It was rather eerie to be in a place where there was no wind yet the noise of one's steps echoed.

It was to be expected there'd be breeze in a forest, one would consider the sway of leaves and wind to be part of the background music of such a place, but Snowdin Forest had no such features. Syphus hunched over a bit more, trying to warm himself up, but it didn't work very well.

He had exited the ruins around ten minutes before, starting the trek towards Snowdin Town ahead. The forest path seemed easy, despite some parts of it being covered in ice. Since Syphus discovered the brooch he had lost most of his fear to show himself to other monsters, trusting the illusion to keep him safe, but there was something about that that bothered him. Having to walk through the silent forest made him realize there was something off about the brooch, and although he had tried to keep himself focused in the bigger task of getting to Snowdin Town in one piece, his mind kept wandering back to the brooch topic.

If I understood right, this brooch is my entrance to other people's SOULs...forming places, Shadows and everything else when I activate it. So what's wrong now? Why doesn't that happen when I put it on? Syphus looked around, as if he expected the forest to be part of his own SOUL. Nothing seemed to be wrong around, and unless his SOUL also included monsters and unfamiliar landscapes, this was all the real Underground. Did Lucia make it that way, or is my SOUL different, or...why?

Syphus clutched his head with one hand, still looking around "Why do I look like a monster when I have it on?" he mumbled, looking at the scarce feathers peeking through the cuff of his sleeve "There must be an explanation for it, but..." feeling defeated, Syphus sighed. He was stuck, so maybe it was for the better to stop thinking about it for now.

After a while more of traversing over the cliffs and staring into the distance of the cave, Syphus started to pay more attention to his surroundings. There were almost no civilians around, which was to be expected from the area – who went to hang out in a remote snowy forest, really? – but the Royal Guard presence was much stronger than he thought it'd be. Syphus had barely left behind a sentry station when he saw another in the distance, and such quirk repeated over and over throughout the way.

Almost all the stations had guards in them, and from time to time patrollers walked by. Much to Syphus' surprise, the dogs that were said to form most of the Snowdin group were just a small part of the guards he had seen so far. All the dogs had turned their heads towards Syphus when he strolled by, sniffing in his direction with whines of confusion. It seemed that the illusion looked convincing enough to make the dogs stay away, but they were suspicious enough to keep their eyes on him.

Not that the guards who weren't dogs just let him pass by, though. All of them looking at Syphus with attention while he walked by, and it took Syphus some self-control not to stare back. You have nothing to fear, me, you'll be okay. Syphus clutched his field jacket tighter. Everyone thinks I'm a monster. I'm just...

In an attempt to distract himself and not to look suspicious, Syphus stared around himself with more attention than before, as if the trees and the snow suddenly held the answers to the universe. He looked rather unnatural and suspicious, which only attracted more attention, the more he tried to act inconspicuous the more the guards stared at him.

After a particularly intense staring at the way the snow piled around the trees, Syphus suddenly heard a voice right behind him.

"nothing's gonna come out of the trees, bud"

Syphus gasped loudly, turning around immediately. He had heard no steps approaching, and the last thing he had expected was to hear a voice right behind him. "Y-You...!" Syphus stammered, taken by surprise, but in hindsight he should have supposed he'd encounter this monster sooner or later.

"sup. are you new around here?" Sans asked, sticking his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. His stance and voice seemed to imply he didn't really care that much, but there was a tinge of idle curiosity underneath all that, one Syphus had a lot of reasons to be worried about.

It was no secret Sans was rather perceptive. If there was someone in the Underground who would be able to delve into the matter and find out Syphus was under the command of someone in a higher tier of existence, it was Sans. Being careful was priority when dealing with him. "Uh...yes! Actually, I have never been here before!" Syphus said. It was technically the truth, so it should be okay.

Sans's grin seemed to grow very slightly, he closed his eye sockets. "that expression of yours...it's the expression of someone who knows they're out of place" Syphus' feathers ruffled involuntarily, that was rather accurate. Sans shrugged, opening his eyes "you must come from warmer places. whoops, i haven't introduced myself. the name is sans" he extended his hand.

Syphus didn't even try to grab it, looking at the skeletal hand and at Sans' face alternatively. After a moment it was clear there'd be no handshake, so Sans sighed. "guess you're not the type to fall for a trick like this" he said, tearing away the whoopee cushion off his hand.

The truth was that Syphus hadn't even noticed that. It was just that he felt way too nervous and way too paranoid to accept the handshake, and even if he hadn't feared Sans finding out anything, he felt rather reluctant to let himself get touched by anyone right now. "Oh, n-no! It's just that I...I didn't see it coming, it, uh, it caught me by surprise" What the heck?! That's the worst excuse I could have—oh, forget it.

