A gust of black clouded your vision, the ebony black of a raven's wing draped over your gaze. It remained there for some time as you plummeted to the ground below, refusing to yield despite your constant attempts to remove it. "Fly," the raven cackled, its voice on the verge of insanity. "Only when you see can you truly fly."

This is what it was like to die, you reflected grimly. Your life naught flashed before your eyes, but rather a long and spectacular drawn out scene of some comedy occurred. For some reason, your subconscious had chosen to create this odd scene as you plummeted to your death.

Except you should have been dead by now, a wonderful human pancake that had splattered onto the cracked pavement of the rundown Chicago city. Were you even falling? There was no deterrent of the breeze that gave an indication of you hurling several miles an hour towards the ground below, no odd rush of adrenaline, nothing.

"Do you see now?" the faceless raven asked, its wing still draped over your eyesight. A brief part of you wanted to acknowledge that yes, you did understand its hidden, cryptic meaning. But the sheer frustration that roiled within your deepest fibers refused to acknowledge whatever the raven was attempting to show you, refusing to take part in its sadistic riddle.

"I don't see anything!" you spat out the retort. "It's quite hard to see anything with your damn wing in the way!"

"Mistress warned me that you would be like this, she said that you were very stubborn. But Raven was a good soldier, Raven told Mistress that he could handle the assignment, that he could make [Y/N] see what they could not." The raven seemed disappointed in you if that was even possible. Humiliation only helped to stoke the flames of growing frustration that raged inside of you.

"I can see perfectly fine," you spat. "There's darkness and - "

But there wasn't just darkness, not really. Beneath the black abyss of the raven's wing could you see something more, the gateway to a world of fire and fury, one of desolation and agony. The brutality that existed within this nameless world dwarfed greatly the sufferings that your universe had endured, making Chicago seem like a paradise when comparing the two different universes.

Hundreds of souls walked in an empty room. There were no distinct features or anything at all about this room where the souls dwelled. It seemed that someone or something had taken the souls and thrown them into a box, driving the lot of them slowly into insanity.

"This is his work," the raven clicked happily. "Mistress said that you had to see for yourself, that words would change nothing until you saw what you must do."

"I-I can't free them!" you replied, still dumbfounded and confused by the happenings that were occurring. Who was this Mistress and other-dimensional villain that the raven kept referring to, and what the hell had that room been? And why weren't you dead?

"That is not [Y/N]'s job, those souls are just an example of his doings. In order to understand who you are to face, you must learn first his mind. Only when you know his mind can you truly vanquish your enemy."

"But who - " You shook your head, dumbfounded. You didn't have time to play these games, not when the fate of your world was at stake. You still had Mayor Grimes to work against, to free the monsters from their heinous enslavement. "I can't help you,"
you finished at last. "My duty is here, to my friends, to - " The word Sans hung on the edge of your lips, halting your speech.

"You must see without seeing!" The raven screeched. "Foolish child, do you not understand? Mistress wants you to see, to see the real danger that your world is facing. All worlds will perish if you do not stop him, the King will become the World Eater as the legends of old herald. But Mistress does not want that, she wants the universes to live!"

"So there's a greater force at work," you concluded. The raven gave a happy squawk of approval and removed its wing from your field of vision, exposing once more the vast world of Chicago below. Pieces of the puzzle were slowly beginning to click together. Hadn't Mayor Grimes talked about some sort of unnamed foe, brief mentioning of some higher force that not even she dared to rival? Was it possible that they had worked out some kind of deal?

"But what can I do? I'm not exactly the brightest of the bunch," you admitted to the raven, something you had never thought you would ever do in your life. It wasn't a lie, you had barely been able to operate a toaster before the first bombs fell. It was a wonder how you even managed to survive the Apocalypse.

