The wind howled through the mountain pass, carrying her voice to the farthest corners of the Underground.
Chara raised her arms to the sky, crimson eyes gleaming unnaturally in the light of the parting clouds and spoke.
"GREETINGS!"
Her voice cracked across the mountainside like a whip. A cruel, singsong tone that made Sans' bones clench and Asriel's sobbing halt.
And then it came — the words they both dreaded. The name that even now held the power to twist the air and turn hearts cold.
With a wicked, jagged smile plastered across her face, she called out:
"MY NAME IS CHARA."
Her words rolled through the mountain like a bitter hymn, reaching every monster, every shadowed room, every frightened soul that still clung to the waking world.
"TO EVERYONE DOWN THERE… TO THOSE OLD, PRECIOUS FACES… DID YOU MISS ME?"
Her grin stretched wide, sharp as the edge of a knife.
"I APPRECIATE THAT YOU MADE IT HERE."
A slow, mocking pause.
"THOUGH I HAVE TO SAY… IT HURTS. THE WAY YOU'RE LOOKING AT ME RIGHT NOW."
She cast her gaze down at Sans. He stood rigid, his hand clenched tight around a blaster that wasn't there, his glare locked on her like a promise of death.
Chara saw it — and laughed.
But her voice didn't falter. It only grew louder, more theatrical, carried by the aching wind.
"THE ONES I BELIEVED WERE MY TRUEFAMILY… ARE BLAMING ME FOR THE DEATH OF MILLIONS."
The words dropped like stones into a lake, ripples of dread spreading out into every corner of the world.
"I DIDN'T WANT THIS, YOU KNOW."
Her arms lowered a little now, her expression unreadable.
"BUT I GUESS… I'M DESTINEED TO BE THE BAD GUY."
A long breath, drawn in through clenched teeth.
"SO HERE'S WHAT'S GONNA HAPPEN."
The clouds above churned like boiling ink, the mountain seeming to darken around her.
"I'LL BE BACK. ONE YEAR FROM TODAY."
The words hit like a curse.
Asriel's eyes widened. Sans felt a cold weight settle on his chest.
"I REALLY, REALLYHOPE YOU GUYS PREPARE YOURSELFS. 'CAUSE WHEN I COME BACK…"
Her grin returned — cruel, joyous, ancient.
"I'LL SET YOU FREE."
A pause.
"WE'RE GONNA HAVE SO MUCHFUN."
And with that, the sky itself seemed to sigh. The clouds twisted shut, swallowing the sun.
Chara turned away, and without another word, vanished into the mist.
For a moment, there was nothing but silence.
Then — that voice again.
The same disembodied monologue from beyond the strings of fate.
"Hmph. I'll think about it later."
A brief chuckle, neither kind nor cruel.
"There's more important things now."
The world shifted faintly, as though something vast and ancient had taken a step closer.
"I'm obliged to suspend the operation… for one obvious reason."
A beat.
Then, nothing.
The voice fell silent, and the world was left in breathless stillness.
Chara was gone. But her words lingered, like the scent of smoke after a fire.
A storm had been promised.
And it was only a matter of time.