...At the end of the corridor, the heavy door creaked open, and there she was. Toriel. Her frame nearly filled the doorway, her robe frayed at the edges, and her horns brushed the top as she leaned in. Her smile was thin and wide, up to her eyes, which remained unnervingly wide. She watched you for a moment, just a moment, before she leaned up. She only allowed you out of the house when she trusted you, but you still had to come back at a certain time, a time you've memorized. Think of it as a... curfew, of some sort. She didn't say a word, not yet. She turned around and gestured for you to follow in.

This is where your story begins, for it has already begun a long time ago.

The Ruins were always quiet. Too quiet. Their walls held no wind, no dripping water, only the eternal hum of fire magic that burned in torches along every corridor. The flames never dimmed, but neither did the shadows, stretching tall and heavy until they swalled the halls whole. This was your world. Toriel's world. Days followed a rhythm so precise it felt carved into the stone. Morning meant chores, sweeping the endless dust, mending scraps of cloth, or polishing the shields Toriel never lets you wear.

Afternoon meant "lessons"... scripture of the Delta Rune, history of monsters, lectures on humans, always ending with her thin, strained smile. And the evening was simply... dinner. Always dinner, with the same meat pie. Toriel would place the plate in front of you with hands that stitched, cooked and killed. She watched as you ate, wide eyes fixed, waiting for you to finish every bite until you had to go to bed. You went to bed when she said. You woke when she woke you.

One warning, then that was it. You'd already learned what happened on the second, given your usage of Save Files. She kept you alive. She kept you fed. She kept you safe. But safe from what? Perhaps the outside... whatever lay beyond the Ruins, or from herself if you managed to escape..... oh well. Tonight was no different, at first. Toriel had just sat by the fireplace of the flames, watching you closely as you went to bed, at the time you were supposed to.

.....

One night, you woke up feeling thirsty, practically dehydrated, and falling asleep felt uncomfortable. With that excuse going through your head, if Toriel ever caught you, you not-so-confidently got out of your room and silently made your way to the sink in the kitchen. Toriel didn't like being woken up, as far as you knew. The moment you entered the kitchen, you met Toriel. It was unusual for her to be here. But before any further thoughts came through your head, it was filled with her voice as she turned her head over her shoulder.

She was at the sink, her claws bloodied with what you could assume was from a human's. Meat was in the sink, being prepared silently, just as silently as her staring while you simply stared back... as much as you knew you could come back from this if you died, the fear and the slow death you got was less than pleasant.

" Go to your room. " She said, her smile still there... wider, as if she wasn't surprised at all. Toriel's claw was dripping with blood, the only sound that was breaking the silence before her response. She left no room for argument, no room for conversation. Just an order.