O' My Light Burning Bright (Dragon Quest/Undertale)

[Elric of Melnibone]

Chapter 1: Exodus​

When I fell into your underworld, mother. I remembered not what my past was. Nor what my future would be. I only knew that I felt this ache in my heart, and a feeling of betrayal as I was stabbed in the back. I was but a babe then when you took me in. I was a human being. The same sort of creature that stole your son away from you. Yet... you nurtured me as your own.

In my heart no one could replace you as my mother. No, not even Elenore.

This is why I must tell you something. I don't regret it. The times we spent together. The stories you weaved as you tucked me in at night. The pies that you baked for me. The times that you would bandage my knees when I fell and scraped them. How you would always kiss me on my forehead whenever I was crying. Just so that I would know that you were there with me.

Pushing through every day into the next morning. We struggled at times but we managed. I was fine with the life I had but there was more out there.

I had to leave.

"Erdrick... are you sure about this?" The barrier was broken. I felt the burning on the back of my right hand. This light within me was beckoning me. My mother's face was scrunched in pain.

This mark of light. I couldn't deny that it existed.

"you should listen to your mom, kid." The skeleton looks at me again. He was always strange but he was reliable as well. "this luminary business sounds like it is going to get you into trouble. maybe this dark one doesn't even exist."

"It doesn't matter whether he exists or not." I look at the mark of light again. I couldn't deny the power it held. I was able to save Asriel with this. I was able to bring him back. "When have I ever stepped down from a challenge?"

I turn towards the direction he was standing, and look at him again. He didn't look happy because he knew the truth.

I probably wouldn't be coming back from this. It may even take my life.

"I DON'T LIKE THIS AT ALL!" His brother wasn't taking it well either. "YOU SAID WE WERE GOING TO HAVE SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS TODAY!" He was frustrated to say the least.

I did kind of just dump this on them at the last minute.

"I am sorry, Papyrus. I didn't know how to break it to all of you." I sigh, and scratch the back of my head. My blonde hair, and cerulean eyes plain for everyone to see. I was supposed to be celebrating my birthday. I was turning eighteen today. The only problem was that letter, and the necklace. Maybe it would have better if I never found them? "I have to do this. I mean it comes with the territory, right? I am royalty, and I can't just pretend that's not the case. Dundrasil is gone, and somebody has to answer for that." I say that but I sound resigned. I had no real attachment to these places, and these people. They were strangers to me.

Despite that, I have an obligation. I couldn't deny that.

"This isn't your responsibility." My mother speaks again. "That's why I never wanted you to see that letter." Toriel hadn't changed at all. No, not since she found me floating in that lake I fell into from the crevice above. "You have already done enough. You saved us, and you saved them. You already saved both of our worlds. Don't you think you deserve to live the way you want after that?" There is something desperate in her voice. I knew she didn't want me to leave.

Just like when I left our home, and ventured deeper into the mountain.

"Mom, he has to do this." Asriel is the next one to speak. "I can see it in his eyes." He could recognize my determination.

I nod my head. He gives me a wry smirk.

"I can't leave this be. This is the one riddle I haven't solved. I want to learn about my past. I want to know where I came from." Where I was going. What I was going to do. "I may not know this Elenore... but she was my mother. I need to respect her wishes."

The Kingdom of Heliodor. The place where I would meet King Carnelian.

"Well, you are not going alone!" Undyne practically bursts into my room. "I can't just leave this to some snot nosed brat!" The leader of the Royal Guard had her armor on.

I smirk, and give her a cheeky look.

"You mean that same snot nosed brat who ran circles around you?" I couldn't deny her strength, or her courage. It didn't change the fact that she wasn't going to win any marathons any time soon.

Alphys is there to restrain Undyne when pulls out a spear.

"U-Undyne, not in the house!"

"Let me go! I am going to beat him black and blue!"

I chuckle, and look at these people. These friends that I made. I was happy here but I had to leave. I knew this couldn't last forever. The barrier was broken but not everyone who lived topside was accommodating to the likes of monsters. It was tense up there.

