Part 67: Massacre

Chapter 1: Massacre

Thursday

They suggested that I should keep a journal. It's not really for me, it's so that Danette might remember to write in hers. But I don't really mind.

I had that dream again last night. It was the same woman. I wish I could remember who she was or what she said. I feel like maybe then I'd be one step closer to understanding who I am...

Friday

Ughh. Today we had to repeat a history lesson. Again. Danette's my best friend. I love her like a sister. But sometimes her complete inability to remember the simplest things begins to grate. Meanwhile, I can recite the damn history of how our village came to be by heart:

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525 TA

The continent of Prodesto...
The grueling war had finally ended, and one man had unified the land.
Lord Median the Conqueror...
Though only one man, his heroism swept across the world.

535 TA

The harmonious empire stood for 10 years, before it crumbled once more.
Lord Median and his son passed away. Prodesto returned to a state of bloody war.

550 TA

It was then that a clarion vesper rang throughout the halls of history.
Median's daughter, Layna, had come into her own and become a true leader.
Neighboring countries formed treaties, and for a moment the world knew peace.

600 TA

But then the world was darkened by a single malign shadow and its cruel heralds.
The violent echoes of agony and murder shattered the land.
The shaky alliances were pushed to their limits by the merciless creatures.
But human as they were, they fell victim to weakness and temptation.
Some cowered and fled, while others pledged allegiance to the beasts.
Layna rallied her few remaining comrades for a final confrontation.
The venerable warrior queen sacrificed her life to banish the shadow.
They were both consumed, and the three behemoths were silent...



I've always wondered what the truth behind this was, because if that's what really happened, Layna would have to be more than 200 years old...

Oh well. I've got to get some sleep, Danette wanted to train early tomorrow.

Saturday

Morning

Training went well. I decided to run back here really quickly and take a bath. Lady Layna's awake and wants to speak with us, and it's not generally good form to go into meetings with the head of the village smelling like a mangy phynx.

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And I've been training forever! I'm totally ready to become a full-fledged Sepp warrior!
But Lady Layna still won't make me a Town Guardian!
It's all your fault. You're too weak. That's why Lady Layna won't take me seriously.
Fine, whatever. She thinks we need more training? Then let's train! This'll be our 1,083rd training session.
Or, wait, lemme think... Maybe it's the 1,542nd... No, no... 931st?
Hmm...



Let's see how you handled my Blaze Slash!
You better give me all you've got! Or else I'll make you pay!

A bell began to ring in the distance.



I didn't think you'd actually try to kill me. Geez...
Maybe you're better than you look. I guess you're not a total waste of skin.

Then the ground began to shake. There have been quite a lot of earthquakes recently. The others try not to show it, but they're clearly worried by the frequency.



What are you talking about?
There's always been lots of earthquakes. Let's go! I don't wanna be late.

I'm going to go now. Danette's waiting outside. I'll write some more later tonight if Layna has anything interesting to say.

Evening

Today was a good day. I got a lot done.

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Today, I shall grant you the weapons you will need to watch over our home.
?!
Does this mean... you're finally gonna make us real Town Guardians?!
That's correct.
You shall have the power to protect those who cannot protect themselves.



Ahh... you have no idea how long I've been waiting for this!
Now, which one should I take... They're all so... deadly.
Lady Layna, I choose the sickle sword!
Ah... this is called the "Whisper of Tranquility."
So long as you carry this, you will bring nothing but good into the world.
You have chosen well, my dear.

It was my turn, now. I had thought long and hard on what sort of weapon I would prefer, but Layna seemed to have made my choice for me. Like every other choice in my life before today, as I think back on it.



Huh? I thought we got to choose...?



Voice: Holy crap, that took forever! Pick up the pace, ya old hag!
So this is my sacrificial lamb, huh?
Heh. It's sorta soft around the edges, but it's definitely got potential.
200 years... 200 years I've been waiting for this moment!
Indeed, it has been many years, Gig.
I, too, have long awaited this day.
L-Lady Layna?!
Wh-what is this?
What's going on with that sword?!
200 years ago... I gazed into a black shadow. And it gazed back.
It threatened to destroy everything. But I hunted it down. And this sword was the trap.
?!



This jewel is called the Crimson Tear.
Now, behold... the fusion begins!

And the world went black...



Me? Oh, just the most hardcore asskicker to ever walk the planet is all.
The destroyer of everything! The commander of the World Eaters! But hell, you can just call me Gig.
Why were you in that sword?
Oh, that. Well, thanks to that old wench, I had to abandon my body 200 years ago.
I killed her first, of course. But that tricky witch must have had another soul up her sleeve or something.
She caught me off-guard and almost killed me for good. But I stole some of her juice and jumped into that sword.
I never figured out why she kept the sword around, but I stayed there, waiting for my chance to get out.
I've been waiting for 200 years... But now I've got you! A nice, young, healthy set of limbs!



What, you still don't get it?
I'm taking over your body, stupid!
You mean... you're going to kill me?
Kill you? Heh. Nah, that'd be too easy. What'll happen is, your soul will just... disappear.
And then I can just beat this meat puppet to hell till I'm done with it! Hahaha!
Now, give me dominion over your body...



Whatever, it doesn't matter. I knew things weren't gonna be easy.
*sigh*
Okay, here's the thing. We have to make a deal so I can use your body.
Now that you've signed over your body, you can command power totally unknown to the average peon.
That should keep you happy for a while.
But maybe you're really greedy. Maybe you'll need even more power. That's when you give me a call.
I can lend you all the powers of a god... for a price.
The more of my power you use, the more control I gain over your body.
You can use your power to get what you want.



