Chapter Two: The RUINS

POV: "Player" aka Ray Zenji l Location: Ingame l The next day.

Was he insane? Was it some elaborate hacking prank? Was it real?

He didn't yet know, but curiosity and his desire to learn more gave him the determination to push forward.

Held back in a way by his morals, he saved and loaded many times due to Monika's unwavering devotion to his avatar's safety, somehow convinced Gaster and the others could in fact, harm him, or perhaps she simply was so obssessed she could not bear even his avatar to be damaged, or perhaps it's merely her programming, she is to protect the player at all costs, having meta knowledge of his invulnerability to whatever transpires within the game world, yet still forced to act as if the avatar was his real body. Additionally, Ray could not convince Gaster and Sans of peace or futility.

Gaster was certain beyond the shadow of a doubt he could find a way to possess Ray, to a point where Ray believed he was either insane or suffering from an extreme case of confirmation bias.

Sans was trickier, he had never shown a direct knowledge of past events before, only able to read Frisk's facial expressions to such a degree that he could determine that Frisk was in fact, a time traveler, able to SAVE and RESET.

But Sans was also extremely reluctant to take direct action against the player, even with the death of his brother, instead becoming simply hostile in demeanor at times. Only during a genocide route does Sans actually do something and only after the Player has effectively killed the majority of the Underground.

So his actions here are not understandable, the Underground had not even been reached by the "Player" yet alone fallen under siege. Sans was also extremely reasonable and intelligent, perhaps however the game was altered affected his personality, after all there are several AUs where he was even the main antagonist, either through insanity or simply being a different person entirely.

It took time, effort and theft but Ray had, at the cost of alienating the entirety of the Literature club aside from the ever devoted Monika, due to the consequence of breaking into their homes, found pieces of a map hidden in said homes.

But why in each of their homes? He looked through the code after turning off the game when backed into a corner to gain himself some rest and to learn more, finding out that originally, the game was going to save progress past finishing a route, which would allow the player to then pursue an extended play of the game past what was originally presented, which in short meant half the game was actually hidden until one had pursued a route with Natsuki, Sayori and Yuri in three playthroughs. Curiously, Monika had no route. Additionally, why would Gaster care to make such an elaborate game? Wasn't he trying to create a world where the underground would be persistent and free from fate and the Player's meddling? Something didn't add up, but other things did.

Whatever was at play here, either in story or reality, was related to the Portrait of Markov, a book inside the DDLC game never fully explored, but based on easter eggs, hidden content and digging into the files themselves, seemed to imply said book was the actual reality, and that the game everyone actually played was some kind of new reality created for the purposes of entertainment by repurposing the characters from the Portrait of Markov.

After merging the maps with several stolen items, he stood upon Mt. Ebbot, near the hole leading to the underground. There was no safe way down, even if he could climb down it in real life, the controls did not allow for his avatar to safely descend, so he ate the last of the stolen cupcakes he took from Natsuki to heal fully, and pressed the button the trigger him to let himself fall down the hole.

The screen went to black, however he was no longer using the VR in the remote chance that Gaster was actually correct, additionally, he kept this part to himself, even from Monika, just to see what would happen if Gaster was able to do something, and only ended up trapped in his VR set, which made no sense, as there was no physical or remote connection to Ray's brain or consciousness, the VR headset was, in actually, Augmented Reality or AR, not VR. Why they call it VR continues to baffle him, perhaps simply they wanted to cater the people's wish for a VR world to play in and used the name to market the product.

It makes sense to him, if a bit misleading, he can see the logic in it. Though he still dislikes it's inaccuracy. Most likely however, he doubted they even knew what a true VR was and thought something like a holodeck was one, when in fact, a Holodeck is neither an AR nor VR space.

His character hit the ground, hard, his health reduced to 20 out of 100 that the game programmed it with, Ray felt tempted to mod himself insane durability but avoided this in case there were failsafes or consequences that would effect the ending, if one even existed.

"I get way too absorbed into this shit." Ray said, with an open mic so anyone near him in the game world could hear.

He walked from the flower bed around, exploring the 3D space that had graphics similar to Yandere Simulator, another game he had on his computer.

