I do not own Zener Work's Okage Shadow King or Nippon Ichi Software's Soul Nomad and the World Eaters, though it would be cool if I did.
So, in this chapter, I will be introducing everyone's favorite character from Soul Nomad and the World Eaters. If you have played the game, you will know who I am talking about.
Chapter 2: The Black Sword
"You idiot!" The shadow was nearly screaming in rage. "Why would you deny me the perfect shadow?!"
"Did you really think I was just going to stand there and let you ruin this boy's life?" Rosalyn asked. "As much of a pain you are, Stan, I would rather have my shadow possessed than to let you take someone else's."
"Th-that's not fair! The boy won, so his shadow is mine! I demand a retry!"
"You can't."
"Why not?"
"You said that one of us, meaning everyone in the room, was to enter into an agreement with you. You taking my shadow solidifies that agreement."
"But—but—James, help me out here!"
James seemed hesitant to say anything. He said, "Um…er, well, on the one hand, it violates the rules of the contest, but…I think the judges should really decide."
The two ghosts hovered close to each other and whispered to each other. They then withdrew and faced James. They were quick to give their answer.
"Bluh, boo boo." The red ghost said.
"Pshew, pshew, shchchchch." The white ghost seemed to be laughing.
"Oh…I see." James turned to his master and told him, "I'm so sorry, master, but their word is final: the contest ends when you take someone's shadow."
" 'Someone's shadow'?!" Stan said angrily. "Not 'the winner's shadow'?!"
"Buh…boo." Said the red ghost.
"Schchchchch." The white ghost laughed.
Both ghosts vanished.
"I'm sorry master," James lowered his head, "but it seems like the judges weren't too specific in wording the rules."
"There." Rosalyn placed a hand on her hip. "You're stuck with me, Stanley."
Stan put his claws on his head and snarled in frustration. He glared and said, "Very well, but know this: I am going to make you so miserable that you'd wish-."
"Hold on!" The father stepped forward. "What about Annie? You said you would cure her."
"Oh…yes, I did. Well, then, I might as well start by showing you just how awesome my power is!"
Everyone went upstairs to Annie's room. As he said he would, Stan went to work on removing the curse from Annie. He murmured something and Annie's body glowed white for a few seconds. Ari didn't know what he was expecting, but he was sure it was going to take longer than a few seconds.
When Stan was done, he said, "Well, that should do it. Wake up, girl!"
Annie blinked a few times and sat up in her bed. She asked, "Did it work?"
She gasped and jumped out of bed. She exclaimed, "I'm cured! I can talk normally again!"
"Oh thank God." The mother looked like she was about to shed tears of joy.
"Hey!" Stan snapped. "You should be thanking me here!"
"Yes, yes, we should." The father agreed. "You have done us a great favor, Stan."
"Uh huh, uh huh. That's right honey." The grandmother was obviously in agreement.
"Huh?" The grandfather raised an eyebrow. "Annie? What happened to your shadow?"
"Huh?" Annie looked down and gasped.
Everyone now noticed that her shadow was no longer black, but bright pink. Personally, Ari thought it was funny. Annie thought otherwise.
"No!" Annie cried out. "My shadow! Why is my shadow pink?!"
Stan chuckled, "Well, I never said I wouldn't turn your shadow pink."
"You fiend!" Rosalyn shook her fist at Stan.
"Well, consider it payback for what you did to me!"
"That's my master." James said. "Always so perfectly evil."
"Nooo!" Annie wailed. "Now I'll never get married! Oh, why me?! My shadow!"
Ari was getting fed up with all the commotion his sister was making, so he left the room, thinking that no one would notice him leave. He went to his room, which was unfortunately next to his sister's room, and decided to go to bed. He lay in his bed awake for several hours, his sister's complaining keeping him from falling asleep. He figured it was around midnight when his sister finally quieted down. After a long night, he fell asleep.
Ari woke up the next morning and went down to the kitchen for breakfast. Like every day, his mother was up before him, making breakfast for the whole family. He greeted his mother, "Good morning."