Sans winked, looking at Syphus with his right eye. "next time i'll give you a heads up so you don't freeze in place" somewhere in Snowdin a rimshot echoed, but Syphus didn't laugh. Not only the joke was rather bad, even for Sans, he also felt too tense to take it with levity. The most he could do was grin awkwardly "you look like i just stepped on your toes. guess puns aren't your thing either" Sans chuckled to himself.

"I do have a sense of humor! It's just that I'm not in mood for laughs" Syphus said, and inwardly kicked himself. Get over it already! Act natural!

The skeleton didn't seem entirely convinced, and, deciding he had bothered enough the strange monster that was strolling by, he shrugged again. "if you say so. i'll get going. someone i know is bound to arrive soon" he turned his head in direction of the Ruins in the distance "or maybe not. things have been weird for a while"

"...what do you mean?"

"i don't know. it's the little details. people act differently...the machine's report looks more anomalous than usual...someone who didn't seem to exist in any other timeline suddenly appears out of the blue..." Sans' eyes didn't dim, but underneath the lackadaisical tone there was something that sounded much more serious, a clear warning: 'Try not to cause trouble'. Syphus gulped. "relax, bud, i'm not naming names"

How does one reply to that? Hurrying to deny anything would just make him look more suspicious, and saying 'really?' or any other noncommittal answer didn't sound convincing. Syphus didn't even have time to think it further, Sans turned around, waving without looking back. "have fun" he said, walking away and leaving Syphus rather alarmed. It had been a short conversation, but it had been enough to leave Syphus rattled, even more when in a blink Sans, who had walked away some distance, simply vanished. Syphus blinked a few times before turning around and restarting the trek towards Snowdin. Slowly, he stepped forward once, twice, three times before speeding up, running away as fast as he could on the slippery floor.

-ooooo-

It was nice to see that Snowdin didn't have any guards patrolling around or sentries looking at him with suspicion. It didn't look any different than how it did in all the other timelines. Maybe despite all the changes so far, Snowdin had been largely unaffected?

That'd be nice, especially since Syphus realized something once he stepped into the town: the journey to Snowdin had been easy...actually, too easy. Other than Sans, there had been no interruptions, and that was a tad worrying. Where were all the puzzles that were supposed to be found along the way?

Syphus walked into Snowdin, looking around with curiosity. It seemed like a rather friendly town! And the few monsters who were outside didn't pay attention to Syphus, maybe because he had relaxed and wasn't acting so suspiciously anymore. Syphus strolled around, trying to find any differences from what he knew about the town, but there was simply nothing strange or unusual.

Since the quick stroll through Snowdin revealed nothing useful, Syphus decided to walk to the point where the River Person would be with their boat, or at least that was supposed to be the plan. The River Person wasn't there. Damn it. How much time did he have left, again? He didn't even know. It was possible he wouldn't have time to stroll all the way to New Home. Waiting for the boat could be his best bet for now.

Not wanting to sit on the cold snow for a long while, Syphus backtracked. May as well try to find some basic information, get something to eat...with that in mind he entered the only shop he found. The shopkeeper – a purple bunny monster - attended him immediately, although there didn't seem to be any food available for the moment.

"Whatever. How's life going?" if there was someone who would be able to tell him stuff, it'd be a shopkeeper, he guessed.

The bunny leaned on the counter, sighing tiredly. "Life goes as usual: we're all trapped down here and there's no way to fix that. I'm already resigned to know I'll live my whole life without ever going to the Surface"

Syphus looked away. "You don't have to be so negative! Think positive, who knows what'll happen in a few years" It was a bit stupid to say that, but since the end goal was to break the Barrier Syphus felt it was appropriate to be encouraging.

The shopkeeper didn't take kindly to that, though. She frowned and lowered her voice. "Are you listening to yourself? The Barrier won't shatter for no reason. We'd need seven human SOULs, and we're nowhere near to having seven SOULs" Good! Syphus didn't need to push too much to get to what he wanted to talk about.

"How many do we have, again?" he asked, earning a look from the shopkeeper that clearly said 'are you kidding me?' Syphus hurried to clarify: "I, uh, I don't get out much"

After a moment of silence where the shopkeeper seemed unsure of what to say yet clearly didn't believe the excuse, she shook her head. "Zero SOULs. Even if a human fell down soon, we'd need six more, and I don't think I'll live that long" So no humans had fallen down? The shopkeeper continued, sitting down "A long time ago a human fell down here. It all was okay for a couple years, but then they died, and...and so did our prince" she said. Syphus had gone inexpressive, simply listening grimly. Since her interlocutor didn't seem willing to say anything, she kept going "It's a long story. My point is that one would think that since one human fell down here, many others would fall too, right?