"The filth of your city knows," the raven replied as if this was the simplest response ad that everyone should have been aware of it. "When you ask you shall receive, but if you first receive than you dare not ask." And on those words you were no longer hovering over the city of Chicago, but you were instead flying, flying past buildings and apartments until you glided into a nearby dumpster. When you looked over your shoulder, not sure whether to thank the raven for saving your life or cuss him out for landing you in a pile of trash, it was only in vain upon realizing that the bird had disappeared.

"I'm never eating Temmie Flakes again," you decided rationally. The city-issued breakfast food had a sinister reputation for causing hallucinations among its eaters. Either this was a prime example or what you had just been through was...

Real.

You shuddered at the thought, stepping out of the garbage, brushing off a molded banana peel. This was obviously real, the stench of the rotting food was evidence enough. And you had just been falling out of a building moments ago, so the encounter with the raven must have been real.

Who or what could be so vast and malevolent that has the power to destroy whole universes and make the whole thing with Mayor Grimes almost appear nonexistent? you wondered. Whether your universe was in danger or not, there was still an issue at hand. The monsters had been forced into labour, Mayor Grimes remained supreme. It would be only logical to formulate a way to confront her and ultimately stop the enslavement and interrogate her about whatever multidimensional being was taking charge.

Kill two birds with one stone, you thought dryly and walked into the city. Pedestrians paid little to no attention to your appearance, having long grown used to seeing humans living in pitiful conditions. Most of the city lived in poverty, running off a poor excuse of an economy.

All of the monsters would be no help in your attempt to overthrow Mayor Grimes, but what about the humans? They couldn't be too pleased with the current dictator of the city given the conditions that they worked and lived in. Perhaps there was still hope after all.

"Excuse me!" you cleared you throat and pulled at the sleeve of a passing woman. She gave you an odd look, taking in your current condition.

"Here, have a biscuit," she smiled warmly and handed a half-eaten piece of bread to you and then hurried off.

"T-This isn't even a biscuit," you stammered, looking at the poor excuse of a pastry that had been so generously gifted to you. "I'm not even sure what this is." Frustration we're inside if you and you threw the food aside, realizing that it would only been futile to catch the attention of the passing humans with nothing more than words. You had to make yourself noticeable, to stand out, but how...

An idea occurred and you closed your eyes, once more pushing against the reserve of energy tucked away inside of you. The flow of magic that resulted was almost immediate, bringing with it a renewing sense of vitality. You interlocked your fingers and raised them above your head, the faint trace of [F/C] light just barely shimmering on your palm as you pointed your hand to the sky and fired off a laser.

The pedestrians stopped almost immediately, looks of dawning horror being thrown your way. "I need your help," you explained, raising your voice so all could hear. "For years we've lived in poverty, living off meager rations while those that call themselves our leaders grow fat and old off the fruits of our labour." There were a few murmurs of agreement. This wasn't partially true, you knew. Compared to how monsters were treated, humans had gotten the better end of the stick. But broaching the subject of monsterkind was not something you intended on doing for this sake, wanting to attract the interest of the humans and not risk pushing them away.

"Things have gotten better. We have united and formed a society after we were burdened with a war of great tragedy. But even still, how is this considered a life worth living?" Your jaw tightened at the thought of the monsters, wondering vaguely that if you did manage to overthrow Mayor Grimes and this unnamable King or whatever the raven had named this new adversary, monsterkind would ever be accepted as equals to humans.

After noting the nodes of agreement coming from the growing crowd, you continued. "Today I will march to the very heart of the city and demand that Mayor Grimes answers for her crimes. You can join me and tell your grandchildren years from now of the day when you helped to reshape the future of humanity, or you can hide like cowards while the rest of us forge our own story." You finished with an immediate halt, shocked by the force of your own words.

You turned around, not bothering to look back. For a moment as you began to march, not one human dared follow you. Had it all been for nothing? Even still you would take to the Capitol, but could you do it alone? You cast a glance over your shoulder, eyeing the crowd. They were people, humans with lives and families to protect. Had you really expected some dramatic speech to make them take a bullet for your lost cause, to throw away everything and die for this tirade?

