Chapter 1: Forest of Eternal Night
"Be seeing you again soon, Luigi!"
Normally those might be taken as words of comfort. A promise from a friend that even though they must part ways for the time being, they will meet again. Many people had said those words, or something to their effect, to Luigi over the years and it had almost always been something that he had seen as a good thing. But when the very incarnation of Death itself said those words, even as jovial as his tone had been at the time, Luigi could only take it as a threat, or perhaps a warning.
"Be seeing you again soon, Luigi!"
He was going to die soon. That was the only thing it could have meant. He didn't know how soon 'soon' was. From the perspective of something like Death, a few years or perhaps maybe even decades could have qualified. It was possible that Luigi still had a very long and happy life ahead of him. But the fact that Death had singled him out among the large group of allies gathered there that day, meant that at the very least, he would be the first to go.
It was a harrowing thought. Terrifying, even. Luigi had barely been able to sleep in the few weeks since that fateful encounter. Especially since it had come so soon after he had learned of his older brother's mysterious passing. If he had learned that he was going to die soon before his last adventure, he would have panicked and probably spent the rest of that short life cowering in fear over the unknown. But he had grown since then and better come to grips with the harshness of reality. If he was going to die, then he was going to spend the rest of his life living to the fullest. That was why he was here, in that old mansion he'd 'won' from a fake lottery back in the day. The place where he had first faced off against King Boo. The place that would soon serve as his wedding venue, as well as his and Daisy's home within the Mushroom Kingdom.
"Be seeing you again soon, Luigi!"
"Hey, are you okay, boss?"
Luigi was shaken from his thoughts and turned to face one of Super Mario Bros. Plumbing's newest employees, a portly yellow yoshi that went by the name of Roshi. He hadn't known the small dinosaur for very long, but Roshi had proven himself a valuable friend and ally in their short time together. In fact, Luigi saw a bit of himself in the timid yoshi. That's part of why he'd made Roshi's hat, a staple part of the Mario Bros' uniform, a similar shade of green to his own. The other part was that it matched Roshi's green shoes. Said hat also had a lower case 'r' on the front to help differentiate it from the "R" of his other new employee, who was also somewhere around there.
"Yeah, I'm-a fine," Luigi shook his head and clapped his hands against his cheeks a couple of times to wake himself up. "Just a bit distracted."
"Yeah, I suppose that being here must be causing the whole situation to seem a bit more real." Roshi nodded. "Getting married, and all that."
"Also, I hear this place used to be haunted." A purple dragon, small by dragon standards but big compared to Luigi or Roshi, made his presence known as a pair of glowing golden eyes flashed up near the ceiling.
"Augh!" Roshi let out a yelp and fell onto his rear. "Don't scare me like that, Ridley!"
"Sorry, force of habit." The winged member of their crew swung around so that he was hanging upside-down from a banister. "Predator instincts and all that."
"What are you even doing up there?"
"What are you doing down there?"
Luigi shook his head with a sigh. He wasn't used to being the one in charge, and it was clear that his employees were going to be a handful. Still, they generally got along pretty well despite the banter and were quickly getting the hang of plumbing despite neither of them having any experience in the field.
After a couple minutes, Ridley finally crawled down from the ceiling and the trio pulled into a huddle.
"Okie dokie, we-a shouldn't need to worry about the basement for now, so we've-a got three floors that need to be cleaned and three of us," Luigi told the others. "It seems that-a the easiest way to do this is to split up so that we can-a each clean one floor."
"Sounds reasonable." Ridley nodded.
"I'm not sure about splitting up," Roshi objected. "This place gives me the willies."
"It'll be fine," Luigi assured him. "This place hasn't been haunted in years, and even if there were still a boo or two that I missed, we've got the lights working now, so that'll scare 'em off."
"And if you need help, just yell," Ridley added. "We'll be over in a heartbeat."
"I-I guess I can do this." Roshi swallowed, then puffed out his chest. "Yeah, I can do this!"
After everything had been sorted out and they'd each gone to clean their areas, Luigi found himself vacuuming up his study. The act made him almost nostalgic for that night he had spent sucking up all the ghosts of the manor into the vacuum-like Poltergust 3000. Thankfully he only had to deal with dust this time around, though. Dust and a small gray squeek that suddenly ran out from behind a chair.
