Point of Divergence - "Start Here"

*Author Note*

I have decided to place this chapter in the auxiliary section, due to being in my opinion a bit jarring when placed next to the following [Code Monolith] chapters. If you don't understand what exactly is going on in this chapter, that's completely fine, in fact you could completely skip this chapter entirely and it likely wouldn't matter. This chapter mainly serves the purpose of separating the story into two halves. If your wondering what the difference between [Code Monument] and [Protocol Ouroboros] that will be explained below.

[Code Monument]

This is the first half of the story starting from the very beginning, it will start a bit before the introduction of Undertale elements. This half will likely have slice-of-life moments, adventure, and be a slower starter, in addition the action will be less pronounced in this half, you are meant to start with absolutely zero knowledge of anything, and experience the story through Mizuki's eyes, because of this anything explained in the [Limbo Compenium/Auxillary Chapters] may not find itself in the story for quite a while. This half will be more grounded than the second half [Protocol Ouroboros]. Any references or involvement with anime will likely be limited until much further in.

[Protocol Ouroboros]

This will be the second half of the story, here the limbo compendium may be used, (or perhaps necessary) *still deciding*, for you to understand the plot, in this latter half action will likely be more prevalent, and hopefully comedy will be more prevalent as well. This section will likely have a more lighthearted and positive tone, and hopefully start much faster. However, I will note, the previous changes were in consideration for the fact that this half will probably not be very grounded, E.G. Gods, Eldritch being, Primordial realities, everything that literally destroys sanity. In fact a large number of Anime/Game references, and/or implementation, may be seen relatively quickly, because of this I feel that having more comedy, and taking the story with less serious outlook would be better than the alternative: [Completely serious story, everything needing to be logical, things need to make sense... then you encounter a talking deer that grows to 10ft' tall (Chopper from One Piece)]. *Hopefully you understand*

At the very least this is the plan for now, however it is subject to change, to the readers, any constructive criticism is appreciated, and requests, E.G. longer chapters, will be considered and potentially implemented, reviews are appreciated, and I sincerely hope that my story can become something all of its readers will enjoy, thank you for reading, or even just taking the time to look.

~I appreciate you all, Your Author, [Shadowstar01 - The Celestial Abyss]~

(12 hours after [Soul Resonance Event])

You awake with a feeling akin to dread, strange and ominous thoughts lingered in your head, whispering how you were broken, how you failed your task and were made to become something you weren't meant to. You notice the subtle sound of buzzing, slowly you open your eyes to find yourself surrounded by a black void, a strange ambiance infects the air. You watch the trance inducing wave like motion of the sea of stings just beneath your feet, the thin wires slowly shifting from color to color. Then you note the strange objects that pop in and out of existence, you get the feeling that they shouldn't be there, and then suddenly, your gut spins as you come to a realization, you shouldn't be here either. But before you can focus on these thoughts, another problem worms its way to the front of your mind. You realize you can't remember why your 'here', your panic increases as you fail to find any memories that are 'yours', as if you were a blank slate any memories of 'you' are non-existent. You realize as you process these thoughts, that if you did not have any memories, you would probably be incapable of understanding the concept of memories in the first place.

You slowly begin to indulge in your thoughts, lost within in your own mind you get the feeling that time is flowing far quicker than it should. At the edge of your vision you spot a medium sized red figure quickly approaching. The figure stops its approach 2 meters in from of you, with a height of about 5ft'6, and a lean physique, shrouded by a glittering red flame, and orbited by 6 blazing hearts of different colors. However, you find yourself incapable of thinking of this figures purpose, all you notice is the figures impressive bust, as an oddly familiar sadness and traces of anger begin to permeate within you.

Your thoughts are interrupted by the soft melodic voice of a young adult

[Glittering Red / Child of ??? / ???] "Hmm… so you, are the missing piece then? But what exactly are you… I'm certain your not another personality like Frisk or Chara? But then, what part of my soul are you."

You feel perplexed by this figures' statement, your thoughts becoming a jumbled mess. Attempting to organize and articulate your thoughts, you respond, somewhat startled by your soft childlike voice

[Little White / Fragment of ???? / Aspect of ???] "I'm part of your soul… how could that even be possible?! Can souls even be divided, fragmented, or something, wait but… if the soul was fragmented, wouldn't that mean it was dead?! No, I refuse to believe it! To start, I can't possibly be you, how could I be when your bust is…. 'BIGGER'… *cough*… I-I m-mean I c-can't be you, I'm only 4ft'4, not to mention I'm made of a transparent white flame."

You slowly drew inwards as you tried to hide your flustered Expression, Red seeming to take pleasure in your antics. Facing the amused gaze of Red, you felt the need to change topics.

Just as you were about to 'gracefully' change topics 'White' felt the intense fluctuation of something inside of her, feeling that something fundamental about her had changed. A newfound joy encompassed her very being, as if an invisible restraint were destroyed.

Before she could bask in this feeling, a new voice interjected, it was an excited voice that spoke with an air of elegance, emitting a sense of comfort, underneath a barely noticeable stiff and synthetic undertone was present. White jumped in surprise as the voice seemed to speak everywhere at once.

[Former Zohar / Illogical Existence / ???] "How incredible!! Mizuki, do you have any idea how incredible it is, and this was a part of your soul!!! Earlier, I concluded that the missing soul fragment was important, but this, this is a creation of the Architects. I never thought these could even be separated from their [PROTAGONISTS], and that ripple affected both the [Astral Plane] and [Logic Continuum], I mean this is "SLOW DOWN" "

Mizuki had been taken aback by her companion's sudden change in demeanor, the fact that she had been incredibly composed and quiet in the past week, only served to disorient Mizuki further. Gathering her nerves, Mizuki interrupted the recently formed souls ranting, shouting as loud as she could.

