A week after Harry became trapped in the town of Silent Hill, he gazed at a street that, according to his map, led to the location that he believed contained Samael's physical form and his link to the mortal plane.
Harry looked quite different than he had a week ago. He was far too thin and rather gaunt, a result of literally not eating anything since his arrival. The only reason he was still functioning was because he continued to draw on what he now knew to be the demonic energy permeating Silent Hill. He didn't know how, but he'd been using that energy to keep himself going since the very beginning, and it showed mostly in his hair, which now had streaks of white.
From what he could tell from the last time he looked in a mirror, he looked rather deranged. It actually reminded him of Sirius when he first met him.
He hadn't been idle during the week he'd spent in this hell, however. He'd spent nearly the entire time searching for information on Samael, how he had been summoned, and how to potentially banish him. To do so he'd searched every corner of the town he could think of, and found scraps of information left behind by the cult that Claudia and Dahlia belonged to.
The best sources of information came from the women themselves, however.
A couple of days after Cybil's death Harry was resting in a strip club called Heaven's Night. He'd only recently had a run in with the damn pyramid headed thing and he needed to catch his breath now that he was safe, the radio playing some Megadeath for him.
Harry suddenly jumped to his feet, Cybil's revolver ready to fire, as he heard the door open. The radio didn't spit out any static, though it did stop playing music, as he saw that the new arrival was one of the women he'd met in the school when Cybil got bitten. He struggled to remember her name as she stared at him with her unnerving gaze.
"Claudia…" He said once he finally remembered, utter loathing in his voice.
"I saw the Shadowed One pass nearby and knew you must be close. I admit myself surprised that you have managed to live this long. I don't believe any previous inhabitant managed it." Claudia said calmly, her eyes steady even as the barrel of Harry's gun was pointed at her chest.
Harry truly, desperately wanted to shoot the woman, but he restrained himself. He needed to get as many answers as possible, and he decided to begin with the topic she had just brought up. "What the hell is a Shadowed One, exactly?"
Claudia continued to gaze at him, pondering, before speaking. "I suppose it does not matter if I tell you. None have managed to stop a Shadowed One before, even when they knew how it worked. It is best you understand now lord Samael's power before you join the town permanently." She began to pace, her bare feet padding softly on the wooden floor. "A Shadowed One is different to the normal servants lord Samael creates by using the souls of the inhabitants with the conduit. It is not created by him, but by the heart of an especially powerful soul. It is a darker part of that soul given form. Once it has been created, it hunts down the source of its existence and, well, puts it out of its misery." Claudia smiled, her eyes once more glinting with madness. "So you see, you created the Shadowed One. It was born of something about yourself you deny. Hatred. Envy. Guilt. These things and more can bring it into existence." She stopped pacing. "In essence, you will kill yourself. And there is absolutely nothing you can do about it."
Harry, who had kept his gun trained on Claudia the entire time, silently took her explanation in. "How do I stop it then?"
Harry wasn't sure, but he thought the woman might have raised a hairless eyebrow. It was hard to tell. "Do you truly believe I would tell you that? I told you what it is so you'd understand the futility of struggling against lord Samael's glorious power. Not so you could beat it. How exactly do you think you would destroy something made up of the darkest emotion you felt at the time you set foot in his domain, child? Give it a hug?" She looked amused at the thought. "No, all you can do is accept your fate and die with dignity for lord Samael's glory."
Harry's eyes narrowed. "I don't intend to die with dignity in this town. You want me to die, I'll go kicking and screaming." He smirked nastily. "I won't go gentle into that good night. I'm the type to, how did it go? 'Rage, rage against the dying of the light'."
Claudia looked at him coolly. "The light died here long ago, boy. And soon it will be snuffed out in the rest of this world. Only lord Samael's will shall remain, and those who devote themselves to him will be rewarded."
Harry actually laughed derisively. "If you think someone like Samael is the type to reward people with anything other than torment, you're seriously deluded."
The woman gazed at him with lofty scorn. "What would a faithless outsider know of the way the greater powers work?"
"I might be faithless, yes. I know that greater powers can't be counted on when it really matters. I've only made it this far through guts and luck, not divine intervention." He chuckled softly, still smirking even as the radio began to crackle again. "Besides, it's not like your lord is going to save you."
