Chapter 5: Cyber Castle

That giant swamp took me a while to conquer. The deeper I was in it, the darker and more scary it became, as if the beauty before was just a facade for the darkness that lurked past the venue. The deeper depths were less green and more of a cold steel blue. Some trees even had bits of a bright blue piece of technology wrapped around them, likely cameras watching my every move. I wouldn't push it past Ding being the replacement for Alphys. I'm unsure if there even is a reincarnation for that yellow lizard. Regardless of how many theories I can think of, now was not the time. I have to journey to the next area. Nobody told me the name of it, but I still knew it would be a big area. My curiosity was slowly getting to me as I slowly but surely came closer and closer to reaching my next destination. Soon, I would find it, and it was just as massive as I expected it to be. In front of me was no copy of New home, nor a copy of the red temple. No... In front of me was a giant castle, all clad in a dark blue metal that had blue streaks of technology running right through it as if the whole thing was completely cybernetic. Seems I don't need to guess the name behind this place. Seems obvious that it would likely be called Cyber Castle. Honestly feels like the name is some sort of ripped-off version of some mediocre copy of the original universe. Wouldn't be surprised given the number of delta runes used across my entire journey that seeped their way into the new universe somehow, likely staying as a reminder to the world I was still technically in.

But enough about the theories, for now, it's time to continue forward. Entering the massive castle, I noticed the layout wasn't very technologically advanced. It seemed more akin to the layout you'd see in an average medieval castle. Honestly, if you replaced the interior of a medieval castle with more techy materials, then that's what this would honestly look like. It didn't seem like a confusing layout to me. It was just a simple castle with likely some hidden hallways here and there just like a normal castle would have. But as I was I was stuck admiring the layout, the sound of whirring can be heard as if some kind of tech door was opened. Afterward, footsteps soon echoed down the hallway of the second floor of the castle. I waited in anticipation, ready to fight just in case of a threat.

Soon though, the figure would arrive at the top of the stairs. Another monster, most likely. They seemed extremely similar to Koiyne in the term that they were also a shark monster, but with barely any other features that Koiyne had. Instead of the koi-like patterns, this monster was purely black and white. The only actual color sporting them was in their clothing, which was a purple robe and shorts, both of which had some gold indents here and there. Some of the indents even lined what seemed to be the pockets of the robe and the shorts. They had the same long ears, but the outside was fully black and the inside was pure white. They even had what looked to be a pure white mohawk, and even white eyes that stared at me with modest intensity. The other white bits were striped markings on their arms and legs, and the entire middle of their chest was pure white as well. Their hands even had some white on them that seemed to be like one of those mitten markings that I hear some cats and dogs can have. On their white hands were black padded paws. Seems it was a common trait for the boss monsters to have some sort of paw pad. I was unsure if there was any symbolic reason, but I wouldn't let that get to me. It likely was just a coincidence in the end. One big glaring feature, however, was that they had some sabertooth-like teeth, giving off the impression that this monster was some sort of sabertooth shark. Me and the shark monster locked eyes for a bit, but soon the silence was broken.

"I have expected you for a while now. I figured the journey wouldn't be too hard for a human child to embark on... Chara, I believe it was, right? Skele and Koiyne told me a lot about you. Of course, you've probably been told about me. I am Dr. Ding. You interest me in your pursuit to help. You have not only seemed to harbor no ill will but also have proven your resolve and own smarts. I'd expect nothing less from a human with the Determination soul trait. Such a stark rarity you are."

his voice was very deep and very commanding. He even showed a lot of intelligence, and likely had a lot of power to back it up. It seems he somehow figured out my power, or at least, the base kit. Does he know about Reset then? That would surely be very bad.

"How do you know about my soul trait?" I asked, modestly curious.

"I can see souls without engaging in battle for them to appear. Plus I've been watching you for a while now. I don't know much about the power of Determination, but I do know that any human with the trait usually has great potential and always pursues their goal no matter how impossible it may be. And the best part is that they manage to somehow succeed. That is what I find most interesting, and how I believe that no matter what, you will figure out our Barrier problem."

He seemed very confident in his hypothesis. Given how he didn't mention resets, it was clear he didn't know about them. At least, not yet anyway. Hopefully, he doesn't find out about my many genocides. This was Gasters' reincarnation. I didn't doubt it anymore. Him not knowing about the resets or even directly confronting me about it proved otherwise. Since these reincarnations seemed stronger than the original, it was only safe to bet that this Gaster was likely even more powerful. Vivid memories of when the man who spoke in hands once helped Sans by lending his void-like powers that prevented me from dealing much damage to the skeleton. The worst part of that fight was when he possessed Sans, giving him even more power. Thankfully, I only had to endure it once. I guess after seeing his addition to the fight didn't yield any results, he gave up trying it again. Makes me wonder if the Gaster in this new world has similar powers. Best to not anger him to find out.

"I will try my best. But I can't guarantee anything." I said, reflecting on how the barrier did originally require 1 human soul to overcome it. However, this being a different world with stronger monsters, it's only right to assume the new Barrier would be much stronger too. It's likely a combination of magic and technology. It'd likely take 7 human souls to overcome it this time around. But I'll never know that without at least trying first. In the original world, the barrier was nothing but a line of code that required a sequence to trigger its destruction. Who's to know? Maybe it'll just be the same. Regardless, it's best to at least try first.

"I see. Best we not waste any time then. I will have Skele stationed in the Grande Hallway. It's just through the big door down there. You'll need to go past it to reach my lab. I will meet you there." he said before walking off, possibly going off to his study or to gather some items that would probably take a while, hence why he wanted me to press on and continue without him.

Guess I have no choice then. Given how Skele was waiting in the next room, I knew deep down what this was going to be.

It was going to be judgment time.