Okay! More Author's Notes! This is just more of a warning or something, really. Not like anything bad or triggering is going to happen (I think). I'm just here to say that this chapter is technically two chapters merged together as one. Think of it as a Parts 1 & 2 situation. The first half of this chapter will be about Ryu's life before he got Isekai'd. The second half will be about the TRUTH about Ryu's life before he got Isekai'd, and the consequences of what comes with the truth. Spoiler alert, Ryu's going to be spiritually broken by the end of this.

"My journey started a year or so ago when I was 14 years old." Ryu began, as the smoke-like screen of Hate began to project his memories. "My father had died of a mysterious illness, and my brother had mysteriously disappeared. I was alone, and since I was too young to take the throne, as well as my Aunt and cousin being on a mission they couldn't leave… I was left in the hands of the advisors and councilmen of my kingdom."

A scared, young Ryu looked up at the councilmen before him, who all had large grins on their faces. He then turned around and fled, not wanting to be around these greedy businessmen any longer.

"Being all alone in the world, I didn't see a point in living. So, I did the first thing that came to mind. I had to cross the Forbidden Gap and go to the forbidden mountain of death. Mount Ebott."

The young Ryu defiantly looked down the hole of the Cursed Mountain, his clothing partially wet and dirty due to the waters he had to cross to get here. He was hungry, dirty, and his mouth was dry from a lack of hydration. He felt like death… and that's what he was looking for here.

"I was hoping to die. Be reunited with my family. Down in this Mountain, lived a race of beings called Monsters by humanity. Every human that had fallen down into the mountain had never returned, and because of that, years prior; my father had split the land the Mountain was on from the rest of the Lost Isles."

A vision of a tall man with messy black hair and bright green eyes appeared, as he stood on the highest point of his castle and raised his hand, forming a thunderstorm above the entirety of the Lost Isles. Lightning then struck his hand, as the King of the Lost Isles, Shinra Shock; threw the lightning at the Land of Ebott and split it from the rest of the landmass. Whatever the lightning bolt hit, was disintegrated instantaneously, leaving nothing unscathed.

"So, I jumped. But what I didn't expect, was for Fate to step in and tamper with my plans. I lived through the initial fall… and eventually met my first ally on my journey, someone who gave me a goal to strive for."

"This isn't supposed to happen... Hey, you alright? Come on, get up!"

"Her name… was Frisk."

RE: DETERMINED

Act 3, Chapter 02 - Loss (損失)

"So… you're telling me that if I help you out, we can save all of Monsterkind." Ryu incredulously asked the girl before him, who nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah! I've done it before-" Ryu was about to speak up, but a quick glare from the girl with the eternally shut-eyes stopped him from saying anything. "But the thing is, I was never satisfied. There were people still hurt down here, people who deserved better. I'm hoping that you can help me save them!" Frisk replied, her legs dangling from her bedside. Ryu sighed from the carpeted floor he was lying on, before nodding.

"I'd say you're completely and utterly insane, but whatever. I've got better things to do than worry about the ramifications of what you're saying." He looked at Frisk, who was looking at him as if waiting for him to say something. "...How do I help?" He asked, as the younger girl then grew visibly excited by his approval.

Their first obstacle was the kind motherly Toriel, who refused to let them leave for fear that they would be killed. Ryu took this into his own hands and let the flames from her Fire Magic burn into him, bringing tears into Toriel's eyes. "Why must you make this so difficult, my child?"

Ryu grinned weakly as the flames licked and cooked his skin, refusing to show the main he was going through out of sheer determination. "Sorry, Goat Mom," Ryu gritted out, using the terminology he had adopted from Frisk. "But I care about you too much to let you and all of Monsterkind rot down here!"

"Why?!"

"Because you're the first source of motherly love that I could properly remember in a long time!" Ryu snapped, causing Toriel's eyes to widen and her Magic to die out. Ryu took this moment to charge right at Toriel… and hugged her tightly. "Please… if you really do love Frisk and me… you'll let us go."

Toriel instantly hugged back, collapsing into a sobbing mess as she healed the boy's wounded form with her Magic. "A soul as pure as yours… why did you have to suffer so? Why did you fall?" The former Queen sobbed out, as Ryu weakly hugged his mother figure, yet didn't say anything.

"well, well, well. don't you know how to greet a new friend? turn around and shake my hand." Ryu heard from behind him, as Frisk grinned from where she stood near the strange bridge they were near. He turned around and shook the shadowed, short figure's hand, only to be met with the sound of a whoopee cushion going off, along with the shadowy figure being revealed to be a short Monster that seemed to be made of bone. "heh, the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it's ALWAYS funny…"

The Monster paused momentarily, the lights in its eyes going out as Ryu was forced to stare into its black eyes… he seemed to be thinking, but then he returned to his normal self. "anyways, you two are humans, right? that's hilarious. i'm sans. sans the skeleton. i'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. but... y'know… i don't really care about capturing anybody. now, my brother, papyrus? he's a human-hunting FANATIC." Ryu had no idea how to respond to anything this 'Sans' person was talking about. "hey, actually, i think that's him over there."

"Wait, a human hunter? Where?" Ryu could hear Frisk's snickers from behind him, as she immediately walked down the bridge and hid behind a conveniently Frisk-shaped lamp.

"yeah, your friend there has the right idea. come on, walk through the gate thingy. we can find you a place to hide." Sans then pushed him through the bridge and then pointed at a sentry post. "behind there, go on then. and be quick about it." Ryu didn't bother to argue as he immediately hid, just in time too, as another skeleton rushed in. This one was taller, wearing a strange suit of armor (or what looked like it) and a red scarf.

