Chapter
3 – Reckless Charge Into Battle
“No one knows my sin. No one truly knows me,”
are words said over and over yet again in my head, but this time isn’t starting
to get different as my friends appear and tell me their sins.
“Careless.”
“Willfully ignorant.”
“Manipulation.”
“Headstrong, overly aggressive.”
“Despairing.”
“Murder and despair.”
“Too soft and harsh.”
“Coward.”
Huh? I’m seeing myself now?
“Why wouldn’t you? You add to the burden you
bear when you don’t do as the Sufferer wills. You may have grown strong over
these past few weeks, but you’re still the same weak boy who wants to pretend
that everything will be alright and to live happily for all your days.”
N-no, it’s not true. I know life is going to
be difficult from now on and I accept that. You don’t know what you’re talking
about!
“Oh, but I do know what I’m talking about.
I’ve been watching over you since you were born. I know every sin and weakness
within you though there is one person who knows it better than I do.”
“That would be me.”
I wake up in a cold sweat as I usually do,
however, the Light who is standing in front of me doesn’t fade with the rest of
my dream. Instead, he stands there as if he’s actually there. Meanwhile, I’m
unable to move a muscle and simply look at him as he smiles at me.
“If you continue to cause me trouble, you
won’t be the only one who suffers. Stop while you're ahead for the sake of
yourselves, your family, and your friends.” The Light walks backward into the corner
of my room and disappears completely. Was that part of my dream? I don’t think
so. It all feels too real. I close my eyes and get up sometime after trying not
to think about what just happened because I can’t help but believe it was all
real. When I meet my friends for today’s meeting, I tell them what happened.
“This is fine, great even. The Light
confronting you in the way he did tells us that we’re really starting to loosen
his control over the world.”
“From what I’ve heard, other groups like ours
have been gaining more recruits, successfully destroying indoctrination
centers, and waking people up to the reality of the world.”
“Key figures have either died or gone off the
grid in fear of the change that is happening. The fear of the Sufferer is
beginning to grow in the world once more.”
“The weeks you’ve been helping us out have
been our most fruitful. You truly are a gift to us, Adler.”
“An invaluable one that we wouldn’t know what
to do without.”
“Aw! Thanks, guys! Your words mean a lot to
me.”
“Alright, alright, enough with the
pleasantries. Adler, you know we can’t stop, so today’s schedule is already
set. Just pick our next target.”
Looking at the list of targets, I see my
school on it. “How about this school?”
“Understandable, given that it’s where you
and your other friends go. When that place is destroyed, they won’t be
influenced by its lies anymore.”
“There’s that and you won’t have to worry
about going to school to keep up appearances since this place is the only
school for miles that isn’t a college. Is everyone ready to go?” After saying a
prayer, we head out. During the walk, I start to feel more anxious than I
usually do, hoping that my friends left school a while ago. I don’t talk to or
hang out with them as much as I used to so I don’t know what they’re doing
right now. Part of me wants to text them to see where they are, but another is
scared that they’ll be at the school if I let it slip that’s where I’m going to
be, so I don’t do anything.
The school is like a town within the city
because of how many buildings it consists of such as libraries, dorms, gyms,
offices, and the many buildings dedicated to certain subjects. Our intel on
this place suggests that its servers are below it in a connected series of
tunnels. Despite that, we chose to stick together because the servers are
supposed to be heavily guarded. We head into the school libraries since this is
the place where the most direct entrance is supposed to be.
“Hello, can I help you with anything?” a
librarian says.
“No, we’re fine. Thank you.” My friends and I
pretend to be looking for books while heading towards the secret entrance. This
is finals season, so many people are researching their chosen career or
studying. We cover each other as we find the entrance and enter the code to
access it via the panel that looks like a normal wall.
Now, in the school's secret hallways and
stairways, we immediately transform since we know trouble is going to be here.
As we descend the stairs, we’re surprised at our first obstacle, the librarian
we saw earlier.
“Hello, again. The Light told me you might be
here. Nothing you’ve done has escaped his notice. Turn back now and embrace the
happiness he offers or your loved ones will suffer because of what you’ll be
reintroducing to the world.”
Morticia and I use our power on the librarian
and her head blows off her shoulders. “I didn’t mean to use so much power!”
“Then the rumors I’ve been hearing between
our allies are true. The more the Light’s influence slips from the world, the
more powerful we get as the Sufferer regains what was His.”
