Z. Gaining LV T1DxDream
So. This ask has been sitting in my inbox since December 2023, almost two goddamn years. It was from my first ask meme I did, too. Back then I was not very comfortable with writing dark shit, although I really wanted to do this, so it was sitting in my inbox until now, lol.
This is almost definitely not something that asker had been expecting I think. Mostly because I hadn't even started SDT1D yet, but Swad is technically a Dream, so... (Tw: Stockholm mention, murder mention, Swad in general)
It was time to make yourself useful, it seemed. Or at least, that was how you understood it.
Nightmare needed negativity to survive, just as much as Dream needed positivity. Dream's AU, however, was completely void of any negativity. So Nightmare was slowly starving to death. This was, of course, a problem for Dream, who wanted his brother alive and protected.
Which was apparently where you came in.
You certainly had some negativity yourself, but not enough to feed Nightmare (even if you had more negativity for him to feed off than he'd had access to in quite a while, according to Nightmare himself.)
So Dream was going to have you gather negativity to use to feed his twin. Apparently one of his scientists (? He had scientists?) had developed an artifact that could collect negativity and condense it into a liquid form for easy storage.
"I cannot access negative AUs myself, so you will need to go," he said. "You will stay in the AU until the container is full, and then text me so I can create a portal home for you."
"And what if I try to run? You just said you can't go there. You can't drag me home."
He laughed. "Oh trust me, I have ways of making you return to my side. You are never escaping me."
You froze at the way he looked at you while saying that, briefly reminded that, blinding positivity or not, he *was* a god and you were just a mortal he somehow liked having around. That he could kill you in an instant and probably wouldn't even bat an eye, like the guy he murdered in front of you and Nightmare at the party.
And then the moment passed and Dream was the same as always, focused on a different topic.
"of course, negative AUs are usually fairly dangerous, so you'll need to be prepared to defend yourself. You will likely gain LV. After all, I won't let death take you from me."
Right... LV. The measurement of a person's willingness to take another life. The main way a human could increase magical ability as well... So you would likely get stronger, but at the cost of a part of yourself, your ability to care.
You gulped, nodding. "I understand."
"Perfect! You have until tomorrow to prepare for your first outing. After all, we can't let my precious Nightmare starve!"
You prepared what you thought might be necessary for something like this, although you weren't sure what to expect, with Nightmare apologizing the whole time for you having to do something like this, technically for his sake. Dream had no issues with you two spending time together, you got along and you were a "food source" for Nightmare. And he was convinced neither of you could escape, even if you tried. (Not that you ever really would try, not very hard.)
And then it was time to go. You met Dream in his office, where he created a portal for you. His portals were always made from an almost painfully bright gold and orange magic, and felt suffocating to walk through, like being enveloped in the most all encompassing and rib crushing hug of your life, minus any real affection. But you were used to the feeling, his portals were how he brought you with him on various "outings."
So it really only took you a moment to catch your breath again while you looked around. It was cold. And dark. The lack of any true sky would suggest that you were probably in an Underground. Apparently most AUs took place in one, even though Dream had never taken you to one. You didn't notice anyone around, monsters or humans. You wondered if Dream's "negativity collecting device* would work any better if people were closer. You noticed what looked like it was probably a path and started to head towards it, it was boring just standing there anyways.
And then a skeleton blocked your path, very loudly yelling about how he was going to kill you and use your SOUL to break the barrier. Right... That was a thing. And he seemed serious about killing you, too.
You never really focused on attack magic, it wasn't something you ever really needed or had interest in learning. But you knew enough to defend yourself and fight back.
At least until he called for his brother. And then the fight really became unfair. Dream still hadn't created a portal back, so you were fighting for your life now.
You were too busy trying not to die, but you were steadily bringing down their HP. So it really shouldn't have been a surprise when the first skeleton dusted. Monsters turned to dust when they died, everyone knew that. But it was unnerving to watch, seeing someone that was once there turn to nothingness. (At least humans left something behind, as disturbing as that thought was.)
Once their sibling (you assumed) was gone, you were definitely in trouble with the remaining skeleton. They turned all their fury and anguish directly on you, having an extra reason to kill you.
You... Gained LV, didn't you. You knew that would happen, mentally, but. Your body ached and burned. You felt irritable, and nauseous. It felt like a high, a high blood sugar, that is. Definitely not one you could understand people getting addicted to. But you couldn't focus on that now, you still had one last skeleton trying to kill you.
You could feel the magic boost that came with gaining LV, at least. Thankfully it was enough to take care of things. Unfortunately "taking care of things" ended with you killing the second skeleton, and gaining more LV. Stars that hurt. You felt like replacing your blood with lava might be more appealing, at least that would end your life quickly and stop this suffering. You threw up.
Thankfully Dream created a portal for you not long after. You staggered through, feeling like garbage. He beamed at you, smile unnaturally wide as always. "You passed your test with flying colors!"
That confused you enough to momentarily distract you from your suffering. "What test?"
"To see how well you handled being let out to collect food for Nighty, of course! I had to make sure you would be willing to protect yourself as well, no matter what!" He took the device from you and checked it over, crooning happily at whatever he saw. "And you kept this safe too! You collected *so much* for my precious Nighty, why don't you show him how good you did!"
Nightmare apologized even more when he saw you. He definitely hadn't wanted you to gain LV, especially when it hurt you so much. But... Dream seemed determined that these situations would continue. And you would probably continue to gain LV because of it.