Chapter 40: Wraith of a Goddess
Jack looked up at Mary's sweet face. He wanted her so badly, he ached with need. He slowly leaned towards her, to give her his kiss, staring into her deep blue eyes the whole time. Something was there that didn't belong. Behind her eyes, like a shadow of the real thing, were the crimson eyes of the Shadow Goddess. Everything came back to him in a rush. He fell backwards and crawled away rapidly, "No!"
The sweet face of Mary contorted as she howled in rage. The Shadow Goddess, still under the guise of Mary, rose back up into the air. The dark clouds in the sky rolled rapidly and lightning struck the earth in front of Jack, sending up a shower of dirt. The great voice of the Shadow Goddess echoed forth from her form. Jack wondered how Mary's body could take the force of it without being ripped to shreds, "How dare you refuse me?"
Jack coughed and tried to brush the dirt off from him, "You aren't Mary. I lost myself for a moment, but you can't fool me a second time."
"You will do as I say, even if I have to break you to do it." With a wicked laugh, she raised her hands up to the sky. "You have nothing that can stand against me!" Her dark aura flared up again, and Jack heard a great shrill sound coming from one side. He looked for the origin of the sound and saw a great wind wiping across the land in the distance. Everything it touched died before it. Grass turned brown, shriveled away into dust. Leaves fell from the trees and were carried away as they blacked upon the evil wind. Jack braced himself as the wall of dead debris slammed into him.
Even though Jack was knocked to the ground by the force of the wind, he seemed unharmed. He brushed the rotting flora from his body and stood to face her. Everything around him was dead. The world around him was dead. Even the pond itself seemed to have lost it's life to the wind. A chill came over him. Jack was the only thing alive in a world of death besides this horrible fake Mary, "What have you done?"
"Do you like my handiwork? Purification through death. The only true purity in the world is the darkness. For white is made impure by the light itself. Only darkness is truly pure. True darkness can only be born through death. Don't you see now? Isn't death wonderful?"
"You are sick and twisted! I am nothing like you."
Once again the Shadow Goddess in the guise of Mary began floating down to Jack, "Is that any way to talk to your future wife?"
"Stop saying that! You aren't Mary! You are disgusting blight. Remove that mask at once." She was finally close enough, "Or I will!" He swung his fist hard into the face of the Shadow Goddess. Jack laughed as his fist sliced through the air towards her. He'd screw up her face so bad, she'd never look like Mary again. Crush her face with his fist. Break her nose, shatter the bone. Maybe knock loose a tooth or too. She would pay for trying to mess with him.
His fist past right through her face. Jack fell forward as the Shadow Goddess began laughing herself. He couldn't help but think, her laugh really does sound like Anna's. Jack fell forward, fell through her, fell into her. The darkness swarmed around him.
Jack sat there, in the darkness, the world around him seemingly erased from existence. Was this what the Shadow Goddess meant when she said pure darkness? There was nothing anywhere. She was right, it was beautiful in a strange sort of way. Somehow, he felt like he was a blight upon the land. The world around him was perfectly uniform until it came to him, till the darkness reached him, shattering the perfection. He was intruding upon the sanctity of this place.
Mary's voice came from everywhere at once, but seemingly nowhere, "Now you have acted upon your violent nature towards me. How can you ever hope to restrain yourself? If you were to be let to live, then you would certainly kill me one day. How could I marry you?"
"I love Mary!"
"What about all the others you killed now? Why don't we let them speak for your sins? See if they think you are worthy of me. What do you say?"
Jack growled, "What are you talking about?"
Many voices rang out from all sides, all speaking the same words in perfect synchronization, "Never forgive him." From the darkness, seven forms detached themselves and approached Jack, becoming more clear with each step.
"What do you think we should do with my ex-future-husband then?"
"He must die to rectify our own untimely deaths."
Jack stiffened. He knew now that they were his victims. His hand reflexively reached for the scythe on his back. It wasn't there. Jack's eyes grew wide as he stared at the tightening circle of vengeful beings. He must have left it next to where he had been sleeping last night and forgotten to strap his scythe back on to his back in the morning. Won. Harris. Manna. Kai. Popuri. Lillia. Rick. They were all coming to seek their revenge. Jack cracked his knuckles and took a fighting pose. He was ready for them anyway. He'd fight them with his bare fists. They had died once, he could kill them again.