And much like in undertale, but with different graphics and mechanics, rose a flower.

"Hello! You're a human aren't you? Welcome to the underground! I'm Flowey, the Flower!" said the flower.

Ray interrupted, saying "Hello Asriel."

"...strange, I don't remember seeing you before? " said Flowey/Asriel, to which Ray replied "It's complicated, even for one such as you."

"Hmm, well at least tell me your name." said Flowey/Asriel, to which Ray replied "The character who was originally supposed to fall down here was Frisk, however my real name is Raymond. I'll keep my last name a secret in the off chance a hacker actually did mess around with something but didn't get my full identity, which is unlikely, but I'll err on the side of caution."

Flowey stared at him for a second before saying "You really like talking a lot, don'tcha?". Ray replied "I like to get the details across to avoid misunderstandings, it's a habit, though in real life I talk a little more to the point, I suppose I can't help but roleplay a bit, even in this strange situation. Or perhaps my so called real life is the role playing, and I let my true self out here in the game world. Who knows, who cares..."

Flowey smiled and then said "So then, I take it you know the rules of this place?" Ray sighed and said "Kill or be killed is what you want to say, right? Well let me burst your bubble goat flower. You lose. You're programmed to lose. Sure you win a few times if the player isn't skilled, but you eventually lose, even with your true form restored, even in your god of hyperdeath form. You, will, lose, and then be redeemed, saved, by the player."

Flowey stared, his face became annoyed, then the goat evil grin face as Ray calls it, before saying "You wanna prove that to me, Human?" Ray replied "Bring it, I've gotten used to the new combat system, and I'm used to the old one if that is used here."

Flowey laughed and then said "Then DIE!" and a circle of pellets appeared around Ray and closed in on him, Ray simply jumped out of them, leaving Flowey dumbfounded, shortly before a fireball tossed him aside and he withdrew.

An effeminate voice spoke, which caused Ray more confusion and curiosity, if this was a hacker's prank, it was certainly very elaborate, going so far as to make individual voice acting roles for each character, as he could clearly determine variations in tone and pitch which would be difficult, though not impossible for a single individual to voice. The voice said "Oh, well I did not expect someone of your age to fall down here, though I suppose it was going to happen sooner or later."

Ray replied "Let me guess, your name is Toriel." Toriel stared at him with a puzzled face before asking "Have we met before? I'm afraid I don't quite recall you."

Ray then said "In a way, it's complicated to explain, but suffice it to say, We have met before in a past life, I remember, you do not. I take it you only just arrived and did not hear my conversation with the flower?" Toriel shook her head and said "That would be correct. You, seem hurt though, very much so. Here, let me heal you."

Toriel cast a healing spell, bringing Ray's HP to 100/100.

Ray said "Thanks, though it is technically unnecessary, I cannot die, this avatar can, but my consciousness and true body is elsewhere, I control this body through an interface, hence why my range of expressions is, somewhat, limited."

Ray felt his speech slowing, strangely enough, something flashed around him, his usual room was now darker, without power, there was a strange smell and the internal positioning of the furniture was different, he then realized what flashed around him was the two different rooms, what was worse though, was this was happening in what he thought was the real world.

Was he in a nightmare? Was Gaster correct? Or is something else afoot? Is he simply losing his mind from the isolation imposed upon him due to the plague?

He didn't know, but was DETERMINED to find out.

When it flashed again however, he felt a rush of sensations, a static yet cold air. A brief gust of warm air, he looked up, there was no interface, only Toriel.

"What the fuck?!" he shouted, grabbing his face, feeling it as his own, he was also in his real world attire, appearance adjusted with this world's graphics. Toriel gasped and said "Well I can't fault you for the strange change of clothing or whatever may have happened, but certainly that is no excuse to use such language!"

