Undertale 2: Forgiven

Chapter Fourteen

"Hey... hey... wake up... If you can hear me, I need you to wake up, my boy."

His eyes slowly fluttered open. His eyelids felt like heavy weights, but he fought to open them.

His eyes fell fell onto the figure of a tall skeleton with black pants, boots, a black turtleneck, and long white lab coat.

"Good. You're awake, Alex."

"Where am I?" Alex asked, getting up slovenly.

He found himself still in the hallway of Asgore's castle. He and the skeleton stood by Sans, who stood over Jasmine. She was on her knees, weeping profusely. Alex reached out to her.

"Don't. She can neither see nor feel your presence right now. You'll only phase through her."

"What happened to me?" Alex asked.

"Touching the Save point was the final step in destroying the established timeline of the Underground. The essence of your SOUL has been scattered all across your timeline.

"Like me, you've become a ghost; a ghost of this time."

"Who are you?" Alex asked.

"I was Dr. Gaster, King Asgore's first royal scientist. That is, until I fell into the core: the source of power for the entire Underground. It affected me the same way the Save point affected you, just more permanently."

"Oh...so, can I reverse this?" Alex asked.

"Yes, but we must act quickly." Gaster answered.

For a moment, Gaster was silent. In that moment, Gaster's eyes, which had been firmly fixed on Alex this whole time, fell onto Sans.

Alex observed a change in Gaster's facial expression; his eyes sunk sadly, hopelessly. It was an expression that Alex could only describe as depression.

The surroundings of the castle shifted into a dark cave. Next to Alex and Gaster were Flowey and Papyrus.

Flowey, true to his word, was letting Papyrus go...

However, the expression on Flowey's face made it painfully obvious that he had more plans in store.

"A lie." Gaster said.

"Huh?"

"You were told that it takes 7 SOULs to break the barrier. That was a lie. You need one human SOUL and one monster SOUL, pure and true in their nature." Gaster revealed.

"What? Then why did Asgore take six, intent on collecting seven?" Alex asked.

"A very good question, my boy.

"You've read our history. Monsters are too weak to wage war with the humans. What good would breaking the barrier do if your race dies dies soon after obtaining freedom?

"Asgore, to his credit, knew well enough that we would all die upon leaving, so he fabricated the lie to keep feeding his subjects hope.

"With 7 SOULs, one can accomplish miracles or atrocities. One human and monster SOUL combined can create a powerful ally or foe.

7 SOULs can create a power so vast it can be compared to the deities of mythology. Asgore knew that with that power on his side, the monsters would stand a fighting chance.

"Forgive the man. This hope is all he has left. He lost his wife, Toriel, to her love for the humans. It tore her away from him.

"They also had two children that both died on the same night; one, an adopted human child, and the other, their flesh and blood: Asriel Dremurr, the prince." Gaster explained.