After the reset, the Steves thought that everything had become normal again. Light was the only one found after the battle, meaning that Sabre and Time had disappeared along with the Curse. For a while, the Steves didn't want to assume the worst, but after so long they gave up hope on them returning.

The monuments were built.

The Kingdoms repaired their damage.

Light returned to the Colorless Guard after healing.

The Red Steves came out of hiding.

Days passed without anything happening.

Until one day, strange spirits started appearing all over the Realm; the Sky People.

The Sky People had gone through everything with Sabre, all of the trauma and heartache affecting them as well. They didn't let anything show while Sabre was there, but when Sabre went through the portal to fix the timeline...

The Sky People's connected to him was severed, leaving them in the Realm without someone to guide them.

That's when the damage done was unable to be hidden. Instead of their normal, bright, colorful selves, the Sky People now resemble stormclouds. All of their color is either tinted or turned grey, they constantly have tears resembling raindrops falling from their eyes, some of their features look like the dark storms they've become, and cloudlike wisps surround them. They are now bitter to most of the Steves, angry at their mistreatment of the one they had lost.

Now, the Sky People haunt the Realm, as a constant reminder to the Steves that they had failed Sabre.

While the guilt resurfaces all over again, the Leaders and Light are also trying to figure out a way to calm the Sky People, since their resentment is causing problems around the Realm. Especially with how they mess with the people they're angriest at, which most of the Leaders themselves are on that list.

Perhaps the storm can be calmed, perhaps not...

———

My short version of describing this AU is "The Sky People get a depression arc that guilt trips the entirety of the Realm" lol.

Anyway, some funnies for the angst:

—

Sky People: This is your fault.

Steves: PLEEEAAAASE. Just GO AWAY.

Sky People: No.

—

(Insert the Professor constantly having to deal with Sky People wrecking his lab)

—

(Since the Sky People are spirits, some Steves theorize that they might be sprits of Sabre's people that can move on into a Spirit World. The Sky People aren't fond of this idea)

Sky Person: (screwing around in the Middle World while an Indigo watches)

Indigo Steve: (motioning to the gateway to the World Beyond, done with their crap) Don't just look at the gateway, go towards it. Go on.

Sky Person: (flips him off)

—

(A bunch of Sky People are depressedly sitting around in Light's office in the Headquarters)

Light: ...Could you leave-?

Sky People: No.

—

Okay baiii