It was the dawn... I think? Of the next morning, it felt wonderful to actually have a full night's sleep in an actual bed, and despite being right outside of a snowy wasteland Home's atmosphere was surprisingly temperate, which helped.

As I got up I put on the robes Gorel had given me, the ones that would help me hide myself. I grabbed the mask and took another look at it now that the context made sense. It did indeed look like Gorel's species, the mask was carved out of wood, what I thought was a gaudy splash of red and black was actually meant to symbolize the wounds I "sustained" in the war in my new persona; a scar that took an eye (the eyehole was blacked out by cloth so I could see out, but not in), and a burn wound on the side of the mask's snout.

I put the mask on and headed into the living area, the massive monster was talking to someone else, another Boss Monster, he looked just like him except somewhat shorter, broader, and his hair was blonde instead of gray-white.

"Ah, Ralohcs, I was just talking about you." Gorel said as he saw me come in, "This is my son, Asgore." My eyes widened in shock under that mask, the man sitting in front of me was the current king of monsters, a figure the stories painted as a black-clad angel of death who could clear a battlefield with a swipe of his halberd.

Here I was, meeting this awe-inspiring figure of legends, this imposing creature associated with death and chaos, he opened his mouth to speak, I listened, expecting some wise words spoken in a voice that would knock my soul out of my body.

"Golly, nice to meet you!" My jaw dropped, it was evident from the first words out of his mouth he was the exact opposite of all the stories.

Yeah, even back then he was a huge dork.

"Pleasure to meet you, your highness." I said, going to kneel, "Hey now, none of that." He said in a firm tone, I blinked a bit before standing up, "Just call me Asgore, okay?" I blinked again, he didn't care about formality at all.

"Wait." I said, catching up to the conversation, "Ralohcs?" I questioned to Gorel, "Well, that's what you told me your name was, right?" I rolled my lips under the mask, he'd chosen a name for me without my permission, though I let it slide since I didn't know how their species' naming conventions worked, and he'd probably have an idea. "Right, sorry, I've had a hard time of it, I'm still not thinking right." I dismissed, he gave me a knowing glance and a smile, those massive teeth still made me nervous.

I didn't realize until a month later that he had heard me call myself a scholar in my introduction and just turned it around, apparently being bad with names is genetic.

"Well, if that's all you need, Gorey, now that Ral is up I'm going to give him a tour of the city, give your girlfriend my regards okay?" He said as they both stood, "Kay dad! Talk to you later. Oh, and Ral." He said to me, I immediately stood at attention, "Welcome to Home, I hope you enjoy your new life here!"

The way he said that, that smile and look, it made me feel more welcome than I did in my own hometown, there was a twinge in my heart, one that didn't want to leave just based on my interactions with these two alone. Still, I couldn't afford to stay, there's no telling if the other monsters shared that sentiment or not... I had to find out.

The thought that all the monsters living in this city were as nice as Gorel and Asgore, it filled me with determination.

"Hey, big guy." I said, then cringed at immediately at being so friendly with what amounts to nobility, back on the surface that could get you killed on the spot, I just felt like he wouldn't mind, and naturally, he didn't.

"Hm, something wrong?" He responded, I shook my head, "Well, before we head out... I have so many questions." I said, taking a seat in the table. It was fine for those seven-eight foot tall monsters, but for six-foot me, it was hilariously short and my legs dangled.

"Well, go right ahead." He said with a big smile as he went back to take a seat, I fought the chill running down my spine at the sight of his teeth in the interest of... my interest. "You and your son... you were both alive for the war?" I cringed again, why did the war have to be the first thing I brought up? I started mentally berating myself over it.

"Yep." He said suddenly, "My species, the Boss Monsters, we're immortal... with a caveat." I snapped out of my funk to look up at him, he had dodged the question about the war in favor of the question about his lifespan, "Caveat?" I asked, he nodded in response, "Well, let me start with a question, what do you know of monster's biology?"

I pursed my lips, even though he couldn't see it, "Your physical forms are weak, you're mostly magic instead of matter like humans." He nodded, "Good, that's all you need to know. Boss Monsters like me and my son are naturally ageless, other monsters have lifespans ranging from a few decades to potentially centuries." "That long?" I blinked at him, "A few species have already had anywhere from two to three generations pass since the war, their grandparent's battles a thing of the past." He responded to me.

