Chapter 26: The Lightening
"Why are we waiting to help? What's happening to him?" Julia demanded. The Dark Man had begun walking away from her back to his throne as if she hadn't said anything.
"Hey! Answer me!" she said angrily. Following him up the steps she walked behind him until he came to his throne. Instead of sitting down in it he jumped onto the back of it feet first where gravity aligned itself on the wrong axis just for him. Standing there in disbelief she watched the top of his head as he strolled casually up the back of the skull throne towards the ceiling.
"Hey! What's going on!" she called out.
"Abandon not your wayward children of Ivalice, but deliver us from our sins, that we might know salvation." he said as he walked vertically away from her.
The top of the tower shuddered as he drew closer to it and the sound of thunder striking nearby rattled the whole building. The air popped and crackled, positively charged with potential energy. Suddenly the entirety of Tower turned completely transparent as every inch of black stone went as clear as glass. She could see out over the darkened land and the multitude of tiny lights coming from far below them. Above her the large ball that served as a lightning rod was crackling with electricity, sending off sparks and and feeding into Tower in rivulets of current. Looking below her Julia could see the garden through the floor and the balconies coming out of the sides miles away.
Craning her head up just in time to see the Dark Man entering the lightning ball from the bone plank leading to it Julia grew worried about what was happening. There were glinting squares everywhere below them and dozens floating in the sky around Tower that were kept aloft by machine, beast and mixtures of the two. The walls of the building were buzzing with energy and all of Nowhere seemed to be primed for the event she kept hearing about.
There was no warning for what came next. The black sky began to glow above her and slowly she became aware of a red dot growing above them. It took a few moments for it to materialize as a fiery blaze ripping a massive, cylindrical scar through the atmosphere. Watching it in horror Julia realized the phenomenon was rushing towards them at an alarming rate and after a few seconds the clouds could no longer contain it. Tunneling a great swath through the miles of moisture the fire penetrated the eternal gloom of Nowhere and turned the firmament red. Rushing at them was a jet of rolling flame coming down on the black city as a world ending catastrophe sent from angry gods above.
The sparking orb atop Tower went dark and then something even more incredible happened. The destruction coming down on them from the sky was pulled against its will to the black ball above her where Nothing had gone in. Inexorably drawn in with the power of a singularity all the heat, light and energy were sucked into the orb with startling speed. The pillar of flame rushed to the ball and even the light in the room seemed to be seeping towards the event horizon above. When the red flame expired everything went dark again but only for a half second. Then the ball released what it had taken and more in an explosion of light that nearly blinded the pilgrim.
Crying out she shielded herself from the terrible splendor of a sun erupting into existence only a few hundred feet away. Closing her eyes and getting her arms in front of her did little to help as the room heated up to baking from the ferocious effulgence bearing down on it. Close to a full minute passed before the feeling of being blasted with radiation faded much like moving from direct sunlight into shade. Daring to open her eyes Julia looked above her in fear of what she was going to see.
The orb overhead was red hot with spent energy but issued forth no more brilliant, overpowering light. Outside of Tower a circle of cloud cover had been blown away directly above the city nearly its exact diameter and shape. A miles wide column of light shone down on the rainy city which for once glistened in the providence of a nearby star. Beyond the thick, carved out cloud layer was an azure sky and a blazing sun much, much closer than Earth's that occupied most of the visible sky. She could make out the celestial body's shifting, roiling surface and had to wonder why they weren't scorched by its proximity.
Looking down on the city she saw a million reflective mirrors soaking up the kindly light falling down on them. The area was much more impressive in the daylight despite the fact that it was almost completely covered by panels, solar cells and mirrors. It was a beautiful sight in every direction; below her feet in Nothing's garden she saw flowers blooming and plants curling up towards the ample radiance above.
