The void was cold.
A suffocating nothingness, thicker than darkness itself. Frisk hung there, lost in the endless abyss where no sound, no color, no sensation remained.
Until—
A golden light.
Soft at first, like the flicker of a candle in endless night. It grew, surrounding Frisk's battered form, weaving itself into a tiny barrier. A warmth he had long forgotten pressed gently against him.
And then…a voice.
Familiar, distant, like a memory buried beneath countless deaths and broken timelines. It was kind, and steady.
"Hey, kid."
"You've still got one shot."
The voice lingered, impossibly calm in the endless dark.
"Fight. For yourself… for them. Or for no one at all.""Just don't give up."
A pause.
"Good luck, and… stay determined."
The warmth lingered for only a second longer before fading, leaving the barrier intact around him. The golden light pushed back against the darkness, and for the first time in what felt like eternity, Frisk's heartbeat returned to his ears.
Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
But then, a voice.Not the kind one.
A voice that was everywhere — all around him, within him, behind him, ahead of him.
Chara.
"Death after death after death… you always come back."
The voice was playful, taunting, but tinged with something darker.
"You come back with nothing but more sins, partner."
The void began to shift, growing lighter — pale, sickly light bleeding in from nowhere.
And then, two crimson eyes.A gleaming smile carved in the air.
Frisk's chest tightened.
"You still don't get it, do you?""You don't start to regret things now. Not after what you've done."
The light spread further, and Chara stepped from the nothing, her figure solid and cruelly familiar. Her hair hung in soft, bloodstained tufts, her sweater as tattered as Frisk remembered. The red glow in her eyes bore into him.
"You made your choice, partner."
Her voice cracked slightly, amusement breaking into a twisted grin.
"A long, long time ago."
The light snapped out like a candle.
Darkness.
And then she lunged.
Blades of crimson light, shards of Determination, and strings of fate rained down upon Frisk as the battle resumed once more in the endless dark.
The moment the darkness parted, knives glimmered in the void.
Dozens — no, hundreds — of crimson blades spiraled toward Frisk like shooting stars, each leaving behind a scarlet trail as they tore through the empty space.
Frisk's feet moved before he could think.He ducked. Rolled.One knife sliced a lock of hair. Another grazed his shoulder, searing hot.
He kept moving.
But then — a sharp tug.
A string, glimmering red like a thread of blood, snapped tight around his wrist. It yanked him off his feet, dragging him harshly across the unseen ground. The void's floor, though invisible, tore at his skin like coarse stone.
Chara's voice followed, playful and cruel.
"Aww, come on, partner. You're making this boring."
More knives shimmered into existence, hovering overhead.Their tips gleamed with crimson light.
They shot down.
One by one.
Frisk's fingers clawed for anything — nothing.Then his other hand found something sharp — a fragment of one of her knives. With one swift motion, he slashed through the string pulling him.
Snap.
He hit the ground hard but rolled away just as the knives slammed down where he'd been a second ago.
Frisk panted, his breath ragged, his determination blazing bright.The void trembled with it.
But before he could move again, another string lashed out, wrapping around his neck. It jerked him backward, feet leaving the ground. His vision blurred as he choked, air stolen from him.
Then — with a careless flick — the string threw him.
He landed hard a few feet away from the shadow now forming before him.
The void flickered, illuminating in pulses of crimson.And then she appeared.
Chara.
Smiling wide, her ember-like eyes reflecting the hundreds of red orbs of Determination now orbiting around her like cruel little stars.
She raised one hand, and a gleaming red knife materialized in her grasp, its edge rippling like liquid light.
"Let's make this quick."
The orbs spun faster, painting streaks of red light across the void.Chara's grin widened.
"After all… you know how this ends."
The light bled into every corner, the battlefield set.
And then she came for him.