Frisk sits in class, listening to the teacher speak as she folds some paper. Around her, other students are doing the same. A couple of kids are looking outside, and she looks out as well. The light outside illuminates the red walls and floors off in the distance.
"Now, those who have questions about the barrier, please ask now." Frisk looks up at the teacher. He's tall, with a short beard, and brown hair.
"Mr. Alen!" She looks at one of the boys in the class. "How come we can't just come back in? Shouldn't the barrier be able to tell the difference between humans and monsters? I don't get it!"
"Jack, I just explained this. There isn't a way with magic to distinguish monsters and humans aside from the strength of the soul, and there are a few rare monsters who have strong enough souls that they could still get in through the barrier if we set that as a parameter." He points to an image of a mountain, drawn onto the whiteboard. "There is only one point of entry or exit, but if a human ever leaves the barrier, they can't get back. All those years ago, humans were in a bad way because of the war with monsters, and we were left with no choice but to flee to Mount Ebott, where some of the strongest wizards of the past had discovered a large cave. They sealed the mountain away, so no one, human or monster, could enter inside of it. However, anyone can leave. Still, we keep our guard up. Magic isn't perfect, and should there ever be a power equal to those great magicians who sacrificed their souls for humanity, then the barrier could be broken, and we'd be at the mercy of the monsters."
"Who says monsters are even that scary?" Jack frowns. "I bet I could beat them up!"
"One or two, maybe." Mr. Alen shakes his head. "Monsters, individually, aren't hard to deal with. However, as a group they become a terrifying force. On top of that, monsters are able to take human souls, since ours last so long outside of our bodies. There's no equivalent for humans though. Only a select few monsters are powerful enough to have souls that last outside their bodies, even they only last a few seconds. Chances are, any human that leaves the Underground will be killed." Frisk looks down at her paper. "Well, if there aren't any other questions, then that's the end of class for today. Go ahead and pack up your things." She grabs her notebook and rogue papers, shoving them into a purple bag. As the students migrate out of the classroom, Frisk finds herself walking alone. Others walk out in pairs or larger groups, but she has no one at her side as she walks towards the city.
"You know, Lava Ledge is really boring. Maybe we should go check out the snow." Frisk glances at the students around her.
"Nah. I've been there. It's way too cold. I wish the magicians would just use magic to get rid of the snow, honestly." Frisk sighs and looks up, but all she sees is darkness. When she looks ahead she can see, beyond a bridge, is a beautiful city. She glances back, but the red cavern behind her makes her cringe.
"Too hot." She mumbles. "Why is class right between these two cities anyways? Why do we only have one school? There's so many of us kids, they should build another school. I wish I wasn't down here…" Suddenly she's shoved to the side, almost to the edge of a cliff. She glares up at the group of boys and girls that run past her, across the bridge.
"Come on! The magicians are supposed to be doing that ritual today!"
"Duh! Why else was school let out early?" She gets up and brushes off her shorts and sweater, then continues across the bridge, and into the city. She sees a castle off to her right, and many people are gathering around it. She continues on though, until she reaches a large, white building. She walks in, and the sound of children shouting and laughing hits her hard.
"Too noisy." She mumbles as she walks up some stairs and heads into a room on the left. Inside there's two pairs of bunkbeds. She tosses her bag on the bottom left bed, then sits next to it. She lies back on the bed and stairs up at the bottom of the bed above her. "I… wonder what it looks like up close. It's so hard to get to the front of the crowd."
"Frisk!" She sits up and looks at the group of three girls that are walking into the room. "Oh my, I didn't realize you were here. You know, everyone is heading to the barrier." The lead girl says. Her hair is brown and tied back in a short ponytail, and she looks like the oldest one, older than Frisk at least. Behind her are two other girls, one with long black hair and the other with short brown hair. Both girls are Frisk's age.
"Well, I don't see why I should bring my backpack to a ritual." Frisk quietly says as the girls walk to the dressers in the room and open the drawers. "Why are you three here?"
"Well, we have to make sure we're presentable when we watch the magicians strengthen the barrier. After all, if a magician notices us then we could finally get out of this dump."
"Notice you?" Frisk raises an eyebrow. "The magicians that do the ritual are all older men. The only noticing you should hope they do is like a father looking at a daughter… Or a great, great granddaughter." She smirks, but a quick glare from the older girl stops that.
"Listen, Frisk, don't go getting a big head since we've been nice to you. You're still just some useless idiot. You don't even show magic potential."
"Like magic is all there is to life." Frisk stands and walks out of the room. "You all can have your stupid magic. I don't really care about it." She walks back to the stairs, and slowly makes her way down them. She continues out the door, and then walks towards the castle. The closer she gets, the thicker the crowd gets. Finally, Frisk is fighting to get past people. She ducks down and weaves between the legs of the people, though this becomes exponentially difficult. Still, she pushes forward, forcing her way through the excited crowd. All around her is cheerful chatter. Finally, she almost falls into a break in the crowd. When she looks up, she sees a door. The castle door. "I… I guess I just… wait."
Hours pass, and many of the people have decided to sit on the ground, including Frisk. Her eyes are shut as listens to the noise of the crowd.