Claudia's eyebrows somewhat rose. "You intend to kill me?"
"You bet your ass I do." Harry said with a nod, ignoring the increasing volume of the radio's crackling even as heavy, thudding footsteps could be heard outside, along with the sound of something being dragged.
"Lord Samael won't let you harm one of his devoted servants." She said with certainty.
Harry kept eye contact with her even as the door was smashed open by the pyramid head. "Let's see who's right then." Before he could fire at her the monster swung its huge blade at him and he was forced to dodge.
Claudia moved behind the monster as Harry made his way to a window in order to get out that way. "I told you, boy, lord Samael will allow no harm to come to me."
Harry didn't have a clear shot at Claudia with his revolver anymore, and he was running out of time before he had to jump out the window. Instead he pulled his wand out of his pocket and aimed at the woman with a glint in his eye, prepared for the inevitable pain. "Incendio!"
It took a few moments for Claudia to realize what was happening, but then she screamed as her dress, followed shortly afterwards by her long hair, was engulfed in flames. Harry held it as long as he dared, the agony caused by the action ignored as best he could, till he was sure she'd been completely engulfed in flames. Then he threw himself at the window just as the monster's blade swung past, nearly bisecting him, and climbed out with Claudia's screams ringing out behind him.
As he ran down the street he looked back to see the entire building begin to catch fire, and felt satisfied as he made his escape.
A few days after he killed Claudia Harry was walking down a fog filled street, doing his best to ignore the pain in his stomach from not eating in days. He was searching for the next location that could give him new information on the happenings of the town before Samael was summoned.
A couple of flying monsters had tried to impede his way, but Harry had grown used to fighting the various nasties of the town and dealt with them in short order. He was pretty sure Samael must be getting aggravated with his refusal to lie down and die, a fact which helped cheer the teen up.
Anything to make his tormentor's day worse was welcome.
He finally saw his destination: The building holding the offices of the town's newspaper, the Silent Hill Gazette. Quickly making his way inside with his machete clutched in his fist due to his desire to conserve ammo at the moment, he looked through the entire building for enemies before relaxing and beginning his search, the radio playing some Blind Guardian as background music for him.
He spent an hour going through the archives, especially the last issues of the paper that were printed before everything went to hell. He began to see a pattern involving children going missing, along with a place called the Wish House Orphanage going up in flames only a day before the last issue was published. All in all, it painted a rather bleak picture for exactly what kind of ritual was performed by Samael's cult.
Harry heard the sound of soft footsteps behind him before a voice spoke. "I saw you come in here, boy. You will pay for what you did to Claudia."
Harry turned, unconcerned, to find the old woman, Dahlia, behind him, a dark look on her face. He ignored her statement and held up the yellow paper of the issue of the Gazette detailing the fire at Wish House. "You used children to bring Samael through, didn't you?"
Dahlia adjusted her shawl before responding. "They opened the way to our lord, and are exalted because of it. The lesser ones, the ones who held no true power within their souls, even they had their place in the rituals. The ones with power, however, they were instrumental. The energy they unleashed as the blood left their bodies strengthened the glorious one, the conduit, into a presence that could open the gate." She scowled. "If only the foolish girl hadn't fought it, then the spread of lord Samael's influence would have increased by now."
Harry raised an eyebrow. "So whoever was the main focus of the ritual fought back and screwed your plans up?" He smirked. "That's a good kid. I'd like to meet them."
His radio, which had gone silent with Dahlia's arrival, piped up with the sound of a woman singing 'good girl' before going silent.
Dahlia sneered. "Still, it matters not. You have provided us the means to correct the error. Once you are dead, I will be able to assist lord Samael with accelerating his planes many times over. Soon, this ugly world will finally know paradise."
Harry looked at her, amused. "You're going to kill me, you old bat?"
"No." Dahlia said nastily. The radio suddenly let out a screech of static in warning as the pyramid head burst through the door once again, something Harry was growing annoyingly used to. "He will. I told you, I saw you come in. So I made sure to lead the Shadowed One to you. It shall end your struggling once and for all."
Harry dove down a hallway as the monster swung its giant cleaver at him. "I'm really getting tired of you, you fucking asshole!" He yelled as he ran through the building, thinking furiously.