But it hasn't happened! It has been 150 years and no other human has fallen here. King Asgore doesn't give up, though. Since he declared war he has expanded the Royal Guard, there's no way a human will go unnoticed when one finally falls down here"

"Don't you feel bad for the human who will be killed?"

The shopkeeper grimaced. "Do you want me to be completely honest?" Syphus nodded, so she sighed "I do. I'd rather this to be solved some other way, but Asgore isn't going to give up. Not even the Queen leaving the castle made him change his mind"

"She didn't abdicate?"

"Why would she? It's true she has been living in the Ruins, but she's still our Queen. The amount of people who go to the Ruins to seek her help would leave you astonished" the shopkeeper returned to the original topic "Even if I don't like the war, he's going to fight the humans and get their SOULs.

Besides...it's for the better, right? It's for a good cause..." she didn't look convinced at all. To Syphus it sounded more like she was telling that to herself as a way to excuse the death those humans would suffer, but didn't work very well.

"There must be some other way to break the Barrier..."

"I don't know. The Royal Scientist is supposedly working on that, but most people haven't heard about her in a while. I hope she's working hard" the shopkeeper smiled bitterly "Not that it matters right now. Without humans, this war doesn't make any sense"

-ooooo-

When Syphus returned to the river, the River Person was already there. Syphus got on the boat, grabbing the wood of the seat as if his life depended on it. "Tra la la...have you never been on a boat before?"

"N-N-No-Not by myself..." Syphus smiled weakly, looking more as if he was about to pass out.

As soon as Syphus was seated, the boat rose and started to run on the surface of the water, making it shake wildly, making Syphus grasp the edges of the boat to the point the wood started to creak underneath his fingers. Thankfully, the ride to Hotland went without a hitch, although when Syphus got off the boat he immediately threw himself on the ground, taking a moment to compose himself before going any further. Why couldn't it be a simple and normal boat?!

Once Syphus was sure his legs had stopped shaking and he wasn't going to break down in panic at the slightest rumbling of the ground, he stood up and started his way towards New Home. It was a rather short trek, and along the way Syphus was able to see there were no notorious changes, other than the presence of several guards more than there should have been. The laboratory was still there, towering over everything and completely closed. So not many have seen the Royal Scientist in a while...so far, that's normal. What could Alphys be doing to break the Barrier if there were no human SOULs? For a moment he considered knocking and trying to find out, but instead he continued his original objective. Besides, it wasn't guaranteed Alphys was the Royal Scientist.

Not too far from there was another building, the place from where Syphus intended to arrive to New Home: the MTT Resort. It looked as lavish and outrageously flashy as usual. Mettaton still exists? Well, I guess things haven't changed that much. Syphus thought while he entered. The first thing he noticed was the large fountain in middle of the lobby, featuring a large stone block that resembled Mettaton's rectangular form. It wasn't broken and spilling water onto the floor like he thought it'd be, though. It was breathtaking, perfectly placed and gushing water high into the air. Flashy, bombastic, and completely unnecessary: there was no doubt, Mettaton had a hand on that. "Wow..."

"Impressive, isn't it?"

While Syphus had been staring at the fountain, an angular monster had approached him. "Welcome to MTT Resort! We pride ourselves of this fountain!" Without waiting for Syphus to reply, he turned towards it "The Royal Guards came and helped to put it in place. We needed ten of them to make sure it wouldn't crash and fall!"

"Really?" Syphus blinked, a bit surprised.

"Really! Queen Toriel supervised the job. She has the Royal Guard under her orders, I'd say!"

"Yeah, someone like her would—wait what?" Now that was something he hadn't expected "I thought King Asgore was the one in charge! Other than the captain, of course, but I thought..."

The angular receptionist chuckled, amused "Undyne may be the captain, but it's called the Royal Guard for a reason. You know what I think?" he leaned closer, making Syphus step away to avoid the sharp angles the monster had "I think the Royal Guard is rather divided. Everyone is loyal to both Queen Toriel and King Asgore, but some prefer one more than the other..."

"Why's that?"

"King Asgore declared war on humanity and Queen Toriel didn't like that. Some agree with the queen; others think getting the human SOULs is a necessary evil...it's complicated"

So that was why Toriel was still the Queen despite living in the Ruins? To keep some influence on the Royal Guard? The angular receptionist, not noticing Syphus had gone silent, said something else:

"The queen didn't leave the castle when Asgore made the war declaration" he said. That got Syphus to pay more attention "I heard she left a couple decades after the declaration...do you think they fought?"

"Uuuuh..."

"It's a shame, they were such a lovey-dovey couple...I heard they used to be the champions at..." while the receptionist rambled about a nose-nuzzling contest and how the king and queen used to win those all the time, Syphus stepped away towards the elevator, leaving the receptionist talking alone. That didn't make sense at all, if Toriel had left because of the declaration then she would have left immediately. What happened, then?