"sup, bro?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT'S 'SUP', BROTHER!" The taller skeleton said in a loud and boisterous voice. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS, AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T… RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES!" Papyrus seemed pretty frustrated about this too, like this was something he was tired of seeing Sans do (or not do in this case). "YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"

"i'm just staring at the sentry station." Ryu froze, his blood running cold. Was Sans about to out him to his human-hunter brother? "it's really cool. wanna take a look?"

"NO!" Papyrus adamantly refused, causing Ryu to release a small sigh of relief, as he was unknowingly holding his breath. "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!? I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!" Papyrus then took a superhero-like pose. "THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT… RECOGNITION! I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK… TO BE… MY FRIEND? I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING!" Interesting. Looks like this guy just wanted either friendship or recognition from… someone. Someone he admired, probably. If what Frisk was saying was true, then he could ask her about what was up with him.

"hm... maybe this sentry station can help you," Sans said, still pushing for Papyrus to check Ryu's hiding spot and sending the young former Prince into a small anxiety attack.

"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING, YOU LAZYBONES!" Papyrus was now throwing a small fit, tired of his brother's antics probably. "ALL YOU DO IS SIT AROUND AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"

"hey, take it easy, i've gotten a ton of work done today." Ryu's bad joke sensors were going off, warning him that Sans would be a threat to his sanity. "A skele-ton." Ryu was now internally screaming in pain, as he took damage from that horrible pun.

"SANS!"

"come on. you're smiling." Sans' eternal grin widened, as Papyrus sighed tiredly.

"I AM, AND I HATE IT!" The taller brother said, crossing his arms over his torso. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME… HAVE TO DO SO MUCH TO GET SOME RECOGNITION AROUND HERE?"

"wow, it really sounds like you're working yourself…" No, no, no, no. Don't you dare fucking do it, Sans. Ryu was literally about to scream. "To the bone." Ryu muffled his screams of agony as he covered his face in his hands.

"UGH! I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES!" Papyrus declared, apparently having enough of Sans' puns as well. "AS FOR YOUR WORK… PUT A LITTLE MORE… BACKBONE INTO IT!"

...This was hell. This was hell and Ryu was paying for the sins of some future or past incarnation, wasn't he? That was the only explanation for these horrible puns. Papyrus left, and then Sans 'coughed' into his hand. "alright, you two can come out now."

Ryu wasn't even sure if he wanted to anymore. He just wanted to curl up and hide forever.

Frisk had left him to complete the next encounter, the Papyrus one, as she went off to go talk with Sans. Something about convincing him to not be a threat? He didn't really understand how the lazy skeleton could threaten him, but he rolled with it. He walked over to the encounter zone, blinded by the snowy blizzard surrounding him as he began to see a silhouette of Papyrus. "HUMAN RYU!" The aspiring Royal Guardsman called out. "ALLOW ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT SOME COMPLEX FEELINGS. FEELINGS LIKE… THE JOY OF FINDING ANOTHER PASTA LOVER. THE ADMIRATION OF ANOTHER'S PUZZLE-SOLVING SKILLS. THE DESIRE TO HAVE A COOL, SMART PERSON THINK YOU ARE COOL. THESE FEELINGS… THEY MUST BE WHAT YOU ARE FEELING RIGHT NOW!" Well, he wasn't completely wrong, Ryu supposed… "I CAN HARDLY IMAGINE WHAT IT MUST BE LIKE TO FEEL THAT WAY. AFTER ALL, I AM VERY GREAT. I DON'T EVER WONDER WHAT HAVING LOTS OF FRIENDS MUST BE LIKE. I PITY YOU, LONELY HUMAN RYU. BUT FEAR NOT! YOU SHALL BE LONELY NO LONGER! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE YOUR…"

"Friend?" Ryu suggested once the skeleton mysteriously went silent.

"..." Papyrus blankly stared at him before looking away. "...NO… NO, THIS IS ALL WRONG! I CAN'T BE YOUR FRIEND!" Okay, ouch. Not like he didn't have feelings or anything. "YOU ARE A HUMAN! I MUST CAPTURE YOU! THEN, I CAN FULFILL MY LIFELONG DREAM! POWERFUL! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS! THAT'S PAPYRUS! THE NEWEST MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD!" And with that, the battle began, with Ryu never once attacking the skeleton and staying defensive with his rather limited magic.

"Wow, look at you, bulldozing through everything in your way. You're really a wild card, aren't you, Ryu?" Frisk teased her brother figure as they left the cold of Snowdin and into the next area. She grew somewhat serious as she stopped him from getting too close to what she referred to as 'Waterfall'. "Ryu, the next person in our way is legitimately and truly dangerous. This will be one of the first opponents where your opponent will be genuinely trying to kill you. Be prepared." She warned, before letting him enter the bushes before them.

Then, a familiar presence entered the Waterfall area, with Ryu looking out to see Papyrus talking with a menacing armor-clad figure. He could only hear Papyrus, because of his loud voice and nature, though. "H… HI, UNDYNE! I'M HERE WITH MY DAILY REPORT!" The skeleton Monster stuttered out in an almost militaristic fashion. "UHH… REGARDING THOSE HUMANS I CALLED YOU ABOUT EARLIER… HUH? DID I FIGHT THEM? Y-YES, OF COURSE, I DID! OR AT LEAST, I FOUGHT ONE OF THEM. THE OTHER WAS STAYING BEHIND, LEAVING ME TO DEAL WITH THE MALE. B-BUT I FOUGHT HIM VALIANTLY! WHAT? DID I… CAPTURE THEM? W-WELL…" Papyrus almost seemed to look their way, as if he somehow knew Ryu and Frisk were hiding in the bushes. "NO. I TRIED VERY HARD, UNDYNE, BUT IN THE END… I FAILED. THEY PACIFIED ME." The armored figure turned to face Papyrus directly, as he somewhat startled. "W-WHAT?! YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE BOTH THEIR SOULS? B-BUT UNDYNE, THAT'S A LITTLE OVERKILL, IS IT NOT? B-BESIDES, YOU'LL SEE, THEY'RE KIND! RYU'S PLANNING TO-"

"...Who's Ryu." Were the first words he was actually able to hear from Undyne, and Frisk seemed genuinely surprised too.

