Chapter Text
“For the last time, my answer is no!” I said to the purple lizard and fluffy goat that was right in-front of me. Susie, the purple lizard gave out a loud groan as she grabbed her face while Ralsei, the fluffy goat boy next to her sighed. The two of them had been at this the past couple of hours, pestering me nonstop. Kris meanwhile, had thankfully trailed behind the two of them, giving enough space between me and them while still being nearby. Even with the small seeds of friendship having been planted between the two of us, I was grateful they weren't bugging me like Susie was right now.
“Argh! Come on dude! Just tell us already! You know that we won’t leave you alone until you spill!” Susie said as removed her hands from her face and clenched them. “S-susie’s right Liam! Please, if you could tell us more about your weap-” Ralsei began to say, right before I cut him off. “How many times must I repeat this! The answer is no!” I said, exasperation evident in my voice. I had thought that this visit to Castletown would’ve been more peaceful, like checking out all the darkners, maybe a practice battle or two, asking Malius to reinforce my weapons, and perhaps even swap out my artifacts.
It was evidently that last part that had set off the barrage of questions from Susie and Ralsei. From Seam’s shop, to Ralsei’s practice dummy, to even the Tophat Bakery where I was hoping to get some darkner made sweets. I liked Ralsei, hell even Susie and Kris were growing on me, but I wasn’t sure if I should divulge these secrets to them. Each artifact that I had stored within the save point was special to me as they were mementos from each of the worlds that I’d visited. Seeing Susie and Ralsei’s crestfallen expressions, made me pause for a moment.
Would it truly be safe for me to share with them? Would I even be allowed to begin with? At the thought of being restricted like that, I couldn’t help but feel a wave of anger towards the mysterious voice that only showed whenever I died. If they were going to be the one to stop me, they’ll be in for a rude awakening… “Alright alright… I’ll tell you guys.” I said in a defeated voice as I ran my hands through my hair. Even having an actual body for the past couple of days, it still felt odd to control one.
Upon hearing my words both Susie and Ralsei smiled with joy as Kris suddenly looked more interested. I couldn’t help but let out a small smile at seeing my new friend’s reactions. Hell, I didn’t even mind Susie slugging me in the shoulder as she gave out her signature smile, the one that always seemed to light up the place she was in. “Hehe, calm down you two. Come on, let’s head to Tophat’s Bakery and I’ll tell you guys the story.” I said to the three of them as I began to make my way over to the famous darkner bakery.
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As the four of us entered the bakery, I called out to Tophat who was placing a freshly made spin-cake on a pedestal. “Hey Top! Can I get 4 Hearts Donuts please!” I called out to the chef as all four of us sat down at the only table. “Coming right uppa!” Tophat said in his accent, disappearing right behind the counter before emerging again with 4 Hearts Donuts on his arms. Spinning over to us from the counter, he gently laid the donuts down in-front of us before disappearing again to cook up more pastries.
As we all began to eat our sweets, Susie began to speak after licking her lips. Apparently she’d wasted no time in eating her donut if it meant learning something about me. “Okay Liam, spill it already!” she said with excitement in her voice as she leaned on the table with one of her arms. “I’m curious as well. Those scythes are quite peculiar…” Kris said suddenly, eyeing the weapons that had first appeared with me when this whole adventure started.
I let out a sigh as I lowered my donut back to my plate. The audacity of these people. Couldn’t even let me enjoy my donut before I began to speak. I kid of course, but damn that donut was tasty. “So you three want to hear a story ehh?” I said as I leaned back in my chair, looking up at the ceiling. “Uhm… Yes Liam! We’re all curious about the way you use those bulky scythes!” Ralsei said as he began to lick his lips. He apparently enjoyed that donut a lot more than he let on.
Giving one final sigh before clasping my hands on the table, I looked each member of the Fun Gang in the eye before I began to speak. “Alright then. You want to hear this story? Don’t blame me if you change your mind…” I said rather ominously, right before I began to actually speak. “A little context first before I begin though… You know how humans like me and Kris need a soul in order to live?’ I asked Ralsei and Susie as I brought out my half of the soul. At the mention of the soul, the split piece in Kris emerged as well, floating in-front of them before disappearing back into their body once more.