The ride in the elevator went fine, leaving Syphus near the entrance of the New Home castle. The large doors were wide open, letting any passerby to come in. Syphus entered the castle, finding the humongous halls and rooms devoid of any people. The castle wasn't that large, but it'd take a while to find the way towards the throne room and the Barrier...besides, there was always a chance of encountering Asgore, and to be frank, Syphus wanted to avoid him.

Walking through the empty hallways was both calming and daunting. During the walk Syphus took a few deep breaths and thought about everything he had found out since Snowdin. So far, it seemed that finding out exactly what happened between Toriel and Asgore was necessary to know what exactly he was dealing with in this strange timeline, but barring a direct questioning to any of them, it was unlikely he'd find out a precise answer.

After a while, Syphus found a rather notable golden hallway. Somehow, light poured through the large stained glass windows, illuminating it brightly. Syphus had the curious sensation he was being watched, although there was no one nearby. Awestruck, the man traversed the hallway to the end, reaching the throne room. Here we go...if Asgore is inside, I'll come back later he promised himself before grabbing onto the stone doorway and peering inside with caution.

There was no one inside the throne room.

There were two thrones placed in the center of the room, surrounded by lots and lots of golden flowers. Vines and plans covered the walls, growing lush and giving the throne room a very calming atmosphere. It all looked like it was all taken care with a lot of love, just like expected from Asgore. Seeing the coast was clear, Syphus stepped in, being careful not to step on the flowers too much. Behind the thrones there was a stone arch, leading into a dark passageway Syphus knew very well where it led.

It didn't take long to reach the Barrier. Right at the end of the cavern, at the way out of the Underground, there was a wall. It looked like a bubble had been crammed into the mouth of the cave, but unlike a bubble, the Barrier felt solid and unyielding. Syphus slowly touched it, moving his hand from side to side. There was no mistake, shattering that thing was going to be a lot of work. It all looked as resistant and strong as it must have been the day it was made, whatever magic formed it showed no signs of weakening.

The enormity of the task once again threatened to overwhelm Syphus. Fighting to keep away such thoughts, Syphus returned to what he had come here for. He slowly walked back for a bit, looking at the stone floor for any marks or anything that could indicate there was something underneath the rocky ground. There was absolutely nothing. Despite it all being made of rocks, the ground felt smooth. Syphus got on all four, passing his hands all over the floor as if he expected to find anything, but there simply wasn't anything to be found! Hitting the ground with his fist didn't do anything other than hurting himself, too. Damn it, there must be a way to take a look... It wasn't even certain he was looking at the right point. There was just too much space in the tunnel to be able to find it.

Starting to grow frustrated, Syphus took out the flimsy halberd out of his jacket and extended it, prodding the ground with the dull spike, achieving absolutely nothing useful. The rocks didn't even chip away; it was useless to continue. "I can't. I won't achieve anything being here" Syphus muttered, collapsing the halberd and putting it away. "Now what?" While it was true he had reached the Barrier, the goal had ended being less productive than he thought it'd be. Shaking his head, Syphus leaned against the wall, staring at the Barrier.

"There's something I must be misunderstanding. There are no SOULs...supposedly, I haven't seen the empty containers by myself, but if there are no SOULs then it means no humans have fallen down here.

...no, that's wrong. It just means no humans have been killed. It doesn't mean no one has fallen down here" Syphus narrowed his eyes "If the humans have fallen down, then what happened to those humans?" It was no proof of anything, but the purpose of this game and timeline was to finally achieve an ending where everyone would be alive, as impossible as that sounded. That should mean all the humans were alive.

It took him a while, but maybe...maybe he already had a valuable hint and he hadn't realized it? "It took Toriel twenty years to decide to go to the Ruins. What if the reason she left the castle but didn't stop being a queen was related to a human falling into the Underground?

Could it be...Toriel knows about the six humans? Has she been protecting them?" Syphus closed his eyes, rubbing his temples. There was no way Toriel was going to answer with honesty if he went ahead and asked that. Then the best possible plan would be to find the answers himself, wouldn't it? There had to be something, anything that could indicate if there were humans hiding somewhere in the Underground, whether it was under Toriel's protection or not.

What didn't mesh well with such thought was the unused empty children's bedroom back in the Ruins, though. If human children had been taken in by Toriel then why were there absolutely no signs of them in that room?

If Toriel is hiding humans, then it's likely they're in the Ruins. Better get going, I guess. It was going to get tiring to go from side to side of the Underground all the time. After making a SAVE point, just in case, Syphus left the Barrier, hoping the River Person still was in Hotland.