Ray sighed and shrugged, saying "I'm, in a younger body now. I feel everything as if it's reality, but it's still like a 3D Cartoon visually. I hope Gaster wasn't right." Toriel tilted her head slightly to the right and a question mark appeared above her head and she then said "Is, that a name I should recognize?" Ray nodded and said "Yes, he was the Royal Scientist before Alphys, but he fell into the CORE most likely and, well, he was afflicted by some kind of existence erasure that both erased him and did not erase him. Nobody remembers him, but everything he did still took effect, all evidence of him, even memories however, was either gone, redacted, edited or caused errors. Actually, the fact that I can even say his name means this must have been partially reversed. Your memories and the information might be gone, but new information concerning him can now be made."

Toriel sighed and said "I won't pretend to understand but you seem confidant in your words, puzzled as well, so I suppose I will assume you are telling the truth. It does seem strange though, I know of who was the Royal Scientist before Alphys' predecessor, but not who directly preceded her. You mentioned you are younger now, how old were you before whatever happened?"

Ray shrugged and said "Twenty-Seven. My world is different though, or was, I have no idea. Monsters didn't exist, well not in the same fashion as you understand it. Monsters were abhorrent individuals or entities that caused danger and death or fear and dread to humans, but were not an actual race or species like in this reality. I have no grudge against your kind, in fact, I sympathize with you, and in the terminology of my world, humanity in this world are the true monsters, letting fear rule them to the point of paranoia, to the point of effectively enacting a partial genocide against your race. I may not even be representative of the humans here, but for what my word is worth, I sincerely apologize, both for their actions, and my own in the, past life I mentioned. I may sympathize, but I was not entirely, peaceful, in my last encounter with you." Toriel nodded and said "I accept your apology, though it is unnecessary, I am sure you were given good cause to react with hostility, especially if you encountered ASGORE." Ray nodded and said "I did encounter him, and he killed me several times, eventually however, I triumphed, and managed to spare the underground and save everyone. The barrier was broken, and the only ones left behind were Gaster and Asriel."

Toriel's face became sad at the mention of her son's name, Ray nodded and said with an understanding face "Asriel is not dead, just soulless. Actually, his memories and consciousness, if not his monster soul, reside in the flower you just swatted away."

Toriel was shocked, and guilt-ridden with her recent actions, but Ray shook his head and said "Don't worry, he is fine. You did not know. Perhaps we could talk more at your home? Oh and I'd prefer if we just expedite our arrival there, I mean I know the answers to all the puzzles here, but, I have no idea how to interact with this world beyond normalcy, as somehow, my mind is now in the game, or perhaps there was never a game to begin with, and this is reality and what I knew before was illusion. Or maybe I'm just insane, and you're some kind of delusion or hallucination. Could also be a dream, they do get very vivid at times, though despite my suspicions I don't seem to have any control over my environment, yet anyway."

Toriel listened well, and then was in thought for a bit before nodding three times and saying "Alright, I, imagine you must be hungry?" Ray shook his head and said "Not really, before the shift I had my character eat a muffin. I, oddly feel full from this muffin and, even can recall the flavor. It was, way too sweet for my liking. Strange. My memories are affected, maybe I'll remember other things later too."

Toriel turned around and walked forward, Ray followed.

As he requested, Toriel simply led him to her home, taking care of some of the puzzles, but also testing Ray's knowledge on the others, he proved he was not lying when he beat each puzzle on the first try without any mistakes and very quickly. Sometimes he stopped to try and remember, but this really didn't do much to stop him, as he had already beaten the base game of undertale several times by now.

Eventually they were in Toriel's Home, and she turned and asked "I know you are not hungry now, but monster food does not spoil, which do you prefer, cinnamon or butterscotch, for later of course."

Ray shrugged and said "I actually like both, and it doesn't matter really, you're gonna use both aren't you? Either by accident or intent, it was never really clear. I'd, also like a mirror. I mean I saw my character before but, it's one thing to see it as my actual body. And I'd rather like to get acclimated to it, in the event I'm stuck like this for the rest of my life, however long that lasts."

