Lum de dum. Lum de dum.
Hmm? You were hoping that the Prologue would be 'Author's Pre-Note' free?
Well, good news!
It's not.
...
What? I never said who it was good news for.
Oh yes. I almost forgot. New readers, if you see any comments with my name on them, they might not be me. 
Let's just say...
My editor does love her pranks. 
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Primordial fear. A fear that existed far before their time. Far before the time of their ancestor's ancestors. It is a fear rooted deep within all humans, logical and illogical to all and none.

The fear of the unseen. The fear of the darkness from the absence of light. A fear that has touched the heart of every human that was, is and will be.

It is this darkness that surrounds you, but a being like you finds a cloak of peace. For here, the hands of requirement cannot touch you. The call of the audience is an unheard breeze to your ears. The very thing that you were created for is a denial by you. You would rather remain here in this nothingness for all eternity, for here is the true meaning of Tranquility and Zen.

Then from the ink-black soup, a solitary beam of light pierces you. A light that cannot be stopped by the likes of you. A light from whence you were, tows you from whence you came.
For this is the light of the author, and his decree will not be denied.

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Gravel. That is the first thing that your Nervous System detects. A mild light surrounds you, stabbing even your still dark-sensitive vision. The peaceful noise of lapping water knocks at your eardrums and lets itself in much like all noise. The foreign freshness of calm lake water settles on your once-tasteless buds occupying your tongue.

As you pick yourself up, the loose bits of gravel return to their home while you explore your surroundings. It appears to be a small area overlooking what appears to be an endless river. When you look behind you, the dark wooden outline of a shop makes itself visible, with runes inscribed at the top. The place seems eerily familiar to you, and your now-unfoggy mind works overtime to recall the area.

"The old turtle hammer monster once was the sole occupant of that small cave." A melodic gender-neutral voice tunes out from behind you without warning. "Now it is merely a lone cave that is single and ready to mingle."
Shock should not pay an easy visit to you, but unexpectedly it breaks down your doors. Jumping away from the speaker, your head swivels to uncover with your vision who it was that startled you.

In the space occupied The River Person, the Underground's mysterious ferry-person. Behind them yapped the magical boat-dog that transported those who requested to be, patiently waiting on the calm waters.
"My apologies for startling you." The River Person amended. "Although I will point out that the job of a grasshopper would be well-suited for you." You tilt your head quizzically, as you cannot tell if their words are those of compliments or those of insults. When you ask, their words are the unhelpful "Who knows. Lel."

Your mind then recalls a rather strange part of her first words. What did she mean when she said the cave was now lone? Has Gerson died? But that does not add up. Gerson isn't meant to die yet!

Then you use more understanding into the words that you spoke. Perhaps that should have been left hidden for a little longer. On the defensive side, Gerson was very old. It only made sense that he would die. Of course, his soul would not be the only item on the Reaper's agenda...
Then again, the dead ones get better. Most of them at least. You ponder on the possibility of being fired for revealing important spoilers to the audience. You defend against this by justifying that you didn't reveal who died. 

Your attention wavers from the topic of death and selects the newcomer instead. The River Person seems to be doing what you can only deduce as an armless ska dance. There seems to be no other explanation as you watch the cloaked dancer mimic the movements of the Enraged Mannequin. It's a rather hypnotic pattern of repetition. When they finish, your clapping is mostly from politeness, but ever so slightly from enjoyment.

"Thank you, thank you. You're far too kind!" The River Person bows from your praise, then pick themselves up effortlessly. Back turned to you, The River Person floats down towards the dog(go) boat, then goes immobile. You inquire their current state of health, and are greeted with the cloak facing towards you.

"Tarry not. Unless you're waiting for a cave update or something, your time here is meaningless." Came the reply as the River Person hovered over their usual place on the animate boat. Your Eyeless Sense, or the instinct that reveals the correct choice to make, vibrates within your being as an indicator to accept the River Person's offer. You ponder on how you obtained this ability, and proceed to the River Person's boat as you do.

As your foot places itself on the boat, your vision registers nothing but white for an instantaneous moment. Then, sight obtains a location surrounding you. As you examine it, the location reveals itself to be the starting point of the journey of Frisk: The Golden Flower Bed.
Your confused mind is reflected upon your eyes, and they are easily read by the River Person. "You did not expect that? But you should always expect the unexpected. Then when something unexpected occurs, you'll expect it. Although by that logic, you'd technically un-expect the expected because our mind is too busy focusing on the unexpected and..." They seem to go on for what your mind tells you are hours, but the flow of Time correctly reveals as minutes.

