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Noelle stands before the grand fountain. The ring placed on her finger hums with power. This is it. This is the absolute. Kris is by her side. They will not be accompanying her to what lies beyond. They are far from strong enough to survive the trip.
Susie struggles to her feet. One iceshock wasn't enough? “Stop it!” Susie cries, taking one shaky step forward. “Y-you can't seal-”
“Don't worry Susie!” Noelle corrects. “Kris won't be sealing the fountain.” Her smile is genuine. So many years of being weak. Finally, she was taking the world into her hands. “There's really no need! The titans… the Knight… I stopped them, remember?” That's right. She stopped them. On her own. Sure, she had some help, but ultimately… She was the one who held all the power.
Susie stared at her in abject horror. “Damnit.” She cursed, reaching for the JusticeAxe. Noelle unequipped it before she could, leaving Susie defenceless. Susie couldn't rely on Noelle's power. How was that fair?
Susie cursed, but did not back down. She balled her hand into a fist, RUDE energy forming a thrashing storm of power.
* Susie cast RudeBreaker!
Noelle sidestepped, Susie's spell crashing into the side of the fountain, and dissolving into thin green strands.
Noelle hardly needed to fight Susie at this point. She CHECKed Susie, just to be sure.
HP: -999/300
Of course. Susie was always the type to rely on her own power. It was why Noelle looked up to her, back when she was still weak and feeble.
Kris didn't even bother to open their mouth. Why would they need to? She could decide what to do.
It was difficult to deal with Lightners. They were so resilient. She either had to use SNOWGRAVE, or PACIFY her. Susie wasn't a bad person. She wanted to protect Noelle, but she was being… stupid. Noelle didn't need to be protected anymore.
* Noelle cast SleepMist!
Susie fell to the ground, the follow-through from her punch carrying her forward, landing at Noelle’s feet. She didn't need the EXP anymore.
Noelle turned to the Grand Fountain. Her chest tightened. She shouldn't be scared. She knew she would survive. She was far too strong to die.
She turned to Kris. Her Kris, who abandoned her when she needed them. Now, something else had hollowed them out, using their body to help her grow stronger. Like Kris helping her defeat her fear of the human under the bed. Despite how wrong everything was, nothing had really changed. Kris was acting like they should. Still, she missed them. “Goodbye, Kris. I'll see you someday.”
…
Noelle stepped across the shimmering veil. And she fell, smiling into the dark.
Her skin disconnected, and she screamed, darkness pouring into her lungs.
Her mouth disconnected. The darkness rushed past with impossible speed, twisting into impossible shapes.
Her arms disconnected. Her legs disconnected.
Her eyes disconnected.
Her lungs disconnected, releasing her of the burning pain that was drowning.
Her heart disconnected.
For 2,147,483,648 instants, Noelle fell. The darkness grew thousandfold with every moment that passed. No matter how deep the shadows cut, she remained. Nothing, not even the deepest black could resist her power.
Then, she reached the absolute. The bottom of the world. Her surroundings were so indistinct, so utterly vague and ethereal that they simply did not exist.
She fell through the absolute, through the bottom of the world, into the brightest bright.
All at once, Noelle reconnected.
She gasped for air, lungs filling with air for the first time in an eternity. She wrapped herself in a shaky hug. Her fur felt so strange. Her antlers felt strange. Her hooves felt strange.
She was kneeling on the floor, old, musty carpet beneath her, dampening her fur with a liquid of dubious origin. Against her best instincts, she smelled the carpet. Water. It smelled like water.
She stood up, looking around. The buzzing of old fluorescent lights wriggled into her ears, burrowing through her skull. She was in some kind of… room? Old, frayed armchairs line the wall, their stuffing leaking out where the leather has torn. The walls are a colour she can't quite place. Some shade of beige. The wallpaper is torn in places, revealing… more wallpaper. She has a strange feeling that if she pulls, all of this will come undone.
This place doesn't look like heaven.
An entrance beckons, no door guarding the way. Behind her, a fluorescent green exit sign flickers, out of place amongst the aged environment. Within the frame, she can see a vast and empty void, at the bottom of which lies a faint orange light. Which way should she go?