Toriel nodded and said "Certainly. I will show you to your room then. I, imagine since you've already faced Asgore, you know of the exit..." Ray nodded as Toriel walked to Chara's old room and then he said "Yes. Please do not try and destroy the exit, as much as I enjoy your hospitality Toriel, I cannot stay here. I can defend myself if need be, even without the simplicity and understanding of the controls and rules of this world, I am very adaptable and typically adjust to new games very quickly, though I tend to get really absorbed in reaching the ending as quickly a possible when starting a new game for the first time. Even if somehow, this is both an elaborate prank and some mixture of insanity due to being cooped up in a house for the better part of half a year, it's still an experience I'll enjoy and cherish." Toriel opened the room's door and said "There is a mirror in here and at the end of the hall. Though you are not a child, I still wish no harm to you as you seem quite reasonable and amicable, I confess, though I abhor violence, I understand it is sometimes, necessary, and my own hands are not clean of blood. Perhaps of innocent blood, maybe, but no matter how or why, killing leaves a permanent change on your soul."

Ray nods and says "This is true even in my world. It might not have, beneficial qualities other than making killing easier psychologically and intellectually, but it still changes you. Thankfully, I've never had the misfortune of being in such a life or death situation. I've dealt with many diseases, and known soldiers who had faced that situation however. I confess my world is not peaceful. Humans tend to find reasons to oppress others, if there are no non-humans of sapience to do so, then they will do so to themselves. Perhaps it's an evolutionary trait, one I hope could be left behind. In time perhaps, but I should not be so optimistic as to assume so, most likely, war, death and violence will be with all sapient life from start to finish." Toriel had a sullen look, but nodded once and said "I believe you have much wisdom in those words, even if you may not have experienced war firsthand as I have. And for that, I thank you for sharing your opinions and knowledge. I will start the pie, please do make yourself at home." Ray nodded and said "Oh, one more thing. Gaster is pursuing me, along with another skeleton called Sans." Toriel gasped at the mentioning of Sans and she said "He promised though..." Ray shook his head and said "I don't think he's himself right now. Or maybe it's a different Sans. He's acting uncharacteristic in several regards. And, he does keep the promise, from what I know, it takes a, Genocide route, to provoke him to break the promise." Toriel stared at Ray both worriedly and with a hint of curiosity, and said "When, you said you weren't entirely peaceful with us once..." Ray sank his head and said "I didn't know you were sapient, hell maybe you still aren't, but, I, well. This is a game to my world, or was, or, bah! I give up trying to figure it out with pure speculation, but still. Had I known it was like this, I would not have made that decision. I do not expect forgiveness, nor do I deserve mercy, but at the very least, I hope there can be understanding."

Toriel had a thoughtful look, before nodding and saying "Very well. I will try to understand before making a judgement, though it probably is not my place any longer to judge the souls of others. That was long ago. Just, promise me you will not intentionally try to harm anyone here who does not seek to harm you, and if possible, avoid killing unless absolutely necessary." Ray nodded and said "I can promise that. To be perfectly honest, being put into that kind of life or death situation is one of the few things I actually do fear. I don't know what will come next, but I can at least abide by the terms of this promise."

Toriel smiled and said "Thank you. Make yourself at home, I will be back later." She turned and left for the kitchen, Ray entered his new room and looked in the mirror on the desk. His face was 3D Anime like in Yandere Simulator, and what he had seen on his monitor or in the VR Headset. He touched it, made various expressions, he could feel it as if it were real, but it looked like a cartoon. He could feel movements in places that showed no movement or very little. He walked to the dresser and inspected it, he then inspected things around him in the room, sure he knew where the important things were, but it was now as if a true VR space, as if a kind of new reality. His inner child was awoken, and his curiosity caused him to explore the room, however small it seemed to him. He was in the body of what appeared to be between 16 and 20 years of age, kind of hard to tell with anime graphics, but given the setting of Doki-Doki Literature Club, he assumed either he was 18 as the FBI-Please-Don't-Kick-Down-Our-Door disclaimer said or perhaps a couple years younger, 16 or maybe 17 at the most if he was a teenager. Maybe he just looked younger because of the graphics or height disparity as well, he could as well still be 27 years old.

Some time passed and Ray had easily adjusted to the mental differences with looking and being effectively, a 3D anime character.

Later, he read some books along with Toriel and had some of her pie, getting somewhat situated though he had no intentions to stay there forever, even if Toriel could protect him from Gaster and Sans, he needed answers and he wouldn't get them here.