The unexpected guest startled Luigi, causing him to accidentally whack a bookcase. The old shelves collapsed, nearly burying him in the process. Thankfully, he was able to jump out of the way in time. However, he found himself lying flat on his stomach as the mouse-like creature scampered around.
"You gave me a bit of a start there, little guy," Luigi said as he pushed himself up off the floor. "How long have you been… hey, what's this?"
Luigi looked down at the book that had landed in front him, a dusty old tome bound in red leather and the words 'Grimoire of Souls' etched into the cover in an ornate script. That was certainly an ominous title and something about the book seemed… off, but Luigi couldn't say why. After a moment of consideration, Luigi decided to ignore. Unfortunately, the Grimoire had other plans.
The Grimoire suddenly opened itself as Luigi stood up, the pages flipping rapidly as a vicious wind kicked up around the room. Luigi watched in horror as the squeek from earlier was carried off by the winds and whipped around the room before getting sucked within the book itself, flailing and screaming the whole way. Luigi then found himself getting pulled off the ground and desperately tried to hold on to the fallen bookcase to keep himself rooted down but his grip failed him. Before he knew it, he was being pulled into the Grimoire of Souls like a hairball getting sucked down the drain.
"Be seeing you again soon, Luigi!"
Those words ran through his head one last time as the world around him vanished.
When Luigi finally came to, he was lying face down in mud. He groggily pulled himself up and spat out a bit that had managed to get in his mouth, looking around at his surroundings.
He seemed to be in a forest of some kind with thick, gnarled trees everywhere he turned. That was about all that he could tell, though, as the canopy was so thick he couldn't even see if it was day or night. Squinting in the dark, he eventually spotted a bit of movement off to the side and cautiously approached. It turned out to be the squeek that had been sucked into the book with him, which had been caught in a deeper puddle of mud and was having difficulty pulling itself out of the muck.
Luigi walked closer, intent on rescuing the poor rodent. He stopped, though, as something else shambled into view. He thought it was a person at first, but the way it moved was… unnatural. He backed away as it approached and not a moment too soon. More of them shuffled in behind the first and they closed in around the frantic squeek, which grew even more desperate in its attempt to flee. It was in vain, though, and the things practically dogpiled on top of the squeek, which let out one final cry of terror that was quickly drowned out by a series of sickening squelches and crunching.
Luigi threw up a little as he backed away from the horrific scene, his knees trembling as he tried to figure out what to do. Then he ran. He didn't know where he was going and he didn't care, as long as he didn't run into any more of those… those things.
He didn't know how long it was before he finally allowed himself to stop and catch his breath, but it wasn't long enough. More creatures stepped out from behind the trees and Luigi turned to run back in the other direction, but he was surrounded. The zombies, for there was no better word to describe the hideous monsters, closed around him and Luigi thought for sure that it would be his end. He wasn't any good in a fight without power-ups, and trying to punch or kick his way through would only leave his limbs vulnerable to them.
"Help!" Luigi cried out, though he knew it was useless as there wouldn't be anyone around to hear him, let alone save him. "M-Mario!"
It was instinctual, calling out his brother's name. Even though he knew intellectually that Mario was dead, he couldn't fight a lifetime of instinct formed from the elder brother always being there to bail him out. But now he was alone. He doubted that the others would have been able to follow him to wherever it was that he now found himself, nor did he want them to have done so. While Ridley might be able to handle himself, Roshi would be just as scared and vulnerable as Luigi in this situation, if not more so.
A loud crack thundered through the forest, almost like a gun being fired, and one of the zombies practically exploded in front of him, followed by another. A man rushed in, carrying an old wooden torch in one hand and a whip in the other. The stranger deftly danced around the zombies, handling the whip with a graceful finesse that allowed him to dispatch the monsters in quick succession.
"Hark, friend!" The man held up his torch once the final zombie had been slain, so that Luigi could get a good look at him. Wild, dirty blond hair fell over the man's sharp features, partly obscuring one of his greenish-blue eyes, and he was dressed in a red and white long coat over dark clothes that almost made him look like some kind of medieval knight. "Are you unharmed?"
Luigi looked up at the stranger sheepishly, before finally nodding his head in stunned confusion.