The mother, who was making omelets, turned from the stove and greeted back, "Oh, morning honey. Did you sleep well?"
Ari nodded.
"I'm glad. After all that happened last night, I was afraid you wouldn't get enough sleep."
So all that really happened, Ari thought.
He thought back to Rosalyn and what she did for him last night. He felt like he had to thank her for that self-sacrifice. He also wanted to know why she did it, and how she knew about Stan and the bottle. He asked his mother, "Where's Rosalyn?"
"She's sleeping on the couch in the parlor." His mother answered as she returned to cooking the omelets.
Ari left the kitchen and went to the parlor. He saw that Rosalyn was already awake and sitting on the couch. She was still holding the parasol above her head and she looked lost in thought. Ari walked up to her and asked, "Rosalyn?"
She sighed, but didn't answer. She blinked slowly and lifted her head up. She was startled when she saw Ari looking at her.
"Ari?" She asked. "How long were you there?"
"Not long." He answered.
"Is there something you need?"
"Well…"
Ari sat in one of the chairs. He asked, "Why did you take my place last night?"
"Oh, that." Rosalyn lowered her head again. "Well, no matter how things were going to work out, something bad was going to happen to someone in this family. I still felt bad for what happened to your sister, so I thought this would be the best way to redeem myself."
Ari said softly, "Thank you." He then asked, "So, you know Stan?"
"Of course I know her!" A familiar voice said.
Stan emerged from Rosalyn's shadow and explained, "Months ago, this woman found my bottle and uncorked it. I was cooped up for so long, I was willing to take anyone's shadow. I tried to make her obey me, like she should have been doing from the start, but she wouldn't listen!"
"You really thought a hero would obey someone as evil as you?" Rosalyn asked.
"Anyways," Stan raised his voice, "she wouldn't listen, so I gave her as much hell as I could. I got her kicked out of that Hero's Association she's obsessed about and made her the laughing stock of everyone!" He laughed evilly.
"He ruined my life," Rosalyn lowered her voice, "so I felt like I…"
"So this mopey woman tried to take her own life! Of course, if she were to do that, I wouldn't have a host, so I went back into the bottle, but, heh heh, not before leaving a little something behind."
Ari was shocked. So Rosalyn was Stan's previous host, and she had tried to kill herself because of what he did to her. Now that she was his host again, would she try to reattempt suicide? He now felt guilty for Rosalyn saving him from his supposed fate.
"You know how Annie now has a pink shadow?" Rosalyn asked. "When he left, he turned my shadow pink. Since then, I've been carrying this parasol to hide it. Somehow, I was able to make it through."
She lowered her parasol. When her shadow, or rather, Stan, was unobstructed by the parasol's shadow, something strange happened. Before Ari and Rosalyn's very eyes, he spontaneously turned bright pink. Their eyes widened and they gaped.
"What?" Stan asked. "Have you finally seen just how terrifying my presence is?"
A smile stretched across Ari's face. He had never wanted to laugh so much before. Rosalyn also smiled and let out a chuckle. That chuckle quickly turned into laughter.
"What's so funny?" Stan was not amused.
"You…" Rosalyn couldn't finish what she was saying through her now explosive laughter.
"You're pink." Ari said.
"What?" Stan narrowed his eyes. "Don't you dare make up…"
He looked at his claws and saw that they were pink. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He looked down and saw that all of him was pink, right down to where he was connected at Rosalyn's feet. He was silent for a moment, then…
"No!" He screamed. "No no no! Why am I, the Great Evil King Stan, pink?! James! James! Where are you, James?!"
A circle of white light appeared on the floor. James slowly rose out of it and the light disappeared. He asked, "Master, what…?"
He stared at his master. He was at a loss for words.
"James!" Stan shouted at his butler. "Wasn't the curse on this woman's shadow removed when I took over?"
"I thought so too, but that seems to not be the case." James covered his mouth to hide his emerging smile.