"R-RYU… IS A POWERFUL HUMAN. H-HE CAN LEARN FROM OTHER PEOPLE'S MAGIC AFTER BATTLING THEM! HE'S ALREADY REPLICATED FIRE AND ICE MAGIC FROM SOME MONSTERS EARLIER, AND I THINK HE MIGHT BE ABLE TO REPLICATE MORE IN THE FUTURE!" Papyrus explained in a hurry. "I-I AM HOPING RYU MIGHT BE ABLE TO USE ALL HIS POWER TO USE SOME SORT OF SUPER MAGIC SPELL TO BREAK THE BARRIER!"

"...Papyrus, humans are selfish. I don't know this Ryu guy, but humans won't do something like that. He'll probably just use whatever magic he has to leave."

"NO, HE WON'T!" Papyrus was now adamantly defending Ryu, and the young Prince was touched. "IF OTHER HUMANS ARE LIKE THAT, FINE. BUT RYU ISN'T LIKE THOSE HUMANS! HE CARES ABOUT US AND WANTS US TO GO FREE!"

"Hah, I'll believe it when I see it." Undyne scoffed, before glaring at Papyrus through her armor. "Just go home, Pap." The skeleton was forced to back down, as he then reluctantly left. Frisk then tugged at Ryu's arm and pulled him through the bushes slightly, catching Undyne's attention. Ryu looked at Frisk in a panic, as she seemed eerily calm like she wanted this to happen. The armored Monster took steps toward their area, summoning a spear into her hand. Ryu was frozen still with primal fear, as he stared impending death right in the eye. The Captain of the Royal Guard then dispersed her spear when she determined (wrongly) that no one was there, and disappeared into the shadows moments later.

Ryu then looked at Frisk in a panic. "WHAT THE HELL-"

"I apologize for nothing." Was Frisk's casual response.

After the stress of Undyne, Hotlands, and the CORE; came the next obstacle. Mettaton. As Ryu walked into the final room that would lead to the elevator, he looked at Frisk, who shrugged. "You've got enough magic power now, Ryu. Handle this yourself. I'm your guide, not your babysitter." Frisk said in a bored manner, causing him to sigh as he stepped up to face the over-glorified computer box.

"OH, YES. THERE YOU ARE, DARLING." The robot greeted him. "IT'S TIME TO HAVE OUR LITTLE SHOWDOWN. IT'S TIME TO FINALLY STOP THE 'MALFUNCTIONING' ROBOT… NOT! MALFUNCTIONING? REPROGRAMMING? GET REAL. THIS WAS ALL JUST A BIG SHOW. AN ACT. ALPHYS HAS BEEN PLAYING YOU FOR A FOOL THE WHOLE TIME, MAGICAL. AS SHE WATCHED YOU ON HER SCREENS, SHE GREW ATTACHED TO YOUR ADVENTURE. SHE DESPERATELY WANTED TO BE A PART OF IT. SO SHE DECIDED TO INSERT HERSELF INTO YOUR STORY. SHE REACTIVATED PUZZLES. SHE DISABLED ELEVATORS. SHE ENLISTED ME TO TORMENT YOU. ALL TO SAVE YOU FROM DANGERS THAT DIDN'T EXIST, TO GAIN YOUR TRUST. SO YOU COULD THINK OF HER AS THE GREAT PERSON… THAT'S SHE'S NOT. AND NOW, ITS TIME FOR HER FINEST HOUR. AT THIS VERY MOMENT, ALPHYS IS WAITING OUTSIDE THIS ROOM. DURING OUR 'BATTLE', SHE WILL INTERRUPT. SHE WILL PRETEND TO 'DEACTIVATE' ME, 'SAVING' YOU ONE FINAL TIME. FINALLY, SHE'LL BE THE HEROINE OF YOUR ADVENTURE." At this point, Ryu was just letting Mettaton go on with his monologue out of boredom. "YOU'LL REGARD HER SO HIGHLY, SHE'LL EVEN BE ABLE TO CONVINCE YOU NOT TO LEAVE… OR NOT. YOU SEE, I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS PREDICTABLE CHARADE. I HAVE NO DESIRE TO HARM HUMANS, FAR FROM IT ACTUALLY. MY ONLY DESIRE IS TO ENTERTAIN. AFTER ALL, THE AUDIENCE DESERVES A GOOD SHOW, DON'T THEY? AND WHAT'S A GOOD SHOW… WITHOUT A PLOT TWIST?" And with those words, the door behind them shut with a thud, and someone knocked from the outside. Alphys.

"H-hey! Wh-wh-what's going on?" The royal scientist asked through the door, her voice muffled. "The door locked itself!"

Mettaton drew out his arms and microphone, as the floor beneath them lit up with stage lights. "SORRY, FOLKS! THE OLD PROGRAM'S BEEN CANCELLED! BUT WE'VE GOT A FINALE THAT WILL DRIVE YOU WILD!" The floor beneath them then rose… and then rapidly shot them upwards, wind whipping past Ryu as Frisk got up to help him in this fight since like Undyne, it's not like she could get out of it. "REAL DRAMA! REAL ACTION! REAL BLOODSHED! ON OUR NEW SHOW… 'ATTACK OF THE KILLER ROBOT'!" And with that, the battle against the robotic entertainer begun.

