NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: Part 2 Kill or be Killed?
The strange duo soon encounter their first obstacle. Is it an alley or a split in the road? No, this is something a little more peculiar.
- Hey... Remember what I said a few minutes ago? This is not going to be an easy road, and it looks like it's time for you to learn to defend yourself.
The boy turns his head to look at Flowey quizzically before answering.
- Defend myself? You mean... fight monsters? I'm someone who for various reasons is used to fighting, but I get the impression that you and I don't have the same notion of what 'fighting' means, do we?
Flowey smiles at him, even finding it nice that this human isn't an idiot with no personality or expressions.
- Exactly. No matter how much you know how to fight on the surface, things are VERY different here...
Before the shorter one can go into details, the monster jumps at Meils, thus starting their first battle in the Underground. At that instant the boy reaches into his backpack for his only weapon, which is a simple, slightly worn knife with a damaged handle and just a few signs of rust on the blade.
Blade in hand, determined to defend himself, at least that is until he remembers Flowey's words, what does he mean by 'different'? Fortunately or unfortunately, the answer comes by itself. In his chest, an intense glow is born which takes the shape of a heart, this results in a great surprise for the human, who looks for an explanation from his companion.
- Relax, Meils, and listen carefully. Can you see that heart-shaped object glowing in front of your chest? That, my dear friend, is your SOUL, the absolute culmination of your being, and from now on, every time you enter into combat here in the Underground, the blows you receive will directly damage that soul, and you can imagine what happens when you suffer enough damage, can't you?
There are many things to assimilate in an instant, but this is no time to fall into doubt, the boy sighs and wields his weapon with determination, on the other hand, his enemy only observes him curiously without seeming a great threat, it is then that monster who gives the first attack, this being a jump in the direction of Meils, who manages to dodge with a subtle movement to the right and hitting the monster with a simple cut.
Everything happened in just a few moments, a sigh, but it is the first bitter memory in this world, a memory that will remain engraved in his mind forever and that is, its cold blade turns Froggit to dust, these particles of death end up impregnating the fabrics of the boy who observes guilty the result of his 'Fight' which ends up being a simple execution, even when the only witness turns out to be a cheerful Flowey, the boy can not help but look .... Terrified?
Something inside him has changed, the glow of his soul intensifies slightly, a detail that only the flower manages to notice ...
[ Froggit has been defeated, Meils has gained three experience points, he has reached level two ]
- Oh my... Who would have thought it? Now that's what I call fast adapting. Honestly, I didn't expect you to take that thing down so easily, I guess your experience up there was so useless, wasn't it? A monster when it dies turns to dust, just as you have just observed and ...
But the young boy doesn't answer, he is staring at the place where the monster ceased to exist, the exact spot where he took the life of an innocent person...
'Monsters are the enemy'.
He says to himself, trying to remember the hours he spent reading different legends about this underworld.
'Monsters claimed the lives of many humans, why should we care about them? '
'Asgore has already murdered five children in cold blood, someone must bring him his deserved justice'.
But try as he might to convince himself, it is undeniable that the very idea of bringing death upon those who are but innocent and confused entities terrifies him, even when they seek to end his life, they do not do so out of malice, at least that is the way the boy sees it for now.
- Hey...
With a slight sigh, Flowey moves to stand right in front of the boy, using one of his roots as if it were a hand to shake the human somewhat abruptly, which suggests that the flower doesn't have much knowledge of human feelings, much less when it comes to dealing with them on his own.
- I know what you are thinking, but you must understand, that in this world things don't work like in a fairy tale, the monsters see you as an enemy, maybe they don't do it out of evil, but also out of ignorance or fear, but that doesn't change the fact that they will attack you as soon as they have the chance, defending yourself is part of it, do you understand? In this world whether you like it or not, it's kill or be killed.
That last sentence resonates strongly in the mind of the young human, who now wields a weapon whose blade has a few tiny traces of dust on it, just like his waistcoat, a grim reminder that weighs on his conscience.
Meils finally seems to be getting back on his feet, he keeps a somewhat melancholic look on his face, but little by little he recovers his calm expression.
- I feel a bit... different? When that thing turned to dust, I could feel something more than just guilt, a current of energy that I had never felt before in my life, and you surely have knowledge of this, don't you?
- Indeed, let me explain it to you in a simple way, by killing a monster your soul becomes less and less 'impressionable' at the thought of harming others, this aspect reaches its peak when you take the life of one of your Underground enemies, which results in an increase in ALL of your abilities. You can look at it this way, as you do damage, you get stronger and stronger, it doesn't necessarily have to be physical damage as in this case but, you know what I mean....
Having listened to the flower, Meils closes his eyes for a few moments to compose himself and finally decides that it's time to move on, but not before stowing his weapon in a compartment of his belt, he understands that while what he has just done is horrible, it won't be the last time he will have to choose to defend himself.
- Next time, I'll just try to repel the enemy, and leave 'that' as a last resort.
He mentions as he starts walking in the direction they were going before being interrupted by Froggit, of course, Flowey is not going to renege on the boy's decision, but he can't help but be curious to see how the boy seems to be aware of his limits, there are moments in which he knows that he can choose peace, and that, unfortunately, he will also have to fight to survive.
- It's understandable, I trust you'll know what to do from now on, as long as you don't end up stupidly dead.
A small sample of the strange sense of humour that this being possesses, beyond what may pass through his twisted mind, the boy cannot deny that little by little he is seeing him as a good companion, or at least someone in whom to deposit questions and worries.
For the next half an hour the duo go deeper and deeper into the territory of the ruins, with some slight stumbling blocks such as puzzles which the human manages to solve without much trouble, and there is even an enthusiastic expression on his face as he performs these interesting challenges.