"Oh, not you too! I was fine yesterday, so why am I pink now?!"
"I assume it's because the Miss was holding her parasol over her shadow the whole time."
"Woman, put that parasol back up, now!"
"Why?" Rosalyn was grinning from ear to ear. "I think this is an actual improvement for you."
"No, no it's not!"
"Well… why not humor you?"
Rosalyn picked up her parasol and held it above her again. As quickly as he had turned pink, Stan was black once more.
"Hm," Rosalyn said, "I guess I'm not throwing this thing out after all."
"Between holding that silly parasol and me being pink," Stan said, "I would much rather have you hold that parasol."
"I'm glad we have found a solution for master." James said. "However, madam is cooking omelets, and I would much rather try them."
"Fine, fine," Stan waved a hand at his butler, "go have your breakfast."
James walked up to the door and, instead of opening it, phased right through it. Ari turned to face Rosalyn and asked, "What are you going to do now?"
"I think," Rosalyn said slowly, "this time around, I'll actually look for a way to get rid of Stan."
"Fool!" Stan laughed. "There is no way to get rid of me!"
"You never know until you try." She said to Ari, "I think I'll go to Tenel and stock up on supplies. After that, I'll begin my journey. Hm, now that I think about it, I haven't been on a journey in a long time. This should be…eventful."
Rosalyn stood up and announced, "I'll leave right away. Ari, tell your family 'thank you' for me, for letting me stay the night."
"Mom's cooking breakfast." Ari said. "She might be upset if you leave without eating."
"True. Okay, I'll at least stay for breakfast, then."
Stan retreated into Rosalyn's shadow and the two of them went to the kitchen. The mother was still cooking the omelets. Everyone but the father, who was already at work, was present at the table. The mother turned to Rosalyn and cheerfully greeted, "Good morning, Miss Rosalyn."
"Please," Rosalyn said, "you can drop the 'miss'."
"Ah, well…" The mother turned back to the stove and said, "Oh dear…we're out of eggs." She turned to Ari and asked, "Ari, dear, could you go to the store in town and quickly get some more eggs?"
She walked up to him and handed him some money. She added, "This should cover it. Hurry now, everyone's hungry."
Ari nodded slowly and left. Even after everything that happened last night, not much had changed. As soon as Rosalyn left, everything will be back to normal, with the exception of Annie's pink shadow. As far as he could tell, he would keep running errands like these for the rest of his life.
When he arrived at Tenel, he noticed that something was different. The owners of all the businesses in town were standing outside of their stores, and they did not look happy. Ari approached the owner of the general store and asked, "What happened?"
"All the stores are closed." The owner said glumly. "The water is out, so we can't run business."
"When is it going to open again?"
"Unless someone goes to the church and turns the water back on," the owner went on, "we can't serve anyone in Tenel."
Ari got the hint. The water supply pipe was in the basement of the church. He can just turn it back on real quick, get the eggs, and be home for breakfast. He crossed through the town until he reached the back end, where the church and administration office were. He opened the door to the church and went inside.
No one was inside. Ari glanced around and saw the door that supposedly led to the basement. He had never been to the church's basement before, so he can only guess that the only other door led to it. He felt like he was trespassing. Nevertheless, he opened the door and went downstairs.
The basement itself was made entirely of stone. There was a stone fountain at the bottom, though there was no water. Lined against the walls were pipes, most likely used to carry water. Next to the fountain was another door.
Let's get this over with. Ari thought to himself.
He opened the door and went into the next room. In it were stacked boxes and more pipes. There was also a valve that was connected to one of the pipes and a treasure chest. However, it was not the valve or the chest that caught Ari's attention.
Wandering in the room aimlessly was a red ghost. Ari froze in place. The owner of the store did not tell him that there was a ghost in the basement. Ari did not have a weapon, and he had never fought anything before. He was considering running when he saw something else.
