But when I opened my eyes, I found myself in a hospital bed. Confusion swept over me as I sat up, taking in my surroundings. "I'm at the hospital...?"
(*That's right.)
I immediately turned my attention to the skeleton sitting in a chair beside me. "Who are you...?"
(*Heh, shouldn't you introduce yourself first, bud?) he replied with a hint of amusement in his voice.
I regarded him for a moment before timidly responding, "My name is Jan Grayson... I'm a high school student." I then lay back down on the bed.
(*Name's Sans.)
"Sans... huh," I muttered to myself as the name rang familiar yet distant in my memory.
He looked at me, his expression calm and composed. (*So, do you remember what happened?)
I shook my head, "No, all I remember is... I'm supposed to be dead..."
(*You already died...)
His words hit me like a jolt of electricity, leaving me speechless. I stared at him, "What do you mean..."
(*Because I killed you once. But since your soul was determined, you came back to life. However, when you appeared in front of the star, your soul became empty... or should I say, it's gone.)
"But... why?"
Sans leaned back in his chair while his eyes fixed on me. (*That's something you'll have to figure out on your own, kid.)
"I don't even know myself..."
The room fell into a contemplative silence, and both Sans and I were lost in our own thoughts.
(*Say, kid... Do you know what LOVE is?)
"...Love? It's a strong feeling of warm personal attachment or deep affection?"
Sans chuckled as his laughter echoed in the room. (*I see, I see... So there's still humor inside of you!)
"I'm serious, though..."
(*Heh... Then let me tell you what LOVE really is.)
(*But first... What's EXP? It's an acronym. It stands for "execution points." A way of quantifying the pain you have inflicted on others. When you kill someone, your EXP increases... When you have enough EXP, your LOVE increases.
(*LOVE, too, is an acronym. It stands for "Level of Violence." A way of measuring someone's capacity to hurt. The more you kill, the easier it becomes to distance yourself. The more you distance yourself, the less you will hurt. The more easily you can bring yourself to hurt others.)
I stared at Sans, then looks away. "Why... are you saying all this...? I don't have a soul, remember? Well... I do, but it's empty."
(*I was just explaining since it might be confusing for you...) Sans paused for a moment, his gaze fixed on me. (*When we were fighting... I measured your LVL, and it was at 14... which is quite a lot of execution points.)
"Is that so... Don't worry, it won't happen again..."
(*Hmmm, we never know about that...) Sans replied, his tone filled with uncertainty. He stood up from the chair. (*You remind me of that kid... Although everything ended, she was a good kid.) With those words, he left the room, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
The room fell silent, and I took a moment to reflect on Sans's words. The memory of the girl from the rooftop resurfaced in my mind, lingering like a gentle whisper. "Don't give up, okay?"
I wondered aloud, my thoughts drifting back to that encounter. "Who is she?"