White originally surprised by the sudden appearance of a disembodied voice, came out of her stupor rather quickly, becoming wary of the disembodied voice that seemed rather outspoken. Seeking protection, White ran up behind the one she now knows is 'Mizuki', grabbing the blazing red jacket formed from flames. White's anxiety had only seemed to increase, due to the way the invisible being talked as if it were appraising an object.

Mizuki smoothly followed up with an inquiry, her voice expressed in monotone as if to highlight her disapproval

[Glittering Red / Child of ??? / Mizuki] "First off, Zoa… I believe going on a rant that only you can follow, is certainly not the best choice when you have an audience of two individuals, sadly without a supercomputer for a mind. Secondly, I don't think our guest seems comfortable with the way you were describing her. Now, can you please respond in an understandable and concise manner?"

Zoa seemingly understood her wrongdoings, as indicated by the embarrassed tone of her voice, and apprehensiveness in continuing, a small aura of guilt seemed to grow in her surroundings, before slowly dwindling and disappearing.

[Former Zohar / Illogical Existence / Zoa] "ahh… umm… mm… a-a-apologies I seem to h-have gotten caught up… on the f-fact that s-she was created by my m-masters too. I was looking up information in the Architect data servers, so I could rationalize that intense rippling just a moment ago. I concluded that Lil' White over there, is called a [Fragment of Fate], or if you prefer [Aspect of Control], both interchangeable. It seems that these fragments were designed to be attached to compatible souls, these compatible souls were then called [PROTAGONISTS], they seem to serve some specific purpose, unfortunately it seems files pertaining to their role is redacted. The fragments are listed with two major functions, the first is the ability to passively bend the laws of causality, usually in manner that involves hardship, as result improving a [PROTAGONISTS] soul. A result of this causality manipulation is that they are essentially impossible to kill, even when clearly overwhelmed by a life or death situation, in fact by having a compatible fragment, it seems trouble is far more likely to find them. The secondary function seems to be some sort of control over [PROTAGONISTS],… hmm… a lot of this information is redacted… there seems to be quite a few mentions of beings called [PLAYERS]… the most I can tell is that the second function was implemented due to a deal with these so called [PLAYERS]. The best Explanation I have of Lil' Whites 'event', is that exposure to the [Logic continuum] caused rapid erosion of the astral links, thus the astral energy with nothing to do, left with an explosive ripple."

Mizuki notes with a bit of interest, that Lil' Whites eyes are sparkling, causing her to snort at the idea that someone would actually say she's anything but interested, and as a result causing White to adopt an adorable face of confusion.

However, Mizuki still had work to do, she came to find her missing fragment, and the protocol was still imminent and waiting, which brings up one of Mizuki's biggest question.

[Glittering Red / Child of ??? / Mizuki] "Zoa, we should get back to business, we found my soul fragment, Lil' White here but, how am I supposed to become whole again, Lil' White seems sentient, I can't just force her to rejoin my soul, can I?"

Lil' White could be seen puffing her cheeks, seemingly affronted that she could be considered non-sentient. However, Lil' White decided to keep silent because the 'adults' are talking, and although White will never admit it, she actually has no idea what they're talking about. Sightly dejected Lil' white decided to cross her arms, pout, and crouch, making sure to look down.

[Little White / Fragment of Fate / Former Aspect of Control] 'Maybe if I become part of the background, they'll go annoy someone else instead of bothering me. After all it's not like I need them, as much as they need me'

her face began to light up at her seemingly brilliant deduction.

Ignoring the childlike soul fragment Zoa responds with a slightly unsure tone

[Former Zohar / Illogical Existence / Zoa] "I honestly don't know, a soul fragment normally stays dormant, although, in these scenarios the dormant fragments are carrying memories. There have been experiments whose goal was to determine how important memories are to the soul, they found that memories are what make the soul. Apparently, they got their hands on a few soul fragments, after wiping their memories they began to grow into a normal soul, attempts to have it rejoin its original soul was difficult. Though they did eventually succeed, the key was to share their memories as stories, as they told each other their stories, they stated that they felt as if they lived the memories themselves. Eventually, the souls managed to merge without issue, hopefully, White's nature as a Fragment of Fate, will make the process easier. To sum it up, you need to tell her the story of your life."

White perked her ears, secretly listening in on the conversation, not that she needed to be secretive in the first place, however, she soon found herself hopping up to her feet, a face full of joy, filled with giddiness, and a gut feeling that she's going to hear some amazing stories.

Observing the adorable bunny like White, Mizuki couldn't help but feel endeared, yet somehow she can't help but feel that the Lil' Rabbit will be troublesome, either because the lil' rabbit is required to disappear, or because the girl full of energy, will have to sit down, be patient, and listen to her story, she honestly can't decide.

With a rather wry smile appearing across her face, Mizuki slowly sits down, as she faces little white, she observes the face full of wonder, as a Grin spreads across her face she begins her story

[Glittering Red / Child of Monsters / Mizuki] "I suppose before we can begin our path to the future, we have to remember a bit about our journey so far. Before we talk about the death of multiple realities, or about the adventures of shinobi, pirates, or even Shinigami. Before we realized that what we were fighting for was our beloved companions, there was simply a small child, who fell to the world underground, and was promptly raised by a kingdom of monsters."