So the time came, and he waited by the staircase as Toriel approached, she looked at him and knew what he wanted.

Ray spoke first, saying "Thank you for everything Toriel, but the time has come for me to continue my journey. There is, however, a request I have."

Toriel nodded and said "I'll do what I can, what is it my friend?"

Ray walked down the stairs partly and said "I need you to fight me, or rather to spar with me. I'm still not used to how fighting works here, if it's now like real life or if there are mechanics I can utilize to my advantage. You, do understand do you not?" Toriel sighed and said "I understand, it wouldn't be right for me to ignore this request, so I'll accept. Where do you wish to spar?"

Ray replied "At the gate leading out of the ruins." Toriel nodded slowly and walked ahead of Ray, the two eventually stood facing each other at the gate.

Toriel spoke first, saying "You are certain this is necessary? You have proven very adept at words." Ray nodded and said "Yes, I have no idea what may have changed, as there have been changes. If I have to face Sans or even some normal monsters in battle without being used to it, I'd either likely die or perhaps be forced to kill in self defense. More power means that is less necessary, and knowledge is power. Additionally, I have no idea if it's possible for me to SAVE or RESET or CONTINUE. So, well, I will have to proceed as this life is my only one, and true death awaits me if I am defeated."

Toriel nodded and said "Very well. Let us see what you can do."

Ray's vision started to change, and the environment around him was now black and white, Toriel stood before him, blocking the path to the exit. Toriel spoke with an educative demeanor, saying "Do you feel or see the red heart in your chest?"

Ray looked down to see a red heart shaped object glowing from within him and then nodded, saying "I do. I take it this is my SOUL?" Toriel nodded and said "Yes, it represents you. If your soul were to take damage, this damage would be reflected on your body in various manners, physical damage can also harm you, though your SOUL reflects the body in a way, though not entirely. As such, any physical damage or magical damage done to your body, also affects your SOUL. Your HP, or Health Points, represent how close to death or full health you are. Focus your thoughts on your own state of being."

Ray did this, suddenly, an image appeared before him, a familiar type of heads up display that showed him his stats.

Ray Zenji. LV. 3 EXP: 0, STR: 12, AGL: 18, HP: 100/100, MP: 100/100.

It would seem he could quantify these integers either the normal way, or through this method of checking himself. He then said "Can you see the HUD I called up?" Toriel nodded and said "Boss Monsters can, though normal monsters cannot. Also, this is only possible if Boss Monsters CHECK you. What do you know about TURNs?"

Ray replied "They work in turn based games as one player has a choice to make, not making an action also counts as a choice in some games. Once your turn is done, the other's turn begins, you cannot act during another's turn. However this game is no longer turn based, if it really is a game that is."

Toriel nods and says "Well, that's how it works in games, TURNs are a different affair here. Monsters and Humans have the ability to engage in FIGHTs which dilate time around them, turns represent your actions and what you do, usually turns are how many actions one can take before the other may take an action. Whoever has the most agility usually has more turns, and whoever has the least, usually only has one turn. If one's agility is matched or fairly relative, then it is possible to interrupt or guard against another's attack. Allow me to show you. For safety, I will not hit you, so you do not need to dodge."

Toriel cast a fire spell, streams of spiral patterns of fire magic bullets shot from both her hands to Ray's sides, clearly missing him intentionally, though he could feel the heat. It was an enclosed space after all, Suddenly Ray's senses focused, and he saw Toriel moving in slow motion, her bullets, having finished, were also moving slower, he then chose to slightly jump back slightly as an action, and then Toriel's time resumed normally.

Toriel then said "I intentionally lowered how much of my Agility to use, as such, you were able to REACT, before the end of my turn. Technically, either side may move first, it depends on your initiative, and your agility, the exact reasoning is not known even to me, but it simply is this way, and most boss monsters understand how to operate within these strange rules. The rules change however for human against human, but I have little experience in those regards, I believe turns do not exist in that case, and instead, when one is faster, whenever one acts, there is also a brief moment to react, at least that's how Chara explained it. But I have no experience in observing such matters, humanity was mostly united against us during the war, and I never encountered any criminals fighting other humans, only that most humans who killed more often, typically moved faster and always reacted to monsters, except for a few select Boss Monsters. The only reason we call it a war is because we did manage to kill some humans, but for the most part, it was still a one-sided affair in their favor."