On the floor was a black, two handed sword. Tied to its hilt with string was a red stone with a tear-shaped hole in it. The sword lay there like someone had dropped and forgotten about it. Why was there a sword there? Ari thought about using it at first, but quickly dismissed the thought. Even if he had any fighting ability, the sword looked too heavy for him to even lift.
He was about to run back when the ghost abruptly turned around and saw him. Ari's eyes widened.
"Buh? Boo buh?" The ghost asked.
Ari did not know how to answer. He stared at the ghost, waiting to see if it was going to do anything.
"Buuhhhh…" The ghost muttered. "Bluh!"
The red fog disappeared and was replaced with a white ghost with yellow eyes and long arms. Ari did not see this often, but ghosts would transform into something else when they were about to attack. He didn't know why, but they did. He was about to leave when the newly transformed ghost charged at him.
Ari ran back into the first room and stepped to the side. The ghost charged past him and missed its mark. He was in trouble now. He didn't think he would be able to outrun it. He thought about the sword and decided that trying to fight the thing would be a better option.
Before the ghost could turn around to charge again, Ari ran back into the other room. He grabbed the sword and found that even with both hands, it was heavy. He slowly raised the sword above his head and waited for the ghost to come to him.
The ghost charged once more, though it now clawed at the air as it moved. Ari swung the sword straight down, cleaving the ghost in half. The ghost vanished, leaving some money behind. That was another odd thing about ghosts: when defeated, they would either leave money or items behind.
Ari stared at where the ghost once was. It took a lot out of him just to swing the sword, but the ghost went down in one hit. Still, he actually did it. He had defeated a ghost, and he was having a hard time believing it. He was about to go pick up the money when he realized that something was wrong.
He could not let go of the sword. It was like his hands were glued to the hilt. He tried to shake it off when the sword began to glow with a black and red aura. Waves of energy flew out of it, knocking Ari off his feet.
What's going on? Ari panicked thoughts raced through his head.
Maniacal laughter rang out in the room.
Holy crap! A voice shouted from nowhere. It's about time someone came along!
"Wha?" Ari felt like the voice was coming from the sword.
So, let's see here…oh hell, don't tell me this wimpy kid is…
The red stone attached to the hilt glowed crimson.
Crap! Not again!
The crimson light illuminated the room and Ari blacked out.
Ari was now hovering in darkness. He thought back to what had happened and considered the possibility that he was dead. If he was, though, where was this?
"You're not dead, kid." The voice answered his thoughts.
Ari looked up and saw that he was not alone in this darkness.
Hovering several feet above and looking down on him was a boy around his age, if not a little older. He was wearing a lavender shirt and black jeans. He also had white hair and eyes the color of cold steel. What stood out, though, was that there were two pieces of shoulder armor hovering on either side of him. With the way they were shaped, they could have almost been the wings of a demon.
"So I have to do the whole song and dance thing again?" The person asked. "Son of a bitch."
"Who are you?" Ari asked.
"Me? Just the most awesome asskicker you've ever seen in your life. I'm the commander of the World Eaters, the god of death, but you may call me Gig."
"Gig?"
"You have a hearing problem or something? Well, I was in the middle of killing gods when someone decided to seal me back in the sword and send me away. I don't know who did it, but I'm really going to give them hell when I find them!"
Gig hovered downwards until he was at level with Ari. Ari nervously backed away, but Gig only drifted towards him. Ari did not know who, or what, this guy was supposed to be, but he needed to get away.
"You look really weak." Gig noted. "I mean, your arms are like toothpicks for crying out loud! Oh well, a body is a body," he grinned, "and I want you to hand it over."
"My body?" Ari asked. "Why?"
"I can't do shit without a body, and there's a lot of killing to do. Just make it easier for both of us and give me your body."
"No!"
Gig stopped moving. He put a hand on his head and sighed, "Dammit. You really want to make this hard, do you? Tell you what: how about I give you some of my power in exchange for your body? "
This was similar to last night, except Ari had a choice in the matter this time around.
