Chara had been sitting in her room spacing out for several hours.
She stared at the points of light for a while and felt a bit bored.
She didn’t want to sleep, nor did she want to go find Isee to learn words.
Flowey was asleep in the flower pot again, his eyes closed.
How many times had he slept now?
Sleeping for over ten hours at a time??
Was the soil in the flower pots on the train really that good?
She crossed her legs, propped her hands on her knees, and swayed her body back and forth.
On the third sway, she felt something move in her chest.
This feeling…
something’s wrong!
She stopped moving and pressed her hand against her chest.
Then a small cluster of red light seeped out from her chest, slowly piercing through her pajamas and skin inch by inch, floating in front of her.
The Red Heart.
It glowed in the air, rotating slowly.
It was a bit brighter than last time, and the color was more vibrant.
The halo at the edges blurred and expanded, leaving a faint red shadow in the air.
Last time she pressed it back in, she thought it was the right thing to do.
But now it came out on its own…
But the red heart didn’t care about any of this.
It glided forward a short distance, floating toward the door.
Chara reached out to grab it.
Her fingers touched the edge of the red heart, but it slipped away, continuing to float toward the door.
“Hey!!!”
She jumped out of bed, her bare feet hitting the floor as she chased after it.
The red heart wasn’t floating very fast, but it was always just a tiny bit faster than her reaching hand.
It slipped through the door crack into the corridor, then turned a corner and drifted deeper into the train.
She followed behind, running through carriage after carriage.
Some people saw her run past, and then saw the red glowing heart in front of her.
Their expressions changed from confusion to surprise.
“What is that?”
“What’s going on?
Why is a heart floating around?”
“Is that the new kid?”
The red heart traveled through the corridor, passing over the heads of a few people chatting, and went around a half-open door, continuing to float into a carriage with even more people.
The Parlor Car.
Dolly was sitting by the window reading a book.
Akivili was standing at the other end looking at a star map.
A dozen or so other people were scattered around chatting.
When the red heart floated in, the first to see it was Dolly.
She looked up, her gaze leaving the book.
She saw a red heart suspended in the air, floating right toward her.
She rubbed her eyes, confirming she wasn’t seeing things???
“Wait…”
It changed direction and floated toward Akivili.
Akivili sensed the movement behind him and turned around.
The moment he saw the red heart, his expression was a bit dazed, but his movements were fast.
He opened his palm and blocked the red heart’s path.
The red heart bumped directly into his palm.
It bounced, retreated half a meter, and then floated toward another direction.
But Dolly had already flanked from the other side.
She reached out and, taking advantage of the moment the red heart turned, cupped her hands together, trapping the red heart in her palms.
Caught in a pincer movement.
The red heart struggled in her palms for a moment, but couldn’t get out.
Its light flickered slightly in Dolly’s hands, still trying to find a way out.
Chara only then ran into the carriage, panting.
She stopped at the door, hands on her knees, looking at the red heart in Dolly’s hands.
“That…
that…
is mine.”
Dolly looked down at the red heart in her palm, then looked up at Chara.
“Yours?”
“Yeah.”
Dolly didn’t ask any more questions.
She walked over and handed the red heart back to Chara.
She opened her hands, and the red heart floated above her palm, very close to Chara’s hand.
Chara reached out to take it.
She grasped the red heart, preparing to press it back into her chest.
The red heart slipped out of Chara’s palm, floating into midair, about an arm’s length away from her chest.
It stopped there and didn’t float forward anymore.
Chara took a step forward.
The red heart took a step back.
She took another step forward.
The red heart took another step back.
“Come back.”
Chara reached out and grabbed it, pressing it toward her chest.
The moment the red heart touched her chest, it was as if it was repelled by something.
It slipped out from under her hand and floated back into midair.
She pressed it again.
It slipped away again.
Every time, the result was the same.
Whenever the red heart touched her chest, it would slip away, as if its surface were coated in oil.
No amount of force could hold it.
Chara stopped and looked at the red heart.
It didn’t seem to have any malice, nor did it want to run far away.
It just didn’t want to go back inside her body.
Everyone in the carriage was watching this scene.
No one spoke, but dozens of pairs of eyes were fixed on the red heart.
Flowey didn’t know when he came out of the room.
His vines were wrapped around Chara’s arm, and his flower head poked out from behind her shoulder, saying to the crowd, “This is her SOUL!
Please don’t be shocked.”
“Huh??”
“That red heart…
is this kid’s SOUL?”
“Oh my god, it’s my first time seeing this.
Could this be a specialty of her planet??”
“It doesn’t want to go back.”
“Maybe it just…
wants to come out for some fresh air.
You kept it locked up too tight before.”
Dolly walked over and squatted next to Chara.
“Need some help?”
Chara shook her head.
“No need.”
She reached out and spread her palm, placing it below the red heart.
The red heart jumped once, then slowly fell down, stopping in her palm.
She looked down at the red heart in her palm, then lifted it and brought it close to her chest.
It just rested against the outside of her skin, separated by a thin layer of pajamas, as if hesitating whether to go home?
“Let’s leave it like this for now.
If it wants to stay outside, let it stay outside.”
She lowered her hand.
The red heart followed beside her palm, floating a few centimeters away from her.
She took a step forward, and the red heart followed, floating forward a step.
Chara walked two steps and stopped again, turning her head to look at the red heart.
The red light reflected on her face, dyeing her brown eyes dark red.
“Don’t run around randomly anymore.
Just follow me.”
The red heart jumped once, as if it understood.
Chara walked out of the Parlor Car.
The red heart followed beside her right hand, floating a few centimeters away from her, like a small red lantern following her.
Flowey poked his head out from her shoulder and took a look at the red heart.
“It’s actually quite obedient.”
Chara hummed in agreement and continued walking forward.
The red heart followed beside her, emitting a faint light that illuminated the corridor she walked through.
When passing some people, they would take an extra look or two.
She walked back to her room, climbed onto the bed, pulled the blanket over to cover herself, and lay on her side, looking at the red heart.
She reached out and gently touched the edge of the red heart with her finger.
It trembled slightly, as if responding to her.
She pulled her finger back, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.
“Oh right, Chara, don’t forget tomorrow’s studying.”
“Oh!”
● I don’t know what else to say, just being filled with DETERMINATION is good enough.