"...Ryu, this next part of the story is gonna be sensitive. You'll learn more about Chara and Asriel, but I'm also afraid you might get a bit too emotional." Frisk warned Ryu as the duo reached the next zone, known as New Home. The former human Prince idly stared at the gray house before nodding stiffly as he entered, tapping the save point beside him with Frisk as he did so. The moment he did, a wave of nostalgia hit him… as if he had returned to somewhere familiar. He walked over to a padlock, reading the note attached to the thing preventing him from going downstairs.

Howdy! I'm in the garden. If you have anything you need to get off your chest, please don't hesitate to come! The keys are in the kitchen and the hallway.

Ryu wandered aimlessly, using his memories of Toriel's home to navigate 'New Home', before two Froggits jumped in front of him. "A long time ago, a human fell into the ruins. Injured by its fall, the human cried out for help." The frog Monsters then hopped off, as Ryu continued searching once he was free. He entered the kitchen and took the yellow key that sat on the kitchen countertop, immediately leaving said kitchen.

Once he left the kitchen, two Whimsuns fluttered over to him. "Asriel, the King's son, heard the humans call. He brought them back to the castle." The flying, shy creatures then flew away, as Ryu silently digested this information. The information on Asriel and Chara's true identities, their stories, was one thing Frisk kept from him after all. He walked to the other side of the house, finding a room that seemed eerily similar to the room he and Frisk were sleeping in originally back at Toriel's. On the floor were two presents, which he flipped over to reveal a dagger and a heart-shaped locket. He gave both to Frisk, and the duo left the room again.

By then, they were interrupted by three Moldsmals. "Over time, Asriel and the human became like siblings. The King and Queen treated the human child as their own. The underground was full of hope." The gelatinous creatures then disappeared, as Ryu walked past a room with a sign above it. 'Room under renovations'. He took the next key, colored green, as he stared at a mirror next to him.

"Despite everything, it's still you." The voice of Corruption said into his ear, sending shivers down his spine as he hated hearing its voice. He left the mirror immediately, not allowing himself to look at the purple-colored demon that appeared next to his reflection. He walked over to the stairs and opened the gate, walking down.

Then, two Migosp scurried out of nowhere to interrupt them. "Then… one day… the human became very ill." They scurried off, with three Vegetoids took their place, the living carrots speaking to them.

"The sick human only had one request. To see the flowers from their village. But there was nothing we could do." The Vegetoids then dug themselves back into the dirt, as Ryu continued to listen to the story that Frisk had heard dozens of times over.

"The next day… the next day…" The two Loox before them went silent, as one then continued the story despite their sadness. "The human died." The Monsters then rushed off, with Ryu feeling something grow in his throat. He was starting to be affected by the story despite not even being apart of it, or knowing who Asriel or Chara were aside from small comments from Frisk.

Two Snowdrakes appeared, or at least two Snowdrake-like Monsters. "Asriel, wracked with grief, absorbed the human's soul. He transformed into a being of incredible power."

A trio of Ice Caps. "With his sibling's soul, Asriel crossed through the barrier. He carried their body into the sunset. Back to the village of the humans."

More Monsters, three Woshuas, wobbled up to them. "Asriel reached the center of the village. There, he found a bed of flowers. He carried the human onto it."

"Suddenly, screams rang out. The villagers saw Asriel holding his sibling's body. They thought that he had killed her." The three Shyrens, not looking at them, told the story with their backs facing them.

An assortment of ghost-possessed dummies appeared. "The humans attacked him with everything they had. He was struck with blow after blow. Asriel had the power to destroy them all."

Knight Knight and Madjick stood up next, carrying the next part of the fable. "But… Asriel did not fight back." Knight Knight raised her staff and slammed it into the floor for further emphasis. "Clutching their sibling in hand, Asriel smiled… and walked away."

Three Final Froggits jumped down from the ceiling, nearly startling Ryu. "Wounded, Asriel stumbled home. He entered the castle and collapsed. His dust spread across the garden."

A trio of Whimsalots flew out, holding their small spears. "The Kingdom fell into despair. The King and Queen had lost two children in one night. The humans had once again taken everything from us."

An eyesore of Astigmatisms strolled out. "The king had decided it was time to end our suffering. Every human that falls down here must die. With enough souls, we could shatter the barrier. We have acquired six souls… yet our greatest enemies from the outside have learned of our status. They split Ebott from the rest of the world with the power of their greatest King."

"But still, it's not long now." An assortment of creatures appeared. A Loox, a Migosp, and a Moldsmal. "King Asgore will let us go. King Asgore will give us hope. King Asgore will save us all."

A Pyrope and two Vulkins appeared. "You should be smiling too! Aren't you excited? Aren't you happy?"

They had reached the end, where a single Froggit stared down Ryu with a blank look. "You're going to be free, Ryu."

Ryu stared down at it, before nodding hesitantly as it hopped off. Ryu then turned to Frisk, with tears in his eyes. "It was me, Frisk… my dad was the one who split Ebott from the mainland. My family was the one who killed Asriel… this is my fault…"

"It isn't… the things your ancestors did aren't on you. You don't carry your family's sins." Frisk assured him… before leading him into the next area, where Sans stood with a blank look in his eyes.

Ryu stood in the Judgement Hall with Frisk and Sans, with him looking at the skeleton monster seriously. He looked at his adoptive sister. "Frisk, go on without me. I think Sans and I need to have a nice talk."

Frisk looked at Ryu worriedly but nodded. "Be safe, bro." She then left them both reluctantly. Ryu stared at Sans intensely and then broke the silence.