“Of course. Granted while I was startled to see the soul split between you both, you both seem to be doing just fine.” Ralsei said as he adjusted his glasses. He was staring with intent at my piece of the red soul, right before it disappeared back into my body. “Well, you also know how both me and Kris use the red soul in order to do certain actions, like dodging in combat or utilizing a healing item right?” I asked the three of them as they nodded. It looked that I had Kris’s full undivided attention as I continued to talk. I suppose whenever the soul was brought up it always caused Kris to look more alert and curious.
“Okay then. How do I… fuck this is more difficult then I thought” I said as I held a finger to my face. This was proving to be a lot tougher than I thought it would be. “Okay, it’s like what you explained Ralsei, when you were teaching me to fight. The soul is the culmination of one’s being. Now imagine that entire condensed being was forced into someone, overwriting their mind and body to fit that… lack of a better word “parasite”.” I said, with a little more venom and exaggeration on the word parasite. At the end of the day, that’s what I truly believed I was. Even though I took fate in my hands and broke free for a bit, it still felt like I truly didn’t belong in this world.
Kris, who had been listening the entire time, looked alarmed at the explanation that I’d given. If my memory was served correct, they had mentioned how it wasn’t supposed to end up the way it did between me and them. They were supposed to be my actual vessel, not my homemade one that I’d spent time making. It was at this point that Susie spoke up, confusion in her voice. “So… what you’re saying is… If someone’s will was forcefully inserted into someone, they would be–” she was going to finish but Ralsei interrupted her, finishing her sentence. “They would be a vessel for the soul’s will, wouldn’t they?” Ralsei with an increasingly concerned look like Kris.
“Right. Me however… it didn’t work like that exactly. My will and soul was inserted into an assortment of different people, and yet each time I couldn’t do anything. It was like… like I was an unknown passenger in someone’s body that could only watch.” I said, trying my best to explain the situation. Hearing this from me, both Kris and Ralsei’s eyes widened even further while Susie just looked on with confusion. “Wait, you're saying you couldn’t control people but instead only watch them? Th-that doesn’t make sense whatsoever!” Kris said as their eyes widened, finally understanding what I’ve been through.
“So… You were a prisoner without a vessel and with one then?” Susie asked after thinking for a bit. It was hard to see what sort of expression she had, thanks to her bangs covering her eyes. “That’s right Susie… This is actually the first time I had a body to call my own.” I said to her as I gestured my entire body. That was when Ralsei decided to join back into the conversation. Apparently he’d been thinking about what I’ve been saying as he immediately made a connection.
“Those scythes then… they belonged to one of the bodies you possessed right?” Ralsei asked as he looked over the side of the table to gaze at my weapons. “Yup… These scythes here are nothing more than a replica of his weapons.” I said to Ralsei as he turned to his spot. “Wait a minute, those are replicas! They look amazing dude!” Susie said with excitement as she realized we were now at the point about my weapons. I gave a small chuckle over seeing her excitement as I brought both my weapons out to lay them on the table.
“Yup, just replicas these two. They’re actually special to me cause they remind me of my first adventure I ever went on. While I couldn’t control the vessel I was in, I could still see and feel everything that happened.” I said as Kris picked up one of the scythes. No doubt they were remembering the first clash between me and them, along with how I easily dented their shield. “If these are replicas, then who gave you these then?” Kris asked as they gently set the weapon back down on the table.
At the mention of their question, a rather melancholic smile appeared on my face. “He was a special type of man you see. He had a gruff personality but was also empathetic to those around him. Always helping others out even when he realistically didn’t have the time for. Heh, he was also very sarcastic as well. There were many things he said that stuck out to me.” I explained with a smile on my face as the rest of the gang smiled as well. “It sounds like they were wonderful to be around!” Ralsei said as I let out a bark of laughter.
“Wonderful eh? Hehe, then you should’ve seen him in combat whenever he used these. He was like an acrobatic, dancing around the field of battle and dodging every single strike and attack aimed at his way. I hope that one day I can reach the level of mastery that he has with scythes.” I said as I explained the way he moved in battle. From the looks of it, Susie was also enamored by the way I spoke of him as she stood up from the table with both of her palms resting on it.
“Dude, he sounds amazing! What was his name, you gotta tell us!” Susie explained as Kris and Ralsei leaned in as well, wonder and curiosity etched on their faces. Leaning back in my chair, I gave them a wicked smile as I thought back to all the names he had. “Hehe, he had a lot of different names that both friend and foe called him. Some called him Kinslayer… Others called him Executioner… Me thought? I knew him simply as Death.”