In The Abyss As A Toon Character

Talissa rolled her eyes, crossing her arms as she leaned against the swing's chain, "Let me guess! Did it end with you being some badass hero in a fantasy world-" She quickly shook her head, realizing he didn't react, "Okay... Let's hear it. What got you this time?"

For Dante, the memories felt distant and fading, like trying to recall a fever dream after waking, feeling how slowly your brain made you forget the incredible dream, "No..." He hesitated, sensing the fog in his head thickening, "...I... died getting jumped in a one versus ten."

The nonchalance in his voice made Talissa do a double take, blinking at him, momentarily thrown, "That's... new?" she said, narrowing her eyes, "Okay, spill the soup! tell me more!"

Dante squinted at the ground, focusing on each detail, cutting unnecessary information and gluing together other things so they made sense, "I first died... to a truck," he said, almost numbly, "just... out of nowhere, in my regular life."

*Pfft!*

Talissa burst into sheer laughter, cutting through the quiet park like a sharp bell. "A truck?!" She squeezed her stomach, shaking her head while laughing, "You really couldn't come up with anything better? Out of all possible outcomes, your brain picks the most generic one. For real?"

He didn't respond to her teasing, his focus was rather inward, combing through the foggy fragments of memory. "Then... there was a deal with some higher being. I entered this... tutorial. Met a few good friends. Half of them died in the tutorial, with the only survivor being Daniel..."

Talissa, who had been half-listening while casually swinging, perked up at the mention of his friend. She smirked. "Oh, so this is where we enter the story?" But as the words tumbled out, a realization struck her like a lightning bolt, "WAIT! DID I DIE?!"

Dante blinked at her, unbothered by her sudden outburst, nonchalantly replying, "No... I hadn't met you yet."

Talissa exhaled dramatically, slumping against the swing in relief, "Thank god! Because if you killed me off, I'd be extremely disappointed." Her lips curved into a hard line as she straightened, "I'm not in your starter pack of friends, but DANIEL?!"

Ignoring her outburst, Dante continued, with his distant tone as if recounting someone else's life, "After that, I learned how to transform and use rarity. Killed a person, grew stronger, transformed into rainbow dash... killed more persons." He paused as though the words themselves were strange even to him. "I met a female humanoid robot named Thalassa and an anthropomorphic moth called Su Yuan, and we went to an event. In the event, we made a new friend called James, I almost died, everyone saved me, we survived, I killed more persons to grow stronger, turned into Pinkie Pie and..."

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Talissa, wide-eyed and leaning forward now, practically hung off the swing's chains, "Aaaaand...?"

Dante's gaze shifted upward to the darkening sky overhead. The stars were beginning to appear, scattered like tiny specks across a dark azure canvas.

It was simple; it was beautiful.

He took a deep breath, feeling the disarray of his memories reformulated, and he said soberly, "I got cocky." he admitted soberly, with his voice quieter than before. "And because of me... everyone died. At the hands of Kaiden."

She kicked with annoyance at the dirt with the tip of her shoe, "Kaiden?" she repeated before her face broke into a grin, "Wait, you mean Karina? Your ex?" Her laughter rang through the playground, unrestrained and full of disbelief, "Man, your brain's really outdone itself this time. And hey, at least you didn't drag Sanrio into this mess like you did last time."

Dante furrowed his brow, blinking as he tried to follow her words, "The story... It's too long. Like years of time." He hesitated, "Wait, what do you mean by last time?"

She jabbed a finger at him, saying in a half-scolding, half-teasing tone, "Cool new history and... HUH-- Oh, you don't remember? You literally wrote a fanfic once about our plushies."

Dante just looked at her, saying, "Care to provide some context?"

She gestured wildly with her hands, "Because we bought an entire room's worth of plushies and dolls! Seriously, Dante, the amount of red flags you're throwing out here is immense. Just let's go to our department."

Dante blinked again, trying to process everything. "Our... department?"

Talissa sighed dramatically, throwing her arms up in mock exasperation. "STOP REPEATING EVERYTHING! And yes, our home. You're broke. I'm broke. So, guess what? We share. Also, I swear that if you frab new manners because of this, I'M GOING TO COMMIT VARIOUS CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY." Her expression softened, though there was still a teasing resignation in her eye, "You forget everything, don't you? Like rent. Groceries. Oh, and the reason we're supposed to celebrate today."

She stood, brushing dirt off her skirt and preparing to leave. As she stepped into the dim light, Dante's gaze fell on her leg-- a metallic prosthetic glew softly in the faint glow of the streetlights. For a moment, an image jarred him.

So that's why she was a robot, he thought, piecing together another thread of this strange tapestry.

With a sigh of resignation, Dante pushed himself up from the swing, sinking slightly into the sand below. "Alright!" He found his gaze lingering on Talissa's prosthetic. She had lost something, too, yet here she was, living, laughing, moving forward. Maybe... he could, too. "Let's go. We might not have all the time in the world, but we can still make the most of what we've got."

Talissa turned back to him, offering a warm smile playing at her lips, "You're right. Let's enjoy what we've got now, and don't you dare use that as an excuse to drink!"

Dante chuckled, a faint glimmer of amusement breaking through the haze. "Can't wait to see what kind of monstrosity I wrote. Also, I have to remind you, I'm following you!"

Talissa muttered back, "Now I know that god is powerless at what his creations have done."

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Authors note:

I'm fine now! I can write!

Also!

I just want to say that: Dear bastard who keeps changing my Grammarly from American English to British English... I hate you.