"What do you want, Sans." He asked. Sans chuckled.

"nothing much, really. i'm just really suspicious of you and your intentions. your LV is higher than it's supposed to be, and your EXP is somehow zero. it's really confusing and off-putting." Then the skeleton's face darkened. "and i don't like anomalies. you were never supposed to fall in this timeline kiddo."

Ryuuto shrugged. "Well, I did fall, what are you gonna do about it?"

"try and make you give up all your secrets, by killing you over and over again," Sans responded, his right eye flashing blue and yellow. Ryuuto frowned and summoned his Determination Shield.

"You can certainly try, Sans." He said, his eyes turning a dark purple as he tapped into his Corruption. For a few moments, human and Monster stared at each other, with Ryuuto clenching his shield tightly. Then Sans made the first move, summoning a barrage of bones and shooting them at Ryuuto.

Ryuuto expanded his shield, deflecting the attacks with the red barrier. Ryuuto heard a strange sound behind him and saw a weird dragon skull. It fired a blue beam of energy at him, which his body immediately reacted to, jumping above it and landing on the skull, punching it, and turning it into wisps of Magic that he absorbed. He then immediately turned, summoning his own dragon skull, which was black in color. It's purple eyes looked at its summoner. "Fire," Ryuuto commanded. The black Blaster shot a purple-red beam at Sans' Blaster. They ended up stuck in a beam clash, with blue and purple-red fighting for dominance. Ryuuto felt the Blaster draining at his Magic, so he called it off and then ducked under the beam, which burnt his hair slightly.

Ryuuto glared at Sans. "I won't fight you! I won't hurt you!" Sans frowned, summoning more bones and Blasters.

"your LV says otherwise, brat!" The skeleton Monster shot back. Ryuuto clenched his fist and summoned two Determination Shields, fusing them into one massive shield. The barrage of attacks was blocked, but the shield broke. Sans stomped his foot on the floor, his eye flashing brightly.

Bones came out of the floor and rushed at Ryuuto, who put his hand out. "GALE WIND!" He roared, a massive ripple of wind shooting out from his palm and shattering all the bones. He sensed a Blaster near him and his hand crackled with black lightning.

He turned around quickly, swiping his hand through the air. "BLACK STORM!" He hissed as a wave of lightning erupted from his hand, and rocketed towards the Blaster, splitting it in half.

For the ones watching the fight in the present day, things skipped to the final part of Ryu's fight with the monster. Why? Because Ryu didn't want people knowing of the truth. That he had died over 600 times because of one… man(?)'s suspicions.

"Enough!" Ryu threw his hands outward, a wave of a pale green aura exploding off of him and causing Sans to fall to his feet, lethargic.

"huh... guess you had something up your sleeve after all…" The skeleton Monster grinned up at him. "You gonna kill me or something?"

"..." Ryu silently walked forward, as Sans sighed, preparing for the worst… and then looked up in surprise as Ryu walked past him. "I told you once, Sans. I told you a million more times. I'm not going to kill you. I'm not a murderer." Ryu glared at the skeleton before leaving to find and assist Frisk.

When Ryuuto reawoke, his vision was blurry, and his memories were scattered. It took some time, but he realized what had happened.

He killed Asgore, and Frisk was killed by Flowey. Then Flowey…

"Took… the souls… before she could come back..." Ryuuto didn't know why, but whenever he thought about the souls; he felt… angry about their deaths. More so than the Yellow and Dark Blue souls. He pulled himself to his feet and looked around the dark void surrounding him before taking a few steps forward, and found a SAVE. It was different, half-silver, half-yellow. He tapped it, before feeling a horrible feeling deep in his soul. And then it happened.

"GET AWAY!" Corruption roared, as Ryuuto did so, jumping back and watching as a massive TV screen crushed his SAVE point. It would have crushed him too if he didn't jump…

And then the TV screen turned on, and Ryuuto saw the face on it was identical to Flowey's. Then the monstrous flower giggled. "Heya Ryuuto! I hope you had fun killing Asgore, you seemed happy with his death! Especially after how he hurt poor, poor Frisk!"

"Y-you…" Ryuuto took a single step back, horrified by this new form of Flowey. Sure, Frisk told him about all of this, but he never thought this... aura would be this… terrifying.

"Oh, you're scared aren't you?" Flowey smiled from his screen sadistically. "Good."

"Stop this Flowey! Let me go back!" Ryuuto mustered up whatever courage he had left in him, as Flowey frowned.

"Back? Now, why would I do that? I'll enjoy ripping you to shreds infinitely! With the six human souls, I'm a GOD! And you… I'll enjoy killing you, over, and over, and over again." Flowey laughed to himself, as Ryuuto drew his steel sword, pointing the blade at Omega Flowey.

"If you won't let me go back, I'll force you." Omega Flowey obviously didn't expect that much defiance from his prey as he was shocked into silence.

"Well… Even facing your superior, you still stay defiant and determined. Typical… Oh well… I'll enjoy crushing your hopes and dreams!" And then, from the TV grew a massive, disgusting lump of human flesh, plant mass, and machinery. It kept growing, and growing, and growing until Ryuuto was face to face with Omega Flowey in all his freakish glory. Omega Flowey laughed a horrifying laugh as he used his massive power boost to slap Ryuuto away with ease.

The white and red-haired Prince got up slowly, and charged at Omega Flowey, blade first as he struck them… and barely scratched the freak's television screen. "Oh, you scratched me… how annoying." Flowey grabbed Ryuuto and began to crush them in his clawed floral 'hands', enjoying how he could feel his foe's bones pop and crack under the pressure. Flowey would have killed Ryuuto outright, but he lost a bit of control as Ryuuto screamed for help, as he felt the Patience soul try to come out.

