The First Reset

Lore & Background

This fan concept imagines a hypothetical first reset that altered the metaphysical rules of the Underground. While monsters live linear lives bound by their LV and EXP, the introduction of a reset variable could undo those consequences. It is theorized to create the conditions for the 'Genocide' and 'Pacifist' routes to exist as distinct possibilities rather than fixed destinies. However, in canon, Asriel Dreemurr does not express awareness of resets or rewritten history, and the memory of resets is not explicitly hinted at through glitches or Sans's knowledge in a way that confirms a 'first' reset.

In Their Own Story

The dust settles on the small body lying amidst the fallen flowers. The silence is heavy, broken only by the distant hum of the barrier. But then, a spark ignites in the void where nothing should be—a sudden, violent wrenching of reality. The world tears open like old parchment, and time folds back upon itself. In that split second, before the eyes of any monster can witness it, the timeline snaps. The child is no longer still; they are falling again, the journey beginning anew with a blank slate but a heavy heart.

Reader's Guide

The narrative begins in the Ruins, where the player encounters Toriel and learns the basics of movement and combat. The first major divergence occurs when deciding whether to spare or defeat enemies like Froggit and Whimsun. Choosing mercy builds up determination and friendship, leading toward a peaceful resolution with monsters. However, if the player chooses to kill every enemy they meet, they accumulate EXP and LV, fundamentally changing how monsters react and altering dialogue options. This path leads to a confrontation with Papyrus where his fate is sealed by violence rather than puzzle-solving. The story splits again at the encounter with Mettaton EX; mercy here allows for a broadcast of hope, while killing him forces a darker tone. The final divergence happens in New Home: sparing Asriel leads to the True Pacifist ending and the breaking of the barrier, whereas killing all monsters culminates in the Genocide route, where the world is consumed by darkness and the player faces the consequences of their absolute power.

Did You Know?

• The concept of a 'First Reset' is a fan theory; the game does not confirm whether the player's playthrough is the first time the human child has fallen into the Underground.
• Sans is one of the few characters who seems to retain vague awareness of previous timelines, hinting at his knowledge of resets.
• The 'True Lab' notes do not suggest that past experiments with magic and souls paved the way for the ability to reset time. The reset ability is tied to the human's determination, not the lab experiments.
• In the Genocide route, the game does not explicitly state that this specific timeline has been destroyed multiple times. The acknowledgment of repetition is more general, referring to the player's actions across resets,