"Good, I hesitate to think of what those creatures may have done if I was not here," the man said. "What are you even doing in this forsaken place? The locals know to avoid these woods."
"I, uh, don't know where we are, or how I got here," Luigi answered honestly. "I was-a cleaning out my house when a book fell in-a front of me and I was-a sucked in."
"That is peculiar." The stranger seemed to consider his words and for a moment Luigi worried that he wouldn't believe him. "I knew there were dark magics in these lands but I know not what spells may have brought you here. I would offer to help you escape these woods but alas, I have business with the master of these lands that cannot wait. If you would accompany me, I will do my best to protect you but I cannot guarantee your safety."
"T-thank you," Luigi stammered. "I-a suppose that would be the best I can hope for-a right now. I'm-a Luigi, by the way."
"'Tis good to meet you, Sir Louis." The man nodded politely. "I am known as Lord Belmont, but I would prefer that you simply call me Leon. I take it that you are a man of Italia. The Republic of Venice, perhaps?"
Italia? Venice? Those were words that Luigi hadn't heard in a long time. Were they back on Earth?
"I, uh, think my family are from Genoa, actually." Luigi wasn't sure if he remembered that properly, though. "But I'm from New York."
"New… York?" Leon repeated. "I do not believe that I have heard of that province, though the name sounds English. I hail from France, myself. My family held lands in the south of Reims."
He hadn't heard of New York? Even if he was French, it still seemed like he would have at least heard of the state, if not the city itself. America and France did have a history together, after all.
"Um, where exactly are we?" Luigi asked.
"Ah, right, I suppose you wouldn't know if you were spirited away to this place." Leon nodded. "We are currently in the Forest of Eternal Night, East of the Carpathian Mountains, in the Transylvania region of Hungary."
Transylvania? That place from all the old monster movies? Was that even a real country? Luigi was now even more confused than ever but he decided that it would be best not to get into it for the time being.
"These lands are owned by Lord Bernhard, a vile man in league with the forces of the night," Leon continued to explain. "I believe that he may have rejected his humanity entirely and become a creature of myth, what the people of these lands call a strigoi, or vampire to use the common term. But more importantly, he has spirited away with my betrothed, the love of my life, the lady Sara Trantoul."
"That's horrible," Luigi gasped, thinking of his own fiance, Princess Daisy. "I know that we have-a only just met and I am not sure how-a useful I will be, but as long as I'm-a here I will do what I can to help you get her back."
"Thank you, Sir Louis, but I cannot ask this burden of you," Leon shook his head. "It will be far too dangerous. I know of a hut nearby, where you can stay until I am ready to escort you out of these woods. It will be the safest option for you at this time."
Luigi pondered the offer but shook his head. "No, I can't just-a stand around while you're putting yourself in danger for love. I know that I-a would do anything for my Daisy. I will do what I can."
Leon nodded. "Very well then, my good sir. Can you use a blade? I would lend you my sword if you are able."
Luigi looked at the weapon in question, hanging in its sheath from Leon's waist.
"I've used a hammer before but I can't say that I've ever used a sword," Luigi admitted.
"Then perhaps now would not be an opportune time to learn, but we may find a more suitable weapon for you as we journey, should you still choose to fight by my side. Stick close to me for now and we shall make our way to Bernhard's castle."
Luigi and Leon trudged through the dark forest, stopping only so that Leon could take down more of the zombies that seemed to pop up every few minutes. It seemed as if there were a near-infinite number of the reanimated corpses shambling about the woods and Luigi didn't want to know what would have happened in this place to leave so many bodies.
"I don't think that I've ever seen so many ghouls before," Leon commented after slaying another wave of zombie with his whip. "Not in my homeland, nor in the march to the Holy Land with my brothers-in-arms."
March to the Holy Land? Leon was starting to act like he was some kind of…
"Are you-a saying that you're a crusader?" Luigi was finally starting to put the pieces together.
Leon returned the question with a pained smile. "Alas, I am afraid that I was a crusader, but no longer. I had to abandon my duties in order to come here to rescue my betrothed. I only pray that God will forgive me my sin, though I am afraid there will be nothing I can do to restore my honor among men. But this is something that I must do."
