Chapter Text
Gray wasn't sure for how long he had been locked in his basement since the fateful incident, but he suspected it wasn't a short period. The loneliness in that cold, gloomy place was driving him mad, and to top it off, the food had run out. If he didn't want to succumb to starvation, he needed to leave the house to find more supplies. However, the dread of running into them, the enigmatic Mr. Black and Wenda, paralyzed him.
He had known Wenda for a long time, though he had never truly gotten to know her. He could only say that she was quite outgoing, and on their first meeting, he picked up something odd about her. To tell the truth, he had never really liked her. Now he was convinced that his intuition was correct. When that entity who called himself "Black" appeared in town and unleashed his reign of terror, she immediately joined him, promoting chaos and causing the death of many of their friends. Perhaps Black had corrupted her, but he wasn't entirely sure of that.
Knowing all this, poor Gray was deeply terrified to go out on the street and run into one of those two mentally deranged people. However, there was no alternative; he needed to go out, whether he wanted to or not.
With his whole body shaking violently, he got up from the corner where he had been sitting and grabbed the keys to open the basement door. Before taking a single step inside his home, he made sure that everything was in order. Not noticing or hearing any obvious threat, he began to move forward with extreme caution. In addition to the keys, he had with him a knife. While not as effective as a firearm, it at least gave him a sense of greater security.
The feeble Gray was deep in his thoughts for quite a while before he realized that he was already right in front of the door leading to the outside.
"No, please, no... I don't want to go outside... They're going to kill me..."
He had no other choice.
He struggled to open the door due to the intense tremors that shook his body, although after several attempts he finally succeeded. He could now contemplate the outside with clarity. A deep crimson sky, splashed with black, stretched above him, and in the distance, he could make out blackish clouds that seemed to have eyes, watching him, penetrating deep inside him.
He had to hurry.
As he advanced swiftly but cautiously, he noticed that the valley was devoid of any form of life. The sight of such desolation caused him sadness, a bleak and dull panorama, but there was nothing he could do about it. He continued on his way, and before long he caught the sight of a shop in the distance. Excitedly, he started running towards it, but stopped short when he recognized one of his former companions devouring what was left of an unrecognizable sprunki. It was Simon, or rather, what was left of him.
Gray could not move until the yellow one turned to look at him. Its huge mouth full of teeth emitted a hellish growl as it began to approach him with alarming speed. At first, Gray only tried to flee, but realizing that Simon was too fast, the freckled one readied his knife, ready to defend himself despite the overwhelming dread that overcame him. Just as the corrupted sprunki tried to pounce on him, Gray heard a resounding "crack" coming from Simon.
The last mentioned fell at his feet, lifeless. Something invisible had broken his neck, and it clearly hadn't been him. Alarmed, he turned his head to his surroundings to check if he was alone. And indeed, he was not alone. Not at all.
Behind Gray, stood the source of his worst nightmares, the one who had completely ruined his life since his arrival: Black. Although he only had empty sockets instead of eyes, like two infinite abysses, Gray was absolutely certain that he was watching him, analyzing him. It seemed that all the creature's attention was on him. Only on him.
The freckled one was done. There was no way whatsoever to defeat the main cause of all his suffering.
Gray, now sobbing, dropped to the ground on his knees, devoid of all will, tears pearling his face as he begged for mercy.
─ N-no... Please have mercy... I don't want to d-die...
The pitch-black monster, without uttering a sound, slowly approached his victim, marveling at the moans and cries this one produced. He seemed hypnotized and enraptured by the presence of that gray sprunki, and the latter, not knowing very well what to do, only trembled and cried disconsolately, waiting for his tragic fate. But fortunately or unfortunately, that never happened; instead, he felt Black's gentle caress on his tear-wet cheek.
Gray opened his eyes wide, though he still didn't feel able to look at the creature's face.
After what seemed like an eternity, the monster spoke.
─ I won't kill you... If you fulfill my wish.
This time, Gray plucked up his courage and decided to look directly at him, confused.
─ ...Your wish?
Before he uttered a word, Black continued to gently caress that part of his face, as if he wasn't a creature from another world that had caused the complete apocalypse.
─ I wish to have a family, a legacy. I am aware that you are not a man in the biological sense, so you can give me a child, yes?
The freckled one was completely petrified. Did that interdimensional creature long for a family? With him? His mind was a whirlwind of unanswered questions. Gray was about to reject him, but he soon realized that, unfortunately, that was his only alternative to stay alive. And his survival instinct was too strong. He didn't want to die at that moment, not at his hands.
The gray-toned sprunki lowered his head, showing a defeated expression, and after a moment of reflexion, he finally let the monster know his choice.
─ Yes... I accept.