They couldn't--

"oh, I know that look. sorry kid, but we're coming with you." Sans wouldn't let it be. I figured he would be the one to say it first.

"It's not safe for any of you." I shake my head. "The cities up there won't let any monsters nearby. They built walls just to keep you out." If they went in there? The people topside would attack them on sight, and ask questions never.

"we can camp outside then. it's not like anyone is going to bother a bunch of monsters minding their own beeswax." He shoves his hands into his pockets, and doesn't relent. He was going to do this.

I clench my hands into fists.

"I won't be there to protect you if I leave you out there. What if someone comes along and--"

"don't worry about us, kid. we can take care of ourselves."

I couldn't forget that either. These friends of mine knew how to fight. They could handle themselves. Maybe he was right.

"I can't bring all you up there. The bigger the group the more attention you will draw to yourselves." That was the only compromise I was willing to make. Anything else I wouldn't accept. "That means only two of you can come with me."

"that's fair. alright, I am going."

"PAPYRUS WILL COME AS WELL!"

I look back at Sans, and we both look back at Papyrus.

"No."

"no."

Papyrus makes an indignant noise, and then glares back at the both of us. "WHY NOT?"

"You can't handle yourself in a fight."

"that's the gist of it. i don't have a bone to pick with you but it's better if you stay here, bro."

Papyrus practically growls when he hears another pun. "AGH! PUNS! IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE LIKE THAT I DON'T WANT TO GO!" He huffs in annoyance. "I WILL HAVE ALL THE SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALS TO MYSELF!"

"Then it has to be me." Undyne is grinning like a shark. "I am going with you." She folds her arms over her chest. "You need a soldier. I fit the bill."

"Alright, but that's it. No one else can come." I look back at Asriel. "Asriel, please take care of our mother." I could rely on him.

"Don't worry about it. I will be here. We will all be here. You can count on that." It goes unspoken but I knew what he meant. They would always be here for me. The friends I made. The family I forged.

I turn around, and look at the both of them. Sans, and Undyne. They had to be ready. I had to be ready.

"I need to do one last thing before I leave."

***​

I grabbed the knife. This used to belong to him. I could feel the malevolence radiate from it in waves. It carried his determination.

It could help me on my journey. It really could have. I grab onto it tightly, and that is when the mark of light begins to shine. The knife cracks, and breaks into pieces.

"That was a mistake." I could hear his voice whisper in my ear.

"I don't need you anymore. I never did." I turn to face the young man. He looked harmless at first glance. That was until you saw his eyes. Those burning red coals glimmering in the darkness.

"You can't save. You can't load." He tilts his head, and that's when I see his crooked smile. "No second chances. That's it."

"I will be careful." I would have to be. "I won't take any chances." There is no room for recklessness.

"You say that but I know what sort of person you are. Your kindness and compassion will betray you." I burst into laughter. I look down at this pathetic shriveling shadow.

"You think I am a fool? No, I know when not to stay my hand. I know true evil. I know you." I grab the monstrous thing by the neck, and lift him up. The mark of light grows ever brighter. "I will show your ilk no quarter! I will banish the darkness!" I choke the life out of this unnatural thing. He desperately claws at his neck, and gasps for air. He struggles against me but I was stronger now.

"You were evil from the start. You sought to bring misery to those that showed you love. You even poisoned your own father. Then you decided that mankind had to be destroyed not for them but for you. Just so that you could be satisfied." My face scrunches in disgust. I truly despised this unholy abomination. "I showed them mercy because they deserved it! I will show your kind my fury instead!" I break his neck, and he gurgles on his own tongue. I squeeze even tighter. He wasn't done yet.

"Disappear!" The light engulfs the darkness, and soon there is nothing left. "You will haunt these people no more!"

He squeals like the pig he is, and soon even his ash would vanish. It was only a matter of time.

"No one will remember you, Chara."

