Chapter 36: A Village of Sorrows
The fight was tough.
The Shadow Ghouls moved with speed and diligence that confused the Raposa, and the land itself seemed to give them fatigue and a tinge of sadness.
But they fought them off.
Now, Heather, Jowee, Dr. Cure, Zsasha, and Samuel were gathered around a campfire at the outskirts of the village.
Every blade of grass. every flower, every leaf... drooping. Everything was grey and drooping.
"Everything looks so dreary." Jowee said. "It's like the whole world is mourning."
Heather continued to look around. The crops were dying, everything was in a state of failure. Their was the sound of sobbing in the background, and the chanting of the phrase "never good enough".
"I think I know what's going on here." Jowee said.
"What?" Heather asked.
"The village has been twisted to show Mari's sense of hopelessness." Jowee said. "Part of her blamed herself for what happened. Her responsibility as Mayor can be really overwhelming, and Circi's conquest of our village really hurt her. I guess the Shadow makes her blame herself for everything."
"That's awful." Dr. Cure said. "Taking responsibility for all this is not healthy, neither is it accurate. We need to help her."
Everyone nodded.
"I can almost feel her suffering." Jowee said. "I can't stand seeing home like this."
Heather nodded sadly. "The Village doesn't look that well-defended. It's mostly just Raposa caught in a miserable trance."
"I have a feeling that Mari has a trick up her sleeve." Samuel said. "Circi wouldn't just leave this place defenseless."
Jowee stood up. "We need to move. Every second we stay here, Circi has more time to study the Book of Life."
"He's right." Heather said. "Mari needs us, weather she sees that or not."
Everyone nodded to that, and they got moving.
They moved from the docks towards the Town Hall.
They walked past the ocean gate, where the Hero had fought the Angler King.
A pack of Shadow Walkers materialized in front of them, accompanied by a swarm of Shadow Bats.
As they fought and slew the creatures, they heard Mari's melancholy voice in their minds.
"So many memories here." Mari said. "So many reminders of how horrible I am at being Mayor."
They continued through the town, seeing the many different houses.
Everyone's works were reduced to ashes. Isaac's shop was closed, the Banya in the Banya farm were withering and dying. Each house looked more decrepit than the last.
Shadows continued to rise out of the ground, attacking the heroes.
They scratched at their faces and tore and their clothes, but besides that the Shadows did not close in for the kill.
Everything reeked of failure. Their enemies, their surroundings, even their own actions.
Fatigue bore down on them like a crushing weight. Heather stumbled several times, and Jowee had to catch her.
"Hope is worthless." Mari hissed in their minds. "Why build when you know your work will be destroyed? Why live, knowing you have to die?"
They did not respond, heading for the center of town.
They eventually reached the Eternal Flame.
It was pitch black.
Jowee stared into it.
"I can see the face of every person I've killed." He said, bitterly remembering his atrocities when controlled by the Darkness.
Heather looked into the flame.
"I can see the day we fought Rose." Heather said. "I remember how I enjoyed almost killing her."
Everyone looked in and saw their greatest failures, the memories that brought them shame and self-loathing, the memories they tried to bury inside them.
"Do you see now?" Mari's voice asked. "Do you see how hope is less than worthless? The Creator sees our plight as a Game, the Shadows tha allow us to rebel against him want to destroy us. Hope? What hope? What hope is their in the dark, grim world we live in?"
Jowee glared towards the Town Hall. "I know you can hear me, Mari!" Jowee yelled. "We're not leaving until you snap out of this madness!"
"Madness?" Mari asked. "Yes it is Madness. But tell me, Jowee: What isn't?"
The Town Hall doors opened, revealing an eternity of Darkness.
"Come." Mari beckoned. "Maybe a more direct example will show you the truth."
Heather began to walk forward, but Jowee stopped her.
"No." Jowee said. "I've done more horrific deeds than anyone here. If anyone deserves to experience whatever miseries are in their, it's me."
Heather was hesitant, but eventually nodded. "Alright."
Jowee turned to the others. "I'll be right back."
Jowee quickly ran to Heather, Mari, and his house.
He walked to the drawer next to Mari's bed, and took an item from it.
Then he ran back to the group.
"I'll see you guys in a bit." Jowee said.
And he entered the Town Hall.
The doors closed and locked behind him.
"Now we wait." Dr. Cure said.
Suddenly they heard a horrid screeching, like a Nightmare made manifest.
Out of the forests surrounding the Village, an army of Shadow creatures emerged.
Shadow Bats swarmed in the skies, Shadow Walkers and Shadow Ghouls rushed at them, and behind them, massive, purple-tinted Shadow creatures of horrid and twisted shape roared in madness and hate.
"Circi's been doodling." Heather said.
And the Shadows closed in.
"So." Mari's voice said. "Here we are. Back where it all began."
Jowee was engulfed in total darkness. He couldn't see anything, not even his own hand in front of his face.
"I'm not letting the Darkness ruin your life, Mari." Jowee said. "Not like it ruined mine."
"Ruination." Mari said. "The inevitable fate of all lives. But that's not important. Let us begin."
"Alright then." Jowee said. He drew his sword, ready for combat.
When the darkness lifted, there were no enemies around him.
Still, Jowee knew he would need to be ready for what he found here.