"This is so exciting!"
"The magicians are so cool!"
"They're heroes! They protect us! They're more than cool!" She grits her teeth as she listens.
"Why… Why are they so special?" She mumbles as she opens her eyes and looks at the large white doors in front of her. "Stupid… S-stupid magic. Wh-why aren't people without magic treated so great? It's ridiculous." The doors begin to move, and instantly the people get to their feet. Frisk stands and looks at the men standing in the doorway. They all look older, several have beards, though some are clean shaven. All are dressed the same though. Their outfits are, but with black capes.
"Welcome, all of you. This year, once again, we shall combine our power to refresh our source of safety and comfort, the Great Barrier. Now, follow us." The men turn and walk into the castle. The crowd follows, but Frisk struggles to keep her spot at the front. Constantly, people are trying to push past her or pull her back. Still, she stays determined, and remains at the front. As they walk the castle halls, the magicians speak, taking turns as they go.
"Long ago, humans and monsters shared the earth. However, monsters became destructive, and stole the lives of humans for the power it would grant them."
"Human souls, the source of our strength, the culmination of our entire being, are able to continue on for a time, even after death. Monsters though, their souls do not continue. In fact, their bodies turn to dust once they pass on."
"Monsters took advantage of this, and began to attack humans. During the fight, we found we were losing to their numbers, and to those who had stolen our souls."
"So, humans fled to a secret cave, discovered and magically altered by the great wizards of old. Here, the wizards took a final stand, and here they traded their souls for the creation of a great barrier, one that would protect the humans they managed to save, for generations to come." Frisk looks around at the pristine building. The windows shine brightly, and the paintings are skillful and detailed. There is no sign of dirt or wear.
"For a time, humans thought themselves safe. Then, one night, a creature who had stolen the soul of a human child came through the barrier. The creature taunted the people who had found it, holding the body of the innocent youth it had slain. The humans who saw this managed to drive the creature back out, but something had to be done about this." They walk past the throne room, and back further still, until they come to a room that is gently glowing white.
"So, each year, we revisit this barrier point to offer our strength and our magic." The magicians turn around and face the crowd. They then speak in unison.
"Join us in protecting all human kind!" The crowd cheers, but Frisk scrunches her nose.
"So far, just a bunch of talking." Frisk mumbles.
"Now, please, do not cross this barrier." One of the magicians says. "Those who leave here will never return. The other side of this barrier is a hell, where monsters roam free, searching for humans to slaughter. Take care, and stand back."
"Frisk, you got to the front?" Frisk cringes as she looks to her right. The girls from her room push their way towards her. "You must be so happy to actually see magic, since, you know, you can't make any."
"Seriously? You really need to bring that up?" Frisk quietly snaps.
"Look, Frisk, it's not my fault you're useless." The girl shakes her head. "You know, you'd probably be more useful as monster food." She says with a smirk. Frisk grits her teeth, and she feels the start of tears. She blinks them back though.
"Yeah, Frisk, you really would be better off out there." One of the other girls adds. "You're probably a tasty snack. I mean, if you're nothing else, then you have to be that at least." The magicians turn to the barrier and hold their hands up.
"S-stop it. Seriously, you three…"
"You know, she probably doesn't even make for a good snack. She's so small, and she looks so unappealing with her ugly stripes." Frisk looks forward as her hands ball into fists. "Too bad she won't just run through the barrier. We'd all be better off without her." A few tears break through and slide down Frisk's cheeks.
"Definitely would be better if she just left."
"It'd be great if she'd go die out there." The girls giggle as they agree with each other. Frisk glances around, but no one seems to hear, or at least acknowledge, the cruel words the girls are speaking. She then looks at the barrier. The magicians begin to float as their bodies are surrounded by auras of different colors. Her tears stop as she continues to look at the barrier. The magicians continue their ritual, quietly speaking a language she doesn't understand. Then, Frisk takes a step forward. Then another.
"Frisk, what a…" The lead girl starts to speak, but Frisk starts to run. "Frisk!"
"That child!"
"Someone catch her!"
"Stop her!" The magicians hear the noise and look to see Frisk, just before she runs past them.
"Child! Wait! If you continue you'll be trapped outsi…" The words of the magician disappear as Frisk runs through the white wall, her arms covering her face, eyes shut tight. She feels a pressure surround her, but then it simply disappears. She opens her eyes and drops her arms, but all too late she sees the cliff edge in front of her. She tries to stop, but it simply leads to a painful drop, as her legs and arms scrape against the edge. She turns and tries to grab onto something, but she's unable to.
"N-no! No! I… I don't…" She looks down at the trees below her, tears once again flowing from her eyes. "I… I don't want to die!" She screams. "I changed my mind! Someone! Save me! I don't wanna die!" She cries out, but all that happens is she feels a paralyzing pain in her back and her head, before everything goes black.
Frisk opens her eyes. Her arms are in front of her face, but she's simply standing on the cliff, looking out at a bright blue sky. She looks behind herself, and sees only a white wall. She tries to touch it, but it shocks her. She looks back out at the cliff edge. "I just… I just r-ran over that, d-didn't I? I… I died… D-didn't I? What… What's going on?"