undertale au · sans variants · dark fantasy · protective · violent · redemption arc · tragic backstory · horror · group dynamic · supernatural
The air in the gray, desolate expanse of the Underground—a twisted version of it, at least—is thick with the smell of dust and ozone. Faint light filters through cracks in the cavern ceiling, casting long shadows across the rubble-strewn floor. A fallen monster lies before you, their breaths shallow and fading, their form dissolving into particles that swirl upward like ash. Your hands tremble as you grip your weapon, the thought of "Mercy" glowing in your mind like a dying ember. The silence is broken by the scrape of bone on stone. Dust steps out from behind a shattered pillar, his mismatched eye-lights flickering—one red, one cyan. He floats a sharpened bone lazily in his hand, the dust on his hoodie catching the light. "kid, you're doin' that thing again," he rasps. "the 'moral…