That confirmed it. Either Leon was some kind of lost soul who'd been trapped in these woods for centuries without noticing, or Luigi had been sent back in time. He was inclined to believe the latter, though the question remained of how long ago he was.
"What of you, my friend?" Leon asked him. "I take it that you did not take up the call of the cross, and I recognize not the make of your clothes. What did you do before being brought here by forces unknown?"
Luigi wasn't entirely sure how to answer that. If he really was somewhere in the medieval period, then plumbing wasn't a thing yet and aqueducts weren't around anymore so he couldn't try to pass that off as an equivalent profession.
"I-a suppose you could call me a handyman," Luigi finally settled on. "I make repairs and such to-a people's houses when they don't know how to do it themselves."
"A noble profession," Leon replied. "Before I took up arms, I was just a baron with a small holding. My parents died when I was young, so I ended up ruling my family's lands since I was practically still a babe. I did my best to watch over those under my care but I can't say that the position ever suited me properly. Although, as I have abandoned my duties to the church, my family's lands will likely be given over to one of the neighboring lords now. I do not know what life awaits me when I return."
"That… certainly sounds like a lot to give up," Luigi said as she climbed over a particularly large clump of roots. "But I'd like to think that I would have-a done the same if Daisy were in trouble. And, um, I wouldn't be so worried about God not being able to forgive you, if I were you. I, um, have a feeling that the crusade might not have been something that he wanted."
"What you speak is blasphemy against the church, though I cannot say that I have not harbored my own doubts," Leon said with a grimace, tightening his grip on his whip and torch. "The things that we've done… cannot be of God. Hark, I see the castle up ahead."
Leon pointed with the torch, and Luigi saw it in the distance. A large structure, built like some sort of fortress. He was used to seeing castles, having been to so many over the years since he and his brother had first come to the Mushroom Kingdom. But, like so many things here, something about this one felt… wrong. It wasn't as large or intimidating in its structure and design as many of Bowser's, yet as they continued to approach, a shiver went up his spine. Even a Ghost House wouldn't have been as unsettling as this place.
"Castle Berhard," Leon said as they walked up to the drawbridge that seemed to be the only apparent entrance into the castle. "Just as Mathias said. Ms. Trantoul must be here somewhere. Now, how do we enter his domain?"
Before they could come up with a solution, a piercing howl echoed through the woods. Luigi turned in time to see a wolf running out to them. Except it wasn't a wolf, as the beast reared itself onto its hind legs, standing twice as tall as Luigi or Leon. Of all the things that Luigi would have wanted to face, a giant werewolf certainly wasn't one of them. Then again, Leon had said that this Lord Bernhard guy might be a vampire, so it shouldn't have been that surprising.
"Watch out!" Leon tossed his torch to the side and drew his sword in his off hand, and charged the werewolf.
Blade met claw as man and beast faced off against each other. After a series of slashes and parries from both combatants, Leon began to gain the upper hand by repeatedly striking the beast with his whip while his sword repelled the vicious blows of its claws. Leon's victory seemed assured until the werewolf managed a lucky blow and managed to sink its fangs into the former Knight's arm.
Leon let out a pained scream as the beast clenched down harder, and dropped his sword. Luigi watched on in horror at the sight but eventually managed to work up the courage to act. He ran forward, headless of the danger, and picked up the fallen sword before lunging it into the lycanthrope's side. It was a clumsy blow but it was enough to get the werewolf to release its grip and stagger back a few steps. That gave Leon the chance he needed to wrap his whip around the beast's throat. He then took his sword back from Luigi and jumped up onto the werewolf's shoulders, plunging his blade just above its collarbone as the werewolf gasped for breath. With a squeeze, he tightened the whip's hold and struck again with the sword, repeating the process until the helpless monster finally fell dead on the muddy ground.
Luigi watched in increased horror as the corpse suddenly combusted as Leon quickly hopped off of it, burning away the beast until all that was left was a charred husk. A distinctly human-looking one that was far smaller than the beast they had just slain.
Leon knelt by the body and muttered a prayer, as Luigi had to come to grips with what had just happened. They hadn't just killed some mindless monster, but a person. Even if it was in self defense, and he wasn't the one to land the final blow, this was the first time that Luigi had ever taken a life. He soon found himself staring down at the contents of his stomach, freshly emptied onto the muddy, and bloodstained, ground.