"And that caveat?" I asked, he simply smiled, "Boss Monsters, we don't age unless we have children, it's part of how our species work, and it's a trait unique to us. Human children, and most Monster children even, they grow by the nutrition they receive from food and do so naturally, Boss Monster children drain the energy to grow directly from the parent, so only when we have a child do we age, and, eventually, die." I nodded, "So the gray in your beard?" I asked, "Yep, a sign of aging, I'm nine-hundred and two years old, though in the physical sense, I'll be one-hundred and fifty-two years old before I turn to dust."

Once again my jaw dropped, he was alive for ten generations of humans and acted like it was a year.

"You must have seen a lot, not just Monster history, but Human too, I'd love if you'd share your stories with me before I leave." I said, only to notice his head lowered, and his eyes dropped into shadows.

"Sorry to say, you're probably not going to be leaving." He said, his tone suddenly becoming grim and making me nervous again, "Wh-what?" I responded.

"If you crossed the barrier, you're either an unlucky man or a brave fool, anything can enter, but nothing can exit."

I know what you're thinking, he doesn't mention that part to me yet, we'll get there. Ah, right, back to the story.

I just stared at him for what felt like an eternity in disbelief, "So... the reason that Asgore was being so nice to me... and why you gave me this disguise." I said, the full gravity of the situation sinking in, "Because you're going to have to live with monsters until you die, I'm... sorry." He said, his voice was full of regret, "I should have mentioned that when we first met, I let you get your hopes up." I should have been the one mentally tormented by this situation, but listening to the sadness in his voice, I just wanted to give the old furball a hug and tell him it wasn't his fault.

I sat there in silence with Gorel for what felt like an hour before I finally spoke, "Hey... you know what?" I lifted my head up, "If the rest of the monsters are like you, and like your son." I pulled the mask off, letting him see that I was smiling genuinely, "I think I'll be okay, yeah?" His mood picked up, though I could tell that he wasn't quite convinced, I wasn't either, really I was still just lying to myself so I didn't have a complete breakdown.

"Well, you said you'd show me around the city, I guess now it makes sense why I'd need to know, huh?" I put the mask back over my head, sighing internally as I realized this may as well have been my face now, at least the wood was oddly breathable and not uncomfortable to wear. Gorel stood up with a nod and began to lead me outside.

I fell asleep last night without looking outside any kind of window, so my first impression of Home was going to be right then, and, my, what a first impression it was. Gorel's home was on a high rise which afforded me a spectacular view. The city was huge, it made any of the castle towns back home look like shires, not to mention the stonework on the buildings looked like something from another world entirely, something not even our best stonemasons could create.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" The aged monster said to me, smiling, "New Boss Monsters turning up is... kind of big news, but we're the only species with proportions similar enough to humans for you to pass as, just stick near me, I'll speak for you."

I nodded in silence, thankful that he had my back, though I wasn't looking forward to the fact that my disguise was going to be an attention grabber when that was the last thing I wanted.

The markets were... hoo. I was thankful for Gorel then more than ever, some of the monsters kept a respectful distance from the retired king, some saw me in tow and all but charged him asking questions. He never bent though, the story always the same: I was hiding out in the far, unexplored ends of the underground in solitude, and just recently decided to move to the city. It was the same case pretty much everywhere, the taverns, the inn, the central square. Still, the bustle felt good, made me feel not alone in this place.

The addendum that I'm not confident in myself was usually enough to make them respectfully give me my space. Except the seahorse monsters, they apparently really enjoy flexing in people's personal space.

Ech.

I'd have to adjust though, I couldn't always count on him to help me in a situation like this.

The monsters were... interesting. In comparison to humans their appearances made the name fitting, but at the same time none of them were aggressive, or rude, a lot of them just gave the aura of not knowing better. Once more the stories I'd been told since I was a kid proved to be lies.

I decided that if I ever did get back to the surface, I was going to give the elders an earful, and write the truth about monsters. The thought filled me with determination.

