I still don't know why I ran so fast, like I was going to come into his house to stand over a dusty reading chair. He still had time, but the shock of the revelation had made me throw logic through the Colon shaped hole in the wall. Which is coincidentally the way I left the palace, it was faster.

I slid through the door frame, almost skidding as I stopped "Old man!" I yelled out, he and Asgore were sitting at the nearby table talking, Asgore seemed rather shocked by my entry, I think Gorel knew though, "Hey there Ral, in a hurry?" I took a minute to catch my breath, I didn't realize how far – or how fast – I had just ran.

"You didn't tell me that you were looking at your last year..." I was still out of breath and my voice had no volume to it, but they heard me. Asgore frowned, "Ral..." He looked to his father, who closed his eyes, "I was... that is to say, I would have said it closer to when I expect it to happen, less time between the initial shock and the occurrence, I figured it would hurt less."

I couldn't think of how to respond, "I still... I think I deserved to know." My voice was small and dripping with emotion. "To be honest." He said, cutting me off, "I was discussing with Asgore something involving what you'll do after I pass." I stayed silent, letting him know I was listening.

"My SOUL." He said, the word jolted through me as I lifted my head up, "You learned long ago that a Boss Monster can absorb a human soul to gain godlike power, just one increases their magic to the point of making them a beast of legend... but it can also work the other way, a Human can absorb the soul of a boss monster." I stood up at that, slowly taking my mask off and putting my hood down to stare at him, "What are you saying?"

He closed his eyes, "Asgore and I have decided this together... when I die, I want you to absorb my SOUL." Another jolt ran through me, this one like an arrow hitting my heart, "Wh-what?" I said.

"A Boss Monster's SOUL, the culmination of their being, I don't know what will happen if you do, but I know it will let you cross the barrier at the very least, or, maybe something else?" Asgore added, his voice hesitant, he wasn't entirely on board with this plan, nor did he know what would actually happen. He was just going along with his father's desire.

How do you respond to something like that? I don't know, to be honest I still don't even all these years later, I had gone completely numb to the world around me.

I left without a word and went up to the roof, once again staring at the sunbeams poking through the holes, "I can be free." I whispered to myself, "But... I don't want to, especially not if it's only because my father figure is dying for it."

I suddenly felt a heavy grip on me, then another. I had been so distracted I hadn't noticed that they had sneaked their way up to the roof while I was rolling in self-pity, and most likely heard what I said. Gorel and Asgore, they had wrapped me in a group hug, then I realized then that Asgore was crying too.

I was an idiot, I thought, I didn't even consider how Asgore must have felt, Gorel was his father by birth, and he knew well and good that he had been dying, no wonder he'd been down. "Guys..." I said through tears. We stayed up there in that hug until the sunbeams vanished once again and the roof started to glow.

I couldn't help but notice through the two masses of muscle and fur that Toriel was watching from the ladder, I saw her duck down the second she realized I could see her, had she planned this?

…

I uh, hey, is it raining? ...What do you mean we're indoors?

Right, sorry I just... I need a minute, pardon me.

…Okay, time to continue... I'm not ready for what comes next.

A few months passed since then, I think that the three of us hugging it out helped, Gorel was still slowing down, but when he moved he did so with purpose, making the most out of the time he had left. Asgore had gone back to being the unstoppable kindly ball of fuzz he used to be. And me, I stayed close by, I chose to spend those months doing what I did best, writing. I was going to listen and write as Gorel told me his life's story, so that when he moved on his deeds would never be forgotten.

Hm? I just kind of dropped the bit about Colonna's kid? Oh yeah, he was born without issue, he was... uh... he was... you know, it's horribly embarrassing, but I can't remember his name... or what he looked like... or what he did. Something about science, I get a headache when I think too hard about filling in those gaps, Sans seems to know, he can probably tell you.

Five months passed, it was late at night in Gorel's study, I was finishing off the last book he said there was any point to writing, when he stepped down from ruling to give it to Asgore. He was talking, and then suddenly he wretched and fell over, I knew what was happening.

But I still wasn't ready.

I sent the missive immediately, Asgore arrived within minutes, running so fast that the stone walls warped from the breeze chasing him. Toriel arrived soon after, it didn't surprise me she'd be there to support her husband.

That scream of "Dad!" as Asgore all but kicked the door in, when I have a bad dream, I'll inevitably hear that phrase repeat over and over.

What words were shared between us as he lay dying? Those are... they're between me and him and Asgore, I'm not going to say. However, I can tell you what happened next.

He looked at me and smiled, "I have... a last request for you, Ral." He said to me, I nodded and listened, staying silent so that I could hear it clearly.

"I looked more... at what would happen if you took my SOUL." I winced, I forgot about that completely, I'd have to do it, wouldn't I?

