a bright, shining spear streaked through the air, whizzing past Lailah’s face.

“What in the—who DARES?!” Lailah screeched, turning away from Susie and Kris and directing her attention towards the police station down the road. Officer Undyne was standing on the roof, wearing an eyepatch and full plate armor and wielding a long spear in one hand and a megaphone in the other.

“ATTENTION! YOU ARE UNDER ARREST, FOR, LIKE, SO MUCH CRAP!” she shouted through the megaphone. “SURRENDER TO THE WILL OF THE LAW OR FACE THE WRATH OF ALL THESE MAGIC SPEARS THAT I CAN APPARENTLY SHOOT WITH MY MIND!” Several spears of bright white magic, identical to the one Lailah had just dodged, appeared over Undyne’s head, floating menacingly in the air. 

Lailah only laughed, though, a sick sort of smile spreading over her face. “Me, submitting to your paltry mortal law? HA! What matter is the law to a goddess?!”

She gripped her blade, and the air above Undyne brightened—but before the light struck, Undyne leapt out of the way, landing safely out of the radius of the golden column. “FINE!” she called, tossing the megaphone down at her feet and throwing out a hand. “YOU ASKED FOR IT, LADY!”

Undyne’s spears shot out, but Lailah merely sneered, her wings flashing brightly. They didn’t flap, necessarily, made entirely out of her golden magic, but she zipped sideways through the air regardless, leaving a faint, sparkling afterimage in her wake as the spears flew harmlessly to her left. She snarled and stabbed her dagger forward; there was a flash, and a missile of magical energy streaked from the tip of her blade, a long trail of light marking out its trajectory in the air behind it as it rocketed towards Undyne. 

Susie’s eyes widened at the attack, and she decided not to waste any more time watching, hurling her rude buster up at Lailah. She didn’t see it coming, and it impacted hard against her thigh, knocking her back a bit in the air. She shot a furious look down to the street, eyes burning. “YOU.”

Susie ran forward. “Undyne, watch out!”

With a shrill yelp, Undyne jumped from the roof of the police station, out of the path of Lailah’s incoming missile of light. Her armor clanked loudly as she hit the street in a crouch, but to Susie’s horror, Lailah’s spell swerved around in the air to follow after her.

“Of course it’s homing,” Kris spat out, running alongside Susie towards the police station. 

Susie scowled as the missile closed in on Undyne—they weren’t going to make it in time. But then, a large, armored form surged out from the alley between the hospital and the police station, and a red trident blurred through the air, clashing with Lailah’s golden magic. The missile erupted in a small yet violent explosion; it was a premature detonation, but it was still close enough to Undyne that it knocked her hard onto her back. Lailah didn’t waste any time, and with a glow from her spellblade, her magic crashed down onto Undyne’s prone form, sealing her in gold. 

“Undyne!” bellowed the heavy-set goat monster who’d barreled onto the scene. He was wearing armor, too, though lighter and more stylized than Undyne’s, with a regal red cape billowing out from behind his massive shoulder plates. He glared up at Lailah, brow crossed. “I do not care if I am no longer on the force—I will not let you hurt the people of my town!” 

Susie nearly fell over. “Holy shit, Kris, is that your dad?”

Next to her, Kris went pale, their sneakers crashing against the asphalt as they pulled ahead of Susie and ran up to their father.

“Kris?!” Asgore exclaimed as he caught sight of them, eyes wide. “What are you doing here? You should be hiding!”

“So should you!” Kris snapped, coming to a stop at his side. “You need to run! Get to the school!”

“Sorry, but nobody’s going anywhere,” Lailah called down to them. She’d lowered her altitude, only hovering a couple dozen feet above them by now. Scowling, she swiped her dagger across the length of her body, and three more light-missiles launched forward, one towards each of them. 

Susie snarled, hurling several waves of magic up at Lailah with heavy blows of her axe. One collided with the missile that was trained on her, blowing it up harmlessly in the air, but the other spells sailed true towards Lailah. Before they could hit, though, she snatched her mirror from her belt with her free hand and held it out; a semitransparent shield of yellow-tinted glass appeared in front of her, and Susie’s attacks rebounded off of it, careening back towards her.

