It's four in the morning. I'm tired. A smiling mask is staring at me from the corner of the room. Toadstool, Bowser, and Luigi are in their rooms upstairs. May as well think of what's happened over the past few months.
We're in an isolated town called Fromnwhen; like from and when, but mashed together. We're not even on our home continent, this is Deughm. Yes, pronounced as doom. Not the nicest name for a continent, though it fits recent events. We've been here for months, collecting a bunch of rocks. They pulsate like hearts, so they're called heart stones. I learned about the book of prophecy, the Prognoticus, and its counter, the Diagnoticus. According to the latter, read by the town Merlon, the heart stones can counter an entity that's been opening destructive rifts all over the continent.
The Merlon also got the innkeeper to let us use the inn as a base. We've been getting warp whistles from him to get out of sticky situations.
Other shamans live around town, doing... whatever practices shamans do. I've benefited from them though; they can speak the common language from back home, and are willing to pay for services. One shaman could somehow tell organ removal was in my skillset. I mean, an adventurer has to have some medical knowledge... My interests aside, he requested a very specific ingredient in exchange for a favor, I delivered on it, and the rest bombarded me with orders for other things. Of course, I only harvested the finest of specimens from my enemies and delivered them fresh... It's not like they're needed for bodily functions anymore.
Quite a bit was gained from my dealings; plenty of gold, enchantments, one guy even taught me how to make pocket dimensions... Alright, it's wrong. I only did it when I was solo, and the others don't know.
Anyway, another person of interest is Tiffany, who's been accompanying us. She's a pixie who lost her memory.
There are pixies on our home continent, but they're nothing like her. In fact, none of the ones here are, either. Of course, pixies are winged, magical insect people, she's no exception. But she has sharp, iridescent wings. Every pixie I've seen has rounded wings that glow in one color. I asked the Merlon about her, and he explained that she was once human, but lost most of her memories when she was saved from death by being turned into a pixie.
She's been remembering, though. Mentioned a guy named Blumiere a few times. I'd ask, but I don't want to prod.
A mad magician, Count Bleck he calls himself, is responsible for summoning the entity that's destroying everything. Got a letter saying that he'd kidnapped the others and had to check it out. Flew here across the ocean because the letter said this was the town to go to. I was late to the party by a few weeks.
Many of his henchmen are also somewhat mad. There's this hulking man who has the proportions of an ape and an odd accent, a shapeshifting spider girl, a hypnotist lady, and a jester magician. Most of them have some stupid motivation to destroy everything.
The jester was my informant. He goes by Dimentio, and seemed to want to stop Bleck. He still does, but not to save the world.
We met on top of a giant tree months ago. A week after, I heard a tapping on my window, and it was him. He couldn't get in because the inn denies uninvited guests. I asked what he was doing, ready for a fight in my pajamas. He only wanted to talk, claimed that he sent me the letter.
Since then, he's visited me at night every few days.
I didn't trust him then, definitely don't trust him now, but the information he gave has been invaluable.
He listed where he thought the hearts might be, which was mostly accurate. When no one was in the planning room, I'd plot areas he mentioned, and someone would go and search there. We were coming and going, Toadstool, Bowser, and I, each collecting hearts and reporting back.
He taught me about the other henchmen's weaknesses, and informed me about their whereabouts so I knew when to travel with the others. Even told me that my brother had been brainwashed.
When one of the rifts managed to wipe out a kingdom, leaving a wasteland, he joined me in finding the heart. It was inert, but he told me about an underground kingdom with a powerful witch queen who would help.
Luigi and I reunited in the underground kingdom. He seemed shaken, it was like he woke up from a bad dream. He was brainwashed into following Bleck, that much I know. But it was suspicious he'd end up there at the same time as me. Could just be sibling things.
That inert heart, and another one close by were some of the last ones we needed. We plan on raiding Bleck's castle in a few days.
Dimentio explained that Bleck had summoned the entity by forcing a marriage between Toadstool and Bowser, and he wants to kill everyone on the continent and beyond.
Despite all of the help, I never trusted Dimentio, and never will.
As of recent, he's tried to talk me into helping him get a hold of the entity that Bleck has been using. Something about remaking the world with the void's power, which all sounds very boring to me. There's no real fun for me in a world co-made by me. He claimed the Prognosticus foretold Luigi would be able to hold the entity, but I'm not so trusting; even if true, I'd never want my brother to be a vessel for some weird entity.
Read a bit of the Diagnosticus. According to the Merlon, the book only states enough to make readers hopeful or paranoid. The Diagnosticus said the final hero could become a vessel for the entity, subverting both saving the world and destroying it.
I was the last one to get to this continent. Luigi was the last to join us. Could be paranoia. Worst case scenario; he gets either of us to do his bidding.
He tried to stay in my room with invisibility after he bid farewell, and sent an illusion out the window. I faked sleeping until something touched the crown of my head, startling him back into hiding.
Now I'm spending the night in the kitchen. I can see him. In the corner. The mask. That's not paranoia.
Never been so glad to have an eye for illusions.