Ever since Claudia had told him what the Shadowed One was he'd been trying to figure out how to stop it permanently. From what he understood, it was created and sustained by him, so only he could make it stop. He'd thought about what was empowering it. What had he been feeling when he arrived in Silent Hill, before he knew about the monsters?
He'd come to a realization about exactly what that was not long ago. Now he needed to face it. So once he'd run a lap of the building and ended up near an amused looking Dahlia again, the monster following close behind, he stropped and turned to it.
"Okay buddy, I know what made you, and I fucking refuse to let you haunt me anymore, physically or metaphorically." The pyramid head seemed to stop, confused. Harry took a breath and stared at it, firmly. "When I arrived here… I had just killed several people. Evil people, to be sure, but I'd still killed, and the shock was only just wearing off. So I guess I felt guilty about what I did, especially as it reminded me of my role in my godfather's death." The monster took a step forward, but Harry gazed at it fearlessly despite the radio screeching at him to run. "What happened with Cybil made it worse. Even now I can't help the pain of the guilt of killing her instead of saving her." Another step. "I accept it now. I accept that guilt which I will carry around for the rest of my life. My guilt at the death of Sirius. My guilt at the death of Cybil. My guilt at the deaths of the people I fought. And even the guilt at the deaths I will cause in the future." His eyes hardened. "Because I will kill again. Because some beings, human or not, cannot be allowed to continue." The monster had stopped. "I will deal with it. I will face it head on. And I won't let it drag me down any longer." Harry took a deep breath and raised his arms to his sides, prepared. This was the moment of truth. "You have no power over me anymore. So take your best shot."
Pyramid head raised its weapon, ready to cut Harry in two. Then it swung… and sank the blade into the floor in front of him when he refused to even flinch. They remained motionless for the longest time, even the radio having fallen silent, before the monstrous representation of Harry's guilt drew its blade back, swung it around… and impaled itself on its own weapon, killing itself.
Finally, the monster was dead, and would no longer haunt Harry.
Harry let out a breath, feeling liberated, before turning to Dahlia, who was staring in shock, with his back straight and gaze steady.
"I-Impossible. You couldn't possibly have stopped a Shadowed One." She said, shakily.
Harry gazed at her. "I just did." Then, without warning, he drew his revolver and shot Dahlia in the gut. The cultist fell back with a cry, falling to the floor. Harry walked over to her as she glared up at him.
"Y-you… b-blasphemer…" She groaned through the pain.
"Monsters who torment children for their own twisted ends don't have any room to talk about blasphemy." Harry said grimly. "Like I said to big ugly, some things can't be allowed." He raised his gun again, aiming between her eyes. "Goodbye, you old bat. May you spend a long time in hell with your 'god'."
Dahlia glared defiantly up at him. "Lord Samael… will punish you!" She cried.
Harry fired, ending the madwoman's life. "He can try."
Harry shook his head, pulling himself out of his memories. The time had come to finally end this, one way or the other. Either Harry would win, stopping Samael's plans, or he'd fail and die.
Obviously he was aiming for the former.
He had a decent idea of what to do. His main focus had to be to find the conduit Claudia and Dahlia had mentioned, the link Samael had with his main source of power in whatever realm he resided in. He'd have to play it by ear from there.
As he began walking down the foggy street the radio began playing a song that made Harry smirk and sing along. "I'm the Hand of God… I'm the Dark Messiah… I'm the Vengeful One…~" He sang, with a glint in his eye and a smirk on his face, pumping himself up. He ignored the monsters he passed as he walked down the middle of the street, all of them gathered on the sidewalks, 'watching' him. Samael was apparently expecting him and had decided to deal with him himself.
Before long he reached his destination, looking up at it. It was a large church which his map called the Church of the Holy Way. It was an ugly gothic building that gave off an ominous air.
Harry didn't even blink when the now familiar air raid siren began to sound and the town began to change. The sky darkened into blackness as everything around him began to decay. Everything, that is, besides the church. Harry watched it intently, but even as everything else shifted nothing about the church changed.