"I'll go."

A man no older than twenty stepped forward, his chin raised proudly. One by one, several followed in procession. The few that remained behind quickly took leave, seeking refuge in their rundown homes. "Some heroes they are," the Man said and then offered you his hand. "The name's Geroff, but you can call me G," he winked lazily at you, the faint stench of cigarettes coming from the absurd white turtleneck he wore.

"Nice to meet you G." You shook his hand in return, feeling an odd sense of nostalgia.

"If you don't mind me asking," G muttered as you continued waking through the streets of Chicago. "That whole magic thing you did, how can you do that? Only monsters have been known to do such a thing, I've never seen a human do that before." There was almost an accusatory tone in his words, implying the fact that perhaps you weren't human, but some hybrid in of itself.

There had often been stories and legend of monsters mating with humans, but their offspring usually carried distinct features of their monster parentage. As far as you could tell, you had no distinct impression of being related to any sort of monster. You had also known your parents before the Fall, your biological ones. You were human, or at least that you knew.

"I know my heritage," you retorted, more venom laced into your words than you intended. "I'm human and what difference would it make if I wasn't? Monsters aren't all that bad, you know."

G said nothing more on the subject but than stopped, pointing a finger towards a company of motorcycles that sped towards the marching crowd. "Monster or not, you're going to prove useful in a matter of seconds."

It dawned on you that you had prepped an army and failed to give them any weapons. I'm not helping them, you realized suddenly as the motorcycles swerved and the police task force of Chicago arrived, equipped in riot gear and each bearing a semi-automatic rifle. I've helped prepare them for a slaughter.

The humans too seemed to realize this and any determination you had instilled in them evaporated as the police opened fire. There was no where to run or hide as the bullets rained down on the crowd, humans acting as living shields of flesh for one another. All you could do was fall to the floor, praying silently that the death toll would not amount to anything.

Few seconds passed, seconds that seemed like decades. Not one drop of blood was spilt, curious enough. With the amount of gunfire that sounded, there should have been rivers of it.

Maybe there is still hope for us after all, you thought and craned your neck, looking at the humans that had fallen beside you. Your hope immediately dissipated upon seeing G's collapsed form.

A syringe was buried in the base of his neck, a clear fluid emptying into his system. His once vibrant blue eyes had taken on a sort of glaze, similar to that of when the monsters had first fallen victim to the mind-controlling serum hidden in their food. Mayor Grimes said that only monsters would be the targets! you thought frantically, trying to make sense of the situation. Unless... Unless she thought it best to control the whole lot. Why have half the population at your control when you could command the entire city?

The police had not been firing bullets, but rather the syringes tipped with the deadly serum. You had managed to survive unscathed as the gunfire ceased, thanks only to the bodies that acted as your shield. You wouldn't have long, however. In a matter of minutes they would come to life, brainwashed and under the influence of Mayor Grimes.

A clearing was up ahead, a small gap that you could manage to squeeze through if you timed it perfectly enough. The pathway from here to the capitol building where Mayor Grimes was no doubt taking refuge in was waiting. You would force her to distribute the antidote, free the humans and monsters, defeat the King that the raven and his Mistress feared.

As you got to your feet, adrenaline coursing through your veins, the crack of gunfire was audible in the distance. But who were they firing at? All the humans had been subjected to the wrath of the serum, not one stirred but you.

The answer came as pain, pain hotter and more blinding than the sun flared in the back of your neck from where a needle buried itself. A tidal wave of black was threatening to carry you away, away from your suffering, away from your duties.

No.

The thought came to you.

You didn't want this, but perhaps no one wanted this. This was the same fate that the hundreds of others before you had faced before they were subjected to the serum. You were not special, you were no different in physical composition to any of the others. The serum would too fall you.

What an irony.

You decided that at last as a night darker than the raven's wing swooped over your senses and all was still.