Conflicted Beliefs
Towards the Ruins, the Underground felt like ancient civilization, from the colossal poles that looked really similar to the ones they used for those colosseum back in old Roman times. Even the stone path, and structure reminded me of the old times, the time where there were no main conflicts, and everyone living in peace and harmony. Now, the world is just a cruel, broken place, with uncontrollable power, and desires. The Underground however, really gives me a comfort place to think, and to make a living there. The waterfalls, the plants are here just make the Ruins so much more enjoyable. I followed Toriel through the vast path of the Ruins, looking around as if I was in a candy shop, until she stopped at a set of stairs that leads up to another section.
"Child" Toriel said with a soothing voice, "This is where the real adventure starts. Are you ready?"
"I think I'm ready." I replied
"Wait. What is that glowing yellow orb?"
I was caught off-guard when I saw that mysterious yellow orb, right in front of the set of stairs. I was feeling suspicious about the orb, as I have no knowledge of it whatsoever, but as a curious child, I went and touched it. The orb emitted an aura around me, creating what it seems to be a button, and a screen. The screen feels like a sort of game, an inventory, and all of that, but this is reality, how am I possibly in a game?
That didn't bother me too much though, except for the RESET button, the "almighty" power, but in a form of a button, and it cannot do anything, and you can only press it. How is the button an "almighty" weapon, might just well call it an almost complete utter useless junk, but I still kept it anyways, just for when I need it the most. I walked up the stairs, to Toriel again, and followed her behind, to the ancient Ruins it seems. There are even more cracks, and moss, and just showed that this place really is called the Ruins. We halted at a wooden bridge filled with spikes, deadly spikes.
"Take my hand child, and allow me to guide you through the puzzle" Toriel said, holding her right hand out.
"Uh… Ok, whatever you say." I held her soft, but weird hands.
She walked toward the spikes, with no harm since the spikes retracts when you step on a correct one, like a guess and check "maze". Each time she walks on a plate, the spikes retracts, and I was able to walk past the spike without getting hurt. These are "ancient traps" according to Toriel, but really for me, it's a waste of time, with a cool name. After a while, we got the other side, safe and sound, with no casualties, except for my dying breath from walking too much, just not an outdoor person you know? We reached the other side, I looked at Toriel with my normal "feeling-less" face, and after a while, she releases her hand, and proceed to walk forward, facing me.
"Alright child, I will have to go somewhere, I promise I will bake you a really good pie if your patience!" Toriel said.
"Um.. okay..." I replied with a saddened voice, knowing that I don't like pies "I guess free food doesn't hurt me."
"Great! You can go explore around the Ruins, but first have this."
Toriel walk towards me, and held her hand out, except there's something on her hand, a phone, a brick phone to be exact. It doesn't look like I need it a lot, except for calling people, but I don't have a lot of friends, so I guess it's for calling Toriel when I get stuck or confused. I grabbed the phone, acting happy and all but really I'm not that happy getting an incapable old phone. Nonetheless, it feels like it can be used to throw at enemies in case I need to get out of risky situations.
I grabbed the phone, and suddenly Toriel ran away, as if she was in a hurry. I guess I was a loner after all. Out of nowhere, a voice echoed across my mind, the same one back from the patch of flowers that magically tells me not to give up.
"Hello there, partner." The words echoed.
"Who are you?" I wondered
"I'm someone that you don't know, but one of your kinds"
"Where are you again?"
"Oh, you can't see me, but I'm directly behind you."
I turned around, trying my best to look for the mysterious person, but it's not there, yet it can see, and communicate with me, through mind contact though.
"So it's true that I can't see you…" I realized, "But how did you get to me?"
"I am the ghost of the fallen child… the first child."
"And you are in me mentally?" I questioned
"Yes, Noob. We are one together now. Your determination was what kept me alive…"
It's honestly creepy if someone who you don't know managed to guess your name, and you've been barely socializing for 2 minutes. Yes, that is my name, and no, it doesn't mean what you think it is. For all my life, I've been kind of useful in a way in my family, but mostly I'm considered useless, can't even do a task right. The name "Noob" became my nickname after my parents realized how incapable I am of life, or anything in fact. This ghost was a unique one, with the ability to know it's host in a blink of an eye, I tried to understand the ghost a little bit more.