Once the change was completed Harry stepped forward, unslinging his rifle and holding it securely as he opened the door. He carefully stepped forward into a large, well illuminated room where the sermons were held. An odd design was embedded into the floor that Harry could only assume held some sort of significance to the cult, easily visible as all the pews had been removed, leaving the room empty. That wasn't what drew his attention, however.
At the other end of the room, at the altar, was a girl of about fourteen held bound, eyes wide and roving and mouth held open in an endless, soundless scream. Her dark brown hair was hanging slightly over her blue eyes, and she wore some sort of ritualistic robe which Harry at first thought was brown but then realized only looked that way because it was completely covered in dried blood.
Even as Harry watched, the girl's muscles could be seen spasming, giving an indication as to the agony she was continually in. If he had to guess, he'd say her torment hadn't ceased for even a second in twenty years.
"So… Aren't you going to come out and greet me, Samael?" Harry asked as he stepped further into the room. He stopped when he caught movement from behind a large confessional which stepped into view, interposing itself between himself and the girl.
It was the very definition of wrongness. Harry couldn't really get a handle on what it was, as its form shifted continuously, but it was never not horrifying to look at. Some of the only constants were that its flesh looked warped and diseased and its limbs were rough and misshapen. Then it spoke from a mouth that should not have been capable of it, sounding quite normal. "Hello, Harry. Good of you to come. I've been looking forward to our meeting since Dahlia informed me that you could help me fix a problem I've had."
Harry set his rifle on his shoulder nonchalantly, though every part of him was tense. "Samael. I'd say it's a pleasure, but that would be the greatest lie told on any world in all of existence. Trust me, though, I won't be doing anything to help you."
Samael, somehow, seemed to grin. "Ah, but Harry, you already have. You brought me just what I need." He lifted a currently twisted and bent arm and pointed what could only be generously be described as a finger at… Harry's radio, which had been silent since the door opened.
Harry was confused, though he felt a pit begin to form in his stomach. "Why would you need my radio?"
In response, Samael gestured to the tormented girl on the altar. "Like it? That's Alessa. Alessa Gillespie, dear Dahlia's daughter." He turned back fully to Harry. "Alessa is the conduit, my connection to my full self in my realm. This form you see before you is, after all, only a sliver of my full might that has been projected through Alessa's soul."
Harry growled. "So you get power from torturing the poor girl, letting your power through?"
"Her pain is incidental, and is her own fault." Samael said dismissively. "You see, Alessa was chosen because her soul was uncommonly strong, able to channel great energy. It's different from the magic you wand wavers use. It's something much more primal, and… useful." The ugly, mismatching eyes Samael was staring at Harry with narrowed. "But she fought the ritual and worked to limit the amount of power I would be able to bring to bear from my full self at a time, her rage and spite at her mother and the rest of her order driving her." The fallen snarled angrily. "The amount of power I can project into this world without using other souls is dependent on how much I can channel through her soul. So to hinder me she ingeniously, and to great agony to herself, split her soul into two pieces. One piece remains in her body and is what I channel my power through. The rest…"
"…Is in the radio…" Harry finished in horror, his hand reaching down to rest his hand on the device. He had wondered why, out of everything in Silent Hill, his radio was the only thing trying to help him survive. Now he had his answer.
Samael somehow managed to grin. "Yes… She was a clever girl, putting the greater portion of herself out of my reach. Somehow what remains in her body hid the rest from me, but now you've brought the rest of her back. I'd say you hold about eighty percent of her soul in that device, and once I reunite the two pieces, I will then be able to draw even more power without relying entirely on the souls I have collected. That will allow me to spread further immediately." Samael began to laugh. "So I must thank you, Harry! You have brought my plans to fruition so much faster than I intended with your foolish desire to defeat me."
Harry got over the revelation and glared at the fallen. "You're assuming you'll be able to get her. I'm not letting you touch her. I'm going to beat you and destroy your foothold."
"You won't be able to do anything, Harry. It would take a full angel or a demi-god to defeat me now, and you are an average, wand waving human. Anybody would bet on you being unable to do anything to truly hinder me, myself included."
Harry's eyes narrowed. "I'll take that bet. You'll see just what an average human can do."
Samael rolled his now multiple eyes. "And what makes you think you have a chance?"
