Chapter Text
The move to Castle Town was sudden, but not unwelcome. It seemed like everyone was in desperate need of a change in scenery.
And the two Jokers were delighted with the new sights.
Seam held Jevil in their arms as they explored their new location. The town seemed so empty, despite the new residents that have moved in. Once they had scoped out the area, the next step was to set up shop.
Or, rather, set up ‘seap’.
That’s where the Lightners found the two of them. In a shop made of rags, and filled with odds and ends.
“Heh heh heh. Welcome, travellers.”
“Uee hee hee! Visitors, visitors!”
Of course, there was nothing new for sale. The duo had just got there!
So the heroes decided to talk.
“So we are here now, in a new world. And right off the heels of defeating this clown...Incredible.”
“And it only took you twenty eight tries! Nu-hah! Such daring! Such tenacity! Such unadulterated stupidity! What a wonderful game of numbers we played!”
“...Oh. What’s that? It seems like he left you something. That’s right...You must not have noticed it. That Crystal...It’s nearly invisible, but you’ve been holding it this entire time. Here, I’ll take it off your hands and appraise it.”
The human offered the crystal. As Seam inspected it, Jevil panicked and hid behind them.
“Incredible! To think he had a Shadow Crystal...Shadow Crystals, so called because you can only see their shadow.”
The plush felt Jevil shaking against them...Perhaps he did not simply forget to take it with him...Perhaps he left it behind on purpose...
“Call it a premonition, but I get the feeling you may find more of these...If you continue to defeat stronger adversaries like this little hooligan, that is. If you can gather more Shadow Crystals, bring them here! I’m sure I can stitch together something incredible for you...”
Once the Shadow Crystal was put away, Jevil came back out of hiding. He didn’t seem perturbed about the mention of the shard. Rather, just the sight of it.
The heroes wanted to keep talking.
“Don’t have anything better to do.”
“We’ve got time in spades, clubs, hearts, AND diamonds!”
The human was intrigued about Jevil’s statement about the ‘Queen’.
“I can do anything! Even see your future! Indeed, indeed, the Queen returns! Seam, do you remember that city, city? The lovely lights and smiles and laughter!”
“And the scams.”
“NU-HAH! You would know!”
“...The last time we were there, you nearly lost control of your Foresight...Thank everything that we had already done our last performance before that happened...Do you think the little one ever took your advice?”
“...No...I know he didn’t...Temptation was too sweet for the sleaze. The money too easy to squeeze. Now he’s seen what I sees.”
“...What a shame.”
The human asked about the next Shadow Crystal’s location.
“Uee hee hee! I shall see your future, future!”
“Jevil’s predictions are never wrong. Whether you act on his advice for it is up to you.”
“...I see it, I see it! One man’s trash is another man’s wares! Buy something, will you, human?”
“...Is that all you’re going to tell them, you silly little man?”
“UEE HEE HEE HEE! Where’s the fun in giving it all away?! That’s the fun of the game!”
“...Well there you have it.”
Moving on from the topic of Shadow Crystals, the heroes asked how Jevil was feeling.
“How thoughtful, thoughtful of you to ask! I’ve been recovering slowly. Such a bore! But Seam refuses to let me play out there!”
“You gave yourself a bum leg from your own impatience, you cretin.”
“Mad, mad! I’m going absolutely mad! Oh, Lightners! Won’t you take me and do your strongest? I’ve become much sturdier since we last met!”
“You’re not going, Jevil. That’s final.”
“...Oh! Then take this!”
Jevil offered the trio his tail.
“Oh. Are you sure they will need that? You’ve been relying on that tail for balance.”
“It’s only fair, fair! They won our numbers game! They should be rewarded for their stubborn efforts! After all...They tried twenty eight times!”
The heroes had enough chatting, and bid the duo farewell.
“See you again. Or not.”
“Farewell, farewell, prisoners!”
Seam set down their companion on the soft little cat bed in front of the fireplace. The little imp curled up around himself. The sight was strange without his tail.
“...Jevil...May I ask you something uncomfortable?”
“Uee?”
“...Why were you so afraid of the Shadow Crystal?”
“...Seam...If you were promised the truth, and only given one layer...Would you not feel cheated, cheated? A looking glass it may be, but it shows less than what I see...”
“That strange someone...What did they tell you?”
Jevil sat up on his knees and looked at the cat with pure black eyes. They were as wide as he could get them, and his usual grin was gone.
...He looked so haunted and afraid.
“That stranger covered my eyes...And had shown me true darkness...A darkness that drove me mad trying to find again...I was shown the truth of this world. The Light World is merely a surface level look into how meaningless we are...”
“And the Shadow Crystal? What about it makes you so afraid? You used to be fearless to the point of stupidity.”
“...A bitter reminder, reminder...A reminder of the lengths I went to achieve true darkness again...And the lengths I took to win this cruel game.”
The plush remembered the day Jevil had finally snapped. It had been building for some time. The imp had begged and pleaded for help in the confines of their shared room. He had wanted to forget. He wanted someone else to understand.
And one day, he wanted to prove that he still had control.
His logic was that if life was a game, he could do whatever he wanted. But, he wasn’t the one the game was for. Therefore, his actions didn’t matter. So he went on a rampage. No one was safe from the Devilsknife. But it wasn’t enough to attack the commonfolk, no.
He needed to go after someone important.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, that someone ended up being Seam. Someone that could actually put up a fight. Someone that could match him. Someone that could stop him.
...They wondered if that was Jevil’s true goal for going after them...
‘JUST ONE, JUST ONE! I’M IN CONTROL! NOTHING MATTERS! IT’S ALL A GAME! JUST ONE IMPORTANT DEATH, AND I SHALL SET EVERYONE FREE! SO DIE! DIE! YOUR DEATH IS THE KEY, THE KEY!’
In the end, Seam had lost an eye. And saw something in the darkness that came with it...They weren’t sure what it was, but they know they saw it. Whatever it was that Jevil had seen.
They understood how the jester could go so insane.
“...I see...Well, you don’t have to worry about winning now. New players are here to do that.”
“Indeed! A new chaos has risen! Things are new! Things are changing! Are you not excited, Seam?”
“...Perhaps I am, after all...Or not.”