[POV 3rd Person]
[Scene: ???]
[Track Change: Undertale 'Barrier']
Anthony sat down next to Asriel, finally noticing his body. "What is up with my body?!" he screamed.
Asriel chuckled, "You finally noticed, huh? Was wondering how long it will take. Remember you are dead; this is your SOUL form. Its color represents your character or personality. There are 8 colors a Human SOUL can have, but they have one that represents them the most, the Dominant Trait that colors your SOUL. Your two colors are Blue, representing INTEGRITY, you are honest and have a good sense of morality that you stand by, and Purple represents PERSEVERANCE, you are resolute and tenacious, you have habits you can't break, whether good or bad, if you set your mind to do something, you can get past any obstacle. Finally, Red, DETERMINATION, I have heard that very few possess this trait, it appears in those with an ideal or resolve stronger than death, unless your SOUL itself is destroyed or you lose your DETERMINATION, your SOUL will persist after death, growing stronger as your DETERMINATION does."
"Hmm? Red? Wait, 3 colors? I thought you said Humans only have one color?" Anthony questions.
Asriel smiles, "Yes that is correct normally Human SOULs have only one color, there are exceptions, but they are rare. However, when one reaches their end, one's last wishes can join a SOUL in death, the most common traits that awaken this way are JUSTICE, PERSEVERANCE, and rarely, DETERMINATION. If one dies Unjustly they might awaken a strong sense of JUSTICE in their last moments, usually these traits are shown as the SOULs clothing, a SOUL of KINDNESS dies saving someone only to hear in their last moments that the victim is being blamed for their deaths, if strong enough emotions remain their SOUL form could change, clothing changing Yellow to show their new sense of JUSTICE. If I had to guess, before you died you had one or more things you felt you NEEDED to do before your death. Something you felt so strongly about that you awakened the DETERMINATION to tell Death to wait."
Anthony thought of his last words, "Yeah… yeah, that makes sense. Thank you, Asriel."
Anthony and Asriel share a moment of silent reflection.
"So, what about you? Do you have a SOUL color?" Anthony asked.
"No, Monster SOULs don't have any color. A scientist I knew, Alphys, described it like this, "Imagine a flashlight shining through a prism, the light splits into 7 colors, but the 7 colors came from the white light." So, no, Monster SOULs are white, a mix of all 7 traits. Alphys said for a SOUL to have a color it's traits must have at least one trait make up 40% of a SOULs personality. So, when you were alive, your INTEGRITY was your only SOUL trait, not to say you weren't kind or unjust, but it wasn't your main trait. However, during death you wanted to accomplish one simple thing, you resolved yourself to do that thing, you wanted to Persevere more than anything, your SOUL noticed. INTEGRITY and PERSEVERANCE, and at the last moment, you desired something that pushed the boundaries of what was possible, it was likely the last thing you thought of, as only your eyes changed to reflect your DETERMINATION to survive. While DETERMINATION can help you survive death, if there is not enough, it is only a stronger PERSEVERANCE that will decay as your goal slips away. I realized that too late."
[Track Change: Undertale 'Memory']
Asriel finished his lesson, but he wasn't happy, he dug into his own wounds to help someone he just met. Anthony noticed Asriel's worsening mental state, moving closer before pulling the small monster into a hug. Asriel started crying into his chest, but Anthony didn't care, he was too dead to think about what was troublesome or not. He wanted to be there for Asriel, because he knew when he died, how lonely it feels to slowly die cold and alone. If he could be there for Asriel, Asriel could be here for him.