To Harry's surprise Alessa's radio piped up before he could, singing an upbeat "Victory is in a simple soul!~"
Harry gazed down at the device before grinning and looking up at Samael with determination. "What she said." Then he swiftly brought his rifle down and fired at Samael's misshapen form. The bullet slammed into the constantly shifting mass but didn't do anything as the fallen began to stalk forward, the ends of his limbs growing claws. Harry dodged to the side, firing again, but it once more did nothing to his opponent. He moved away, firing at the monstrous form, trying to slow it down, but Samael seemed to not take any notice of Harry's attacks.
Samael, apparently tired of Harry's dodging, lifted his arm and launched a bolt of electricity. Harry hadn't been expecting it and got caught in the arm, crying out and falling back. He looked at his arm and saw that it was covered in burns, so he tried something that he'd only tentatively done before.
Harry focused on the demonic energy he was constantly using to sustain himself and began to purposefully draw on more of it, focusing it on his injured arm. The result was that the burn began to heal quickly, but not without a large amount of pain. He managed to finish the process right as Samael was about to smash his head in and he quickly threw himself back, barely avoiding being flattened, but saw that his rifle had remained where he'd dropped it and was now bent due to Samael's attack.
Harry drew Cybil's revolver and began to get up when he suddenly froze while on his knees, unable to move.
"Harry, did you really think I was unaware that you've been using MY power to keep yourself going?" Samael asked sardonically as looked at the teen in evident amusement. "No, I could tell whenever you drew on it. Did you think there were no consequences for your actions? For stealing power from me?"
Slowly Harry's arm began to move on its own, bringing the revolver up. His arm shook as he struggled to keep it from doing so, but slowly it moved to point the barrel of the revolver under his chin.
"There are always consequences, Harry. Don't worry. You put up a… decent, fight. But it's over."
Suddenly the radio began to play.
There's a day when all hearts will be broken
When a shadow will cast out all light
And our eyes cry a million tears
Help won't arrive
Samael laughed. "See, Harry? Even Alessa has given up! Just let go. You've lost."
There's a day when all courage collapses
And our friends turn and leave us behind
Creatures of darkness will triumph
The sun won't rise
Harry grit his teeth as his finger struggled to squeeze the trigger, fighting Samael's will every step of the way. "You clearly… Don't know the meaning… Of that song…"
When we've lost all hope
And succumb to fear
And the skies rain blood
And the end draws near
Harry glared defiantly at his enemy as the trigger was slowly squeezed, sweat trailing down his brow from the strain. Samael's lone eye widened in anticipation. Finally, there was a bang as the revolver went off.
I may fall
But not like this: it won't be by your hand
I may fall
Not this place; not today
I may fall
Bring it all, it's not enough to take me down
I may fall
Samael roared as he clutched at his eye, more in rage than pain, as Harry jumped up and took aim, firing again.
There's a place where we'll stand outnumbered
Where the wolves and the soulless will rise
In the time of our final moments
Every dream dies
"You miserable wretch! Just die already!" The fallen roared, sounding more bestial than before. Harry merely kept firing.
There's a place where our shields will lay shattered
And the fear's all that's left in our hearts
Our strength and our courage have run out
We fall apart
"I refuse! You hear me, Samael!? I refuse to fall to a parasite like you! If I have to fight you till the end of fucking time, I will!" Harry roared back in defiance.
When we lose our faith
And forsake our friends
When the moon is gone
And we've reached our ends
I may fall…
As a guitar solo started Samael let out a scream and charged at Harry while he was trying to reload, lightning engulfing his horrifying form. Harry dropped the revolver and quickly drew his wand, casting a shield at the last second, which the fallen slammed into, forcing Harry back.
There's a moment that changes a life when
We do something that no one else can
And the path that we've taken will lead us:
One final stand
Harry knew this couldn't continue. He moved away and began peppering the monster with all the offensive spells he knew, completely ignoring the usual pain as he tried to think of what to do. Finally he spotted Alessa's body, still twitching in agony. Suddenly, he knew what he had to do.
There's a moment we'll make a decision
Not to cower and crash on the ground
The moment we face our worst demons
Our courage found
Samael roared and swiped at Harry, who dodged back. However, he didn't move far enough, and the horrible limb hit his wand, shattering it pieces. Harry ignored this and grabbed his machete before boosting his strength with demonic energy and stabbing downward, piercing one of Samael's feet and pinning him to the floor.
