AfterDeath

Chapter 44: Descend to Madness

           

AN: I hope you're all doing well and healthy during this pandemic. Don't die!

                    

            

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Chapter 44: Descend to Madness

Third POV

             

"You're lying!" Geno screamed after he jerked his head from Error's grip, his visible eye flaring and the glitches going haywire. It was a trick, he told himself. Error was playing mind tricks with him. "YOU'RE LYING!" He pulled at the strings with renewed vigor but only succeeded in bringing him more pain as it dug on his bones.

A punch landed on his already bruised cheek, silencing him, and further amplifying the already existing throbbing pain. Followed by another, and another, but the determination in his flaring eye didn't wane. If anything, it strengthened even more.

It infuriates Error. His fists clenched hard they were visibly shaking, his teeth grinding and red eyes glaring menacingly. It infuriates him because Geno wouldn't believe him.

He threw another punch, hearing a satisfying crack and he watched as blood drips from the other's mouth and trickles down the chin. He roughly grabbed the other's jaw again, fingertips digging onto the tender bruise before jerking the other's head up. Forcing Geno to look up at him.

Error was momentarily disappointed to see there's still fire in the other's eye and it was burning more intensely than before.

"You think I'm lying?!" with barely contained rage, Error angrily retorted. "Why don't you ask yourself!" He practically screamed at his face and Geno had to fought his confusion from showing in his face. He didn't get a chance to speak before Error was on him again.

"You never wondered how you ended up in the Save Screen in the first place?!" Error continued just as harsh as before and Geno would be lying if he says he wasn't intimidated. "You never wondered why the first thing you did was try and Delete your own timeline?! Why you still Exists after That?! What you're supposed to do AFTER that?! What's your purpose?! Why are you still ALIVE-?!"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!!!" Geno screamed as loud as he can until his chest burns and throat raw. Limbs pulling against the strings restraining him, ignoring the slicing sensation it brings until he was sure they're going to leave permanent scars. "YOU Don't Know ANYTHING!" Rage, that's all Geno can feel. His glitch cloud was spreading, momentarily flashing into different colors that plays with both of their visions.

More blood dripped onto the perfectly white floor, creating a sharp contrast of blinding white and deep red that physically hurts to look at especially for too long. But even then, losing blood is not in Geno's priority list. He was more worried about losing his sanity.

Yes, Geno had wondered about those things and still wondering about them. Yet no matter how much he thought about it, analyze it, wonder about it, he couldn't think of a single reason why he was left to rot in that cursed hell hole.

And he refused to believe that Error holds the answers to that.

Error's vice grip further tightened around his bruised jaw, effectively silencing him once again and Geno was powerless, restrained, to struggle against it. Nothing he can do but wince as the tender bruises on his face were manhandled.

"I KnOw MORE tHaN You DO!" Error practically growled at the other's face, earning him a hatred-filled glare from the other. "I know everything about you and I know everything else about the multiverse than AnyBody Does! I also know how much you're willing to sacrifice your brother-!"

"I didn't WANT it!" Geno snapped, bristling with rage at the reminder. He never willingly 'sacrifice' his brother and what he did haunted him even in his dreams. He heavily regretted it even though he knew it was for the better.

Error roughly shove the other back, making Geno staggered back a bit. "Nobody does! But you did it because you knew it was for the better!"

Geno had to suppressed the shock and surprise as his soul nearly leaped to his throat as Error says exactly what was on his mind. Geno agreed, naturally. He was struck with a sudden but short relief that someone, someone finally understood that he did it for the better-

No. "It was w̴̝̓̃r̵̪̀͒o̸̿ͅn̵̗̲̹̉̚g̸̻̓̏̕ !" Geno screamed -louder, firmer- enough for his own thoughts to hear that it was wrong. What he did was wrong and there's no going around it! Error was just trying to trick him! He clenched his eye shut, shook his head and willed those invasive thoughts to go away.

"Yet you did it anyway!" Error yelled and Geno knew that couldn't be any more true. "You deleted your own timeline!"

"I d̵̬̿i̶͓͌ḏ̷̎ņ̶̊'̸͇͝t̶̞͘ ̵want it!" He didn't have a choice! He had to lure the human into the Save Screen!

"You deleted thousands more from your own universe!"

He knew he did but "I d̷͇̚ỉ̷̥d̴̰̃n̴̡͠'̴̳̽ť̵̪ Ẉ̵̔͊͑a̴̟͗͑͗͊n̷̤̲̘̈́̈́̕ͅţ̴̹͖͖͋̔̀̔ it!" Tears started leaking even when his eye was clenched shut.

"From the very beginning you've been destroying timelines!"

"I d̶̢͕̰̰̓͜i̵̝͈͝ď̴̯ṋ̷̀̈́'̸̲̩͈̓t̵̨̜̩̝̱̓͆̈́͗͠ want it.." Geno was sobbing. He never wanted it!

"Yet it's the only thing in your mind, doesn't it!? The only thing you wanted to do was DESTROY! "

Because Geno wanted it all to end! He just wanted everything to stop!

"Because you were meant to destroy! That's why you were kept alive! That's your entire purpose! You glitched out! You're an error!"

" ̵̬̿ ̴̏̑ͅ ̷̪̱̈ ̶̢̏̅ͅ ̵͉̫̈́͝S̶̲̙̉̚Ĥ̶͚̹̃Ų̶̄̾T̷̤͌ ̶͕̒U̸͉̝͂͘P̶͎̗̎!̷̡̯̕͘!̷̬͆!̷̯̾ ̷̻̕͝ ̴͚͐ ̷͕̎ ̴̜̟͐"
          
          
           
To be continued...

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AN: Their argument was actually challenging to write.

I want Error to seem manipulative even though he's only saying the truth without it getting boring or the dialogues being too long.

Then, I want to show Geno conflicted with his own self.