── .✦ 20XX
" Not long after our time, two species— humans and monsters— will roam the surface.
Despite their many differences, they are happy. Living in peace.
Then one day, human leaders who disgrace monster-kind, will declare war with them.
And humans will be victorious.
Through heavy machinery, monsters are banished into a rickety mountain, expected to all be destroyed in its rubble eventually.
Many years later.
The mountain has not fallen,
and eventually the monsters are remembered into a fairytale as a caution to warn children.
And the mountain now hides behind a grand capital of technology and bright lights, but no more peace.
Yet, you decide to explore the mountain. To test your fate.
What will you learn then? "
SOLARTALE CHAPTER 1 : LIMBO
. . . !
You gasp for air as your head jolts up out of instinct. You were dead— But, it didn't seem like it. Had you survived a fall that big? Your head rushed into thought as you felt the ground beneath you… what were these? It was not grass, more so it had come out of the ground itself. Soft and bright, unlike the artificial lighting you had always known…
It starts to look more odd as you look up, the sun's dim rays of light barely reaching over to you, like it expected your arrival. Hidden behind vines of trees nowhere to be seen and broken pillars of metal that practically covered the walls- more grass sprouting in between the cracks, and junk with more of the odd colors peaking their way in.. if you had died, this was a Heaven you have never heard of until now.
Finally, after a moment of admiring your scenery, you get up from the ground, dusting your jacket off from the dirt you laid upon, and you look around. You saw a hallway in front of you, but before you could continue you remember… the air. Your only breathing material might have broken during the fall. You looked closer into the dump of things lying around, maybe to look for it, maybe for fun, you didn't know. All you could find was a tank with an unbroken glass barrier around it and a kind of tree in there. It looked like one of the little things you stepped on when first entering, but you assume it's a type of hologram. Nevertheless, you put it on, and somehow finding a mask on it to put on as well. Can never be too safe, as they may say… despite how heavy it must be on your tiny body.
You continue on down the hall, leaving the oddly calming room to a more darker one as you pass by a frame of more pillars, this time made of both metal and stone, with an odd frame of a symbol above it. It looks like a fairy, or a butterfly, but you couldn't quite place your finger on it as you examine it. In frustration, you continue on without taking a guess. In the next room, there was a patch of grass, with a light— no, the sun shining on it. You even get yourself distracted on where it could come from, only looking up for a few seconds unti—
" * Howdy! "
!!
You jump back, the tank you carry just barely holds you back from falling down or running away. You couldn't believe your eyes. It was another root, but with a face on it. And talking. It wasn't as bright as any of the other ones, and also had a tag on its side of vines that sprout out that looked like hands for him, but you must have looked too in shock as it laughed and spoke once more.
" * Goody me, pal, I didn't mean to startle ya that much! You're a human, right? So, ya gotta be new here? Let me be th' first to welcome ya, buddy! I'm FLOWEY, Flowey the Flower!… "
. . .
" * … Boy, you're not a talker, huh? Don't worry, buddy, I'm not here to hurt ya'! I ought'a teach ya how things work around here, don't I? Ya won't mind if I get right to it, then? "
Yo—
" * Great, just hang on tight, friend! "
! And just like that, a heart in front of you emerged. One of those cartoonish hearts you used to see in cartoons, just forming right in front of you, flickering red as the room suddenly faded into a black and white look. Except for Flowey and yourself, everything turned out of color. Once it finally finished its transformation, Flowey still sat in the same spot on the ground, just- staring at your soul. It was getting concerning even for yourself, before he blinked back at you and smiled once more.
" * Heheh, sorry, pal! You see that heart? That's your SOUL! Your whooleee body is made up of that itty-bitty thing! But don't worry! You can make it grow bigger with something we like to call "LOVE". And y'know what that stands for, buddy? "
❤️ " Love? " " I don't know. "
" * Exactly! LOVE, of course! The amount of LOVE you get gets bigger and better as you go on! You don't look like you have anything now. But don't worry! Ya friend Flowey's always got some LOVE to share! "
His vines raised up as you see but a few tiny dots compared to both yourself and your soul. You can feel yourself getting nervous, and Flowey must have seen it as well, having a careful expression on him. You see it and the expression slowly disappear, both yours and his, as he smiled once more.