I don't need that kind of power.
Hehe. Fine, if you say so.
But if you change your mind, you know where to find me. I'll be waiting, my little soulmate...

And then it was all over. The world around me began to come back into focus.



Tell me... how do you feel?
What happened just now...?
It appears you and Gig have become one.
It was he who nearly destroyed our land .He was the leader of the World Eaters. Or rather, they were his puppets.
His powers are unfathomable.
We have been searching for many years for someone who could contain the power of Gig.
Of all the children to pass through this village, you were the only one...
I've waited ten long years for your mind and body to mature...



We are the only ones left. This is why we have no outside contact, and why you were forbidden from leaving the village.
!?You mean... everyone?
That's correct...
All the villages were either sieged and killed slowly, or outright annihilated.
Considering the scale of these attacks, it must have been the work of the World Eaters.
Yes, those dark beasts who have been silent for so long now gather their strength once more...
Have you not heard the weeping of the world?
Open your mind and listen closely... You will hear the crumbling of our civilization...
If things continue as they are, the land will continue to weaken, and eventually all will perish.



It's up to you to dismantle these foul relics of a long-dead world and breathe new life into our own land.

Then she asked me a question that seemed almost pregnant with possibility. Like it would be the turning point in my life.



If you choose not to, I cannot force this upon you. It would be tough, but we can find another way...
N-no! You have to, or I'll never forgive you!
Why does it have to be me?
Well...
Because only the soul who can fuse with Gig has the power to do this...
Is that why you raised me...?
Wha? What're you talking about?! You should be proud Lady Layna would choose you for something like this!

Proud she said. Proud? Proud of what? Proud that I was raised to be USED? Proud that a demon and a mission were forced on me without even asking? Proud that I can hear this world cry out in agony as it slowly rots away? She couldn't ever understand.



...
...What's wrong? You're not acting like your usual self.
You annoy me, that's all.
Hehe. 'Your usual self', my ass.
What the hell does this withered old hag know about you?
Is that you, Gig?
Oh, is my voice coming through already? Damn, this body fits me like a glove! It's like it was made for me.
Hey, witch. Since we're fused, I can feel and see everything the kid here is thinking.




I can feel this world's agony. It cries out for silence, for respite. It cries out for death.

I made up my mind. I will murder this world. One person at a time if need be. Then, once everything is dead, maybe a new world can be made. Or maybe not. I'll figure this out later, it'll take a while to kill every living thing on an entire world.



Layna I expect would be honored to know she was the first to go. You know, if I hadn't run her through. She'd been planning to use me my entire life. But the others... even if they weren't in on it, the only merciful thing I could do for my friends was to grant them death. They had the gall not to see things that way, though. I guess they wouldn't be alive if they didn't vainly cling to their mayfly existences.



How irritating. Hey kid, take care of 'em, would ya?
Yeah, yeah.
You! How dare you hurt Lady Layna?!
I'll kill you!!!

The fools in the village stood no chance against me. Gig's power combined with the righteousness of my quest imbued me with power beyond their ability to grasp.

First to die was Marlene, the Whirwin. Her home had been destroyed by a World Eater. Now she would get to join her people at last.



You're nothing but a speed bump.
You used to be such a kind person... But it looks like that's dead now.

Next was Gadius, the gatekeeper. He kept us all trapped in the village, he must have been in on everything. He tried to play at sympathy by whining about his baby.



Baby? Laaame.
You...! You were happier than anyone when we told you about it! What's happened to you?!

Next to die was his wife, Nei. I didn't really need to kill her, but it occurred to me that if I did, perhaps their child would swear revenge when he or she learned of me. It's important to plan for future entertainment, and this one brutal murder now could pay serious dividends if killing the world proves time consuming.



Then I can kill you for no reason, yeah?
You might kill me... but I won't let you kill the child!

Bencross was next. Like all the Redflanks he was old, so old that he MUST have been in on the whole plan. His fate would be the same as Layna's, the sword.



I'm sad to see Grunzford's worst fears have come true... I'll have to apologize to him when I get to heaven.

Whoever the hell Grunzford is. I'm sure I'll kill him eventually, though, so I'm sure Bencross will be happy to see him then. Anyways, I killed Vancross next.



I may be old, but I'll never give up!

Gig decided it was taking too long, which I had to agree with. It was time to get serious.



Hehe. I thought you'd never ask. Okay, I'll give you as much as you want. But you remember our deal, right?
The more of my power you use, the sooner your soul disappears. You okay with that?
Yeah, I don't care.
Hehe. Then it's a deal! Here we go!
I can feel the flowing power...!
Now you shouldn't have any problem with these little maggots. Hahaha.

And then there was good old Danette. I couldn't let my oldest and dearest friend suffer one more minute alive. It would be inhuman of me.



Everyone needs to die!
Fine!
I'll make sure you're the next to go!!!

Feinne on Soul Nomad:

Yes. We start the Demon Path by killing everyone in the village.

Anyway, this map is a joke. You are alone, but the enemies are level 10 while you're at least level 50 if you played through the Normal Path correctly. What's more, if you for some reason are having trouble it hands you a MAX Gigify, that increases your level by 2000 for the map.



Hey...! Say something!
Just die already.
Gh-! Y-you...!
...

With everyone dead, there was little to stick around for in the village. I was getting bored until I had a chat with Gig.



Well, I gave you a hell of a lot, actually. You could probably kill a World Eater if you wanted to.
Okay, then let's kill a World Eater.
Hehe. You're fun. I like you.

So we're going to go kill a World Eater. There's supposed to be one nearby. Hopefully it's more entertaining than slaughtering a bunch of old people. I mean, what's murdering the world if you can't have a little fun in the process?



Next time on Soul Nomad: The Demon Path- Chapter 2: Devour.