Chapter 6: The World’s End
“WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? Do you realise what you’re getting involved with? Do you know what that thing does? It feeds on your negative energy! Those shamans don’t care if you live or die, they’re just….harvesting you!”
There was moment’s pause, and then Kaori broke down in tears. Joel attempted to comfort her with a drunken arm, scuffed his feet and avoided Phantasia’s eyes.
“We-we didn’t know anything about that,” he said, “Man, it was all just, you know, go there and we’d end up feeling great, you know? Just a bit of escapism…”
Phantasia sighed, and then put her arm around Kaori. “Look, I’m sorry, but whatever made you feel good was an illusion. I want all of you to promise you won’t ever get involved in this sort of thing again. Getting involved with demons and the Underworld will bring you nothing but pain!”
“Why does it matter?” said Kaori through her sobbing, “The world is nothing but darkness anyway! This is Hell!”
Phantasia looked down at the scorched, dying earth at her feet. “No, it’s not. Sometimes it might feel like it, but it’s not. Even in the darkest night, there’s always a light,”
“Uh, not that Power-of-Love shit,” mumbled Byron. He took a drag of his smoking herbs and looked up at the sky. “Can’t stand that sort of thing. Reality’s not a fucking fairytale,”
“Well whatever you believe,” said Phantasia, “I know what I do. If you want to think the world is all darkness and destruction, all I can do is prove you wrong. And I won’t let any of you fall prey to things like that again. That’s my promise,”
***
Phantasia studied the chimneys and grey blocks of the industrial zone through narrowed eyes. From atop the church spire, she had a clear view of the dead land, a hazed, snarling expanse eating away at the western fringes of the town like a cancer that made even the wastelands beyond the borders look hospitable. The rest of the town wasn’t in much better shape, however. The leylines – streams of mana that crossed through the land – were at the mercy of countless thorns of negativity. Her church, the school, and a few scattered streets and parks, were the only bastions against the looming darkness.
Was this how the world was? Just a few beacons of hope struggling against overwhelming shadow? The Great Cataclysm, the countless wars, demons surging up from the Underworld, and the corruption consuming human hearts – how could the world survive much longer?
Pushing aside such macabre thoughts, Phantasia checked no-one was watching and then leapt down the side of the church, landing in the tall grass where her school bag was waiting for her. It was time for another unpredictable day, and the moment she walked into her form room, Kaori came bounding over, almost tripping over herself in the process.
Loading ...