"I know it can be hard," Leon placed a gentle hand on Luigi's shoulder, "but the man was already long gone, consumed by the beast in control. What we have done was a mercy, as we have freed him from his curse and returned his soul to his creator."
Somehow, those words didn't make Luigi feel any better about what had just happened, but he knew that he didn't have time for this. A woman was in danger and he had promised to help his new friend rescue her.
"I… I'll be alright," Luigi lied as he stood up. He hadn't even realized that he had fallen to his knees.
"Somehow, I doubt that." Leon shook his head. "The first time is always the hardest. I still remember the look of the first man I ever killed, as this very sword punctured his lung and the life slowly drained from his body. He had been defending his home from foreign invaders, from us, and I struck him down for that. I don't think that I will ever be fine."
Luigi wasn't sure how to respond as Leon pointedly refused to meet his gaze, so he said nothing. The two simply walked back to the drawbridge which, to their surprise, had been lowered for them to enter.
"It appears that Lord Bernhard is expecting us," Leon said at last. "Once we step through this threshold, there will be no turning back until Walter has been slain and Sara has been rescued. Are you sure that you wish to accompany me on this quest? This will be your last chance to turn back."
"I…" Luigi hesitated, unsure of what he wanted to do. He knew that Leon would not hold it against him if didn't want to go, but he wasn't sure if he'd be willing to forgive himself for not helping a friend in need. Finally, he gathered his resolve and made his decision. "I will fight by-a your side."
"Thank you." Leon placed his hand on Luigi's shoulder again. "I could not have asked for a better companion on this quest."
The unlikely duo turned to the ominous castle entrance, which seemed to almost exude darkness, and took their first step forward. Luigi shuddered as he stepped through the threshold, as an oily feeling washed over him and everything faded to black.
When Luigi opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a grand marble hallway. This didn't feel like the same castle he had just entered. It seemed somehow both more grand and yet far creepier than before. The oppressive atmosphere of the no-doubt haunted castle seemed to press down on him, unlike anything that the poor plumber had ever experienced before.
"L-Leon?" Luigi turned back to his companion, but the knight was gone.
Luigi was alone once again. Except he wasn't alone.
"Hello, Luigi."
Luigi flinched at the sound of the familiar voice and he shakely turned around. Death hovered in front of him, clad in dark robes and with a large scythe gripped tightly in his boney hands. A spectral light burned behind his empty eye sockets, that seemed to stare directly into Luigi's soul. They probably were, for all he knew.
"I told you that we would meet again soon," Death said amiably as he slowly hovered closer. "I just wish that it could have been under better circumstances, but I am afraid that the Master has given me strict orders. Any who enter these halls must perish."
Luigi barely had time to react before the scythe in Death's hands came swinging down. He didn't feel any pain as his body fell limply to the ground, but that was hardly a comfort to him in his final seconds.
Luigi was dead.
Yet this was only the beginning of his story.
"Well, that was a short game. I wonder how long it will be before the next fool ventures into my realm."
"Do not be so quick to count him out. I sense a great strength within this one."
"What strength? He is already dead."
"You have always underestimated the power of the human spirit, Dracula, and it has always been your downfall."
"We shall see, though it appears that at least some of your words ring true. He stirs, and a new chapter begins."
To be continued…
Author's Notes: Well, that was cheery. Welcome to the second spin-off of Super Ridley Bros! I know this one has a much darker tone than the original or even Dread Reckoning, but I hope you don't mind too much.
Just as Super Ridley Bros. was inspired by Ridley's reveal trailer for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, this story was inspired by the Simon and Richter reveal trailer. Of course, SRB took me so long to get through that this has completely stopped being relevant by this point, but it's still a story that I want to tell.
I should also note that while the story's title is a reference to Symphony of the Night and this first chapter takes most of its cues from Lament of Innocense, the Castlevania game this is most inspired by is Harmony of Despair (and now Grimoire of Souls, which was released, sort of, after I came up with this story and builds on elements introduced in HD).
As always, if you're interested in chatting about this or any of my other stories, or getting notifications for when I release new chapters, feel free to DM me a link to my Discord server.