Dark, darker, yet darker. The darkness kept growing; shadows cutting deeper. The dream was always the same whenever you had RESET: a replaying, recurring vision of how you had fallen down. Evergrowing darkness, shadows cutting into everything, even you, and then you woke up fallen on the bed of flowers. Every time, every way just the same. No matter what changed, no matter what you did different, it was always the same way you came to the Underground.

The light that shown from above was similarly familiar. It woke you from your stupor, provided for you a glimpse at the surface world above. It wasn't like you were unfamiliar with the surface. But it often seemed like such a distant memory, a fuzzy dream that called to you and to the monsters you called "friends".

Friends. That was the operative word to describe them. Your delving into the madness that Flowey had shown just what he'd meant. Everything was… no longer as interesting. You weren't doing this anymore for them alone. You knew them inside and out. Everything they'd say, everything they'd do. There were no surprises left from them; Asriel though, he was the one constant change in the Underground. That filled you with Determination alone to get up… to do this adventure again, to see if there was a way that you missed that didn't need you to kill or be killed.

You grunted and stood, dusting off the seeds from the golden flowers before walking into the darkness. The ruined archway remained the same as it was, the deltarune emblazoned on it, and walking in, you could see another patch of sunlight, and a familiar weed watching you come in. His gaze was hollow, empty, but that damned smile told you that he wasn't terrified of you anymore like he should've been.

"Really Chara?" His tone was incredulous; he didn't believe you'd RESET. "Well… do what you will. I'll be waiting." His rictus grin mocked you as you reached for him, a laugh telling you that you were nothing but a failure. At this point, you'd be hard pressed to disagree.

"Oh… hello." Her voice stopped you from digging into the ground with your bare hands to grasp the weed, and your gaze fell on the goat–like monster; you hadn't even noticed her enter. Her dark red, almost maroon eyes, looked at you with a sense of kindness that never failed to make you feel at ease. Even your first time down here, you could feel that warm presence as the robed boss monster had first saved you from the flower.

"You must be so lost and confused. Ah. Do not worry. I am TORIEL, caretaker of the Ruins." You didn't say anything; you were just happy to see her again. Unlike Flowey, you still had a SOUL. You didn't need to feign joy or love. Like always, you found Toriel to be, like all your friends, someone you loved to be around; in her case, however, as in Asgore's, you had a deeper connection than friendship. A mother and a father. Whenever you'd thought of those names, you thought only of them.

"Come. I will guide you through the Ruins." Pushing yourself off your knees, you followed her into the catacombs of the Ruins. It was always such a grandiose place, the grand stairway and arched doorway making it seem more impressive than the crumbling, decrepit place it was. The shadow of the Ruins loomed above, and filled you with Determination. You could feel that familiar zeal as you touched the flickering star in front of them before you, before you followed her into the arching doorway.

"Welcome to your new home, innocent one." The statement hit you hard as you remembered what you had done. Calling you innocent was a stretch. A massive one. Even if you hadn't been driven to kill so many, you wouldn't have thought the term was fitting. If anything, it made you cringe at the notion that you could've ever had innocence after coming down here.

"Allow me to educate you in the operation of the Ruins." At that insistence, you decided to move. You couldn't let her do the same thing as she had many times before, and showed your knowledge off as you solved the puzzle of the next room. The door slid open, with Toriel looking toward you incredulously.

"Ah… how did you know how to solve the puzzle, small one?" You didn't even answer, just giving a shrug.

"Such an interesting child… do you like puzzles?" Finally, a new dialogue option. You'd managed to somehow find something new, something different that reminded you that Toriel, like everyone in the Underground, was still a person. You told her that you were partial to a good puzzle. Toriel's expression lit up in intrigue, those maroon eyes burrowing into you as she considered your answer.

"The Ruins are full of puzzles; one must solve them to move from room to room. I hope they will not be too easy for you." To be fair, it was hard to say if they were easy or not anymore. You'd just known which paths to take. Even as you entered the next room. The puzzle itself was overly simple: a flick of a lever; Toriel had marked the one to pull, and you didn't even bother stalling to listen as you moved to the next room.

