The moment the barrier fell, Elsie blazed a trail straight into the heart of the palace.

That amulet activated. Where is she?

With eagle-like precision, she swooped down toward a shattered column, finding Princess Ling’s battered and broken figure laying on the floor. Collapsed onto the princess was the headless body of Eosa.

Looks like the king activated the puppet curse after all… a pity.

With a flip of her palm, she procured a verdant pill that hummed with a glowing green radiance.

Our heroic princess is bleeding out…

She gripped Princess Ling’s mouth and immediately shoved the pill inside.

She’ll live.

With a sputtering cough, Princess Ling opened her eyes. Her face was wrought with exhaustion, but still she managed to remain conscious.

“My dear princess, have you seen my husband?”

Elsie flashed a sweet smile with lightly knitted brows.

“I… I don’t know… Is he in danger? I can…”

Princess Ling coughed once more, her eye lids drawing heavy. Elsie waved her hand over her face, instantly putting her to sleep.

“You just rest here.”

She let out a soft sigh.

Now, where’s Sans?

Standing up from her spot, Elsie scanned every inch of the palace with her presence. She could sense the finished business in the caverns below, and the multitude of flustered nobles in the floors above—the ones that still lived in any case.

I can’t detect Chenbo and Lyra either…

Elsie frowned with a pensive gaze. She knew they weren’t dead, otherwise she would have detected at least one of their bodies. Rather, it seemed as if all three had vanished.

And if I include King Anthor… that would make four.

Her eyes lit up as she began scanning for something different.

A portal!

With a mighty leap, she blitzed through each of the palace floors and arrived before a particular room in record time. Unfortunately, the glyphs surrounding the portal and all been crushed to smithereens.

Elsie let out a steady stream of air as she collected her thoughts.

Do I scan the surroundings until I can feel his presence?

She bit her lip. For the first time since entering the tower, she was oddly uncertain. It was an unnerving experience, making her suddenly aware of how Sans must have felt at any given moment.

Without wasting any additional time, Elsie shot off from the floor.

I’ll scan the perimeter, slowly increasing my search radius…

Just then, a disturbing amount of energy shook the air. To have been able to affect the environment from such a distance, Elsie knew that it was no normal blast.

Sans!

She immediately took off toward the origin of the blast, soaring outside of the city and cutting through the air. Her speed steadily increased, until suddenly she began skipping in and out of existence.

The spatial laws of floor one have always been weak.

With each step she entered a type of void realm before reappearing once more. For any normal person the very act would have been life threatening, but to Elsie it was as easy as breathing. Winding mountains and rolling plains flew past her, yet Elsie continued to blaze a path toward Sans’ location.

Somewhere this way… right?

Her heart was still in a constant state of panic, especially after sensing the immense pulse of energy from before.

Mountains… more mountains… where is he-

Just then, her eyes turned wide like saucers and she came to a sudden halt.

D-Dangerous! Do I dodge?

She glanced behind in the path she had taken.

I can’t! That’s the direction of Anthor City!

With a flick of her hand, she summoned a massive greatsword of golden energy. Black flames shot forth in every direction, and she narrowed her eyes against the oncoming attack.

There, I can see it… I have to deflect it.

In the distance, shooting faster than a comet, was a sinister arc of black fire and purple lightning. Elsie grit her teeth as she calculated the proper timing.

3… 2… 1… now!

With all the might that she could spontaneously muster, she swung her sword, cutting a beam of holy energy that swept across the land. As soon as her swing reached it’s most impact moment, the black arc of energy had arrived. With a powerful slash upward, she sent both the arc and her golden blast of energy into the sky.

Seconds passed by as the two beams of devastation soared higher and higher, until finally—they exploded!

A heart-stopping shockwave echoed down from the heavens, while the skies in all directions were painted a tapestry of gold and black. The nearby clouds were incinerated nigh instantaneously, while at the same time numerous thick bolts of lightning cracked and raged across the sky.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

For all those that bore witness today, it would likely live forever in their memories until the day they died.