"It's your choice if you want to leave for good, or come back and stay, but with our souls together we can cross the barrier... I'd like you to take my SOUL, and let it see sunlight one final time." All three of us were left bawling tears, Toriel comforting her husband while trying to stay strong for us three, even though she was crying just as hard.

"I- I promise." I said through my blubbering

"And Asgore." He said, smiling. Asgore looked up at him.

"Make me proud."

…

… the funeral was scheduled for tomorrow, at the end of the service the dust was to be scattered over his weapon, the one now used by his son.

… I... hold on, how embarrassing that I'm losing my composure in the middle of a story, and I call myself a scholar.

As for me, I took his SOUL as he wished and went to my room, in what was now my house. I went to bed, getting ready for my journey to the barrier after the funeral. As I slept, I felt a rush of power, heard a second heart beating in my chest as Gorel's SOUL situated itself in its new home, monster SOULs were supposed to disappear after death, but I suppose that when it entered my body, it became capable of sustaining itself off the same determination that would let my soul persevere if I died.

The dreams I had that night were a bit too on the nose I thought, then it turned out that, surprise, they weren't dreams.

"If you could have one wish, what would it be?" "I wish I could fit in down here..." "I wish I was long-lived, so I could see our accomplishments..." My conversation with Asgore echoed in my mind, I groaned a bit as I stirred from my sleep with a sudden sensation of dull pain, but shrugged it off and returned to sleep.

And then, Gorel's voice rang out to me, echoing a conversation from a few years ago, "Did you know, Monsters have stronger magic, but Humans are more versatile? A Boss Monster can be an unholy terror, but ultimately they're only best with a chosen type, with others being secondaries like healing. A human SOUL, brimming with the magic of the spark they've since lost could rewrite the rules, that's how the barrier came to be despite owning no elemental properties."

Be careful what you say when you make idle wishes, you never know if a genie may be listening in.

I woke up the next day feeling groggy and sore, I reached up to my face because it hurt bad.

"Ugh, did I fall asleep in my mask?" I reached up to rub at the mask and tried to pull it, and it didn't give. I froze, reflecting on the dream.

"Oh no..." I said lowly as I felt around my face, eventually pricking a finger on something sharp, "Ow!"

"I'm going to stand up." I announced my actions, breathing in as I stood, my feet were bare and my soles didn't feel particularly hard anymore, I also felt a head taller than I was just yesterday.

"I'm going to walk over to a mirror." I stated, a bit more panicked as I felt some added weight on my head, and an odd kind of gait in my legs.

"I'm going to turn on a light." I added, fiddling with a wick with hands that seemed larger than normal as I struck a lantern.

"And if I see what I think I'm about to see, I'm going to scream." The room lit up, and I saw my reflection.

To my credit, I didn't scream.

I passed out.

...What do you mean it's not a good plot twist because you could see I was a Boss Monster from the start and I started the story describing myself as a Human? I guess you're right, I should have had my hood up.

I woke up and took another look. Sure enough, my body had changed, I was taller, slightly bulkier, covered in fur and looked- you get where I'm going with this, you're looking at me right now.

I was thankful that it chose the face based on I guess what I would have looked like if I had been born into this body from the start, I didn't have the features of my mask, would have sucked if it involved losing an eye.

It wasn't until centuries later when Alphys ran detailed experiments on the captive SOULs that I pieced together what had happened, it was the power of the human SOUL on what amounted to a caffeine high. A human SOUL, filled with determination by itself is capable of a redo, the power to SAVE and LOAD. So tell me, what happens when a determined human is suddenly given a massive surge of magical power by absorbing the soul of a Boss Monster, a being of incredible power?

Simply put, I rewrote my position in reality, as far as it was concerned I had always been a monster. Hm, that doesn't simplify much, does it?

He said anything could happen if a Human took a Monster's SOUL, go figure.

Problem was, now that Gorel's SOUL had adjusted to its new home, his magic stabilized and I wasn't able to rewrite reality anymore, there wasn't any going back.

"Dear Diary: I want so badly to talk about Gorel's funeral, but right now I'm more focused on the fact that I'm suddenly not human anymore.

You know, I should have seen it coming with the old man's words, and with what Asgore asked me about what I'd like to do if I had a wish, especially when I responded, "I'd like to fit in better."

A human powered up with a Boss Monster's SOUL, a being able to temporarily rewrite reality.

Apparently that includes being able to subconsciously turn from a human into a boss monster, and then immediately losing said power to bend reality so I can't change back.

Things just got very interesting.

Ralochs"

The sudden shift in my life was shocking, especially because it came so suddenly, and after such an emotionally draining day to start with. But at the same time, that idle wish had come true.

I thought I was filled with determination.

But I was, at least outwardly, a monster now, could I still make determination?