We did it. Bleck, or should I say Blumiere, wasn't much of a fight after I used the hearts to separate the entity from him, and Tiffany had an eleventh hour reveal to call him out. He was an adept magician, but having his name really made the fight easy. The situation de-escalated when Bleck started sobbing on the ground and Tiffany moved in to comfort him. Toadstool, Bowser, Luigi, and Blumiere's henchmen caught up to the scene soon after.
We were ready to call it quits as the entity, now without anyone to control it, began fading fast.
All of the sudden, Luigi began running towards the entity with Dimentio. They jumped into the entity and a dark mist spread, blocking my view of them.
From the mist, a hand with an arm of chains surged out to crush Tiffany and Blumiere. After that, a giant thing that looked like Luigi's deformed head on a jester's twisted body emerged, its arms made of chains. This wasn't the supposed powerful sorcerer, it was a clownish abomination.
The battle was easy, everyone else helping to restrain the creature by its chains. I stayed back. I didn't know what would happen if it caught me.
Once it was restrained though, I did something brash. Maybe it was my lack of sleep, maybe I wasn't in the best mind, but I jumped onto its frilly collar and screamed profanities at it. I wanted to get Luigi out, and was hoping he was at least a little in control. It seemed like it with how the thing never attacked me... Or maybe Dimentio wanted me alive. It might've been both.
Not a moment later, I was falling into its collar. Don't think there was a physical hole. I was getting absorbed or something.
I caught the edge as the sensation of my lower half... not having sensation started freaking me out. It was like half of me ceased to exist. Every time I relented before attempting to pull myself up, I sunk deeper.
Toadstool had a hand over her mouth. Bowser was calling me an idiot and grabbing my arms to try yanking me out, but I couldn't move an inch.
The abomination started laughing at that point. It could've given me nothing to hold on to, I think it did this to mock me.
It was right to laugh though; I made a stupid move, and was left with one option.
I yelled at Bowser to let go, and he tightened his grip; then I puffed fire at his face and he let go.
Beyond that, everything was hazy. There were walls or trees around. I had an argument, but don't remember the argument itself. Dimentio was scheming, or was it Luigi? Both? Maybe the argument is why I didn't join them? Or did I fight them after the argument and that's why? Wait, join them?
Oh yeah, Luigi had a mask on.
We had tea? The walls or trees were getting closer? Dimentio and Luigi stole the sweet roll? Sunlight was sharp? I swatted at Dimentio and he fell apart? Then the sparkly bits or figures started dancing or singing in a circle?
Can't even get the details right. It was nonsense. Several things were happening at once, and something was knocking on my head. Maybe that was the entity? It all felt too brief, like everything was a moment before death. Also too long, like... everything was a moment before death?
I woke up to a pulsating, black abyss above, more unstable than before. Luigi was out cold on the ground. Dimentio was a smear on the floor, tatters of clothing and shattered mask scattered around. The building was shaking and rumbling. I think I fell unconscious after Bowser picked both of us up and booked it.
A week ago, I woke up in my room with the Prognosticus on my lap.
Every page turned black as I burned it.
Luigi's fine. We had a chat, and he didn't seem to remember what happened. He apparently blacked out when he was on his own against Dimentio. The Merlon also removed a mind-controlling plant from his head. It seems there's no lasting damage? Can't tell at this point.
Toadstool and Bowser both shouted at me over my idiocy. They then brought me out for lunch.
Bleck's henchmen made it out alright. They all had a change of heart sometime before we raided, and that was the final push. They're all still crazy, but they haven't done anything bad, yet.
I asked the Merlon about the book appearing, and he seemed tense until I told him I burned it. He said he doesn't know how it ended up with me, but I think he's lying. There was probably some sort of "Will appearest before whomst'ed've ever killedth the owner" spell on it. We later discovered the Diagnosticus had gone blank, probably because I burned its reason for existing.
Unfortunately, the destruction from the rifts seems irreversible.
Everyone's sworn to not fully disclose the events of the past few months, most of the names involved, locations, or the prophecy in its entirety.
Things have been following me around the woods since I got back from Deughm. I've heard instruments in the night. In fact, that's why I'm up right now at two in the morning.
Now, the forest around southern Toad Town is haunted, and I don't mind it, but it's usually not this haunte-
Ponpok ponpok ponpoko-pon. Ponpok ponpok ponpoko-pon.
Something's outside the window. There's a tanuki hovering there, drumming its belly. Now that it notices me looking, it's begging for food.
Ah, so annoyances have moved in. Wonder who cut down their forest and if I can run over there to make a new one pop up. These things won't let me sleep.
Now it's turned into me and it's making a sour face. The others have joined, continuing to play their bellies and various flutes as they imitate my appearance.
Seems they're used to people. I suppose if they're here to stay, I can try making peace, maybe set up some music rules.
The moment I open the window, they pause what they're doing.
This is something I might regret.
I beckon them inside, and their expressions morph from shock to suspicion. They sniff the air, maybe for threats.
One of them hovers close. It narrows its eyes at me while still shapeshifted as me.
I return what I imagine to be a groggy, unimpressed expression and gesture inside.
It looks back to its fellows with a grin and marches along into my window as I step aside. The others follow.
Guess I have some housemates until I build something proper for them. Can't be too difficult, spirit houses aren't that big.