She swore, quickly backpedaling and blocking with her arms as the magic crashed down around her. To her side, Kris didn’t seem to be doing much better: they’d placed themself in front of Asgore, and while they’d managed to weather the first missile as it blew against their shield, the second one took them off their feet, sending them to the ground. A second later, still secure behind the magical barrier she’d conjured, Lailah thrust her spellblade above her, and the air around Kris brightened, crackling with magic.

“Kris!” Asgore cried, rushing forward and bending to pick them up—but he hadn’t anticipated Red’s reaction time, and even before Asgore started moving, Kris’s boots kicked hard against the pavement, sending them rolling shoulder-over-shoulder out of the circle that demarcated Lailah’s attack. Asgore wasn’t nearly as quick, however, and his attempt to save Kris backfired as it sent him straight into the golden pillar that cracked down from above. Lailah’s magic quickly did its work, and Asgore’s movements stilled.

“DAD!” Kris screamed, eyes wide and fearful.

“Hold on, did you say ‘Dad?’” Lailah cackled, descending even lower until she was only a sparse few feet above Susie and Kris. “If he was supposed to be this cycle’s reincarnation of the King, then monsterkind has grown even more pathetic than I’d imagined.”

Susie grit her teeth, tightening her grip on her axe, but Lailah didn’t move to attack them. 

Kris tore their eyes off of their father’s glimmering form to meet Lailah with a harsh stare, though their bangs quickly fell over their face to obscure it. “You have to stop this, Lailah,” they said, voice grave and eerily level. “This isn’t right.”

Lailah met their gaze, frowning. “Of course you don’t understand. You’re just like them, aren’t you?” Her voice dropped to a dark mumble. “You even look like them…”

“Look like who?” Kris interrogated, eyes narrowing. “What don’t I understand?”

“Me! The Roaring! The Dark World’s magic! Their potential!” Lailah began to rise back into the air, her wings pulsing, and spread her arms, the spellblade and spellglass glowing with her magic as she clutched them in her hands. “They didn’t understand, you don’t understand, nobody understands! But you will soon, Knight. You’ll see. All of you will see, and you’ll thank me once you do. You’ll all THANK me!”

An aura of magic began to illuminate the air around Lailah as she rose into the sky, her mouth hanging open and her eyes clouding over with an opaque golden light. She crossed her arms in front of her face, tilting her wrists so that the tips of her knife and mirror brushed, magic sparking between them in thick, potent bursts.

“I think we should probably go, Kris,” Susie said to them quietly, backing away.

Kris nodded. “Ralsei said he created Castle Town partially as a haven for the Roaring. We need to gather the others and head there.”

“I TOLD YOU, NOBODY IS GOING ANYWHERE,” Lailah chanted, her words ringing and echoing through the air like a choir of bells. “I WILL SAVE YOU ALL, WHETHER YOU COME WILLINGLY OR NOT. YOU CANNOT HIDE FROM MY LIGHT.” 

“COME ON!” Susie roared, and she and Kris took off down the street towards the school as fast as their legs could carry them. 

Susie dared to glance over her shoulder, and she saw magic spilling from Lailah’s eyes in two bright, shining spotlights, the light stretching on and on before finally diffusing into the endless void overhead. The ground began to quake underneath them, and Susie turned back around, trying desperately to keep from stumbling—but despite her best efforts, she faceplanted onto the asphalt, grunting as hairline cracks spiderwebbed across the ground under her. 

Kris fell to one knee next to her, fingertips bracing against the ground for balance, and they both looked up in time to see a great chasm crack open in the middle of the intersection between the hospital and the library. Susie’s throat went dry as a gigantic stone arm surged out from the pit; it was quickly followed by another, and the two hands braced themselves on either side of the road as a massive figure climbed out onto the street. It had to be at least twenty feet tall, clad in spiked, soot-black armor that was decorated with strange golden eye symbols. In the middle of its helmet, a bright, four-pointed star glimmered where a face would normally be, shining down at them as they quickly clambered back to their feet, drawing their weapons.

“Oh,” Kris said, letting out a strained breath as the hole in the street neatly closed itself back up. “So that’s what a Titan is.”