Ray nodded and then said "So, that means I can now act, and if my agility is higher than yours, you do not gain a moment to REACT and your opponent, although not completely immobile, is slower to move." Toriel nodded and then said "Correct, however they can still speak in real time, they just, do not have the full range of their movement for the duration of your turn. There are however, some exceptions to the rules. Why or how, I do not know, perhaps even they do not know. On equal grounds however, this slowing does not occur, and the higher your agility compared to theirs, the only thing that changes is how long the slowness lasts, not how slow they become, so no level of advantage will make your opponent relatively immobile, thus a skilled opponent can still block or counterattack while slowed, as the disparity is not truly that great. This slowing also has a cooldown, which is always measured in turns, not actual, unchanging measurements of time. If one does not take their turn, they only have until the slowness ends before their turn is automatically skipped, so to speak."

Ray replied "I see, so then, how would I attack outside of throwing a punch or kick? Is it possible for humans to use magic in this world?"

Toriel nodded and said "It is, but it is very difficult for humans to do so, what kind of magic also depends on their SOUL type. Yours is a RED soul, which represents pure DETERMINATION. As such you have no limits on what you can or cannot do except what all SOUL types can do. But this does come at a cost. It would take longer for you to master everything you are capable of, but if given that time, you could surpass any other human soul type who has completely mastered their magic, even if your mastery is only half in three or more categories. Beyond that, I know little, other than spells require MP or Magic Points, even monsters require MP, however our MP works differently. Focus your senses on me, with the intent to know me more than I know myself, this is called a CHECK"

Ray attempted, it took some effort and time, but he managed to perform the check, showing to himself his HUD having changed, showing above his own stats, Toriel's.

Toriel l Type: Boss Monster l HP: 640/640 l MP: 60% l STR: 35 l AGL 6/22 l Lv. 6 l EXP: 4,632

Ray spoke, saying "I assume your Level of Violence and Execution Points were gained back during the war?"

Toriel nodded sadly and said "Yes, I regret each point I gained, each level in LOVE I gained. And I hope to God it never rises ever again, as sadly, there is no way to lower either LOVE or EXP. But is that all you noticed? What is different between your stats and mine?"

Ray replied "Your MP is in a percentage rather than one number out of another, also it listed your Type." Toriel then said "Correct. Monsters, either Normal or Boss, are mostly magical in the nature of their bodies, as such, their MP is a percentage of their very being. The stronger the attack they wish to create, the more MP they use, they will regain it either through consumption of certain foods and items, with time, with sleep or through the spells of others, though a rare few can restore their MP directly by using a turn or expending HP to convert to MP. MP also acts as a barrier, it does not decrease with damage taken, but the lower a monster's MP percent is, the more damage they take, this damage is also proportional to the intent of the attacker, the more you intend to harm, the more harm is done to the monster, as our bodies are physical only partially. Ghosts are another story, they do not have HP, and instead rely entirely on their MP to exist, this changes when they become corporeal after binding to an object or host for long enough and truly enough. As such if you have to face a ghost, your best bet is to goad it into expending their MP, but be careful, if their MP for any reason reaches 0 percent, they will die for good. Physical attacks are however thus, useless against them, unless they also leech MP from the monster or reduce it somehow. So to win against a ghost, you must either bait them, or escape. Alternatively, you could become so powerful that nothing they do, even suicide, would be enough to bring you down. Ghost abilities also typically always require less MP than other monster types, because they're the most attuned to magic out of monsters and humans, as they have no physical body whatsoever unless they fully become corporeal, upon which they change monster type. There are other monsters that can change type, but ghosts are the most common, and most adaptable. As for monster types, different types are strong and weak with and against certain tactics, spells and elements, Boss Monsters are unique and as such, you can make no assumptions other than what they appear to be, though sometimes even this is misleading, but it is still reasonable to assume, say, a skeleton like Boss Monster follows Skeleton monster type rules more or less."