When we stand with friends
And we won't retreat
As we stare down death
Then the taste is sweet
Harry ran as Samael screamed with fury, headed straight for Alessa. He grabbed the girl's face surprisingly gently and gazed into her unfocused eyes. "I hope this works." He focused everything he had in what he needed, willing his magic to respond, ignoring the fact he had no wand to channel it. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity he saw, in his mind's eye, a diminished light of the portion of Alessa's soul in her body, writhing in torment as black lighting hit it in a constant barrage.
I may fall
But not like this: it won't be by your hand
I may fall
Not this place; not today
I may fall
Bring it all, it's not enough to take me down
I may fall
Harry reached out a metaphorical hand to the tormented soul. The piece of soul shrank back in fear, but Harry continued to reach out to her, and hesitantly Alessa reached back, in spite of Samael's power trying to stop her. Once he had a grip on her he wrenched the rest of her soul out of her body and slammed it into the radio, where it joined with the rest of her. The he took the now full soul and launched it out into the streets of Silent Hill to hide in a random object he had come across, hiding Alessa from Samael once again.
I may fall
I may fall
I may, I may fall…
The radio went silent, and Harry blinked, coming back to his senses to see Alessa's body slumped over, eyes empty and unseeing, no longer twitching in agony despite seeing her chest continue to move in and out. Her body was still alive, but her soul was now safe. Harry smiled and turned back toward Samael… only to receive a huge, long spike to his belly which escaped out his back and lifted him into the air, courtesy of an enraged fallen angel.
"YOU LITTLE WRETCH!" The fallen roared. "YOU'VE BROKEN MY LINK TO MY FULL SELF!"
Harry couldn't help but give his enemy a bloody grin. "Fuck you too."
Samael snarled. "It doesn't matter. You haven't won. I'll just replace Alessa with you. You'll do as a conduit, and you'll suffer eternally while helping me conquer this world. This is only a setback."
Harry's head lolled back, his strength leaving him. If Samael thought it would be that easy to use him as a conduit, he had another thing coming. A humorous thought entered his head as his consciousness started fading. "Heh, I won the bet…"
"What was that?" Samael snarled.
Harry blinked. Suddenly a piece of obscure trivia Hermione had babbled about back when he'd learned about mythologies being real entered his mind. He managed to raise his head again to stare at Samael in wonder. "I won the bet. I managed to hinder you. You bet I wouldn't be able to." Harry began to laugh, sounding deranged. "I won a wager with a fallen!"
Samael's two eyes widened as he understood what Harry was getting at. "No…"
Suddenly Harry's arms shot out like claws, grabbing onto Samael's misshapen face. "I won! And we set no stakes! So I can demand anything I want of you!" He continued to laugh at the revelation. The fallen roared, but before he could do anything Harry continued. "And I demand… YOUR POWER!"
Samael screamed in rage as dark energy escaped his form and began to flow into Harry. "No! You can't!"
Black markings began to be etched into Harry's skin as the fallen's power entered his body painfully. "Every bit of power you currently have on this plane of existence is now is mine to do with as I wish, without interference from your consciousness!" Harry continued, his teeth grit against the pain as immense power not meant for a human continued to flow into his body and soul, making him feel like he would burst, especially when he felt the power of all the souls Samael had trapped join in. "You will be left with nothing, not even enough to possess the lowest insect!"
"NoOoOooO! yOu WreTCh! YOU wIlL PaY foR THIs!" Samael screamed as his physical form began to dissipate, the corrupted energy continuing to tattoo patterns on Harry's skin as it entered him. Finally, before long, Harry was alone in the silent church, panting as he struggled to deal with the influx of dark power without losing himself, his wounds now completely healed.
His eyes roved as he warred with himself. He had so much power now. More power than Voldemort and Dumbledore combined. He could do anything with this kind of power. Anything he wanted. His mind went to the horrible fates he could visit to those who had harmed him.
He could tell he was losing himself to the darkness he had just consumed. He could feel his mind turning darker. But part of him didn't care. With the power Samael had managed to draw, plus the souls in Silent Hill, nothing could stop him.