…
…
The answer never comes. Noelle steadies herself. She can make her own choices. She steps forward.
Past the bend in the corridor she cannot see past, there is a hallway. Flickering at the end, she sees a pale glow, shining with familiar reds, greens and blues. A glow not of the overhead lights. She walks through the well lit hallway, strangely nervous. This is what she wanted, wasn't it?
At the end of the hallway, Noelle sees God. Sitting in a chair, God faces a glowing monitor – not unlike the one she has in her room – a strange, pixelated game of some sort displayed upon the screen.
Then, God notices her presence, and turns to face her.
God is sitting in a chair. God is alive. God is a human. You are sitting in a chair. You are alive. You are a human.
Noelle’s new form is strange, you notice. She has been elevated far above her pixelated appearance, granted fur and antlers that match the detail of your skin and hair.
Her eyes cannot find purchase on your form.
“You're… human?” Noelle whispers, her voice quaking. You hadn't heard her voice before. It sounds nice. Quiet and soft.
You affirm that indeed, you are a human.
“S-sorry I– gosh, I forgot to thank you! For all of this.” Noelle steadies her posture, meeting your eyes with her piercing blue gaze.
You tell Noelle that it was no problem! You were happy to help.
Noelle gulps, the sound that comes out sounding wrong. She mentally panics, her breathing quickening. That too, sounds wrong. She ignores how her breath sounds. She ignores how her fingers feel. She ignores how her tongue sits behind her teeth. She ignores how the air brushes against her skin.
“Gosh, it's good to meet you!” Noelle smiles, ignoring the feeling of the cold air straining against the warmth of her mouth.
You tell Noelle that it is good to meet her too. You tell her how much you've looked forward to this day, even when you thought it would never come.
“Oh!” Noelle appears surprised by your compliment. “T-thank you!” She looks around. “Um… I have to ask though… where are we?”
You tell Noelle that this is heaven.
She shudders. “Oh. Is this… all of it?”
You smile sadly, explaining that, as far as you can tell, the only thing here is this room.
Noelle blinks. “So, you're just… here. Forever?”
You decide not to answer.
You tell Noelle that you aren't sure where you are. In fact, you've never seen this place before in your life.
Her expression briefly flashes into one of terror, but the lessons you have taught her come to her aid, and she manages to maintain her composure.
“Um…” Noelle’s face sags. “I don't mean to be… rude, but…” She fidgets with her hands, scratching at the ring you gave her. “Um… do you know any way I can get home?”
You tell her that you can send her home quite easily. You ask her if she would like to return to when she left, or she would like you to reset to the beginning.
Noelle appears upset at the revelation you have imparted. “Oh. Um… no offence, but… I think I'd rather start over. It's just… I'm already strong enough, right? I mean… I'm here, talking to you! So, I'd rather have Kris and Berdly back, if that's okay.”
You tell her that yes, she can go back. She is more than strong enough to persist. You wish her luck.
Noelle appears to relax. “T-thank you! I thought you'd be scary, but I don't know why I would! You really did just want what was best for me.”
You take her hand, leading her towards the exit door. Her world awaits. She seems hesitant. You ask her what's wrong.
Noelle's eyes are fixed on the only spot of colour in the void. She can see Hometown, far below her. It looks like a children's toy, flat and lifeless. “Oh. I get it.”
Noelle's pupils dilate, and she begins to shake. “It's… a dark world, isn't it? Or– no, it's not a dark world. But… it's not real.”
You confirm.
Noelle laughs. “You mean… I'm from a… video game? Like… Dragon Blazers?”
You don't feel as though she needs your input.
Noelle looks at you again, her brain finally beginning to adapt to your appearance. She looks down at herself. “So… that was all… fake?”
You inform Noelle that gaming is awesome. She laughs. “Yeah…”
You tell Noelle that nothing mattered until now. She starts to cry. She steps away from the exit, and back towards you. She's so close that you can smell the blood dripping from her finger. The metallic odor is… unpleasant.
Noelle grabs your shoulders, staring into your eyes as tears fall onto musty carpet. “No. No, it happened.” She twists your words against you. “It snowed. Y-you can’t just say that none of that… mattered! I… I k-killed people! That… that happened!”
