Author's Note: Here we are at the last match of 2021. This one is going to be shorter this week. I didn't know who I was writing about this week. So, someone on Discord suggested that I focus on Germany and Italy. It was interesting to have the two meet after Feliciano lost his soul. Ludwig is going to have to try and save her. I don't know what I am going to do in the first week of 2022. Maybe I will have Ju and Qi meet up and talk again. You will have to see.

Match Twenty-Nine: Church Bells:

The bells haven't rung in years at that old church. Ludwig hadn't seen Feliciano since summer. No one wanted to tell him what was going on. Still, the German man wouldn't give up. Gilbert had an uneasy look on his face.

"You don't want to see him," he said. "He isn't the same." The German looked at him uneasily.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Gilbert looked pale as he sat down. He didn't want to come to this. But now things were different. The Prussia man lifted his chin.

"Sit down," he said.

"What?" Ludwig asked.

"Please," his brother said. The German man dropped his shoulders and sat down on the couch.

"What is it?" he asked. Gilbert balled up his hands into fists.

"Feliciano… Well…" he said. Ludwig narrowed his eyes.

"What?" he asked. His brother breathed out.

"He's not the same as he used to be," Gilbert said. "Do you remember when you came back in the hospital?"

"Yeah," Ludwig said. "What about it?" His brother didn't want to tell him the truth, but it had to come out.

"He sold his soul to save you," Gilbert said. The German man looked shocked.

"What?!" he asked. "Why would he do that?!"

"Because he loves you," the Prussian man said. Ludwig struggled to speak at first. He slowly covered his mouth.

"What was he thinking?! How could he be so stupid?!" he shouted.

"He loves you," Gilbert said. Ludwig dropped his hands.

"Where is he now?" the German man asked. His brother hesitated at first.

"I don't think you want to—" he began to say.

"Please!" Ludwig pleaded. Gilbert's eyes shifted back and forth.

"I don't know," he said. The German man started to look desperate.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"No one has seen him in days," Gilbert said. "We've all been to his house, but he's not been there since summer ended." Ludwig took a moment to think. If Feliciano wasn't home, where else would he be? He tried to think about all of the places that the Italian man would be.

"I have to find him," he said. The German man rose to his feet and walked out the door.

"Ludwig?" Gilbert asked behind him. His brother already closed the door behind him.

The church bells won't ring. It's been silent on Sunday mornings. The townspeople haven't noticed. If they did, no one said a thing. Ludwig walked up to the Italian brothers' house and knocked on the door. So far, there was no answer. Ludwig knocked again. Still no answer. He pulled out his phone. The other line rang.

"Hey, it's Feliciano," the voice mail said. "I can't come to the phone. Please leave a message. Love you, ciao!" Ludwig sighed.

"Hey, Feliciano, how have you been?" he asked. "I'm in front of your door. Please pick up. I'm really worried about you." Ludwig pressed the pound key. He sent the message after pressing one. The German man looked up at the door. Maybe he try and one more time.

Ludwig reached forward and knocked on the door. Once again, there was no response. This time, he heard someone shuffling around inside. The German man looked up. So someone was here. He pressed his ear to the door.

"Is anybody there?" Ludwig asked. "Hello?" Suddenly, the shuffling inside stopped.

"I know you are in there!" the German man shouted. "Why don't you come out already?" The other side was silent. Ludwig tried to jiggle the doorknob. To his surprise, the door was unlocked.

"Huh?" Ludwig asked. Right then, he knew that something wasn't right. Should he call the police? The German man shook his head. Maybe it was nothing serious. But still…

He held his phone by his side and nudged open the door.

Feliciano sat alone in the dark. This house felt dead. It didn't matter to him. He heard Ludwig outside. It wouldn't be long before he came here. Feliciano looked up in the dark room when he heard the footsteps getting closer. Ludwig stood in the doorway.

"Oh, you're here," the Italian man said. The German man fought down his worry.

"Why is it so dark in here?" he asked. He tried to reach around for a light switch.

"Don't," Feliciano said. The German man paused and turned his head. He could barely see his dear old friend in the darkness. He could've sworn that the Italian was smirking at him.

"I like the darkness," Feliciano said. He had no emotion in his voice. He just said it as a matter of fact. Ludwig lowered his hand.

"I haven't heard from you in a while," the German man said. "How have you been?" Feliciano didn't answer. He just stared at Ludwig.

"Everyone is worried about you," the German man added. He slowly walked forward. Something seemed off about the Italian man. Gilbert wasn't kidding, was he?

"Are you feeling okay?" Ludwig asked.

"Of course," Feliciano said. "Why wouldn't I be?" By now, Ludwig got a better look at his dear friend. When did he get so pale? Something about his smile made him shiver. Even his uniform looked worn and had seen better days.

"What happened to you?" Ludwig asked.

"Nothing," the Italian man said. "My eyes are opened to the new world."

"What are you talking about?" the German man asked. "You're not making any sense." Feliciano rose to his feet.

"Such a shame," he said. "I had hoped that you would understand, but I was wrong."

"I want to understand," Ludwig said. "Please talk to me." The Italian man shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but I can't," he said. Feliciano walked past him. The German man whipped around, reaching out to him.

"Feliciano, wait!" Ludwig shouted. The Italian man stopped at the doorway and looked over his shoulder. The German man lowered his hand.

"I didn't get to thank you for saving me," he said. A small light seemed to spark in Feliciano's eyes before it died out. He didn't say anything at first.

"Ciao," was all the Italian man said. Then he was gone. Ludwig's heart sank. Gilbert was right. Still, the German man couldn't let this stand.

"I have to save him," he said to himself. Ludwig didn't know how he was going to go about doing that, but he had an idea of where to start. Don't worry, Feliciano, I will get you back. The German man stiffened up his shoulders and marched out the door after his dear friend.

The church bells stopped ringing in Italy. Even the Vatican was silent. The people were starting to talk. What was going on? Why did the church bells stop ringing? Only Feliciano knew the real reason. He smirked to himself as he walked down the street.

It would be only a matter of time…