Ray nodded and then said "And attacking? Outside of direct physical attacks, how would a human conjure magic? Is the process the same as monsters or do you not know?"

Toriel said "I only know what Chara told me long ago, She mentioned it was like, pulling from your will to act and shaping it into reality. Monsters can pull magic similarly but it feels different than what she described it. To a monster, forming magic is like taking a piece of yourself, and shaping it into something else, something new and unique, or something reflective of yourself. Our magic tends to always reflect our current selves, thus as we grow older and change, so too does what magic we can use, how it affects us and others, and how much MP it uses. It can be possible for a spell to use less or more MP than it used to, without changing anything it does or doesn't do. It usually reflects who we are as a spirit, and thus those who wish to heal, find themselves healing easier and more so than before, but if they lose that desire to heal, they in turn, begin to lose the ability to heal, either others, or themselves. I once could inflict great destruction for example. I could, if I wanted to, burn an entire city to ashes. I cannot do this anymore, but in turn, my ability to heal vastly increased, my past self could never have fully healed you when I found you with the flo-" she stopped briefly, before resuming, saying "With my son Asriel, as you told me. But now, I am able to do so easily and reliably."

Toriel then said "Also, you can choose to PASS your turn if you wish, doing so can either be done by waiting, or by consciously invoking the desire to do so, or interacting with your interface to do so once you master it's use."

Ray nodded and said "So, pulling from my will to act and shaping that desire into reality. Let's see what I can do."

Toriel nodded and said "Then I shall pass the next three turns, act on the fourth and repeat in sequence as such until you either figure it out or decide to focus on it later."

Ray nodded, and did his best but was unable to summon any magic for two sequences, learning in between during her attacks how to adapt to the patterns she sent, though she was always careful not to overwhelm him. Ray then asked "Curiously, can an attack be guarded against, if it is either unavoidable or the window to evade is missed?" Toriel nods and replied "If it is physical in it's nature, yes. And I do not mean by direct physical attacks, but rather if it deals damage physically as well as magically, fire attacks for example, can be resisted if you have strong enough heat resistance, either through magic or armor. Magical attacks that directly affect the soul however cannot be guarded against physically, though it is possible to steel one's resolve. There is also a legend, but never has it been proven, that a powerful enough determination can render a SOUL invulnerable to harm or defeat as it will simply refuse to shatter or even be captured. But much like with a monster absorbing a human soul, little, if anything is known for certain about this."

Ray replied "Thank you." and attempted to form magic once more, thinking this time about his desire to learn the truth and what has transpired to him, so he took that will and tried to visualize a red energy spear. He closed his eyes to focus.

"Oh!" exclaimed Toriel after a few seconds.

Ray opened his eyes, in his right hand was a red energy spear, burning with magic and power, yet it seemed only warm, not hot to the touch, he tested it against the wall, it left scorch marks, even starting to deform part of it by melting it. He then turned around and chucked the spear forward, the intent was to hit the wall on the left 40 meters out, and he succeeded, it became wedged in halfway, before the energy spear dissipated into a red mist, which then dissipated into nothingness.

Ray smiled and was panting, saying "I did it."

He then focused inwards to check and succeeded.

Ray Zenji. LV. 3 EXP: 0, STR: 12, AGL: 18, HP: 100/100, MP: 90/100.

He nodded to himself and turned back to Toriel, saying "It worked. I just have to focus on something I want to do, and convert that determination into a visualized image, if I'm determined enough, it'll create that image in reality as best as it can, perhaps even differently, as the spear I imagined was a bit more stable. I could probably also use this defensively too, to create shields or even armor."

Toriel smiled and said "That is good. Then let us finalize this spar, shall we say the winner is the first to score a solid hit, the prize being bragging rights, since there is little else I can teach you now about fighting."

Ray nodded and with eyes open, repeated the process, forming a small round red energy shield around his left arm and a short red energy spear in his right. Toriel sent a blaze of fire bullets in spiral 3 dimensional patterns towards Ray, who was able to evade them, though it was more difficult than before as Toriel was using more effort, though still holding back as it was only a sparring match.