That was definitely Sans. I must hurry.

Elsie continued her desperate dash through space, swiftly closing the distance between them.

Arriving closer, she was finally able to spot a hunched figure sitting upon the scorched earth. It was Sans, and grasped tightly with his hands were the corpses of Chenbo and Lyra.

“Illusion break… illusion break…”

Elsie could faintly hear his words. Her heart sank upon realizing what might have occurred. Nevertheless, she flew closer to her partner, and Sans continued to robotically call out the same phrase as always.

It was jarring, to see someone who was usually so energetic, to be crushed of all life. His eyes were listless and his expression stiff.

The moment Elsie landed nearby, Sans turned to her with a small glimmer of hope in his eyes.

“Elsie? Is that really you?”

His dry lips cracked into a fragile smile.

“Good, good. Can you help me? I’m sorry that I didn’t practice. I’m sorry that I didn’t listen. Please just break this illusion. You will help me out this time, right?”

Elsie stared at him in solemn silence. Her eyes glanced over the bodies before returning back to her soul-bound partner.

“Elsie… please? Please help me…”

“Sans.”

Elsie gently called out to him. His lips quivered.

“Let them go. They’re gone.”

Sans shook his head. That wasn’t the what he wanted to hear, and Elsie could tell as much.

“Sans, I’m sorry.”

Elsie knelt down, embracing him tightly.

“I’m sorry.”

Just like that, two lives had been snuffed out forever. Two brilliant flashes of light that seared against the everlasting darkness of time.

----

In a distant mountain range, the clouds rolled about like floating plains of snow, hiding the rocky peaks from sight. It was a landscape of natural beauty, a place of peace and tranquility.

Beside one of the many majestic mountains, a bloody projectile shot into its solid wall without any resistance. Any onlooker would have been confused to witness such a spectacle, but upon investigation they would have found the wall to be a simple illusion formation.

A trail of dim scarlet energy followed behind the projectile, but eventually its momentum came to a sputtering halt as a withered body fell out of the air.

“GAHHH!”

Borgash screamed out into the air with a raspy voice. His bones were a twisted and jumbled mess as they bounced around within the bloody bag he called skin.

“Curse…curse you all… that blasted boy! S-Sansss!”

He spat out Sans’ name as an untamed pool of blood poured out from his mouth. Not just his mouth, but even his eyes, ears, and nose were all bleeding profusely. However, all of this was within his expectations.

“My sacrificial blood beacon… wasted…”

Borgash gazed at a broken cylinder of blood-red crystal. This was his ultimate trump card, the perfect vessel to escape any dangerous scenario. The way it worked was by linking his soul to the blood beacon, he could then call upon it in a moment of dire need. His body would be sapped of all energy and essence, converting it all into an esoteric form of matter—raw blood energy. His consciousness would then hide within the bloody projectile, and the beacon would pull him to safety. From there, a new body would be born from the energies and essence.

Sadly, such a technique was only usable once every few hundred years as it rendered his soul vulnerable, and even then the recovery process was dire.

It’ll be at least ten years before I can even crawl!

Borgash snarled unwillingly, but there was simply nothing he could besides lay there, simmering in his own pool of blood. He mentally began plotting his revenge.

No matter how long it takes. You will never be able to hide from me, Sans!

He gnashed his bloody gums together, as his new set of teeth had yet to even grow in yet.

I will take everything from you! Everything you hold dear! You cannot escape me! Your wives, your children, your children’s children! I will become the nightmare that stalks your every waking moment!

Two blood reds tears streaked down his fleshy face. Everything hurt, but it was the kind of pain that only seemed to fuel his ambitions and his desire for revenge. He sucked in one dreadful breath after another, allowing his new set of lungs to experience the fresh mountain air.

The sound of chirping birds filled the air, along with the distant howling winds. Within this secluded cave, Borgash would be safe from any and all dangers—or so he thought.