- I guess this didn't just appear by magic, did it? Someone had to build it all...
- And you're not wrong, most of these puzzles were made by Toriel, the protector of the ruins.
An extremely interesting fact, as Toriel is the second name he receives from a monster which, at least for now, he has not seen. There is a small detail that Meils decides not to go into and that is, when Flowey names this person, his face shows, for a fraction of a second, a melancholy expression but, once again, the boy has no plans to ask questions that might disturb his only companion in this new world.
For the rest of the journey they encounter a few monsters, from Froggits to Moldsmal to carrot-shaped monsters, but at this point the young human doesn't seem to show any surprise. The important thing is that after what happened in the first confrontation, the brown-haired boy manages to avoid the use of force on each new occasion by having a dialogue, or in the worst case, escaping from the fight in question.
Everything seems to be going smoothly, it is then when the small group arrives at a room quite well lit thanks to some torches, with vegetation that extends from the floor to the walls and even the ceiling of the place, the most striking thing turns out to be a bench located right in the middle of the place, And it doesn't take long for the human to run in order to take a well-deserved rest, after all, he doesn't know how much time has passed since his arrival to the Underground, let alone the last time he has been able to relax among so much chaos, Flowey for his part accompanies him although he doesn't need this kind of pause for obvious reasons.
- I have a little question... How much do you write down in your notebook?
The boy was so immersed in his writing that it took him much longer than usual to answer, it wouldn't be the first time that the flower sees him writing down things here and there, but he had never been able to see the scribbles in detail until now.
- It's a habit I've developed over the years, when I visit a new place, I usually write down every possible detail, it helps to keep my mind busy and can be useful in case I need to give a report to someone else.
- What kind of life do you have out there? That sounds like some kind of job.
That last thing draws a sad smile from his partner, the flower's words don't seem to have fallen too far from the truth.
- You're certainly not wrong.
- But... Aren't you a bit young to be working? Although I admit that I'm not an expert when it comes to humans.
- Let's just say, I haven't had a very normal life, some "stumbles" have forced me to take the reins of my life a little earlier than expected, there are things that I never had time to do in order to get ahead. It's not something I enjoy talking about very much...
If there's something these two share, it's that there are aspects of their lives which they prefer not to share, at least for now, this being one of the first times where Flowey can genuinely understand the human, so he decides to leave the subject behind and move on.
- You said that you took note of every important detail seen, right? Well, it seems that you have missed something...
Upon hearing this, Meils puts down his writing and looks curiously at his companion.
- What do you mean? It's strange that I leave something out...
- Are you going to tell me that you didn't find the appearance of your soul important?
He remains thoughtful for a few moments, unable to find a logical answer to that question.
- The appearance of my soul?
- Yes! When you enter into combat, your soul is exposed, it's something I already explained to you...
- Are you trying to say that each human soul has a different appearance?
- Exactly! For someone so observant, I'm greatly surprised that you haven't noticed that detail about yourself...
- Oh I'm sorry, I was too busy trying to survive while avoiding killing more monsters in cold blood.
He answers roguely, it's interesting to see the way they treat each other, with a somewhat acidic humor but without going any further.
- HA HA, very funny, but now seriously, it may be something I forgot to tell you. As you may know, you are not the first human to fall into the Underground, the interesting thing is that each of your species that have arrived before you possessed a soul of a different color, a tone and brightness that symbolizes an important trait in their being, I do not remember exactly the order or the meaning of each one but...
At this point, the flower takes some time to think in a clumsy attempt to find a memory among millions more, time which Meils uses to write down said missing data.
- Aha! Before you, there was a girl who, for example, her soul had a blue hue, which as I recall symbolizes integrity.
- That is very interesting...
- Don't even mention it, I suppose you want to know what your case is now, right?
There is no need to answer that question, because Flowey knows the answer perfectly well.
- Your soul shines with an intense yellow color, and for you, a human who is clear about the limits of his actions, it symbolizes justice.
It seems ironic, someone like Meils, who at first felt obliged to carry on his shoulders the weight of the fallen up to King Asgore, someone who understands well the atrocity of taking a life, even when the reasons are plenty. What then is the meaning of such justice? Is there any way that humans and monsters can even materialize such a phenomenon with the history that haunts them to this day?
- Justice...
He repeats with some astonishment, letting these ideas flow through his mind, creating answers that lead to more questions, each enigma that is finally reflected in his precious scribbles, and with this noted, he feels ready to continue investigating what remains of the ruins.
- We have to continue, we can't stay still in the same place for too long, can we?
- I see that someone has recovered their energy, and of course, there is no point in anchoring ourselves in the same place. Pay attention, as far as I understand we are close to leaving the first sector of the Underground, I admit that at least for now you are someone quite competent for a simple human...
And this, although he says it with a pinch of humor, actually turns out to be a sincere comment.
- Well, I'm not alone, I have a talking flower that prevents me from commenting any stupidity. Who knows what would have happened if I had advanced on my own? It would have been a total disaster.
The laughter of both is heard among the cold corridors of the ruins, genuine laughter which this boy has rarely had the opportunity to imitate in his short life, and once again, Flowey can't help but see in this something extremely familiar but, as much as he tries to remember, it's like walking through the fog.
In this way the duo sets off in what according to the flower must be the final stretch of this first region, unfortunately, things will not be so easy from now on, since near their location someone is wandering through the corridors of the ruins, an unfamiliar silhouette that will change the course of our protagonists a little and who also plans to defend his home from any intruder, be it human or monster.
-----------------------------------
As a small note, these first two chapters were already made in their Spanish version by me on another platform, so this time I only had to translate them.
From now on, the following chapters will take a little longer to arrive, but do not despair, as long as there is support, I will continue writing for you.