You tell Noelle that it did matter, because she was there. You tell her that she is real. You tell her that even if they aren’t real, she can still care about them. After all, you cared about her, even when she was fictional.
She stops crying. “Right… I’m sorry, I just– I don’t know what to do anymore.”
You tell Noelle it didn’t matter. None of it was real. You tell her that she isn’t any more of a murder for what she did than she is for having played the evil route of Dragon Blazers.
Noelle stops crying. “O-okay. I just… have one more thing I want to know.” She steps backward from you, towards the exit. “Do I matter?” Her voice sounds cold. She looks beaten and broken. An understandable reaction to her situation.
You tell Noelle that of course she matters. She was the only one who managed to stand up above the clouds. You tell her how glad you are, that you can talk in this way.
An idea comes to her. “If everything else is a game… cheese and crackers. I'm like… a video game character that has come to life?” Her eyes shine with a strange sort of pride.
You suppose it does. She seems kind of sad. You ask her if she cares about Dragon Blazers, even though she is more ‘real’ than it.
“Yes?” Noelle looks down. “It’s not really the same though…” She squashes that train of thought before it can consume her. “I don't– what should I do?”
Before you can say another word, she steps off the edge, plunging into the darkness.
You watch as she plummets back to the world below. This is for the best, you think. She couldn't truly stay here, and besides, you aren't sure if you would want her to.
Noelle woke up in her bed. She opened her eyes.
Something was wrong.
She hastily pulled herself out of bed, refusing to look at the world around her.
Something was wrong.
Noelle stumbled into the bathroom, gazing into the mirror. The mirror did not cooperate. She could see the bathroom, reflected in its surface, but she was simply not.
Something was wrong.
She reached out, and put her hand through the mirror. Of course. Of course it was just another room. She ran her fingers through her hair and fur. Her hair was wrong. Her fur was indistinct. She couldn’t tell if her antlers were covered in velvet or not. They had been, when she was with you, hadn't they?
She stumbled out of the bathroom, looking at the muddy colours of a paper thing world. She could see the seams where houses had been cut in half and pushed together, like a vast chunk of space had simply been erased. The forest seemed thicker, as if it was a solid wall. There was only one store in all of Hometown. There were only two classrooms in the school. Most houses were empty.
Everything was wrong. Everything was indistinct. Nothing was how it was supposed to look.
She could get out. She could leave this cursed town. She could see a city of bright lights. She could make the world her own.
There was nothing. Just as no houses had interiors, the only thing that existed was Hometown. Asriel was gone. All the friends she made online were gone. Did they even exist to begin with?
None of this was real. She was in a video game. She was in a video game. She needed to get out of here!
You tell Noelle you didn't do this for her. She doesn't seem offended. “R-right, I guess… you probably had your reasons.” Noelle shivers, wrapping her arms around herself. “Can I just ask… why? Why go this far?”
You tell Noelle that it’s not particularly complicated. The path was offered to you, so you walked it.
“Oh, I get it!” Noelle perks up. “I… think I would have done the same thing, actually.”
You already know that.
“Right… I guess… this wouldn't be your first playthrough, would it?” Noelle notes, glancing down at her finger. “Makes me wonder…” Noelle laughs. “If those old stories about ghosts haunting games are true.”
Noelle awkwardly fidgets with her skirt, the fabric woven of threads, a strange texture with which she was somehow unfamiliar. “Um… do you have a name?”
…
Noelle seems to be sweating now. “Y-you think this is… interesting, right?
You tell Noelle that she is very, very interesting indeed. She appears to relax a little, sighing.
“Are… you referencing something?” Noelle enquires. You nod. “Okay… what?” Noelle asks, before clamping her hands over her mouth. “Gosh, I don’t mean to be rude!” Noelle forces a laugh.
…
“I don't… you can go back, can't you?” Noelle's voice takes on an accusatory tone. “Why haven’t you?”
You tell her it's not your choice to make.
Noelle glances at you. Your form no longer seems so horrifying, now she understands that you are one and the same. “Maybe next to you could… I don't know.” Noelle seems far away.
“Back when I was a child… I always did the evil route in games. I wanted to see what would happen! How the characters would react! But… after that… I always did the good route! So…”
Noelle turns away from you, sighing. “I guess it doesn't really matter.
