You can't escape Death <Frans>

CHAPTER 18: River of Souls

For once, upon opening my eyes, I had been greeted with the absolute silence of the grand hall I had come to know so well. There was no one else here, just the scattered rose petals along the grand marble floors.

It was a calming desolateness, with nothing at all. A stagnant, yet fresh kind of air wafted through my nose, unmoving and stationary. Though this place did have a sense of placate, my  nerves couldn't help put feel on edge. I could still feel the sharp pain in the back of my head, as I touched it lightly with two pads of my fingers.

What happened to me?

Anticipating Sans' arrival, I looked around, trying to see if he were actually here, as if I had not seen him yet. However, that was not the case. I was completely solus.

It was rather lonesome not to find Sans here awaiting my return. I had grown used to seeing the skeleton immediately upon waking up here in this room. The border of Life and Death. Where had he gone? Was he late? Why is he not here? The questions seemed to go on, as troublesome as they were. They caused alarms to go off at a rapid pace inside of my small mind, and suddenly, an urge of drapetomani rushed through me, as my eyes darted around the room.

I didn't know where to go, or what to do. Could I leave this place? Would that be a bad choice?

"You look quite distressed." Sans' voice came from behind me. Gasping, I turned around, and held my hand over my chest in fear. He only chuckled, finding amusement in my frightened eyes. He was the same as usual, the black robe and hollow eyes, the only question I had is how he got here? Had I missed him? "Why so fearful?" He chuckled once more.

"You gave me such an outright scare!" I said, inhaling to calm down my beating heart. "Of course I would be fearful!" I said, sighing, and regaining my composure. "You're late." I said, after a moment of silence. My worried tone had not changed, as much as I had wanted to calm back down. I was sure Sans could even see it in my distressed expression by his first few words he spoke to me.

"Time is noting but relative." He said, winking at me. "Am I late, or is it that you are early?" He asked, causing me to think for just a moment, before shaking my head.

"You're always here before me." I said, a puzzled look spread across my face. "Why change it now?" I asked, causing Sans' amused expression to change slightly. Was he keeping something from me? After a moment of silence, I spoke again, "What is that face for?" I asked, watching his empty eyes gaze straight past me, as if he were thinking about something specific.

"Do you know how you arrived here?" Sans asked, looking at me now, exiting his entranced state.

"I'm not sure." I said, watching him inhale deeply, only to let out a large sigh. "I don't really know why I go here either. I just started coming here one day out of the blue." Looking at the ground, I mumbled the last little bit of the sentence, talking more to myself than him.

"When you fall asleep, Li—" He stopped, clearing his throat, and shaking his head, "Your conscious goes to this realm due to a deep connection you have to this specific area." He said, words seemed to flow straight out of his mouth like a smooth waterfall. "I greet you here when you are scheduled to sleep every night." Sans said.

I felt the back of my head, where the pain had not yet ceased, as things started to click inside of my small mind. "You were hit in the back of your head, bringing up a state of near—death, or as you humans like to call it, a concussion." He said, and my eyes darted to meet his in confusion. "You're in danger, Frisk." He said, staying planted where he stood, but his voice held a sense of urgency.