All out in the sky and up in the heavens she saw little white dots and some were closer than others, bigger than others. Already stupefied by what had happened so far she realized with a gasp that these were the same blank spots she had seen in the dark version of Silent Hill. Whatever was plaguing the ghost town had extended to here as well. Now she understood that it was not just their world that was hanging in the balance but Nowhere too.
Slowly from the edges of the cleared circle the clouds began to close back in. Unable to turn away from the spectacle she watched the gray began to fill in above them as a wound closes itself. Despite the dominating presence of the sun the clouds quickly reclaimed the blue and soon the sun was behind a screen of mist. Progressing more quickly the clouds grew thicker and thicker as the light grew dimmer and dimmer. Soon even the sun's rays were swallowed up by the ravenous clouds and Nowhere was once again plunged into darkness. Almost thirty seconds passed before the patter of rain began to strike the glassy exterior of Tower and it too faded back to its opaque state.
The pilgrim was dumbfounded as the Dark Man began to walk down from the ceiling towards her. She could not think of anything to say as he made it to the throne she was standing by and jumped back down onto the same floor as her as if he'd never left. Radiating power with an aura that bordered on unbearable Julia felt microscopic standing next to the Fater. His straight jacket was singed and charred as was the tattered strap over his eye. Reaching up he tugged the disintegrating piece of cloth away and revealed a fully formed eye, whole and complete. Brushing the straight jacket away it fell to bits off of him to reveal a plain black shirt covering a highly muscled torso.
"That...was amazing." she breathed.
"The Sacraments affordeth any dream you can dream." he said and extended a hand that rippled the air around them. "Ahtl tla-chee-nollee."
Reaching her hand out to accept his she said, "Fire and water, flood and flames."
Taking her behind the throne she was shocked to find someone chained to the back of it with thick loops of barbed wire and shipyard sized metal links. The captive was hooded and did not make a sound as Julia passed by it in wonder. Coming to a semicircle of thresholds built into the back wall of the chamber he brought her to a circular stone equidistant from wall to throne. The thresholds were pretty but didn't seem to be going anywhere other than the black wall they were built into.
"This one will take thee home." he gestured at one of the frames. It immediately lit up and the plain wall dissolved into a smoking, misty red portal. Another portal lit up unbidden far to the left and Nothing let her hand go, much to Julia's disappointment.
"'Tis time to take back what is mine." he promised with a maniacal gleam in his eye. "Return to the misty land and await us. The time for the end all of things approacheth."
"We'll stop them." Julia nodded. "We have to."
"Truth and justice lend us no troops in this war." he pointed out.
"The blank spots...they're going to erase everything aren't they?"
Nothing came as close as she'd ever seen to him being sad. "The dissonances of multiple worlds is becoming too much for the psychosphere to handle. Either we stop this pretender, he stops us or everything, everywhere perisheth. Never forget that only I stand in between thee and the Flood."
"Ugh...who is that over there?" she put a hand to her suddenly aching head and motioned towards the captive.
"Pay it no mind." he ordered. "Sins of the past rarely go unpunished."
Taking off at a sprint faster than humanly possible the ruler of Nowhere literally dove into his portal at top speed. The red mist evaporated in swirling air and it returned to a plain wall while hers was still very much open and beckoning her.
Taking a step towards her exit the pilgrim looked back over her shoulder at the prisoner chained so thoroughly to the throne. She knew that she shouldn't and that she was told not to but her curiosity was too great. She turned back.
He woke to the sound of his own screams. Bolting upright he looked at the hazy world around him as his head pulsed in pain. Half forgotten memories of torture, flamingos and blood tugged at his mind and Victor only knew for certain that sometimes was going to die for what they were doing to him. Eyes focusing he found himself in a small surgical theater and rapidly deduced that he was in one of the town's demented hospitals. Neither was particularly pleasant to be locked up in but the chance to escape was better than Saffros' dream worlds by far.