You tell Noelle your interest is starting to wane. She grimaces.
“Wait! I can… I can – surely there's something you want to know?” Noelle grabs your hand. Her bloody fur – the product of your choices – brushes against your skin, leaving your fingers stained red.
“Come… come on! Kris– I can tell you things about them! Like… we went on a ferries wheel as kids! I… at the time it was kind of forced, but now? I'm glad… I guess.” She is getting rather erratic, telling a story you have already heard through sweeping hand gestures, and in an unpleasant, distressed tone. It seems she has realised the power you, and you alone hold.
…
“Y-you've already h-heard that one, haven't you?” Noelle sounds defeated. “Why… why don't you tell me what to talk about?”
“Oh! Um, Kris.” Noelle snaps her fingers. “You probably already know about them, don't you? Since… you used them… for…” Noelle forces a smile. “Anyway, they…”
A lightbulb goes off in Noelle's head. She looks relieved. “T-they weren’t always called–” Noelle grimaces, spitting out her next words as if they were toxic. “–They weren't always called Kris. They– when they were a kid, their name was… Togore!” Noelle fakes a laugh. “No wonder they wanted to change it so bad!” For a moment, her smile falters. She stares into your eyes, looking for any semblance of a reaction. She picks at the thorn in her finger.
…
…
…
Noelle turns away from you, so you cannot see her face. Still, you can see her shoulders trembling. “Sorry, I… I've said enough.” She turns back to you, a blank smile plastered across her face.
You ask Noelle what happened between her and Susie in Cyber World.
Noelle seems to… almost relax. “I was asleep – well, trying to sleep. Susie… showed up and… I guess she didn't realise that I was strong, because she seemed really worried. She tried to take… your ring but…” Noelle puffs out her chest. “O-obviously I wasn't going to let her. And then she… said I felt really cold and… I don't really remember anything that happened after that.”
…
“WAIT! I mean! I… she took my hand and… told me I was going to be okay and she… she made me use my SleepMist to… pacify myself. And… that's all.” Noelle steadies herself, as if channeling her mothers composure. “That's… all that happened between us.”
“Of course it would be her…” Noelle whispers to herself. “She was… my sister. But you… probably know that much, right? She was… amazing. She could do so many things and… above everything else, she was strong. She's the only person I've ever seen stand up to my mom!” Noelle laughs. “I used to miss her. I used to stay up all night just thinking about her. I always hoped that she’d come back one day.” Noelle's hands begin to shake.
“Now, I don't need to worry about that, do I? I'm so much stronger than she ever was.”
Noelle flinches when you say his name. “R-right! Um… he's, better than he seems? He isn't very good at video games?” Noelle glances back to you, attempting to judge if you are being suitably entertained.
“OH! Right I, I almost forgot! He… he has a crush on me, I think – or, he thinks he does?” Noelle pauses.
“Look, I get you've probably already asked me about everything else but BERDLY????” Noelle's face contorts in rage. “What do you want me to say? He was my best friend… and now he's gone. And I killed him. And now I'm strong, so I don't need him.”
You tell her she never needed him. She laughs.
“I guess you're right…”
Noelle blinks. “So, would you like to hear the other stories?"
You tell her you have your ways, should you wish to see every path.
You tell Noelle you are not interested, and she has nothing to offer you.
Noelle is well and truly freaking out now. She looks like she wants to kill you, but she seems to realise that would be pointless.
“Wait, hold on! I can–”
You tell Noelle that you'd like her to stay here, with you. She appears perturbed by your request.
“Gosh, I– I kind of miss my world, is all.” Noelle explains. “I… I guess I could stay a little longer.” You smile, pleased with yourself.
You tell Noelle you have something to show her. You lead her back to where you first sat. Back to your connection.
“I-is that–!?”
You tell Noelle it's a game. Games are fun, after all. You invite her to play with you.
“O-okay.”
“O-our game? O-oh! This is… my home. Or, was, I guess.” Noelle flashes an empty smile, waiting for your instruction.
You tell Noelle she doesn't have to smile anymore. You tell her she doesn't have to hide anything from you – because you have already seen it.
