An Eternal Journey Before the End

A billion resets. Six hundred million massacres. Six hundred million times, he stood in the Judgment Hall without ever raising the blade.

His name was Before the End. A sans. A sans who made a pact with a human girl: to protect every kindhearted person who had been betrayed. So he stood. Even when his back bent, his clothes wore through, and ketchup became his only source of warmth. He stood.

Until the Demon God awoke and the sea of stars teetered on the brink of collapse. He had no choice but to venture into that ocean where even the stars could lose their way.

There, he met the "Watcher," who had emerged from the dust, and the "Walker," who had stopped in the midst of madness. They walked together. And as they walked, six souls joined them, along with Frisk, Chara, and Gaster. The light left behind by the first generation of Guardians followed, too, as did every homeless glimmer.

They called him Return to the Abyss: the abyss at the end of the sea of stars, where all timelines sank. But he preferred to be called the one who stood.

Because as long as he kept standing, someone would dare to walk, someone would dare to look, and someone would dare to stop.

Six hundred million failures, all for one final "I'm back."

Note: This is a derivative fan work based on Undertale, but it has grown into a world of its own. Recommended for readers who enjoy ensemble casts, slow builds, epic scope, and "tender heaviness."