Hmm?

His ears twitched as they caught the sound of something peculiar. A distant clicking sound, which was almost rhythmic. It was like thick bone was being tapped against solid rock.

Surely it is a random creature that accidentally flew into the mountain. But this sound…

The distant taps slowly drew closer. Each time the bone clicked against the stone, it sounded increasingly purposeful—almost as if someone, or something, wanted Borgash to be aware of its existence.

Borgash craned his neck toward the back of the cave. Nothing was supposed to be there, but the tribalistic taps had long captured his attention. Normally he wouldn’t be concerned, however at this moment he had seen better days.

No… it can’t be…

His eyes widened as he caught sight of a black miasma that coated the walls. Dripping down from everywhere the miasma reached, was a shadowy suffuse of liquid.

No, no, no! But it was chained! How could it be free?!

Borgash already knew what creature awaited him within the dark depths of the cave. However, as if to confirm his suspicions, a hunched and scaled foot stepped out from the shadows.

The dreadkin… it must have tracked the soul signature on the blood beacon!

He watched as its claws tapped against the stone, in the same rhythmic fashion as before. Who knew how long the dreadkin had waited for this moment? Sitting within this dark cave, patiently biding its time. All because it had detected his soul signature from an insignificant cylinder of crystalized blood.

The dreadkin stepped forward, and its terrifying maw shone in the line. One of its horns had been broken off, giving it an asymmetrical appearance. A haunting smile stretched across its face as its tongue snaked in and out of its mouth. Finally, its eyes seemed to be creased into a pleased expression, but most of all—it looked hungry.

“S-Stay back!”

Borgash cried out as he tried to worm his body away. However, he was much too frail to do anything except wait for death. The dreadkin clicked closer, flicking its jagged tail from side to side.

“No… no!”

Despite all his plotting, and all his cunning schemes, Borgash had fallen from the highest heights down to the lowest of lows. His body was now a sorry excuse of flesh, while his soul had been rendered unstable. However, even if he could recover should he be given enough time, Borgash’s final fate was doomed to be as pitiful as it could possibly be.

The dreadkin prattled forward, bringing its face beside Borgash’s own.

“Go away! You beast!”

A low growl sounded out and the dreadkin backed away, but only to return to a different portion of Borgash’s body. With a gentle and meaty crunch, the dreadkin sunk it’s teeth into one of Borgash’s legs.

“Ahhh!”

Borgash howled with all the energy he could muster. Perhaps if he had a portion of his normal strength he could have dealt with this creature. In fact, it would have only required the smallest portion possible. However, fate was a cruel mistress. Another crunch sounded from his leg, but this time the dreadkin ripped it off entirely!

Like a dog returning a bone, the dreadkin pranced happily in front of Borgash’s face as it consumed the rest of his leg before his very eyes. The man’s eyed lulled to the back of his head, but the dreadkin was only getting started.

Years of surviving within its twisted environment had corrupted the dreadkin’s perception of normalcy. To it, a screaming death was a pleasant one, especially if it was going to be eating the person in question. All it had ever consumed was the forgotten and tortured souls within the Corpse Pond, and only recently was it branching out to try new things.

Borgash shuddered and came back into focus, only to find himself face to face with the dreadkin. It’s luminescent and mysterious pupils seemed to stare right into his skull, as if his eyes were the window to a delicious meal.

“P-Please, just kill me.”

He cried out as the dreadkin walked away, presumably to a different part of his body. With another crunch, it bounded over, holding the remains of his arm between its teeth. Laying down beside his head, the dreadkin munched away in the most sloppy fashion possible.

“Ugh…”

Borgash’s eyes lulled back once more, not realizing that his protests were the very thing that extended his torment. On the other hand, the dreadkin pounced back and forth on its first proper meal in ages. A celebratory prize for taking revenge on its captor since childhood. Thus marking the beginning of its new life.