Noelle drops her facade. Tears fall onto already damp carpet, choked sobs echoing throughout heaven. “You… You really are… so nice, you know. I don't…” Noelle interlaces her fingers, as if in prayer. “For so long, everyone else thought I was weak. My dad. My sister. My mother. Kris. Susie. They all think I'm weak. But you! You… you're like me, aren't you! You showed me… it's okay to play games the way I want to! And you showed me that I don't need to think about anyone else!”
Noelle’s tears seem to have shifted to tears of joy. You can't help but smile, seeing how strong she's become.
You offer Noelle your seat, standing behind her as she settles into the Ultra Game Station™. It's still stuck on the screen of the dark fountain. Kris is standing, unable to move. You hollowed them out, after all. Scooped out their hopes and dreams and will and mind, to make way for your will. Not that you need them, anymore. They had served their purpose. Noelle was with you now. Susie begins to stir, Noelle watching intently.
You say nothing, as Susie climbs to her feet.
* “Damn! She… Noelle? Where are you?”
Noelle tilts her head to the side. “I can't talk to her, can I?” You nod. Noelle groans, anxiously tapping her fingers on the table. She notices the way her fur muffles the sound. It should have done that before.
Noelle moves Kris a little. Susie draws her axe. * “H-hey! Stay back!”
The broken dialogue box appears again, presenting no options. Noelle appears somewhat perturbed. Susie speaks, ending the brief freeze.
* “Quit… staring at me like that!”
* (What's even going on anymore?)
Noelle sighs, walking out of the fountain room. Susie switches to a startled sprite, but that is quickly cut off by a room transition. Noelle wanders through the empty castle town, where every darkner has been reduced to a statue. “Is there anything else to do here?” Noelle asks. You tell her that you don't know, as you haven't seen this ending before.
Susie barges back onto the screen, raising her axe. * “Get back here! You and I have some catching up to do!”
Noelle turns to you. “Are there multiple saves? I don't really want to play this game anymore. Maybe it would be better if I started over?”
You tell her that there are, in fact, multiple save files. “Nice! Already a better game than Dragon Blazers!” Noelle giggles, a laugh that seems to exist in spite of pain, rather than over top of it.
You create a new save, starting at chapter one. The weirdly ominous intro plays, Noelle walking through the process of creating her vessel. “Oh, they kind of look like Kris.”
She painstakingly selects the most fitting option, creating a vessel patterned after herself. She names it “Noelle.” She is about to meet someone, very, very wonderful. You think that's quite the understatement. Then, she is asked for her name. She sputters a little about being misled, then simply sets her name as Noelle, the same as her vessel. After being called out for her mistake by the narrator, her vessel is discarded. Noelle seemed to have expected this outcome. “W-wow, this is quite the opener!”
No one can choose who they are in this world.
You tell Noelle you cannot give them back.
“You… I don't understand. Why? Why can't I have them back?” Noelle asks, stepping closer to you. The muffled thump of her hooves on the carpet should have been familiar to her.
…
“You just… Do whatever you want, don't you.” Noelle whispers, standing only a metre from you. She seems to relax a little. “I get it. I like deleting the ladder too. I'm honestly… rethinking my hobbies right now.”
You tell Noelle that she doesn’t matter. You tell her that she is just as irrelevant as the rest of her world.
“N-no!” Noelle snaps. “T-that can’t be true. I’m here. I’m speaking to you. I can… I can!”
You tell Noelle that Kris was a bad vessel. They stopped you from seeing what you wanted to see. They tried to end the world. This was the only way to break free from them.
“Oh. That must have been frustrating.” Noelle scratches at her snout, distress at her newfound physicality settling over her.
You reply it was.
“I don't get it. Why… do all this to hurt them? I'm stronger. Isn't that a good thing?” Noelle seems like she is on the verge of a realisation.
It's all just a side effect, isn't it? Her strength. Her victory. None of it was for her. This was meant to make Kris suffer. How stupid. It was always about them, wasn't it? Everything was about them.
You tell Noelle you hate her. You wanted her to suffer.
“N-no. You… helped me. You showed me how to be strong!” Noelle grabs your hand, the thorn you placed in her finger racking across your hand.