"As a human living in the Underground, monsters may attack you. You will need to be prepared for this situation. However, worry not. The process is simple. When you encounter a monster, you will enter a FIGHT. When you are in a FIGHT, strike a friendly conversation; play with the monster if you can. Stall for time, and I will come to resolve the conflict. Practice it on this dummy."

When the combat menu came up, you immediately went to the act bar. Dummy looked like it was about to fall over. It was easy to please Toriel with this… but before you considered your actions, you noticed something. Your LV… it wasn't reset. It flickered, glitched as you looked at it, between 1 and 20.

You were curious all the same… in all of your RESETS, this had never happened. How? Why? Should you strike the dummy? Was this a test? But you decided no. You waited patiently, looking at the dummy with an expression between curiosity and… truthfully, fear. You were afraid. What would happen if you struck the dummy? Your SOUL told you exactly what needed to be done. Instead of ACTing or FIGHTing, you ran away from the fight.

When the menu faded away, Toriel hummed in thought.

"You ran away… truthfully, that was not a poor choice. It is better to avoid conflict wherever possible." Then her expression became one of amusement. "That, however, is a dummy. It cannot harm you. It is made of cotton. It has no desire for revenge." Revenge. The word filled you with… something. You couldn't determine what, but it was something that made your skin feel like it was crawling. She must have noticed the expression on your face, since Toriel shook her head.

"Nevermind. Stay close to me and I will keep you safe." You nodded and followed the boss monster into the next room, looking carefully at the path. You'd memorized the way she took many times already. The note on the wall was as meaningless to read as every note in the Underground now. You'd see it all before.

"This is the puzzle," Toriel explained, gesturing to the bridge of spikes in front of her. "but… here, take my hand for —" You knew the way yourself. You didn't need her to guide you; Toriel looked on astonished as you took her hand in a firm grasp, walking onto the bridge and following the path of the room before. You showed your knowledge, hoping to show that you were capable. No. You were Determined to show her that you were capable.

When you both exited the bridge, Toriel looked to you with an expression that was somewhere between relief and utter fear.

"I… I think that puzzles are too dangerous for now, my child." You frowned lightly at her parental, protectionary mindset.

'So fighting monsters with your very SOUL isn't dangerous?' you quietly pondered.

"You have done excellently thus far, my child. However… I have a difficult request to ask of you." You knew what was coming as she took a deep breath, closing her eyes. It was all the same… nothing new. "I would like you to walk to the end of the room by yourself. Forgive me for this." And like many times before, she sprinted far enough that you couldn't see where she hid in the dim light of the Ruins. You didn't even run after her, instead leisurely strolling as you realized the malaise that stayed with you.

This place… the flower was right. Once you had done everything, it all became tedious, a bore… everything was the same, predictable, terribly suffocating in how easy it was to know everything. Though you were quickly proven wrong as you walked to the pillar where Toriel usually hid behind. Instead, you were faced with empty space.

"What?" The question came with confusion, utter bafflement. That hadn't ever happened before. Even if you changed some things yourself, in general nothing ever really changed.

"Ah, do not worry my child." Your gaze snapped up to the monster peering around the corner. She then walked back in, holding what looked like a piece of candy. "I did not intend to leave you alone here. This was an exercise to test your independence. Thank you for trusting me." She then placed monster food into your hand: a reward.

"Take this. It will calm your nerves, will it not?" You looked to Toriel with utter confusion before back to the candy. You knew where it was from. The bowl in the next room was always there. There was always just a little bit of candy to take. It was just after the SAVE point.

"My child… is something the matter?" You looked back to Toriel for a few moments, utterly unaware of how best to respond. But you didn't need to. "You… look as though you have seen a ghost." This was something entirely new. Of course she would see that in your gaze.

"Perhaps… it would be foolish for me to leave you alone again. Would you like to come home? I can cook for you something to eat." You almost wanted to pull away as she extended a hand out, clearly nervous at what was happening. Things had changed… somewhat. You could see it in your LV, in the way Toriel interacted with you. It filled you with… something other than Determination.