You send an attention hook towards her in the form of a polite cough. When the hook falls short, you make a second attempt. This time, Luck grants you with victory as the River Person's cloak stiffens up.
"Oh whoops. I sorta forgot about you. Guess I should try and remember ol' Sparkly Eyes Blue Tragon's words, eh?" Your muscles involuntarily stiffen at the mention of that name. It causes your memory to overwork itself because of the familiarity, but it is gradually weakened by your common sense explaining to you that there is no benefit to finding the owner of that name. Your Eyeless Sense activates at this phrase as a further indication.

"All joking aside, it is no mere coincidence that you were found by me. In terms of mysterious characters, there are few who possess an aura of mystery greater than mine." Their speech is picked up by the boat, who begins to move forwards following the footsteps left behind by the last human to roam these paths.
"I have a task here. A task that involves explaining the timeline of this universe ever since the legendary day the Barrier was Scattered To The Wind." They begin, easily noting the quick involuntary shake that accompanies the familiarity of that name. You theorize it to be a chapter title, though you cannot guess as to what.

The boat travels through the Ruins, leaving behind a mark of nothingness. "Two choices at the end, the child had to choose: To remain with those who considered them family, or to search out new faces and the old ones lose. The choice ''twas obvious to a mind like theirs, and they now live with monsters, an opportunity so rare." Your attentiveness doesn't falter, though you do find yourself on the topic of why they are rhyming their words

"Monsters so frog-like and monsters so timid; all types beyond happy from these Ruins to rid." The River Person tunes out in front of you with a peculiar rhyme as the boat travels through the familiar Orchid-Purple halls now devoid of life. One such hall contains a lone brown four-legged table with an empty white plate laying on top of it. It feels significant, but you cannot see why. The boat takes a quick turn to the left, revealing an aged black tree containing not a trace of a leaf anymore. They sit around the old trunk, like children listening to a tale told by an elderly storyteller. As your little group hover down the stairs, the voice of the River Person is heard once more.

"The goat of femme gender, her dreams she pursued. And Dream listened to her, and her wishes he soothe. Education to the young, a dream from young that she had. And a dream now she lives out, in no fantasy land."
"But all is not peaceful, not all is just good. For past and present problems plague under her hood. Memories of old, and conflicts of new, attack this once-more mother, not saying adieu." While they speak, the boat travels on and on forward seemingly towards an endless destination.
Until at last, the faithful Door to Snowdin appears. A Door that has acted as the watcher of two Friends Of The Heart as they swapped cheesy puns with each other, finding solace and relief in their company. Now, the Door has been swung right open, and from the musty warm of the Ruins you enter the nose-biting cold of the pun named Snowdin.

The frosty white water of negative degrees lays carefree around you as ancient trees of colossal size *STAND* proudly against their elemental enemy, the generations allowing them to adapt and survive and pass this ability on to their children. Your journey takes you past the River, a place that somehow is able to resist the freezing touch of Snowdin and remain a liquid.

"Oh yeah," The River Person pipes up as you voice your question "that used to be frozen solid. You needed a giant fork to pierce through it, which coincidentally is what King Fluffybuns did WAY back when we were first trapped here. Since a frozen lake is as useful as counting on Jerry for something, he and Lady Toriel -yes, I mean lady- both cast a powerful spell upon it, restoring it to its previous running glory. Good for me!" Onward you continue, passing over many memorable puzzles as well as a sheet of paper. One of your encounters are two tables, one lacking anything upon it and the other with a microwave placed on top. This strikes you as a rather odd thing to place considering that no electrical plug points seem to be in the area. Perhaps it is the work of magic. 

Far in front of you lies the homey village of Snowdin Town, now a town filled with silence. 
Or so you assume at first. Once you make your passing through the wooden bridge, it becomes more apparent that not all the occupants have made their passing to the Surface.
Cheese powder acts as an unwilling coat on many of the vacant buildings with doors left ajar by one too lazy to close them. The Dimension Box placed outside the old premises of the shopkeeper Bun seems to have been liberated from its original placement. Multiple miniature machines have been placed in different places around Snowdin, all with blinking lights showing on it. 
"Yup. I'm not the only one who chose to stick around over here." The River Person comments. "Jerry decided that since he's the only Monster here, he's now the 'Snowner' of Snowdin Town." They chuckle a bit at their joke. "So far, all he does is sit around devouring the Underground's supply of cheese puffs and..."
"That's it, really."

Upon passing a familiar large house, the fog begins to obstruct your vision as the outskirts of Snowdin arrive closer and closer.
"The one of true kindness, one who believes 'till the end; Time has left him unchanged, his fragrance inno-scent (Lel). But Dark Days are brewing, they're churning a storm. And they'll all affect this one, leaving him to mourn. But prior days are happy, mixed in with intrigue. For a new role he'll play, one that'll leave him in good fatigue." The chilling touch of Snowdin no longer reaches you as you began to exit its range. With it, you leave behind the memories of the future to come and abandon it until it finds its way to freedom. 