"So… the first child, why do you call yourself that?"
The ghost gave out a quiet sigh "The name is obvious… I am the first child to fall down to the Underground."
"That makes a lot more sense now, but that doesn't explain why you are a ghost."
"Ghost? This is merely a vessel for my soul…"
Vessel? I wondered. The ghost is just barely this person's shell, a body to shelter in until the time comes for it to seek what it wants before they died, a desire for bloodlust usually. I took that into consideration, for myself only though, for I know that Toriel wouldn't know what I'm talking about, and probably be called out for being delusional and stupid.
"Interesting…" I said, "You really are an interesting ghost, but how did you become one?" I repeated the question,
"Ah… So you don't know? Let's take you to an old tale that the Undergrounders used told me."
With that, we sat down on the riverside of the Ruins, where the traps are, and I listened to the story. It was a story where there used to me two races living up on the surface: monster and human. One day, a war broke out between the two races, and the humans ended up trapping the monsters down in the underground, with a magical barrier that required 7 human souls to destroy the barrier. Furious by this, the King ordered that every human entered the Underground must be killed with no remorse. The Queen, however, didn't seem to like this plan at all, left the King. Now the King is left with nothing, but the people's hopes and dreams. 6 children have been murdered, and there will be a child that will fall down to the Underground, and change the whole fate of the Underground once and for all.
The ghost went on to tell me about it's life, where it claimed that it was friends or the monsters, and had a plan to end the discrimination between monster and humans. A kind monster of the Royal Family committed to the plan, and offered his soul to merge with the ghost's soul and past the barrier to create a truce, except that it ended in a tragedy, where the monster was killed up in the surface, along with the ghost.
"A tragic tale indeed, pal… It was rough that times huh?"
"It was… and that's how I'm a ghost," It cried, "These lives… that I wanted to save… it was all wasted because of their selfishness, hatred..."
The conversation abruptly ended as I saw Toriel walking by, trying to look for me. I hollered at her.
"Toriel! Hey!" No response whatsoever.
"She can't hear us." The ghost said in a soothing voice.
"Why?"
The ghost didn't say anything. I was left in a void, a broken timeline… I felt powerless, as if the ghost has done something different. I reached into my pockets, and the button was there. It noticed the button.
"Stop right there, Noob, give me that." It fiercely said
"Why?" I casually asked.
"You don't know what the button can do. Just be a nice pal and give it back."
I grinned "Is this how you want things to be? Stealing my possessions?"
"You don't know what that can cause! Now give me the damn thing!"
"No!" I screamed. I wasn't going to let that ghost take some possible valuable goodies that I found.
"I guess you really are the chosen one, kid."
The ghost pulled itself out of my body. It felt disgusting, as if my skin was ripped out of my body entirely. The ghost reformed itself into a human, and held a knife out.
"If this is the game you want to play, then I guess I have to do what I do best…" The ghost gave out a big smiley face.
"Urgh… I really don't want to play this game… but if it means to keep my possession, so be it."
I was facing against my own partner, my guide. The ghost flew straight towards me, trying to get a hit on me, but I dodged it. It was pointless at this point, with no way to actually beat the ghost, and knowing that one has to die makes me panic even more. I searched my pocket, looking for what I could possibly use. The phone! It was hidden among all my other junk my pocket. I quickly pull it out in my pocket, and use the force of my hand to throw the phone at the ghost. The phone hit the ghost directly in the face, damaging it's vessel.
"ARGH! You damn kid! Get back here!"
The ghost was concussed, and gave me a chance to act fast. I pulled out the reset button, and clicked on it. The yellow aura surrounded me again, but this time, the light spread across the hallway, and everywhere. Each place it spread, the area reformed itself, as if nothing happened. The fight ended, the ghost disappeared and everything turned back into normal. Toriel stood there, handing me the phone, as if nothing happened. Timelines are really difficult to understand after all, I guess. The quantum zone can be erased with a click of a button, which is truly amazing. If the ghost is going to have problems with my way, and wanting to destroy civilization, then that ghost is going to have to face against me. We are one same kind, but different beliefs, a clash of beliefs, a conflict perhaps.
"I will remember this… Noob…" The ghost echoed.
At that exact moment. I knew there was already an obstacle in my pathway. This adventure is going to be a battle against my evil reflection.