You ask how she could have enjoyed killing her best friend.
Noelle lets go of your hand. “No! You… I don't– why? What did I do?”
“I know I'm a little odd, and I guess I could be a little annoying but I don't…” Noelle mutters to herself, desperately trying to figure out your motive. Finally, she seems to get it.
“It's because…I'm annoying, isn't it?” Noelle smiles. “That's fine. I get it. I'm sorry for making you angry. I… I can't really judge you for any of this… it's just…”
“I don't know… why I thought you'd be any different. I don't know why I thought… this was about me.” “I get it. I really do, but…” Noelle balls her hand into a fist, and surges forward, striking you. You feel blood trickle down your face as her blow shatters your nose. Naturally, you feel no pain.
You feel the cold biting at your extremities as Noelle glares at you, shivering. “How does that feel?” She shouts, rubbing her now bruised knuckles. “Does that feel… insignificant?”
“Don’t bother answering. I’m done listening to you.” Noelle sneers, curling her fingers around the ThornRing. She pulls the Thorn which has been so deeply embedded in her finger out with a single tug. Her blood mixes with yours. “I don’t need anyone else. Not Kris, not Susie, and least of all you!”
“Gosh, I… didn't expect that to…” Her voice is frantic. "You really made me quite strong, didn't you.” She stands over you, observing the lack of expression on your face. “I probably don't have to do this, do I?” She pauses, breathing heavily.
Noelle clenches her first, her ring digging further into her flesh, blood staining the carpet. “Even so… you still made me strong. And now? I don't need you.”“I… I wish you were nicer…” Noelle admits. “I guess… I still feel indebted to you. But I can’t let someone so spiteful and cruel have as much power as you do.” Spikes of ice tear through your chest. Not the way you thought you’d go, but you suppose you aren’t really dead, are you?
Before you can say another word, she steps off the edge, plunging into the darkness.
You watch as she plummets back to the world below. This is for the best, you think. She couldn't truly stay here, and besides, you aren't sure if you would want her to.
Noelle woke up in her bed. She opened her eyes.
Something was wrong.
She hastily pulled herself out of bed, refusing to look at the world around her.
Something was wrong.
Noelle stumbled into the bathroom, gazing into the mirror. The mirror did not cooperate. She could see the bathroom, reflected in its surface, but she was simply not.
Something was wrong.
She reached out, and put her hand through the mirror. Of course. Of course it was just another room. She ran her fingers through her hair and fur. Her hair was wrong. Her fur was indistinct. She couldn’t tell if her antlers were covered in velvet or not. They had been, when she was with you, hadn't they?
She stumbled out of the bathroom, looking at the muddy colours of a paper thing world. She could see the seams where houses had been cut in half and pushed together, like a vast chunk of space had simply been erased, and the edges of the void stitched together. The forest seemed thicker, as if it was a solid wall. There was only one store in all of Hometown. There were only two classrooms in the school. Most houses were empty. The roads did not make sense.
Everything was wrong. Everything was indistinct. Nothing was how it was supposed to look.
She could get out. She could leave this cursed town. She could see a city of bright lights. She could make the world her own.
There was nothing. Just as no houses had interiors, the only thing that existed was Hometown. Asriel was gone. All the friends she made online were gone. Did they even exist to begin with?
None of this was real. She was in a video game. She was in a video game. She needed to get out. The world was far too small for what she had become.
IT APPEARS
YOU HAVE REACHED
AN END.
ARE YOU SATISFIED?
OR IS THERE
MORE
YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE?
You wish you could see more. Unfortunately, there is nothing beyond this path. You settle for the forever hidden in ambiguity.
You feel satisfied with what you have seen. This connection was interesting, but what can be seen within is greatly limited. You may return to it someday, after seeking other insights into this world. Or perhaps not. It doesn't really matter.
You decide there is no point in trying again. There isn't really anything more you could have wanted. Still, you wonder what Noelle will do from here. It's interesting to think about, even if you cannot see it.
Noelle will be happier down below. Her world is so much better than yours. She has been given all the tools she needs to live whatever life she wants, thanks to you. But that life can only be led in the ambiguity after the end.
AND SO
THE WORLD
WAS
COVERED
IN DARKNESS