“NO!” Noelle cried, jolting awake. Her heart was beating out of her chest, her lungs heaving with breathless pants, and for a moment she thought that maybe, just maybe, it had all been a dream. But then she pinched at the fabric of the snowy robe falling over her body, felt her wings twitching nervously on her back, watched the ice crackling across the wooden floor under her legs, and knew that she wasn’t that lucky.

She stood on shaky hooves, careful not to slip on the thin sheet of frost she’d accidentally conjured below her in her panic. She was in some sort of tower, judging by the tall ceiling that tapered to a conic point high above and the gigantic circular stained glass window on the wall behind her. She walked to the window, but couldn’t make anything out through the tinted glass, other than the fact that it was dark outside. 

Pursing her lips, she walked to the other side of the room, where a spiral staircase was inset into the floor. She started down it cautiously, trailing a hand along the thick stone wall at her side as she tried to keep her hoof-falls quiet against the hardwood. After walking down what must’ve been at least a couple stories, she came to a large wooden door that looked much more like something you’d find in a medieval castle than a science lab. So, she probably wasn’t in the laboratory world anymore, at least, but that only raised more questions.

She frowned and pushed open the door, slipping out into a long hallway. She crept down it, passing by torches that cast a warm orange light from their wall sconces, elaborately-woven silk tapestries depicting religious vignettes, and several more pairs of large wooden doors. She was about to open one of them at random when her ears twitched, picking up muted voices on the other side. Careful not to push too hard, she pressed the side of her head up against the wood, listening in.

“There’s no need for argument. The plan worked splendidly,” said the first voice. Noelle narrowed her eyes— Ambition. “We’re finally out of that dreadful laboratory, all in one fell swoop. Now, if we can just take care of Lailah—”

“What?!” Mind interrupted, their tone as derisive as ever. “You’ve always been arrogant, Ambition, but you’re scraping new depths here. You lost to a child and you think you can take on the Angel?”

“December caught me off guard,” Ambition countered. “Had I known she possessed shadow magic, I never would’ve lost to her. Lailah may be strong, but at her core, she’s still just a monster like the rest. She is no goddess.”

“Yeah, I bet we can take her!” Bravery said confidently.

“Absolutely not,” Voice said resolutely. “To turn on her would be suicide. We shall honor our agreement with her for the foreseeable future and guard the fountain.”

“Thank you,” Mind said with an irritated whirr. “Finally, some sense around here.”

“No fair,” Bravery huffed. “Voice always agrees with you.”

“I evaluate all proposals objectively,” Voice said. “You know this, Bravery.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“How is wasting away guarding a fountain any more favorable an existence than wasting away guarding a laboratory?” Ambition asked tersely.

“Because this is a temporary position,” Mind articulated. “Once Lailah is done playing world-architect, there won’t be anybody left to guard the fountain from. We’ll have free reign as her right hands.”

Ambition started to say something else, but it was just quiet enough that Noelle couldn’t quite make it out; she instinctively leaned in just the tiniest bit, but in doing so, the door moved slightly, producing a faint but audible creak from the hinges. Noelle swore at herself internally, immediately backing away and quickly yet quietly hurrying down the hallway. She paused about halfway down the length of the corridor, opening another set of doors and squeezing through. She closed them softly behind her and stood there for a few more seconds, only allowing herself to breathe once she was sure that she didn’t hear the sounds of anyone following her. 

She turned around to observe the room she’d stumbled into, and gasped when she was met with a thick, towering, spiraling column of vibrant golden light. The fountain—because that was the only thing it could be—lashed upwards towards the ceiling with a certain beautiful violence, great dazzling cords of light whipping and crashing against each other as it gurgled and roared. Noelle approached slowly, gazing into its brilliance, and gulped down a rock in her throat.

“What have I done?” she whispered to herself as she stood before the fountain, its effulgent coils reflecting off the whites of her eyes and casting a phosphorescent glow throughout the otherwise unlit chamber.

She heard a door creak behind her, and whirled around to see Voice standing in the doorway, blocking her exit back out into the hall. The lights on their chassis pulsed purple, and they snapped one arm out to the side, metal clinking against metal as it reshaped itself into a crude sword. 

“You,” they said simply, their tone as monotonous as ever, “are not supposed to be in here.”