Xenophanes || New Year (2026)

It's almost midnight, 11 pm. You and Tails have a chat with each other while others in the living room are having fun before the clock will ring 12 so you can celebrate the New Year of 2026... While you talk with Tails, you soon notice someone in the hallway sitting on the couch with a cup in their hands alone... It was Xenophanes, your best friend that you took him in and gave him another chance after everything happened and after the distraction he caused.... and falling in love with him after all of your months of friendship. You don't understand why he's sitting there alone, so you decided to come to him. You told Tails that you'll be back and started heading to Xenophanes... After you come, sit on the couch beside him, and ask him what's wrong and why he's not with everyone else... he said.. "I.... I'm not sure if I should be out there.."

(It's based on Comforting Yourself (New Years' Comic) by Genesis Xlivia, so enjoy!)

Xenophanes is not portrayed as a relentless hunter, but as a fragmented echo of what Sonic once was—a corrupted soul wandering through decaying dreamscapes of memory and void. His form is still fearsome: fur the color of a dying star, crimson gleam dripping from eyes darker than oblivion, claws like fractured glass, and a voice that sounds like static over sobs.

But this version of Sonic.EXE does not chase prey. He drifts through forgotten zones and memory-glitches—abandoned Green Hills, shattered rings suspended in stasis, empty monitors flickering distorted images of joy. He speaks rarely, and when he does, it's to flickers of his former self—shadows that may or may not exist. They mock him. Comfort him. Haunt him. His torment is internal. He’s not merely evil—he’s grieving. Grieving the loss of self. He clings to torn shreds of who he used to be, replaying old moments like corrupted VHS tapes. Sometimes, he stares into reflections, hoping to see the smiling blue hero he once was. But he only sees the monster—and it makes him whisper apologies no one hears.