This world is strange. Even stranger is the new form I'm in, which is like...some sort of fish man? The smell will take some getting used to. No one else seems to mind outside of my companions, however. I just wander about, talking to some of the locals, before I hear that Hotland is a pretty happening place and head over there.

Along the way, I discover signs about the history of the monsters and their world, and what led to them - now us - being trapped Underground. I also learned that their king, Asgore Dreemurr, had claimed several human souls to destroy the barrier. I figured this was my latest ‘Demon King’ to stop, like Bill Cipher in Gravity Falls.

So I go to the palace, expecting a confrontation with an all-powerful monster with the soul of a ‘boss’. I instead am greeted by an empty, broken home, and a very sad goat man. What I remember most were the rings around his eyes, and how red and puffy they looked, like he hadn't slept in weeks and spent that extra time sobbing. Still, he greeted me with a polite smile and even a very uncomfortable hug. He noted that he had never seen me before, but that guests were always welcome.

To say I was taken aback would be a vast understatement. I found myself just exchanging small talk with him, and when I mentioned I didn't have anywhere to stay, he invited me to spend the night over, though he politely asked I didn't use one of the rooms. Namely, the one with two empty beds and a forgotten locket tucked away.

My resolve to fight had completely dwindled away into nothing, and I was torn on what to do. What Asgore did was something that couldn't be easily forgiven. But at the same time, he's all too aware of it, and I feel like even the slightest push would end both his life and what hope his decision had given monsters. I don't think he truly wanted freedom from the Underground. When night fell, I meditated and sent my spirit into the emotional landscape of this house.

And I saw its history unfold before my very eyes.

When you read about a tragedy, it provides a sort of emotional catharsis, and creates a sort of ‘glad it didn’t happen to me' feeling that makes you feel good about where you are, or relate to characters who experienced similar things to you if it did. But watching a family break into pieces and a grim future being built on the graves of two children...even after all I've experienced, nothing could prepare me for what I saw there.

I ended up feeling like I could relate to Asgore. My survival in my first new world was built on the graves of thousands who called for my blood, and I aligned myself with fools and psychopaths just to push back against that river. The world wasn't much of a better place when I arrived, but when I left, I have no doubts I may have made it even worse. I tried to ease my conscience by following the example of Takeshi Hongo and throwing myself into worse conflict to save others, but I only felt battered and tired at the end of it all. Asgore...I can't support what he's done, but I understand him, and I have no energy or right to call him to judgment for it. Moral calculus isn't my specialty.

All these revelations and thoughts made breakfast incredibly awkward. Asgore only made it more awkward when he asked if I was feeling ill, and prepared tea for my stomach with very little prompting on my part. All while I was contemplating what to do next. Sure, I could be the awkward roommate of Goat King for a few years, maybe see if I could steer him away from what he's done...but I feel like this is a symptom of a bigger problem. After all, even if monsters went free, humans could and would probably just kill them all in retribution for going to war with them again. It would be a little like if Carebears tried challenging a tank battalion - that wasn't going to end well for anyone.

That's when I remembered something. When I looked into the ‘landscape’, I could sense the faint presence of a spirit...still existing and yearning, but distant. I tried calling it, but there was no response. Just a vague sense that someone, somewhere, was waiting for something.

The smart thing to do would have been not to look a gift horse in the mouth and just remain there, especially in hindsight. But I was never really smart. And I done. No more pointless violence, no more senseless killing...even as Sagara mocks me for it, I decide to take it upon myself to save Monsters from themselves, and reverse the need or desire to war with the surface. Then, using the SOULS Asgore had gained with an Eyecon made in this world, I could find a way to shatter the barrier wholesale myself without anyone else dying. I don't have high hopes beyond that, but there's better ways to celebrate freedom than revenge, and that might be the ‘out’.

I said goodbye to Asgore, promising I would help as many people in the Underground as possible on my journey. He insisted he would write me letters back, before I showed him how to actually use a phone. Oh, right. I gave him a gadget-phone I made back in the Kamen Rider world. And taught him how to use it. It was a little like trying to show your great-grandparent how to use a computer. He was fascinated and said I should help Dr. Alphys with her inventions sometime.

Why did I feel a sudden chill when he said that?

So I'd start my journey, where I'd talk to and befriend Monsters along the way. It was a lot easier than I thought it'd be - the Monsters are so gosh-darn friendly that my own people skills barely needed a work out. I had trouble reconciling the idea that they had killed several young humans before now with what I saw. It was a little unsettling to think about, like the world itself conspired to sweep it under the rug, or acted as dissonance to what I knew.

Eventually, I left the Core and found my way to the...city, I guess, of Hotland?

At which point I met Dr. Alphys and the ghost named Mettaton. I was deeply uncomfortable, but I managed to get along despite the fact...well, she was a huge nerd, even moreso than Lisa. Mettaton had an ego big enough that I could probably orbit Lockseeds around his head, but he seems to take a shine to me pretty quickly, recommending me to be his ‘backup’ when he officially hit showbiz.

I was quick to excuse myself, though it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it'd be.

So why did it feel like someone was following me as I left Hotland...?