Looking down at his aching hand he saw it was bandaged up and had to search his memory for what had happened. Vaguely recalling something involving a hammer he knew someone had driven a nail through his hand. Head swimming and body knotted up the knight had never wanted to kill so badly in his entire life. Certainly the mercenaries who put him here and their incredibly stupid commander but none more than Saffros and Marcus Stone. Who knows what they would have done if he'd not managed to just barely break their hold on him.
So confident were his captors that he was no longer a threat they had not even bothered replacing his restraints. A fatal mistake on someone's part as the knight swung his feet down to the floor and scoured the room for a weapon. Sitting on a nearby table was the metal apparatus Saffros had used to hold his eyes open while hypnotizing him. Checking the metal legs Victor found that they screwed in and he lifted the table with his shoulder to get at one of them. The healing wound in his hand tore open as he worked but he ignored the pain as he unscrewed one of the posts holding the table up. The metal device slid down and crashed to the floor as he worked the leg off before setting the now three legged table on its side.
Feeling the weight of the blunt object in his hands he checked the door only to find it locked. So someone had not completely trusted him to be trapped in their mental prison after all. No matter. Starting to examine the lock for how exactly he was going to defeat it the sound of approaching boots made Victor freeze where he stood. Taking up a position at the side of the doors and raising the table leg in the air he listened to the jangling of keys just a few feet away. The door then unlocked and into the room an helmetless mercenary stuck his unprotected head in. The man had a moment to see that the gurney was empty before Victor stuck him in the temple. Teetering for a second he fell face first when Victor swung the metal leg at the back of his head.
Jumping onto the mercenary the deranged knight beat the other man until blood ran from his skull and the leg was bent out of shape. Breathing heavily and the wild beat of his murderous heart nowhere near satisfied Victor looked around for more company but was alone. Slipping the mercenary's keys into his jeans he took the man's sidearm and fiddled with it to find the safety. He wasn't especially comfortable with guns but without bulletproof armor he was at an extreme disadvantage facing the enemies here with only melee weapons.
Stealing down the corridor the knight studied the layout of the building and found that he could not recall exactly where he was. Trying as best he could to see the mental image of the maps of the two hospitals he was dismayed to find that they just wouldn't come to mind. Summoning his considerable mental prowess he made himself remember at least the outline of the first floors of the hospitals in town. He could barely do this even though he'd studied them a hundred times to permanently implant the images in his head.
Rage welled up in him and Victor knew that Saffros was to blame for this lack of acuity. Guiding himself instead by the long dormant exit signs he headed left and down the hospitals main hallway. Sneaking forward he halted when he heard a voice from around the corner. There were a couple of different men talking but it was the third one that made him subconsciously clench his teeth. The whining, sniveling voice of Saffros came floating through the air and Victor's brain seethed with hatred. Creeping to the side of the wall to get as far as he could without being noticed he swept around the corner pistol first into the large room ahead.
Sitting on the couches of the long abandoned day room of the hospital were a couple of the mercenaries, a robed cultist and the hypnotist Saffros. Judging from their casual demeanor they had been taking a break and were expecting their erstwhile associate instead of a vengeful knight.
Victor shot the first mercenary in the head and the pop echoed in the large room as the men realized too late what was happening. Blood exploded over the sitting men and shock turned to a wild scramble to escape as Victor shot three more times at the second mercenary. The first two missed but the third tagged the armored guard in the neck as the cultists dove for cover. Arterial spray jumped into the air as the doomed guard clutched at his quickly departing vital fluids. Turning the gun at the couch the hypnotist had gone behind Victor fired until a bluish wall of light sprang up between them. The knight's expert eye knew a ward when he saw one as the cultist stood to dust himself off. Watching Victor he slid a piece of paper into his robes for safe keeping as Saffros dared peek up from behind the furniture. The knight popped an ineffectual round off anyway to make himself feel better but it hit the impenetrable wall and fell to the floor.
"You woke up." the fat man announced needlessly.
"Your parlor tricks have run their course." Victor snarled. "I'm going to dissect you..."
