Chapter 10

Chara was sick to his stomach.

He couldn't believe that he had hurt Roy – Chara didn't want to hurt Roy, but in that moment, he reacted in a way he never wanted to treat anyone – and Chara couldn't believe that he was possibly going to get away with it. When Roy turned the fight around and began to attack Chara, it was the justice Chara deserved. Now here Chara was, remaining unpunished while Roy was likely going to receive a punishment he did not merit.

Perhaps Chara was a demon after all.

"Hey, Chara, don't look so down," Asriel had said after the two made it to their room, closed the door, and sat on their beds. For the past ten minutes, Asriel had tried and failed to suggest something the two could do while they waited. Chara refused every one of Asriel's suggestions and never once made one of his own.

"You lied to them, Asriel," Chara said, the words tasting bitter in his mouth.

Asriel pouted. "I did not!"

"You did too!" Chara snapped before muttering an apology. Speaking softly, Chara added, "You didn't tell them that I hit Roy first."

"Yeah, but he deserved it," Asriel argued.

"It does not matter if he deserved it," Chara argued back. He hated that having this conversation with Asriel kept his mind on what happened. Thinking about what happened with Roy reminded Chara of the past life he tried too hard to keep shoved down. "I should not have attacked him in the first place."

"Don't worry about it, Chara," Asriel said, and Chara could tell that Asriel was trying to tell this to himself just as much as he was telling it to Chara. "Even if Roy did tell them, Mom and Dad wouldn't believe them. And if they did, I don't think you would be punished for defending yourself."

"But I wasn't defending myself!" Chara argued. "Roy said something that made me mad, and I acted without thinking. He was the one defending himself, and he's going to get in trouble because of it."

Asriel tilted his head to the side, studied Chara for a moment, and said, "I don't understand you, Chara. Roy is a bully, and bullies should be punished. But you don't want that to happen."

As much as Chara wanted to point out that Roy had been fine until Asriel provoked him, Chara chose to not voice the observation. The last thing Chara wanted was for Asriel to think that Chara was blaming him. However, that did not mean Roy should be the only one to take the fall.

"I will be right back," Chara said, pushing himself off the bed.

"But we were told to stay in our rooms!" Asriel argued, surprised Chara, who always did what he was told, would consider disobeying their parents.

"They have to know what really happened," Chara replied, fingers wrapped around the doorknob. "I will not be gone long, Asriel. Wait here until I return."

Frowning, Asriel muttered, "Okay, Chara. I trust you know what you're doing."

Without looking at Asriel, Chara walked out of the bedroom and gently closed the door behind him. He wasn't sure where the adults were talking, but Chara was willing to check every room in the castle. After checking the dining room, the kitchen, and the garden, Chara found his parents and Renart in Asgore's study.

Before Chara walked in to confess his crime, he stood outside the door to gather his courage. Yet as he took one final deep breath, Chara heard something Asgore was saying. The adults were not discussing how to punish Roy at all.

"You know more about soul power than anyone," Asgore was saying, likely speaking to Renart. "Surely there has to be another way to destroy the barrier."

Although Chara couldn't see the monsters in the other room, he could imagine Renart shaking his head as he replied, "This spell can only be broken with the power with which it was cast. The humans knew what they were doing when they had seven magicians create the barrier: even if a human one day found themselves fallen Underground, as your child has, that one human would not be enough to shatter the barrier. The only flaw to this, however, is that the combination of a monster and human soul can cross the barrier. Not destroy or even begin to damage it, but at least leave the Underground forever, if so desired."

"Who all knows about this?" Toriel asked. "Please, tell me that this information is not common knowledge. I do not know how I would be able to sleep at night if I had reason to believe someone would try to absorb Chara's soul to—"

"Tori, calm down," Asgore said, speaking firmly but gently. "Only my council knows about this, and they would never hurt Chara."

"Are you sure about that?"

"I personally made sure that they would not so much as harm a hair on Chara's head."

"This information is twofold, you know," Renart said. When nobody replied, he explained, "Need I remind you that your family is made of boss monsters, the only monsters whose souls persist after death, even for a short time? Although more difficult, humans can absorb monster souls just as monsters can absorb human souls."

"You are not suggesting Chara would reap our souls and absorb them to cross the barrier?" Toriel asked, sounding so horrified Chara imagined her face growing pale through her white fur.

Chara's throat went completely dry. His heart stopped. Had he not caught himself in time, he would have collapsed to the floor.

"Not only be able to cross the barrier," Renart answered, "but become a being of great power. It was information my colleagues and I discovered shortly before war broke out. I personally made sure that the research and . . . evidence were destroyed before the information could spread and be used as a weapon against monsters during the war. Not that the humans needed the information, of course. Even without knowing this, they still won."

"Why did you never mention this before?" Asgore asked.

"There was no need," Renart answered. "Even now, the information is useless to you."

"But Chara—" Toriel began.

"Knows nothing about this," Asgore interrupted.

It was Renart's turn to ask questions. "Do you intend to keep it that way?"

For a moment, silence. Then Asgore replied, "Chara knows they can't cross the barrier. I don't think they even want to return to the surface. I doubt knowing the combination of a human and a monster soul can pass through would change that."

"With all due respect, Sire, that is not what I asked you."

More silence, then, "For now, it is best we keep this information amongst the three of us. Yes, Chara included. They are only a child. This is not information that needs to be given to children."

Before more could be said, Chara turned on his heel and slowly walked away. If he could absorb a monster soul, he could return to the surface. Alternatively, any monster that harvested and absorbed his soul could also cross the barrier. The combination would turn the soul absorber into a being of great power. Unable to help himself, Chara wondered just what kind of power Renart had meant.

Chara wanted to throw up. None of the adults mentioned it, but Chara knew that in order for this soul absorption to be possible, someone had to die. No wonder this was information was chosen to be kept secret.

"Chara, what's wrong?" Asriel asked when Chara walked into the room, probably looking as sick as he felt. "Are they mad at you? Are they going to punish you?"

"I . . . I . . ." Chara could not find the words to say. On one hand, he didn't want to lie to Asriel; but on the other, he didn't want to burden Asriel with this information either. In the end, all Chara said was, "I never told them. I was too nervous to walk into the room."

Asriel tried to cheer Chara up, but his words were lost to the air. When the adults eventually called the children out of their rooms to tell them that Renart and Roy were going to spend their time in New Home elsewhere, Asriel seemed disappointed to hear that Roy was not going to be punished. Through the weight of knowledge of humans and monster souls on his shoulders, Chara was relieved.

After they had prepared for bed and said their good nights, Chara lied in bed and stared at the ceiling. He could not stop thinking about this new information. Getting out of bed, Chara walked to Asriel's bed and stood over the monster. As he took in his sleeping brother's peaceful expression, Chara could not stop thinking about what their combined souls could do. It was an exciting thing to think about, and that's what scared Chara most.