Once we arrived safely back at Gorel's abode, I gave a sigh of relief, glad to be away from the crowds. "Hey, this mask is getting a bit stuffy, think it can come off?" I said, reaching up to it, "Sure, the windows aren't open so nobody will see your face, I don't see the harm." He responded as I nodded and took the mask off.

"Your people..."I closed my eyes, "Tell me something, what was the war, really? The stories I was told since childhood, they're wrong, I can see that with my own eyes." His disposition grew grim again as he went to his kitchen, I frowned, hoping I hadn't overstepped my bounds.

"The war... wasn't." He said as he stoked a fire, I saw no coal or sticks in the hearth, I realized after a minute that it was magic, "Humans launched a surprise attack, no warning or declaration, they just started attacking one day."

My mind almost broke from those words alone as the last of what I had grown on was turned around, he was too nice to lie, right? How could he not be telling the truth?

"Why?" I asked as he shook the fire off his hands as the hearth began to cook the meal he had bought, to my relief it wasn't more snails, but rather some odd meat that nonetheless smelled wonderful.

"Because they were afraid... the seven mystics who trapped us down here were the last vestiges of humanity who could naturally use magic, Humans had been losing their spark for centuries. Compared to monsters, to whom magic comes like breathing, if we did decide to fight it would be a slaughter, at least, that's what they thought."

I sat down against the corner of the threshold between the kitchen and dining area, listening to him continue to speak as he made dinner, "That wasn't it though... they were afraid we'd take their SOUL." I lifted my head up, staring at him, "Soul?"

"SOUL." He corrected me by emphasizing the other letters more, "Everything that you are, memories, life, emotions, it's all in your SOUL, and Boss Monsters, like me, we have the power to absorb Human SOULs." My heart wanted to jump into my throat at that revelation as I suddenly became wary of him.

I shook my head, immediately degrading myself for thinking ill of this man who had been nothing but kind and trustworthy. He must have looked back at some point and noticed the look on my face, I heard a small grunt from him that implied as much, but he continued, "One soul makes a monster powerful enough to fight back, up to six makes our power grow... and at seven." I raised my head, "At seven?" "At seven we could make God tremble." The fire in the cooking hearth flared at that.

I personally think he did it on purpose to be dramatic... right, story.

"Wait." I interrupted, "Fight back?" I stood up slowly. He looked to me and nodded grimly, "A monster's SOUL is attached to our physical forms because we're beings of magic, this makes us sensitive to emotion. Attacking someone like you, a person who wouldn't fight back, we'd be fine, but attacking someone who can look at us like an obstacle, and especially someone who could hate us, they'd disrupt our form and could easily kill us in a single blow."

My mouth gaped in shock and horror, "Then... the war..." He turned to me, "It may as well have been a war of extermination, thousands of monsters were turned to dust, and we didn't obtain a single human SOUL. Their soldiers had been raised to treat enemies as if they weren't living things, one human could kill multitudes." He turned back to his food, "No humans died..." I said quietly as I sank back down,.

"Humans... I forgive them, Asgore forgives them, some of the monsters who weren't alive then forgives them. But there are a lot of longer-lived monsters who still remember that, if not participating in the war than at least being sealed up, they would kill you for your SOUL if they knew... because."

"Because?"

"Because with one SOUL in a Boss Monster, the barrier could be crossed, and with seven, it could be shattered completely."

"Dear Diary: Today my worldview shattered like glass struck by stone, I was raised believing that, even if Monsters didn't attack first, they at least fought back and caused casualties, but no, they didn't... it wasn't just, nor was it called for.

I want to get out of here to tell the other side of the story, but would they even believe me? No, they'd probably laugh at me or kill me for it. Either way, that's moot, because the only way I would leave is if a boss monster took my SOUL, and Gorel and Asgore, they're too nice for that, and I don't want to die anyway.

I'm resigned to my fate, but I don't think it's that bad honestly, the monsters are all nice, some a bit too handsy and others a bit odd, but I'll adjust.

I'll be fine here, I think.

I hope.

- Ralochs, I guess?"

I wasn't sure what the future held for me in this new land or the new life I'd have to make, but I looked at the mask on the table and stayed determined.