Flowey growled, not wanting to lose any of his souls, and threw the Prince at the floor; raising an arm and summoning dozens of bombs... And then lost control, as the Patience soul was drawn out and attacked Ryuuto. Flowey grinned, it seems like he still did control the Souls!

When Ryuuto got up and healed himself up a bit with Corruption's help, he ducked a swipe of a toy knife as he stared at the pale spectral being attacking him. He felt his mind and soul scream and ache as he realized just who it was. Nanna, one of his old pen-pals from the Surface. He dodged every attack as he grabbed Nanna's arm, threw the toy knife away from them, and hugged his friend. "Come back! Don't let him control you, Nanna!"

Nanna lost her pale tone as her eyes widened, realizing who she was fighting as memories flooded back to her. "R-Ryu?"

"NO!" Omega Flowey snarled, drawing back Nanna immediately. "DIE, RYUUTO!" He shot the bombs that were floating mid-air at the Prince, who growled, his eyes gaining a light blue section as he then immediately calmed down and closed his eyes. He waited, and then opened his eyes again, dodging almost every bomb, only burned slightly a single bomb's heat.

'Close call…' Ryuuto thought to himself as he felt that brief power boost inside of him fade. He didn't know why, but when he hugged Nanna, he felt… more Patient.

Flowey's eyes then shot X-shaped bullets at Ryuuto, as each one scraped him, cutting through the fabric of his clothes and narrowly grazing his skin. Flowey then released more, this time in threes, as Ryuuto learned from this and ran in the opposite direction quickly. He coated his sword in lighting as he released the black stream of electricity at the monstrous flower abomination.

Flowey was temporarily paralyzed, as Ryuuto jumped into the air and punched Omega Flowey as hard as he could, knocking the large monster back a few feet. "Oh, you're still fighting back? Maybe this will teach you a lesson!" Omega Flowey released the Orange soul, as it formed into a pale orange spectral boy wearing gloves and a bandanna.

The lost Soul went to attack Ryuuto, as Ryuuto coated his hands in fire magic, and countered and deflected each and every blow. The way the Soul fought… the aura of it, everything… it reminded him of another friend of his… "MIKE!" Ryuuto slapped the Lost Soul with a flaming hand, as it slowly regained its original orange color.

"Wait, Ryuuto? What's goin-"

"ENOUGH!" Flowey reabsorbed Mike's soul, but not before Mike shot a healing projectile at his old friend. Ryuuto took it into his hand and felt revitalized and more… Brave. Omega Flowey raised his arm and went to crush Ryuuto, but Ryuuto raised his own hands and grabbed Flowey, before flipping the monstrous flower over his head. He then summoned a Gaster Blaster, shooting the purple-gray blast at Flowey with anger in his eyes. Flowey regained his bearings and opened his maw, releasing a larger blue beacon of energy at Ryuuto. His eyes widened, as he raised his right arm, a large orange magic shield forming in front of him and tanking the blast before shattering. His feeling of Bravery left him.

The crazed Flower god continued his assault on Ryuuto, making sure to save in case he didn't hit him, but Ryuuto was smart; when he noticed Flowey save, he kept moving. Sure, he could take the risk of being hit to get stronger, but he didn't want to risk it. He was already at half health anyway. He screamed for help again and smirked briefly as he saw the dark blue soul be drawn out of Flowey.

Again, the Lost Soul attacked him, but Ryuuto dodged every single kick from them. He noticed the familiar hairstyle and clothing, his eyes narrowing as he tripped the soul up, before grabbing their hand and bringing them into another hug before the Lost Soul could regain its bearings. "Stop it, Justine! You're not yourself!" Like the rest of the Souls before her, Justine regained her consciousness and realized who she was fighting, as she felt Flowey begin to draw her in again. Before Justine left, she tossed a healing projectile at him, as Ryuuto felt his health go back up slightly.

Flowey was getting tired of all his opponent's resistance and began to use more and more power against them, but Ryuuto drew his hand back, energy forming in it as he blasted Flowey's attacks away. Ryuuto stabbed his sword into Flowey's arm, causing the flower to screech in pain and draw back slightly, forced to draw out the Purple Soul.

The soul was someone Ryuuto knew immediately, he didn't even need to think. It was Tracy, it had to be, with the glasses and notebook; and how the Lost Soul carried herself. He didn't even give the soul a chance to attack as he hugged her tightly, silently shocked as every Lost Soul that Flowey attacked him with; that every soul Asgore killed… was someone he knew at some point in time.

Tracy slowly regained control over herself, she was about to attack Ryuuto, but then realized she was in her best friend's embrace. Her eyes lit up with emotion, as she then gained awareness of where she was, quickly healing Ryuuto before Flowey dragged her back.

Flowey, meanwhile, was frustrated and angry. Somehow, every Soul he threw at Ryuuto was pacified with a simple hug or gesture! Fine! HE'LL THROW TWO SOULS AT HIM!

Flowey released both Justice and Kindness at once, having them attack Ryuuto. But the Prince was expecting this, dodging the bullets Justice released and blocking the fireballs Kindness shot at him. But he knew them by different names.

'Mira and Ethan…' Ryuuto's anger was bubbling over again, but he pushed on, trying to near the Lost Souls to interact with them.

"MIRA! ETHAN! IT'S ME, RYU! DON'T YOU REMEMBER ME?" Ryuuto called out, as the green and yellow spectral beings blinked in confusion.

"Ryu…?" They muttered, standing around, confused. Ryuuto walked up to them both, as he smiled patiently.

"Yeah, it's me! Remember? Go Team Colors?"

