VOXISTALE: Novel Edition

Chapter 114

Her eyes opened, recognizing a biting cold lingering around her. The tunnels were below her now, that she could immediately recognize. When her vision adjusted, she found she was staring up at a blank, stone ceiling. Her head was pounding something awful, but she was feeling a lot better than just earlier. It was funny how one expedition had proved more deadly than even her fight with Demon. That's what it felt like, at least.

Slowly, the teen lifted herself from what she was lying upon, realizing it was a quilt. A look around her told her that there were plenty others in the room with her, the throne room to be exact. The thrones themselves had been pushed against the wall, Dogaressa and Dogamy's pups playing around them, probably oblivious to the grave situation they all were truly in.

Many other recognizable faces lingered about, sitting or standing, though mostly the former, wrapped in quilts, huddled together.

Shivering, Frisk pulled her own quilt tightly around her as she got up onto her feet, swaying for a moment once there. Several eyes turned to her, but there wasn't any malice to them anymore. None that she could detect. A few nods when she locked eyes with someone. It was dark, so most people were sleeping. How long had she been out? Asgore wasn't in here, though she could see Alphys huddled in a corner, facing the wall, her shoulders softly heaving. Crying. Frisk felt like going over to comfort her, before deciding to figure out their situation first.

The human traveled out of the throne room to the exterior. Barely anybody was out here, save for a few huddled dog monsters near the door. Asgore was standing in the center of the courtyard, staring up into the sky. Snow littered the ground, casting a pale blanket over the world. No footsteps in the snow led to Asgore, who had a layer covering parts of him. The sky was clear and cloudless, stars lingering. He'd been standing there a long time if he'd been there long enough for it to snow, then for the clouds to clear.

Frisk made her way toward him, the snow crunching beneath her feet as she walked. He didn't turn as she approached. He remained silent, and she too said nothing, finding her place at his side, and staring up into the stars as well. They were twinkling along softly, just as they always had.

After a few moments, Frisk leaned against her father, who reacted by placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Feeling better?" he asked. His voice was quiet.

"Yeah," Frisk replied. "Just got a killer headache." A soft chuckle was his response. The silence befell them once more as they gazed upon the stars. Frisk shivered slightly, though she wasn't sure it was from the cold. "Things will never be the same," she said.

"Not in this timeline," Asgore confirmed. Frisk bit her lip, glancing about for a moment.

"If I had power over the timeline again . . . would you want me to reset?"

Finally, Asgore looked down at her, his eyes searching. Distant. Uncertain. She could tell he had an answer, yet he wasn't sure if he should say it.

"I . . ." he began, voice trailing for a few moments. Finally, he turned his gaze away to return them upon the stars overhead. "How far back would we go?"

Frisk too returned her gaze to the heavens. "Underground," she informed. "To the time I fell."

Asgore seemed to ponder this, his chin moving, grinding his teeth together as though deep in thought. "I would," he finally said. "But that would not be my decision. I am an old man, my child. I have been through much . . . but to see her again would mean everything to me." His voice cracked at the end of his sentence. "I often wish it had been me that was slain that night . . . instead of Toriel . . . then perhaps . . . well, I don't know."

Frisk wasn't sure how to respond to that. Her next words mostly came from within. "She gave us a fighting chance. At least at first. I . . . was mad at her that night," she admitted, earning Asgore's gaze again. "She'd been gone so many nights, I felt like she was avoiding me, or something. If I'd . . . just calmed myself and read that stupid note, maybe . . . maybe at least we'd have stood a better chance before anyone else had to die."