"If you would like, however, I can show you some more of the Ruins. You saw the dialogue box show up in front of you. Two options. 'I would like to go home,' and 'I would like to see the rest of the Ruins.' Had the Underground recognized your boredom? Had you gotten something new, now that you had done everything? Had the flower seen something like this? You chose the new option.

"I'd… rather go home," you answered. Your tone was a little meeker than you had meant it, and Toriel nodded.

"I understand, my child. Please take my hand." You didn't object as you grasped her hand.

This part of the Ruins was entirely new to you to explore. You knew that this part existed, somewhat, but getting to explore it, or rather see it as Toriel walked you back to her home, was another matter altogether. There were more monsters, to be sure. More froggits, whimsums and vegetoids that congregated with other monsters. Elementals like Grillby, ghosts like Nabstablook, blobs of slime, plenty of spiders and even a few other skeletons that you could see; you wondered if the skeletons were related to Sans and Papyrus at all. It was their own little city, away from the rest of monsterkind. This was Old Home… you'd only ever seen it from above, the spot next to Toriel's house overlooking the city below. You had seen a few more of the twinkling stars that indicated SAVE points, but what struck you was the scale. The ruins traveled deep into the dark, perhaps as deep as Hotland or even more.

The ruins that you had traversed were the upper levels: tunnels and winding pathways that were only where the most intrepid monsters dared to explore. They were meant to trap humans, you realized; if monsters wished to, they could easily hide from a human down in these lower levels. This had to have been where Alphys had evacuated the monsters to, with Toriel's spell over the door protecting them from your return.

For Toriel's part, she was eager to point out the sights, happy to have someone to talk to even if you didn't answer back. You were not so eager. The way the monsters looked at you from the corners of their eyes… it indicated fear. It wasn't immediate fear of being attacked, but there was a sense of déjà vu from them, clearly. You'd never even met with some of these monsters. The few times that your SOUL had been beckoned by a monster were dissuaded by the motherly boss monster, however.

If anything, she was protecting them from you, rather than the other way around. That much was clear with how your LV had continued to flicker between 1 and 20. Even just a slight breeze would've been enough to completely destroy a monster's physical body if it had enough killing intent. But what was strange, however, was that you lacked execution points. No EXP to speak of, and yet your LV was basically at the highest you'd ever had it.

However, what was striking was just how dark it was down here. It wasn't like the Underground didn't lack light. Plenty of spots in Waterfall were like looking at the night sky. But here? It was very clearly a cave, different than the rest of the Underground's corridors and halls. Even Waterfall had a certain civility to it. Everything here in Old Home looked… dark. Candles and torches lit the streets, rather than the electric lights of New Home. There wasn't a pervasive pocket of holes that showed the barest hints of sunlight like in Snowdin. There was no beautiful, otherworldly glow. And the place itself was crumbling: a desiccated and terrible

Down here? It was like the stories always said. Creatures skulking in the dark, occasionally only lit by the ambient light of ancient methods. It was… sad. It was the first time you'd seen the monsters' situation beyond what was beyond the Ruins. Was this how they were before the Core? It only made you feel more Determined to see your goal through. You would save everyone… you had to.

"My child. Is something wrong?" Toriel's voice cut through to you as you stood outside her home. The feeling of needing to SAVE all of the monsters from this fate, it filled you with Determination. The twinkling star flickered for a few moments in your periphery as you answered.

"It's so dark down there…"

"Ah… yes," she sighed. "It is quite dark down here. But worry not, my child! Magic makes living in this place more manageable." You nodded in understanding. But it didn't feel manageable. You could see why more monsters lived in the other parts of the Underground over… this.

As you walked in, however, you remembered that monsters could find ways to make even the most dismal situations seem… hopeful. Toriel's home was always such a cheery, warm place that contrasted so heavily now with what was outside and down in the rest of the Ruins. Magical light flickered in the domes, ever so slightly dim as you entered the familiar home.

"I thought we might celebrate your arrival, my child. I want you to have a nice time living here. So I will hold off on snail pie for tonight. Which do you prefer? Cinnamon or butterscotch? Wait… do not tell me. Is it both?" You only nodded once, the boss monster giving a pleased chuckle.