" * All you have to do is run into the 'friendly pellets', and your SOUL will get bigger as it goes! Ready? "
They shoot at you, but how is your reaction time?
Instead of what Flowey had said to do, to simply just run into the "pellets", you stepped back from them and avoided them. They were moving incredibly slowly, like it was perfect for you to run into easily, but as Flowey saw you avoiding his own action, his smile started to twitch. He awkwardly chuckled at the scene as he looked back up at you and the pullets fades from your view.
" * Ahahh.. You need to run into them, buddy! Let's try again! "
A few more of the pellets formed next to him again as he waved a vine around, and he once again shot at you. Your gut led you again and you moved away from them once more. Flowey seemed to get more irritated from the view, and even sent a few more without saying anything. As you dodged one last time, the grin he had snapped, and he finally yelled from his stance-
" * Just. Run. Into. TH— . . . The- pellets. Run into the pellets.. friend. "
… Although you were on the edge, holding onto your own jacket, he continued on. Summoning even more and even faster "pellets" towards your soul. You shrugged the feeling off, and though he scared you, you once again dodged. Quite impressively, actually. You even had an ego about it. Flowey, on the other hand, looks as if you have done nothing but annoyed him. He yelled in frustration as his vines rose up more higher than himself, sharp pricks sticking out and it was like he threw away the whole "buddy-buddy" act from you.
" * … You're smart, aren't you. If you're not going to play, I'll do it myself! "
You were now surrounded by bullets. They circled around you and looked as if they had gotten bigger just to hit your SOUL.
" * DIE! "
They slowly crept up as Flowey yelled once more and cackled disturbedly, his face even changing to match his uncanny laugh. You couldn't move, not even under the pellets or jump over. You couldn't even help but bury your own face into your hands so you couldn't witness what would happen if they did hit you.. your breath quickened and you froze, ready for your fate…
… But, like in a moment of fate, you peak out from your hand, just to see the pellets had stopped. Flowey was distracted from something out of view. And once you did look, he had fallen out of your sight from a.. ball of fire? You had to rub your eyes to even look at the scene yourself, he just- disappeared. On the fortunate side, the vines lowered back into the ground slowly, and the world around you began to look normal with the bullets fading into nothing. You sighed in relief.. yet, you still felt uneasy. As you turned your head to the source of the fire, a tall figure stood, looking right at you, and you couldn't help but jump back and hide your face once more, expecting for… anything else to happen. You could hear a light chuckle next to you and footsteps in the grass coming closer to you, then it came to an end next to your side.
" * It's alright, child.. you can show yourself now-! "
Her voice softly spoke, sounding like it was holding back laughter, but you did exactly that and let your hands fall back to your side.. This person was completely different from a flower. It looked like a goat lady.. dressed in a gown and outfit that could flow in the wind ( if there were any here ) with that same odd symbol as before, a braided scarf around her neck and grand horns that were somewhat hidden by her ears. Despite the strange appearance and tall figure, and your jaw somewhat opened, you were more comforted by the fact the flower was gone. Yet despite your short admiration, the woman crossed her arms and huffed from her nose in disappointment to where Flowey once was.
" * Some monsters… willing to harm a child for their own power. I cannot believe it.. Ooh, are you alright, poor thing? "
" Not really.. " ❤️ " I am. Who are you? "
" * Ah, that's good… I am TORIEL, child. I take care of this Greenhouse… or, what was a Greenhouse. You may call it whatever you'd like, my dear. Now— how about we leave from this room, hm? "
Although you were still a bit reluctant, once she offered your hand, you took it and you both walked down to the next area… you put your free hand up over your eyes to cover yourself from a light above. You can see once your eyes were adjusted, the light came down from a glass roof full of colors. The kind 'goat lady' led you further into the room, and it was a quick change of scenery. The walls were made of smooth, light pink stone with more grass and flowers with no faces popping out from the sides in different forms. A tree sat ahead of the path, with orange leaves falling from its branches and a stairway behind it. Toriel let go of your hand as you walked closer to the tree…
You can feel yourself growing in DETERMINATION. THE REMNANTS, GREENHOUSE.