Ray then took his turn as Toriel's movements and bullets slowed, discharging his throwing spear towards her, however she had anticipated this and started a leap already, and Ray noticed this only after throwing his spear, as a result, he missed.

Toriel then created a flurry of fire around Ray, and he rolled through a gap before the flames closed in on him, he then noticed Toriel was not slowing, indicating she was now using more of her agility.

Ray formed an energy bow and fired a shot, Toriel dodged and formed a barrage of fire, Ray however this time, felt slowed, but he was used to playing laggy games in the past, and was able to avoid being hit despite Toriel having the agility advantage this time. When he started to move normally, he quickly formed another magic bow and rapidly discharged in quick succession three shots, more so than he felt he could normally, probably a part of the spell. The first two missed, but the third hit toriel center mass, dealing one damage point.

The two stopped their spar and smiled to eachother. Ray held out his hand and Toriel shook it, saying "I wish you safety and good luck on your journey my friend. However, I also must ask one more thing of you, though I imagine it should come naturally to you even if I did not ask it."

Ray nodded and said "What did you wish to ask?" Toriel closed her eyes briefly, before saying "If you encounter another human in your journey through the underground, child or otherwise, if they are good, please protect them if for whatever reason, sans cannot or will not. I will trust your judgement in that Sans may not be himself or it may be another Sans altogether and I still believe Sans to be true to his word, more so actually, with what you told me, but still. I have learned that, it is wise to hope for the best whilst preparing for the worst."

Ray replied "I understand. I will do what I can if this is the case, and I suspect it may become so."

Toriel approached and then shook Ray's hand, before walking back to the staircase leading to her home.

Ray walked through the gates, into the cold environment of Snowdin. It was a good thing he was wearing his bomber jacket and sweat pants when all this happened, it kept the cold at bay, somewhat at least, long enough he would assume, to secure safe passage to Grillby's.

POV Shift: Sans l Location: Snowdin l Time: Five minutes ago.

The familiar sound of a click then a clack, and Gaster and Sans were in Snowdin, at Sans' sentry post, courtesy of a shortcut.

Sans looked at Gaster and then said "So, what's the plan? We ambush him here?"

Gaster shook his head and said "No, I must confess I did not fully recreate this world, I did trigger it, but things did not turn out as they should have, it should have been less, elaborate. This means another power is at work here, additionally, I sensed something, off, that occurred recently with our target. I am beginning to believe, this is not a game he had true control over. He has however, to my knowledge, eluded both us and the human Monika for now, but will be passing through here shortly, according to what I can, have and will observe."

Sans sighed and said "You better be right about this human. If you're lying to me. You're going to have a BAD TIME." Gaster nodded and said "Everything I told you is true, this human to my knowledge enacted a GENOCIDE route and though he seems remorseful now, I do not believe he was fully aware of the true reason of why. I managed to access some files he marked as hidden and placed strategically in his computer, files indicating he is suppressing some kind of memory, or even something further. I will have to investigate further to be certain, so for now, act as if you have never met him, as if you would meet any other human who ventured through here. Which means of course..."

"Yeah yeah, keep my promise, keep an eyesocket out for em'. I get it. Oh, by the way, the lamp isn't gonna help this time." said Sans, interrupting.

Gaster nodded and said "That is not my concern, nor should it be yours. Until we meet again.".

Sans sighed and Gaster left via shortcut. Sans then looked down the snowy path to the Ruins and used a shortcut of his own, for now at least, he would stick to the script. He wasn't used putting in this much effort into anything, but somehow, for some reason, he felt he had to. But he wasn't trusting of Gaster, Sans knew Gaster's role in his birth, he wouldn't call him a father per-se, but from a certain point of view you could call him that. Sans was wondering if Gaster had some sort of control or influence over him, and if this was the case, was it also the case for Papyrus? Sans would have to investigate this carefully, if this was the case and Gaster learned of Sans' discovery of it, it could complicate matters, and Sans doesn't like complicated things, he prefers simplicity and as little effort as possible.

To be continued...