"Hee, hee, hee. I had a feeling. When humans fall down here… strangely, I… I already feel that I know them. Truthfully, when I first saw you… I had felt that I had seen a ghost, myself. But then it felt like I was seeing an old friend. Strange, is it not?" You had heard her admit as such before. You had a feeling you knew why though. The other humans. All humans possessed Determination in some way. You possessed more… the flower possessed more than them… but it was not out of the realm of possibility for the other humans to have been able to SAVE and LOAD. But now? Now it took a new meaning that she had mentioned you like a ghost. The thought made your skin crawl.

"Please. Follow me, my child. I have a surprise for you." The dialogue was slightly different, but clearly you knew what was coming as she gestured to the first door down the hallway. Following without question, she opened the door and snapped her fingers, the lights coming on immediately with magical power.

"Surprise! This is it! A room of your own! I hope you like it!" she excitedly gestured. The room was exactly the same as it ever was. Toys that never interested you, a comfy bed to sleep in, an empty photo frame on the dresser, and the box of kids shoes in disparity of sizes…

"Please, make yourself at home, my child," Toriel said, rubbing your head with a tender and affectionate touch. It, however, make you tense as you remembered her last words to you before.

'Y... you... really hate me that much?' Those words would haunt you now. You didn't hate her; you never had. The trepidation you felt at her touch, however, made your guilt all the clearer. You could change the past for everyone but yourself. Truly a curse. When you walked into the room, Toriel left, shutting the door gently as she likely went to the kitchen to start preparing food.

You went to the bed, feeling the firmness of the mattress as you reconsidered everything that had happened the past few days. The thoughts finally were allowed to settle after the RESET. You took a seat, giving a hefty sigh as you thought it all over. Your Determination… it'd brought you low… to the lowest point you could have ever considered.

Murder. Callous and cruel murder. You were just a child! Why had you?! No… no… you knew exactly why. It was all for him; everything was for him! The damned flower… or rather, who was deep down inside the vessel.

You couldn't deal with it… killing had been wrong. Yet you went with it anyways. You went with it because you knew you could redo it all. You could use that power that you were granted. Your Determination to save him… it was everyone else's downfall. Your Determination… your choices… your fault.

"I'm such an idiot," you choked. You finally broke down, after so much suffering. Weeping quietly, you let your memories punish you as much as the mattress welcomed you. You didn't deserve to SAVE him. You didn't deserve any of the nicety that Toriel gave you…

The smell of freshly–baked pie. That was what awoke you. You sat up in the dark room, looking around for a few moments before you reached for the light. When you turned it on, you could see the delicious looking quiche sat on the floor.

It was more than you deserved, in spite of the protest from your stomach. Getting up from the comfortable mattress, you took the slice of pie and exited the bedroom. There was no light except for in the living room, where the crackling fireplace told that Toriel was likely still there. You walked in quietly, looking to see the motherly goat sitting in her chair, reading glasses placed atop her snout as she read out of a book.

"Up already, I see?" You nodded. She remained quiet for a few moments, the fire crackling as you looked at the pie you held in your hands. "I want you to know how glad I am to have someone here. There are so many old books I want to share. I want to show you my favorite bug–hunting spot. I have also prepared a curriculum for your education. This may come as a surprise to you… but I have always wanted to be a teacher." She then faltered, something clearly setting in. "Actually… that probably is not very surprising to you. I feel that I have… uh… told you this before…" Your brow raising up went unnoticed though as she went on.

"STILL! I am glad to have you living here." Your expression became despondent at the thought. You had done this a million times before. You wanted to stay… you desperately did. But then you remembered… they all needed saving. It was never just about Asriel. You had told yourself before that saving him was what mattered most for the end to truly be happy. But… it kept all of them in the dark, in the cold of these ruins, looking at artificial, crystalline stars in Waterfall. It was about everyone… Asriel was right; saving him would break everyone's hearts all over again. But what wouldn't would be giving them the sun.