"I don't want your power." Ari answered. "I want you to go away."
"Too bad, kid!" Gig laughed. "Thanks to that Crimson Tear, we're bound together until one of us gives in, and it's not gonna be me! Get used to me, soulmate."
"Ari!" A familiar voice called out. "Ari!"
"He's not waking up any time soon," another familiar voice said, "so stop shaking him, you dumb woman."
Ari stirred and opened his eyes. He saw that he was still in the basement, and that he was not alone. Kneeling next to him was Rosalyn. Stan was also out, though he was ducking under Rosalyn's parasol so that he wouldn't turn pink again.
"Ari," Rosalyn said in a worried voice, "what happened?"
Ari sat up. He saw that the black sword was still in his hands, though the red stone was now absent. He found that he could now let go of the sword, so he did just that. He thought back to what had happened.
He had defeated a ghost, but then a voice came from the sword. The stone was shining and he passed out. He saw the spirit of the sword, Gig, and found out that it wanted his body. Was the spirit still in the sword?
"Ari?"
Ari finally answered, "I don't know."
"Why were you down here?" Rosalyn asked. "Didn't you hear that there was a ghost here?"
"No. I went to turn the water back on when I saw the ghost…and this sword. I was able to defeat it."
"You, beat a ghost?" Stan mocked him. "I doubt it. You look like you can't even beat a fly!"
"If Ari didn't defeat it," Rosalyn glanced around the room, "then where's the ghost now?"
"He probably fled or something."
"Well," Rosalyn faced Ari again, "it doesn't explain why you were out cold."
Ari looked at the sword and said, "There was something in the sword and…"
He hesitated. Would they believe him? After what happened last night, probably so. Still, something kept him from telling the whole story.
"And what?" Rosalyn asked.
"I passed out." Ari finally said. "It wanted my body, but I didn't let it."
"Hm," Stan pondered out loud, "that sword does seem pretty evil. Maybe something was sealed in it and you let it out. It looks like you got lucky, unlike a certain imbecile who decided to get in the way of things."
"Wait." Ari stood up. "Why are you two here?"
"Well, I decided that I might start my world conquest with this pathetic little town-."
"I wanted to get supplies for the journey," Rosalyn interrupted, "but I found out the stores were closed due to the water being cut off. I also heard that there was a ghost haunting the water control room-."
"And that it was eyeing the treasure in the basement. I wanted to see if the treasure would be something that would enhance my dark powers-."
"And to vanquish the ghost and restore the flow of water to the town. Then I found you unconscious on the floor-."
"And we're here now." Stan concluded.
Ari turned to face the valve and said, "Oh, the water."
"I got it." Rosalyn volunteered.
"Hold it!" Stan said. "You see that treasure chest? Open it up first!"
"Well, it is a treasure chest…maybe a quick look wouldn't hurt."
Rosalyn walked up to the treasure chest and opened it. Ari decided that he might as well be the one to turn the valve. He walked up to it and gripped it with both hands. It was a little tough to turn it, but he managed to do it. The sound of water rushing could now be heard in the pipes.
"What is this?" He heard Stan ask.
Ari turned to see what was going on. Rosalyn held a strange looking device in her hand. Neither of them knew what it was.
"It's just a piece of junk!" Stan shouted. "Those villagers tricked me! They are going to pay for this!"
"I don't know what it is," Rosalyn admitted, "but if it's the village's treasure, we should leave it here."
She placed the device back into the chest and closed it. She looked at Ari and asked, "You turned the valve?"
He nodded.
"Then we're done here. I'm sure everyone will appreciate you destroying the ghost and restoring the water, Ari."
Stan retreated into Rosalyn's shadow and she made her way out of the room. Ari looked at the sword. It had helped him with the ghost, but he really didn't want anything to do with it. He went over to the coins on the floor, scooped it up, and pocketed them. He started to follow Rosalyn.
Hey, what the hell are you doing?
Ari stopped. Those thoughts were definitely in his head, but they were not his own. He knew that the voice behind those thoughts sounded like the spirit in the sword.