***

"I hope you like it." I try on the outfit Toriel made for me. It was an almost perfect fit. "The sword is a gift from--"

"You will need a weapon. I know you don't like fighting..." The king under the mountain finishes for her. Asgore almost looks wistful when he looks at Toriel.

"No, I understand. I can't parlay with everyone I meet." I would have to fight even if I didn't want to. That's what the world was like up there. "I will use it when I have to. That's all I can promise."

The king nods his head. Whatever concern he had disappearing with the wind.

"Not all places are hostile or wary of monsters." Asgore walks in front of me, and leads me into the throne room. "L'Academie de Notre Maitre les Medailles is one such place where monsters and humans have brokered peace with each other."

I make a mental note of that. I could probably hang around in the open with both Sans and Undyne there.

"However, most other nations have built fortifications to keep us out. You will be on your own there." I would have to figure out a way to get past that. If only I could reason with the people there. They might just understand. If I explain myself.

"I am worried about this King Carnelian. I know so little about him." Asgore shakes his head. He turns around to face me. "When you meet him? I want you to be cautious. There is no telling what intentions he might have. If you sense any danger? Do not hesitate to defend yourself."

There is an awkward silence.

"I..." I quickly move forward, and embrace him. I hug him tightly. He doesn't hesitate to do the same. His eyes soften. A faint smile is on his face. "I am proud of you no matter what happens."

I break away from him.

"Hey, don't worry. When I come back? We are going to have some butterscotch pie. It will be fine."

"I hope so, Erdrick. I really hope so."

He knows what it is like to lose a son. He doesn't want it to happen again.

"heya, kid. you ready?" Sans is there to meet me at the entrance. Where the barrier once was. Undyne is standing next him, and she is wearing her armor.

"If anyone tries to hurt you? I will protect you! You can count on me! FUHUHUHUHU!!!" The leader of the Royal Guard is immodest. "It will be alright! Undyne the Undying is here!"

"Just don't get heatstroke again." I smirk when she I see her fume. She always hated it when I brought that up. "You weigh a metric ton, and I don't want to carry you."

I dodge the spear she throws my way.

"YOU DON'T JUST BRING UP A GIRL'S WEIGHT LIKE THAT, JERK!"

"What? You do weigh a metric ton!"

I dodge several more spears, and Alphys isn't here to stop her this time.

"well, he never changes." Sans rolls his eyes. "are we going to hit the road or what?" The skeleton points a thumb towards the door.

"How are we going to climb up there though?" I grab another spear, and toss it aside. The barrier was broken but it was a long way up. There was at least a couple of kilometers we have to climb until we could even see the summit of the mountain.

The mark of light burns on my right hand. I flinch, and that's when it comes to me.

A spell.

"Never mind." That should do it. "You should both brace yourselves." I could feel the mystical energies charge within me, and that's when I release them.

Zoom.

We shoot upwards at breakneck speed, and we don't stop until we reach the summit. We fly past it, and that's when I see it.

The world for the first time. Erdrea.

"It's beautiful." I could see the land stretching on for who knows how many miles. This was where I would find it. The place where I began. Yggdrasil.

The world tree.

"uh, kid?"

"What is it, Sans?"

"do you know how to land?"

"No. No, I do not."

Undyne is practically in tears when we start falling.

"WE ARE GONNA DIE!"

This wasn't exactly the best way to start our journey.

[] We crash land in a small village by the name of Cobblestone. Thankfully, we managed to survive. I decide to ask the locals for directions. I should be able to find my way to the Kingdom of Heliodor from here.

[] We crash land somewhere near the ocean. In a port town by the name of Gondolia. Maybe we could secure a ship here? That would make things easier in the long run.

[] We crash land on a snowy tundra. The only hint as to where we are was a sign that read: Sniflheim. That must be the name of this country. Why was everything frozen?

[] We crash into a dune. It is scalding hot. We were in a desert somewhere. There was a great wall in the distance. That must be a city. Gallopolis? Yes, this must be the place.