"Team… Colors…?" Mira seemed to regain her memories first, and Ethan took a few more seconds of contemplation before he snapped out of Flowey's control. "Holy crap! Ryu?!"

"NO!" Flowey roared. This can't be happening, IT ISN'T POSSIBLE! How did this one boy ruin all of his plans?! It enraged him! Flowey opened his maw again, blasting Ryuuto with a beacon of blue energy, and the blast connected. Flowey laughed, believing himself to be victorious…

But then Flowey felt it. A disgusting, overwhelming presence of dark magic. The smoke cleared quickly, and Ryuuto's alternate self stood before him again unharmed, now with more fury and power in his dark purple eyes than ever. "Mira, Ethan. Draw out the rest of the Souls." Ryushi said coldly. "I'll take care of Flowey from that point on."

"Right!" The Kindness and Justice souls nodded as they quickly healed their friend, not questioning the sudden transformation he underwent, and then went to grab the others from Flowey.

Flowey tried to stop them, but Ryushi dashed right at Flowey and kicked them down to distract them. Unlike all the other times he hit Flowey, he noticed actual damage. He jumped back afterward, noticing the rest of the souls flow out of Flowey; and went to absorb them. Ryushi felt many times more powerful... like he could do anything.

"W-what did you do…?" Omega Flowey growled, stumbling slightly.

"Nothing much... just liberated the souls from your grasp." Ryushi regained control of his SAVE and summoned a large fireball, noticing it now had a dark rainbow tint and blasted Omega Flowey with it. The monstrous timeline destroyer was knocked away, burnt by the attack. Ryuuto teleported behind them and conjured up a Gaster Blaster, attacking them from the back with a dark rainbow blast.

Flowey released every attack he could against Ryushi, but he raised a hand; hundreds of sharp black icicles being summoned and shooting them all at Flowey's direction with deadly accuracy. With Flowey damaged and disoriented by the barrage, Ryushi smirked, letting Ryuuto take back control.

The Prince-turned-God charged up all his power and the power of his friends into his left hand, rainbow magic forming in it. "FALL!" Ryuuto roared, charging at Flowey, the rainbow magic coating Ryuuto's form as he became a rainbow streak of power; piercing Flowey with all of the rampant magic exploding the monstrous flower's form.

Eventually, the memory show ended. Ryu, present Ryu, to be precise; did not want people to know that he had toppled gods and beings that didn't 'exist' technically. He drew in the Hate for the screen… or at least, he attempted to. The show didn't end, or at least not Ryu's. Something appeared on the screen, catching everyone's attention. "Sir Ryu… this looks like it's before your… journey," Miklotov said as Ryu's eyes widened. This.. was another memory, like the ones in his dreams… but it was appearing at the least opportune moment.

Days passed, with Ryu missing his family with each passing day. He constantly grew more anxious, marking each day on a calendar as he waited for their return. On the final day, he waited outside for their return with a smile… only for the smile to fade once that nightfall came. He shook it off, marking it up as a delay. Mother would come back. She had to. She made a promise. He could just enjoy today since he had a birthday party to attend. As each day passed, he felt more and more self-conscious.

Had they… abandoned him? It had been a month already…

Marcus, Ryu's older cousin, watched from a window as he grew worried. "Hey, mom, shouldn't we try to figure out a way to contact the King or help Ryu?" He asked Rin, with the middle-aged Patience Mage tiredly smiling.

"He can get through this, boy. He's strong, just like his father. Nothing can keep him down. 'Sides, I think he doesn't need to wait too much longer." Rin replied though she had her own worries about her nephew's mental health as well.

Ryu eventually looked up once he saw a horse walk up to him, with the Royal Courier having a sad expression on his face. The young Prince stood up, asking for information on his parents, but only immediately regretting it as tears fell down his face.

"Did you hear? The High Queen just tried to kill her husband!"

"Wait, the King? Really?"

"Talk about family drama, this is the messiest divorce ever!"

"People say she was planning it from the start."

"I heard she was executed on the spot!"

"I heard her son was the one to kill her!"

"Really? Which one?"

"Apparently, Prince Blaze was the one to do the deed! People even say he had no remorse on his face, too!"

"Poor Ryu, didn't the Queen make a promise to him or something?"

The memory cut off, as Ryu blankly stared at the now fading screen, with the Hate mist being drawn back into him. Everyone in the room grew concerned for him, especially Reinhard, who put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Ryu… are you okay?" The red-haired knight asked, as Ryu's eyes pricked with tears.

"She lied… she died… Mother… died…" Ryu whispered as the world around him faded away slowly. A pain ached in his chest, as he fell to his knees, his heart clenched over his heart. These memories were his, they did happen, and he knew who kept them from him. A person's soul sometimes blocked off traumatic memories when someone is a child, and it sometimes reappeared as a different personality to carry the memories, since they couldn't just disappear. Ryushi was who he would have become if his soul didn't suppress his memory.

The pain in his chest increased, as Emilia and Reinhard rushed to his aid. "He's going under cardiac arrest!" Reinhard declared as Emilia began administering healing aid. The other Candidates watched from afar, not seeing a reason to interfere as the situation would be soon under control. Reinhard even internally asked Od Laguna for a Divine Protection to help him heal Ryu, acquiring a newly made-up Divine Protection of Perfect Healing for this occasion.

Ryu's vision slowly blacked out, as he felt nothing but despair. If his mother had died, why? Why did she do it? Why did she try to kill his dad? Did Blaze really kill her?

...if his mother was gone, then… was he truly alone?

…

Inside of Ryu's soul was a chaotic mess as Ryushi and Austin freaked out. The Soul Plane was losing its color as Ryu was rapidly losing his Determination, the red half of his soul graying out. "I thought you said he was ready, Shi!" Austin snapped at Ryushi, who was desperately trying to keep his alternate half/brother figure's soul together.