"Bold words, boy." the hypnotist said confidently. "You may have broken my control once but we'll see how strong you are after months, years of therapy. You can't get through to us and you've no doubt alerted the rest of our chattel. Fantastic strategy."
"Hmm...you're right." the knight pondered. "There's no way I can get past this ward now that you've stolen my ashes...but I know someone who can help." he smiled fiercely.
"Who?"
"Nothing, Fater, master of Nowhere, bane of the Order and guardian of Silent Hill, I call on you. The time for judgment is long over due." Victor pronounced to the open air.
"Your phantom savior? He will be no help to-"
The lights in the room dimmed as a rumbling, creaking sound accompanied the shuddering of the very walls around them. Saffros went pale and Victor could only mock him in triumph. Throwing the gun to the side he said, "Cower, cower and prepare for your death, meatsack. If you are lucky he will kill you swiftly but you won't be lucky today. Not after what you did to me."
The sound a long, tortured crow's caw reverberated from somewhere far in the distance and the two cultists shared a look of panic. The second one began preparing spells that would not save him as the grinding disharmony around them came to a halt and the lights returned to normal.
"The multiplying villianies of nature do swarm upon him..." the Fater said as he stepped out of the corner of the room into the peripheral of Victor's vision like he was there all along. Gone was the bandage over his eye and straight jacket, replaced by a black leather harness wrapped around his torso in thick straps. Holstered onto his back were eight off-white, long, criss-crossed spikes with a wicked sharpness that resembled a pair of wings poking out from behind his back.
"Took your damnable time." Victor grumbled but in truth he'd never been happier to see the shade.
"Stay back, demon!" Saffros said shrilly and Nothing strode over to the knight with a scabbard and blade clenched in his fist. Staring down the cultists he raised the weapon to Victor without taking his eyes off his prey. Heavier than the last one this was clearly a different kind of weapon. The cross piece was a fanged skull and four stabbing spikes made up the hand guard. The blade was wavy and came to a needle sharp point at the end as Victor cast the scabbard away.
"Hmm..." the Fater said as he examined the ward. "Child's play."
"What are you-"
Smoke exploded from where the the shade was standing and Victor held up an arm to block the sudden cloud. From the other side of the room the Fater came crashing in through one of the day room's windows and rolled up next to a very bewildered cultist. The otherworld assassin reached the robed man as the adept enacted a powerful rune and a burst of white hot flame erupted from the man's finger tips. The gout hit the Fater square in the chest as he charged forward and it momentarily stopped his advance.
When the flame stopped it did not seem affect the assailant in the slightest and reaching out with a smoking hand the ghost snapped the mortified cultist's neck. The blue barrier in the room fell and the shade turned to Saffros to say, "Fire? I was born of this."
"Wait! He knows where Stone is!" Victor said to stop him from killing the hypnotist too soon.
"Harken to me!" the Fater roared at the heavy set man. "Where is your master and his charlatan sacrament maker?"
"The island! On Lake Toluca! Just don't kill me!" Saffros pleaded. "Master Stone kept him secluded there!"
"Where's my friend? The curly haired kid?" Victor demanded.
"Base, basement! Please, I don't know anything else!"
"So then you have outlived your usefulness. Fater?"
"Que quieres en la vida?" the Dark Man answered.
"He must suffer to his last breath." Victor decreed coldly.
"As you wish..."
"No! No please! Don't leave me with him! No!" Saffros begged but his pleas fell on deaf ears. The Fater held the fat man down and pried his mouth open while the knight watched with grim satisfaction. Saffros gurgled and howled as the attacker ripped his tongue out with his bare hand. Holding it up to the sky like an offering to vacant gods Nothing was grinning from ear to ear. Turning away and bringing his new blade up to bear Victor headed the way he came and sincerely hoped there were many more mercenaries left inside the hospital. The mangled screams of the cultist followed him down the hall and for once he could almost enjoy the sound.