✿The Darkness Within✿

✿Prologue✿

The night is silent, almost uncomfortably so. Flickering streetlights illuminate the narrow, long-deserted street, complete with rotting houses. A shadowy figure trudges, unhurried, down the middle of the road.

There's a palpable discomfort in the stale air. The figure pauses and removes their dark cloak, revealing a pair of black-feather wings sprouting from their back. Dark hair falls on their shoulders, and obsidian eyes focus on one house in particular.

I'm here.

The figure walks to the house's porch, nimbly avoiding the rotted sections. They push the heavy door aside.

The house is even silenter. Cobwebs stick to the walls and everything seems to be covered in a thick layer of dust.

"Well, well, well," a voice cuts through the silence. Standing in the corner of the room is a large skeleton. Goopy, yellow-tinted sludge covers his entire frame. "Here I was thinking you didn't have the guts to come."

"You don't even have guts," the figure retorts, crossing their arms across their chest. "What the hell do you even want? I've got more important things to do."

"Then I won't leave you in suspense," the skeleton's face hardens, grin fading. "My brother has been... acting up again. He's getting cocky, believing he can defeat me."

"How terrible," sarcasm practically drips from the figure's words.

The skeleton ignores the jab. "Indeed. Which is why I need you to deal with it. He must not be allowed to rule more of the multiverse."

The figure pauses, somewhat surprised. "Damn. You really take sibling rivalry to a whole other level."

"Are you refusing, then?"

Huffing, the figure lets their arms drop to their sides. "I didn't say that."

"Good girl," the skeleton's grin returns full-force. He leers at the figure, more goop dripping from his large frame. "If you succeed, I'll reward you-"

"Yeah- no," the figure cuts him off, disgust evident on their features. "I'm not interested in your weird fetishes, Dream."

The skeleton, now known as 'Dream', merely chuckles. "Not yet."

They roll their obsidian eyes. "Not ever, dickweed."

"We'll see about that," Dream says before disappearing into a puddle of goop, ending the forced conversation.

Stars, one more word and I would have gutted him.

The figure snorts, turning away from the fizzling puddle. They exit the house, not bothering to fit the broken door in its proper place. No one else would dare visit the broken section of this dead town, after all.

***

You hated this. Dream had to show up and ruin the one day you actually felt something other than LV pains, asking for your "help" and having the audacity to flirt with you. That fucker was as slimy on the inside as he was on the outside.

But there wasn't much you could do, unfortunately. Dream was a formidable being, and you didn't particularly want to make an enemy of him.

That didn't mean that you couldn't inwardly hate him, of course.

You arrived at your home - a run-down shack in the middle of an AU no one knew existed. Not even Ink knew how to properly pinpoint it, which was why you chose it in the first place.

The AU had long since died, probably because of your influence. Everything was is various shades of gray, ranging from the trodden snow to the bristled trees. Snowdin had never looked so depressing.

Pushing the heavy door open, you walked into the home. It had a small, slightly-squared three-room layout. One room held all your "equipment", while another served as a bathroom. The last room was a kitchen, bedroom, and living room, all mashed together.

It was small.

But it was home, nonetheless.

...It was also the better choice of a living space, considering the latter was living with Dream in his castle. There was no way in hell you'd live with that creep.

Clang!

A clanging sound emanating from the other room interrupted your thoughts. You sigh, already knowing what was causing such a ruckus. There's a metal door to the left of you, and you walk to it.

Click.

Upon hearing heavy door opening, the captive inside stills. It's a brown-haired human male, about forty years old, wearing a torn shirt and cuffed pants. Chains wrap around his arms and legs, though that doesn't stop him from attempting to reach the weapons hanging from the opposing wall.

You step forward, and he screams. They all do. In the beginning, at least. "Get away from me, you psycho!"

Lips curling up in a cruel smile, you chuckle. This human is fresh, untamed and reeling from the shock of being kidnapped. "And who are you to be ordering me around, human?"

He doesn't have an answer for that, but respond nonetheless. "You're crazy! Let me go right now!"

The human's voice is gratingly shrill, digging into your sensitive ears. Relax, he just needs to be broken in. "No."

"Y-"

BANG!

Your body streaks forward at a speed that shouldn't be possible. Wrapping your hands around his throat, you slam him against the stone wall. "What was that, human?"

A shriek. "N-NO! Stop!"

You squeezing tighter. Gurgling noises leave his collapsing throat. You smirk, feeling the frantic beat of his pulse. "Not so mouthy now, huh? You humans are so fickle."

"N- hrrrk!" The human's eyes begin to pop out of his skull, face growing bluer and bluer. With one last strangled gasp, the light in his bright eyes begins to fade.

You increase the pressure, reveling in the intoxicating rush. You're no stranger to receiving LV from slain monsters, but killing humans offers a different, better flavor of LV, one that burns your body with delightful pleasure.

Stepping off the human's limp body, you reach into your pocket for a lighter. This is going to be fun.

Humans always burn so nicely, after all.

***

Don't forget that you are the villain in this story, dear reader.