"My child? What is it?" Toriel asked. Her expression was of nervous concern for you. It was only then that you'd noticed your brow furrowed in thought. The familiar dialogue box came up. You couldn't say that it was nothing, though.

"When can I go home?" Your tone was quiet, almost broken as you watched the concern become a nearly heartbroken expression. But you couldn't let that deter you. You had to stay Determined.

"What? This… this IS your home now." She looked nervously around as you kept a stoic expression. This wasn't how it was meant to be. "Um… would you like to hear a joke?" You had no time for this…

"How can I exit the Ruins?" Toriel nervously shifted back and forth between her book and you. You hadn't even touched your pie.

"How about another slice of pie? You must be hungry, are you not?" Before she could get up from her chair, however, you pressed again.

"How can I exit the Ruins?" That was when she snapped to attention. It was like the flick of a switch in her head as she took a calm, cool smile and stood. Her tone threatened to shatter your SOUL.

"I have something to do… stay, my child." She then quickly left the living room, heading toward the center stairwell. You didn't let her be, however; following her was the only course. It was the only way to leave the Ruins that you knew of. However, something caught your eye in the window. Stopping, you saw the shape of a familiar flower duck from the windowsill. He would not deter your DETERMINATION.

Down the stairs you went, following the boss monster with obvious trepidation for what was to come.

"You wish to know how to return 'home,' do you not?" Toriel asked. Her tone was cold and bitter, but her smile still remained, as though she was hiding behind a wall. "Ahead of us lies the end of the Ruins: a one–way exit to the rest of the Underground. I am going to destroy it. No one will ever be able to leave again. Now be a good child and go back upstairs." She then walked forward again, further down the corridor as you followed. You had heard it all before, again and again. But this time, it hurt that much more. There had to be another way in and out. For all of those monsters living in the darker Ruins below Toriel's house… there had to be another way out…

"Every human that falls down here meets the same fate. I have seen it again and again. They come. They leave. They die." Toriel's tone, when you'd caught back up with her, was more sullen now, less neutral and cold. But her bitterness returned after only a mere moment, and she turned to look at you with an expression of pure, unadulterated callousness in her glare.

"You naïve child… if you leave the Ruins, they… ASGORE… will kill you." She seemed to struggle to say it. But it didn't stop you. "I am only protecting you, do you understand? Go to your room." Your heart hurt for her… but she would be happier up there, where the sun was. All monsters would be happier up there, where the stars were real. You followed once again, reminding yourself what this was all for.

"Do not try to stop me. This is your final warning," she said flatly, walking toward the illuminated door at the end of the hall. The door now seemed more and more intimidating. The boss monster's shape was cast upon the walls by the torches in front of you both. And approaching her did little to assuage you. This needed to be done.

"You want to leave so badly? Hmph. You are just like the others. There is only one solution to this."

"Prove myself," you said. You watched Toriel turn around almost immediately at your tone. Her expression was questioning, wild with almost furious intent as you finished her statement. "Prove to you that I am strong enough to survive." Saying you wished to prove yourself to Toriel instead of letting her challenge you… it filled you with DETERMINATION. You felt that familiar tingling as your power did something entirely new, however. There was a new SAVE point. The twinkling star right in front of you and her flickering to life as you imprinted yourself upon it.

"Wait… why are you looking at me like that? Do you know something I do not?" You cringed at her insinuation before the motherly boss monster shook her head. "No… that is impossible." Your SOUL was pulled forward, then, to the combat menu with a familiar flickering to black and white. Toriel blocked the way!

You didn't even bother to check, instead moving to the mercy option and immediately to spare. Toriel said nothing as white fire erupted to life in her hands and your SOUL was pulled into the battlebox. Two great paws, not too dissimilar to hers, formed in the box before swiping across and sending fire your way. You didn't even dodge, letting the fire hit you. 1 damage… to 99 HP.

Again, you went for MERCY, not daring to let Toriel keep you. She looked through you as she sent a great helix of fire your way. You didn't avoid the damage. More and more, your health steadily whittled away. If there was one thing you were glad didn't RESET, it was your LV here. Every time, Toriel looked aloof, cold, and calculated. You couldn't blame her. Even as your SOUL was burned. 50 HP left now… again and again, you both kept going. And then her expression began to falter.