Harry began to chuckle darkly, which slowly turned into a laugh. The wizarding world, at the least, could be his, paying for what he'd endured through his life. He deserved it, didn't he?
Still laughing, he brought his head up… and caught sight of Alessa's body, still bound as though crucified. His laughter stopped immediately and his eyes widened. It was as though he'd been doused in cold water.
What the hell was he thinking!? This wasn't who he was! Was he actually considering keeping the souls trapped in Silent Hill for his own use? That was monstrous!
Harry grit his teeth, fighting harder against the darkness that suffused his being. He held too much power, and it was consuming him. He needed to do something before he was lost forever. He closed his eyes, and he focused.
He could sense every soul in the towns under the influence of the fog. Thousands of people, most innocents, trapped and kept from being able to move on for two decades, tormented. With an effort of supreme will and self-control, Harry began to release them. There was no lightshow or image of lights ascending up to heaven like in a movie, but Harry could feel it as the souls rejoiced, moving on to their assigned afterlife, freed. He thought he could even make out a particular soul that burned with pride for him. He even felt an odd, malformed soul stuck to him. Assuming it was something he'd drawn from Samael, he used his power to remove it and send it on as well, though somehow he could tell that particular soul wasn't going anyplace nice, especially considering how hard it fought his efforts.
He opened his eyes as he felt the last soul leave the town, appropriately Alessa's, finally freed from her torment for good. For an instant he thought he saw the figure of a woman in the corner of his eye. In a split second he though she was very pretty, rocking a nineties style goth look with wild black hair. However, when he turned to look, there was nothing there.
He shook his head. His head was still swimming. There was only one thing left to do, as far as he was concerned.
Silent Hill and, by extension, Shepherd's Glen, needed to be destroyed permanently.
He focused his power again, feeling how it flowed throughout the land of the two towns. He was relieved to find that it was more difficult now, which meant he had less power due to releasing the souls. This in turn meant that his mind wasn't in as much danger of being consumed.
He concentrated on what he wanted to have happen, and though he couldn't see it, he knew that it was working from the shaking.
Indeed, miles away, in the empty streets of Shepherd's Glen, everything began to shake. Before long the buildings began to crumble and the streets opened up. Within minutes the entire town had been engulfed in a series of massive sinkholes.
Harry felt satisfied knowing that one den of evil was destroyed and proceeded to do the same to Silent Hill. He felt calm as the entire town shook with what he was doing, the outskirts being the first to fall. Soon the process was underway and he no longer needed to focus on it, so he opened his eyes once again and looked up at the ceiling of the church, which was cracking, about to come down.
He absently wondered if he would die here. If he died now, he'd do so satisfied. He closed his eyes once again as he felt his consciousness begin to fade from the strain of all he'd done, sure he wasn't going to wake up again as he heard the ceiling come down to crush him.
Oh well, it was a good death, at least.
The last thing he felt before his mind shut down for a long while was the feeling of a soft, dainty hand on his shoulder. Then there was nothing.
And so we finally reach the end of the Silent Hill arc. I wonder if anybody guessed how it would end. Hope not.
I'm not really satisfied with this chapter, at least the latter half. I can't really put my finger on why, though. I might eventually come back to it and make some changes.
Once again, the action was subpar in my opinion, but I hope it was good enough. I debated for a while on whether to include the song, but in the end decided to leave it. For those that don't know, the song is I May Fall from the RWBY Vol 1 Soundtrack. It's one of my favorite songs from the entire show.
So, Harry now has Samael's dark power within himself, destroying the fallen's foothold in the process. This is obviously going to have long term consequences, both when it comes to his abilities and to his mentality. He's going to need to get some help managing his new, darker impulses before he does anything else. He'll be getting help with that, don't worry.
Also, now you know why I chose the cover image for this fic that I did. That's somewhat what Harry'll be looking like from now on. So keep that in mind going forward.
Next chapter is going to be the aftermath of what happened. I won't say much more because spoilers, but it'll be mainly lots of talking.
In other news, I began my Chrono Trigger novelization, if you want to check it out and leave a review. It's only a prologue for now, but more will come. Okay, end of shameless plug.
That's all for now. Please leave a review with your opinion. They make me eager to continue my efforts. Bye.