Don't leave that sword behind!
Ari looked at the sword and shook his head.
Dumbass. You can't leave a good weapon like that behind!
"You tried to take my body." Ari pointed out. "I'm not giving you another chance."
Are you really that slow? I told you: we're bound together until one of us gives in.
The realization hit Ari like a brick to the face.
You get it now?
"But…how?"
That Crimson Tear sealed me in your body. Unless you want to give up your body now, we're going to be together for a loooong time.
"No…" Ari shook his head. "No! Get out of me!"
Are you kidding me? Even if I was retarded enough to want to leave this body, I can't.
Ari was now panicking. He knew this thing was evil, possibly even more evil than Stan. He had narrowly escaped having his shadow possessed last night, but now he had something worse inside his body. He felt like fate was toying with him.
Anyways, grab that sword. You're going to need it.
Ari approached the sword. He slowly bent down and picked it up. For some reason, he had no trouble lifting it up, unlike last time. It wasn't that the sword felt lighter or anything. No, it felt like he had more strength in his arms.
I bet you're wondering how you can even lift that with your toothpick arms, am I right? I hate to say this, but with your wimpy form, I had to give you some of my power just so that you can even use that thing properly.
"I told you," Ari said, "I don't want your power."
But you like having what little power I gave you. Believe me, kid, I know.
It was true. Ari was glad that he now had the strength to lift the sword. He really didn't want to take the sword, but he never knew what he was going to use it for. So, with the black sword in hand, he left the church basement.
When he exited the church, he was greeted with an unusual scene.
All the villagers had gathered outside of the church, and they were crowding around Rosalyn. Stan was present, yelling angrily at some villagers that were laughing at him. To make things worse for him, Rosalyn had her parasol lowered, so everyone saw the shadow in the pink.
"Oh man!" One villager laughed. "That's hilarious, Miss Hero!"
"Aha…ha…ooh, my stomach…!"
"'Evil King Stan'? I didn't think heroes were such kidders!"
"You!" Stan shouted and pointed at one villager. "Stop laughing!"
But everyone kept laughing. No one had even seemed to notice that Ari had also come out of the church. All of their attention was focused on Rosalyn and Stan.
Is that… a talking pink shadow? Gig thought.
"Yes." Ari answered.
That's freakin' hilarious.
Ari had to actually agree.
It took minutes for the villagers to disperse. Stan was depressed and Rosalyn stood rooted in place, her head lowered. Ari walked up to her and asked, "What happened?"
"They heard that I was going to vanquish the ghost." Rosalyn explained without lifting her head up. "They came to congratulate me, then Stan showed up and went on about how such horrible people they were and that they should bow before him. I lowered my parasol so that these people would mock him, but it partially backfired."
"They thought it was all that woman's doing!" Stan sounded exasperated. "They thought I was just some trick she came up with to make them all laugh."
"So, we were both mocked."
Stan sighed, "I'm tired and emotionally wounded. Slave, if you're going to leave town, you better leave now."
"I'm not your slave!" Rosalyn snapped her head up.
"Rosalyn?" Ari spoke up.
"You are my slave if I say so!" Stan countered.
"Just because you haunt my shadow doesn't mean that I have to do what you say!"
"Rosalyn?" Ari tried again.
Again, he went unheard. Stan and Rosalyn continued their bickering. Ari thought that he should try again once they stopped.
You are more pathetic than I thought.
"I'm used to this." Ari muttered.
Used to this? Kid, you need to make yourself known, like…
Would you two just shut the hell up already?!
Stan and Rosalyn fell silent and turned to face Ari. They wore faces of surprise, as did Ari. Gig's voice came from him, yet he didn't open his mouth.
"Ari?" Rosalyn asked. "Was that you?"
Ari shook his head. He said, "Something else happened."
Next time, the plot kicks off.
I know you guys have a lot of questions about what's going on, but they'll be answered as the story progresses.