"What are you doing?" Another wave of fire hit you. You could feel her attacks getting stronger now. 50 turned to 40 HP.

"Attack or run away!" Another… 40 to 30… you began to walk towards her now.

"What are you proving this way?"

"That I'm strong enough," you bluntly replied. It was what she had wanted. To test your might, your ability to resist. Each attack hit you; you knew that the end was near as your health dropped. 30 to 20.

"Fight me, or leave!" Toriel pleaded. You stood still in front of her, so close to reaching out to hug the monster. Another attack, another 10 HP gone. You refused.

"Let's stop this," you pleaded back to her. This time, her next attack faltered, the flames moving aside and away from you as though you were sick. When your SOUL returned to your body, you walked forward again. This time you were looking up at her.

"Stop it!" she pleaded. Again, the flames missed you.

"Toriel…"

"Stop looking at me like that!"

"You don't need to block me." This time, she reached to push you back and away when you reached out to hug. There was no attack. She just… stopped.

"Go away!" You didn't listen as you walked up toward her again. Each selection of MERCY just made it easier for you to do this. Her aloof expression fell as you waited patiently in front of her.

"I know you want to go home, but…" — SPARE — "But please… go upstairs now." — SPARE — "I promise I will take good care of you here." — SPARE — "I know we do not have much, but…" — SPARE! You could see a sad smile cross her muzzle, her fangs not even visible as she tried her best to shut out your insistent MERCY.

"We can have a good life here." — SPARE… she was tearing up — "Why are you making this so difficult?" — SPARE… she was trembling — "Please go upstairs." — SPARE… she was quiet for a long time after that, just letting the silence suffocate you both. — "Ha ha… pathetic, is it not? I cannot save even a single child…" Something in you broke at that. You could feel your SOUL cracking under the pressure there… but you refused. You had to stay Determined… for all of monsterkind. You SPARED her one more time.

"No, I understand," she finally relented. You would just be unhappy trapped down here. The Ruins are very small once you get used to them. Especially these upper levels. It would not be right for you to grow up in a place like this. My expectations… my loneliness… my fear. For you, my child… I will put them aside." You could finally, properly SPARE her, and you did just that, your SOUL being allowed to return to your body of your own volition. Color returned as you looked on. Yet… you couldn't help but feel immense guilt at this.

"If you truly wish to leave the Ruins… I will not stop you," she sighed. "However, when you leave… please do not come back. I hope you understand." Instead of waiting for her to hug you, however, you rushed forward to hug the boss monster yourself. You heard her gasp, the tightness in your chest growing deeper as she returned the gesture. The warm, motherly love that exuded from her SOUL was precious… you would not forget it.

"Goodbye, my child," she finally said, letting go after 10 or so seconds. Toriel then left you behind, only looking back once as you looked toward the doorway before returning back to her home above. Looking at the door in front of you, and the destiny that awaited, it filled you with… with… The familiar tingle of your SAVE attempting to imprint left as quickly as it came before you put your hand against the door. This feeling, this horrid feeling. All the guilt, all the steeliness, all the Determination in the world could not have prepared you for this again.

'I've done everything this world has to offer,' Flowey's words echoed in your mind. 'I've read every book. I've burned every book. I've won every game. I've lost every game. I've appeased everyone. I've killed everyone.' Sets of numbers… lines of dialogue… you both had seen them all… sure, there were a few new things you'd noticed now… but what was the point?

"I can't… do it," you whispered to yourself. You couldn't put them through that pain again… you couldn't put yourself through the pain of losing Asriel again, when he was so close, and yet, so far… You now found a new feeling. Not one of Determination to press forward… but that strange, horrid feeling you'd felt back in your bedroom. The feeling was strong enough to tingle in the same way as Determination… and yet, you couldn't feel yourself imprint on the SAVE.

Looking at this door that led to the Underground, and remembering all the things you had done… it filled you with Apprehension.