"I thought he was! I didn't expect this memory to be that traumatic!" Ryushi said, before noticing a few dozen dark hands appear out of nowhere and push against Ryu's soul, keeping it together. Austin and Ryushi watched in astonishment and confusion before a female's voice echoed throughout the darkening Soul Plane.

"Save. Him. Save. Him. Save. Him." The voice repeated that phrase endlessly, growing louder with each repetition before reaching a peak. "SAVE HIM, HATE!"

Austin's eyes widened before they narrowed as the blob of dark magic took a humanoid form and raised his hand. He shot a jet of his own power into Ryu's soul, replacing the now faded Determination with undistilled Hate. He would rather not do this, but Ryu's soul was too unstable at the moment and he had no other options. When the gray had been overtaken by black essence, the dozen hands faded, with the woman's voice echoing out again. "Take my blessing, love." Was the last they heard of the voice, as Ryushi looked at Austin with a concerned expression. The Origin of Hate… was oddly silent. Any conversation he tried to have with him… was for naught.

When Ryu woke up, he felt… nothing. His eyes half-lidded and droopy, he looked around the room. "Oh… back at Roswaal Manor, huh?" He asked no one in particular, before noticing Rem's sleeping form in a chair next to him. He smiled kindly at the maid, before getting up and putting a blanket around her. He then moved over to Teymin, where the Wolgarm was currently munching on a bone. She sprung up when she saw him awake and panted happily, as Ryu scratched and pet her. He formed a leash of Hate and put it around her, as he then walked over to the bathroom he was given and looking in the mirror. His reflection was tired, his hair messy and clothes just as so. But that wasn't getting his attention. It was the fact that his eyes had changed colors. Once red and yellow-green, they were now black in one and dark gold in the other. He drew out his soul, as he soon realized what happened before now and his current state. "...I've lost my Determination… huh." The most surprising thing to Ryu, was how he didn't seem to care anymore.

He cleaned himself up, and then walked out the door to the manor, but stopped when he sensed someone behind him. "...Emilia. Good morning." He greeted her tiredly, as she looked at him with concern in her amethyst eyes.

"Ryu, what's going on? Where are you going? You just got up, you shouldn't be walking around like this." Emilia said, walking down the steps and reaching out to touch his cheek. Ryu grabbed her hand, stopping her, though his hold was gentle… his eyes weren't.

"Emilia, I realized I can't stay anymore." He replied to the princess, confusing her more.

"What do you mean? Of course, you can stay, Ryu! What's wrong with you?" Emilia asked, as Ryu silently stared at the girl, before letting go of her hand.

"I've lost my Soul Magic, my Determination. Without it, I'm weak. Weaker than any human should ever be, even weaker than the most unfit of humans and children." He explained. "Roswaal's contract said I could only stay because of my abilities to teach others about Soul Magic, and I've already taught everyone here. And then…" Ryu's mind trailed to his conversation with Roswaal before they went to the capital.

"Roswaal. I've taught everyone here Soul Magic… well, except you and Puck… but you guys don't need that kind of power if I remember correctly." Ryu reported to Roswaal, who chuckled softly.

"Yes, yes. We don't need to learn your Magic types. I'm satisfied as is since nothing in the basic Soul arsenal interests me. And Puck doesn't see a need in doing so." Roswaal took a sip of his wine, before putting down the glass. "Well, while our contract says you can only stay because of teaching capabilities, you've proven to be a worthy ally. You can stay as long as you like…" Roswaal then glared in his direction. "As long as you pull your own weight."

"Of course, Roswaal. I will make sure to do so." Ryu replied in a minimally respectful tone.

"...I can't carry my own weight anymore. So, this is goodbye."

"Ryu, I-"

"I'll be dropping out of the Royal Selection soon too, so you won't have to worry about any rivals. I'll even advocate for you and get anyone who was thinking of voting for me to shift to you." Ryu smiled at his friend, trying to assure her that he would be fine and that she didn't need to worry about him.

"Ryu, please, don't go!" Emilia begged before she was stopped from getting closer to Ryu by a bunch of ice spikes jutting out of the floor, a dark aura surrounding them.

"...Goodbye, Emilia. Take care of yourself, alright?" Ryu waved at her before a bolt of black lightning fell from the sky. When the blinding flash of dark-colored light faded, Ryu was nowhere to be found. Even Teymin was gone, with no traces of where he went and of his existence being left behind.

RE: DETERMINED

Act 3, Chapter 02 - Loss (損失) - END

NEXT TIME ON: RE:DETERMINED! (Next Chapter: PARADOX OF HATE)

"Rem? How did you find me?"

"When you let Teymin out for a walk last night, she rushed off to find me. I followed her in secret."

"...So, no one else from the Mansion knows you're here with me, huh? You should probably get back."

Rem shook her head negative. "No way, Ryu-kun! I can't leave you behind like this! Besides, I promised myself that if I found you, I'd support you in any way I can! If living in the Capital in secret is what you wish, then I will help you as long as you're healthy!"

"Sir Ryu?" The ex-Prince turned around to see the familiar figure of Wil, who bowed before him slightly. "Lady Crusch wishes to meet you."

"Ryu, we sealed your memories away for a reason, but we didn't mean to hurt you! If we knew you weren't ready we wouldn't have given them to you!" Austin tried reasoning with the hopeless and hateful Ryu, who only glared at him.

"And pray tell, what other secrets have you and Shi been hiding from me?"

"...What do you know of the Witch of Envy?" Ryushi eventually asked, as Ryu's eyes widened in confusion.