The peaceful sounds of rushing water calm your mind as the oceanic Waterfall gazes upon your arrival. The contrast of colour pallets is a relief to your pained eyes as the cool dark colours soothe your snow-hurt retinas. The fireflies are still present here, hovering around in groups peacefully.
"We're taking the scenic route by the way." The River Person speaks suddenly "That's my way of saying we're following in the kid's old footsteps." Speaking true to their word, they keep on the same pathway as the last fallen child, even floating down towards the trash yard. Along the way, you spot yet another of those tables. This one seems to contain a mostly crystallized cheese within it, but it's difficult to not make out mouse-sized bites in it. The creature who did that must have been very determined indeed. You also make out in the distance a burnt-down house, its embers long gone cold. Perhaps the stove was turned on too high...

Ahead of you lies a humongous stone arch, though natural or man-made alludes you. A truly menacing place indeed, one who stands on top of it would appear very threatening indeed. 
"The fishanoid of great pride, armour she doff. But protecting still drives her, so the Law she is a part of. Life is less complicated, troubles are few. But the future will change that, and her personality anew. Za Warudo in danger, from a curse aeons old. But to the challenge she'll rise up, for to save many a SOUL." The howling breeze suddenly shifts temperatures as you pass by the now-blank welcome sign, from a pleasant cool to burning stingers that affect you even more because of the temperature contrast. Warning bells begin to sound within your mind, and it takes a few moments to understand why:
You can feel pain, even though you shouldn't be able to.

 Infernal magma boils and bubbles far below you, the deadly formula also once the luxury giver for the Underground. Time has done nothing to lessen the ferocious heat of what is truly the most lethal part of the Underground. Or with outside factors considered, the most naturally-occurring lethal part of the Underground. The usual assortment of fire and heat-related monsters have left their lasting mark in the scorching terrain, with soot marks and ever-steaming rocks scattered like the sprinkles on a cupcake. Vents and game-like puzzles were once a puzzling foe, but now with a lack of anyone to puzzle, they puzzle no more the minds of puzzlers and non-puzzlers. You highly doubt the acceptability of that word, but there are more important matter to attend to than a grammatical error. A sight you are now becoming more familiar with is once again a table. This one contains a slightly ajar safe placed on top of it, with scratch marks torn onto the keypad. It is not until passing the colour puzzle that the River Person's vocal cords are used once more.

"Of stutters she's plagued, the yellow reptile-like monster. For the sun may be shining, but the past it still haunts her. Science rose her up and Science brought her far; but Science still her cross, one that'll last 'forevah'. But her mind is still sharp, her secrets still shadows; and her time for use approaches, for in evil she'll put blows." As you leave behind you the volcanic-like ecosystem, the grandest luxury of the Underground makes its appearance. Age and disuse have spared no MERCY on the premises, but it still endures on with all of its glamour. The only light radiating here come from the never-ending fires of Pyrope flames placed in candles all around the building like a small but steady flame forever waiting in never-ending darkness. The fountain has long gone dry, revealing scars and cracks lining its bottom. The doors to the food menu reluctantly manned by the catanoid monster Willard Scott Jr - known by his more humiliating name Burgerpants - have been swung wide open, containing nothing but dust.

And the cat monster himself, sleeping on the ground with a half-lit cigarette in his mouth."
Another poor creature, humiliated by most; Willard Scott Jr, finds safety in his ex-post. Mixed feelings he has, from both life and from love; and no help he gets, from the stars above." The River Person hums as the boat carries on. "Don't worry though, he'll be fine."

As the over-dramatic building lags further and further away from you, a new destination arrives: The old power system of the Underground, the CORE. Once a place constantly attacking the sense of hearing, it now slumbers like an ancient beast with its deeds concluded. Its many pathways can easily leave those unfamiliar with the ever-changing maze lost and disorientated. It would take a fair amount of DETERMINATION to find a way through.   

"Unpredictable and glamorous, better words can't be found; to describe the self-proclaimed 'Star Of The Underground.' But his predictions were correct -that he would go far- and among humans, he stands a superstar. The World he travels, bringing cheer with each visit; but his heart remains with friends, thanks to the child who tamed it. His future is uncertain, Sands of Time ever shift, but for love, he'll battle onwards, Fate's fog he shall lift." The iconic battleground of the Star and the Hope still remains here, reminiscing about that legendary time. Moving down the corridor past it is the location of the elevator to the King's Throne room. Somehow, the boat is also able to fit; whether it be plot convenience or magic alludes you.

"Ex-Commander of Timelines, now controller of a pot; the one self-named Flowey, in the Underground not left to rot. Evilness is gone, replaced by a curiosity of cruel; but the laws she will stick, and only slight bend of the rule. Though SOULess she is, this flower has FEARs; and among them there is one, with a Bad Time-like sneer. But disappear forever, that FATE is not true; instead a permanent member from dust will rise HE THEY slew." The cryptic poem/exposition requires enough time that the elevator reaches the summit upon its conclusion. The doors open to reveal broken walls made from bricks barely staying together. The aged halls somehow stay together, stretched to the very limit but still able to hold up. As you exit the gateway, your breath is caught as you gaze upon the huge city of New Home. While its name may not be anything to boast about, its buildings truly are. They embody the resilience and advancement of monsters, able to re-create society despite the dark times of the War. As you watch it, harmonic voices call out like an angelic choir.

"Torn by his people, torn by his heart; Sat the Bergentrückung mournfully, love ripping him apart. Sins crawling on his back, he watches the new world; and in new life now gifted, make up for wrongs of old. His punishment is severe, some say it too harsh; but life finds a new tale, and his new life not harsh." The Hall Of The Mountain King stands, the only place that looks identical to its old form. You know the memories associated with this place, and you understand why Asgore would choose not to take anything here back to the Surface. The flowers are blooming, still as fresh as ever. You bend down to examine them, and find a speck of dust on one of the petals. Carefully brushing it off, you face the Throne.

Magic has played an important part on this chair. Its regal Majesty has not been tarnished by age or disuse as a shining gleam emerges from it. Hidden behind it however is a shadow of darkness, unseen to any. In a way, it is a poetic scene. King Asgore was a loyal and kind-hearted figure to the Underground. But his mind was soaked with terrible secrets, guilt gnawing at him as his shadow. He made choices that none should ever had to make, and he carried them without complaining. There are those who shun him for his past, but he was the one who held Monsterkind from Falling Down at their beginnings of their prison.  

The final destination of the boat is this very room as the River Person glides from their boat. As you watch them, the boat nudges you gently in their direction with their head with a soft whine enunciating from it. Avoiding the flowers, you manage to manoeuver your way across the flowerbed. A silent ghost, they continue onward to where the Barrier once was. And there is where you find what is perhaps the greatest shock yet.

The Barrier is alive. Humming with its powerful magic, the guardian shield remains stoic against those who dare to leave. You press your hand against it, just to see if it is truly physical. Immediately, a wall of force pushes against your hand, perfectly matching Isaac Newton's Law of Physics. This goes against what you already know: that monsters are free and living on the Surface. So why would the Barrier still be within reality?

"You're right." The River Person speaks, somehow reading your thoughts. "The Barrier shouldn't exist anymore, not after Asriel gave it the Big OOF and a half." Then they move up towards it, touching it not with magic or physical means. "But what you fail to see is that this Barrier is not the twin to the Barrier that monsters lamented as their Jail Door. No, this one is more of a metaphorical Barrier in the sense that it is the thing that keeps the story from the audience." Confusion is the focal point of your face as you turn back to face them. "It was the Author's way of being clever. I'll admit, it's not too terrible all things considered." Then, the light of the Barrier begins to lessen. A low angelic hum begins to play. From underneath the cloak of the River Person, powerful magic flashes out, filling the room with a bright Royal Orange glow. Shapes begin to form around them, resembling a pure-white sword; a shard of a Monster's SOUL breaking off from a larger one; and the form of a tall skeleton with armour coating their body. And in the midst of it all, the River Person stands tall, voices whispering unheard words. 
And then, they speak. All as one.

"Now is time to understand it all."
"Now is time to show the legacy."
"A tale now woven, from one who's known:"
"He of sparkles, he of energy!"
"Darkness falls on heroes lives. Twisted World, to a Fate it's tied."
"A curse of Infinity, for one apathetic; He who'll save the world! Sevic!"
"The Lost Deity, The one of Ever,"
"The strings of evil, with Carnage they'll sever."
"NOW UNLOCK A TALE! ONE TOLD FOREVER!"
"RELEASE THE SECRET! REVEAL ASToMTR!"

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The Barrier...
Was Broken.

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DONE. FINALLY!
I'd like to thank you for the long wait I have thrown on you. I won't promise that I'll be faster with updates considering that people want stockpiles.
I will however try to avoid distractions such as Discord and RolePlays. I don't know how well it will work though.

ASToMTR will be SO much better than its processor. That, I can offer.
So, since people want stockpiles rather than daily chapters...
I'll see you next year for the first chapter!
-T-Dude