“That’s great not only because it makes this
easier, but also because the Light is going to do more than send people to tell
us to stop. Let’s get this done quickly.” We hardly make it any further into
the depths of the school until we encounter groups of guards. Eddie uses his
powers to influence them to fight each other while Jessica makes them think
they should because of their differences. At the same time, Angelo acts as our
shield against their gunfire with his large, shield-like arms, I make them feel
pain so their attacks on each other make them reel back, and Morticia adds the
finishing touches by allowing them to die from their wounds or her powers.
“There seem to be even more guards than I
expected. I see elite palace guards among them as well.”
“The Light is expecting us at this point so
expect things to get harder from here, but also let it comfort you in the fact
that the enemy knows we’re doing real damage to them. Nothing of what we’ve
done, even the smallest act, has been in vain, so keep pushing forward!”
The guards are no match for our combined
attack as we continue to push forward to our goal. Once we enter the server
room, we find more than guards in it. There are many maintenance workers, one
of whom I sort of recognize.
The person seems to be my homeroom teacher,
but part of his face is warped as he has another eye and mouth on both sides of
his face. “I’d thought you’d be here, but I didn’t want you to be, Adler.”
All the guards in the room are simply
pointing their guns and swords at us as we all stand still. “You recognize me
despite how different I look?”
“I do because of the Light, and how could I
not recognize the voice of a student I’ve had for over a hundred years?”
“What are you doing here?”
“I live here in the depths of the school.
After every day of work, I come down here with the other teachers to take care
of the servers. As for why I’m here right now, I’m here to stop you, not with
my presence, but with your friends.”
To my surprise, Charlie, Enzo, and Isla walk
out from behind the servers. “So, this is what you’ve been doing without us,
Adler. I’m surprised you didn’t invite us to share in the fun.”
“Be serious, Charlie. The Light told us
everything that you’ve been doing, Adler. It’s wrong, you should stop now, and
come back with us. All will be forgiven and you’ll have a place at your
brother’s side.”
“Enzo is right. Why would you reintroduce all
the nasty things the Light got rid of? Let’s get out of here and hang out on
the hill like we used to. Imagine all the things your brother will reward us
with if you do so. His favor will finally allow me to decide on a career
choice.”
Isla steps forward and says, “If you’re
worried about losing your girlfriend, then don’t worry. I’ll be your girlfriend
instead. Who wouldn’t want to be with the king’s brother? We’re also best
friends, so you should already trust and love me.”
I’m at an impasse. I know what the right
thing to do is, but I find myself unable to do it, so I pray for the Sufferer
to do it for me. What feels like shards of glass flow through my arms as a
black mist comes out of my hands and quickly fills the room. “Judgment,
Justice, Mercy,” I hear being said in my head.
Their sins ring even louder than usual in my
ears, and this time, I hear the Sufferer trying to get them to repent lest
they die and be damned forever. He uses different explanations for why they
should accept the truth, comforts them on personal issues, and has
conversations with all at once all the while talking as if He’s only talking to
them. Most don’t accept the truth. Because of this, the black mist tears them
apart and turns their body to ash. Those who do accept Him still suffer mild to
serious damage as parts of their body are now ashy black or missing entirely. During
this entire ordeal, I hear the judgments of each soul. I pity those who are
damned while being relieved at each soul saved, however, I am shocked when I hear
my friends are damned and feel more frozen in place, not knowing what to do
than before.
“Our…our job is done here. Let’s hurry!”
Shaking off the shock of what happened, I see that the black mist has destroyed
the servers in this room along with most of the walls, ceiling, and floor. “The
rest of you better follow us if you want to live!” Eddie yells as the ceiling
starts to fall on top of us.
Again praying for help, the black mist comes
out of my hands again, this time creating a shield around my friends, myself,
and those who accepted the Sufferer. The mist disintegrates the debris that blocks
our path and the ceiling as the entire building starts crumbling down.
Eventually, we manage to get out safe and sound and lose no one in the process.
“Everyone…look at this,” Jessica says while pointing
at the destruction behind us. Behind us, we see a hole in the ground that
stretches out for miles. The entire school and every building associated with
it has fallen into the void below where I can hardly see the debris of the
place I went to almost every day of my life.
“We should get out of here. Trouble will
probably be here soon.”
“You’re right,” Eddie says and then turns to
the people who accepted the Sufferer. “Come with us. The authorities will know
you accepted the Sufferer and may do unspeakable things to you to break your
newfound faith.” The people who were saved agree and come along with this. As
we make our way back to the alley, the black mist around us disperses through
the city, causing panic, and judging souls.
“Adler…”
“I know. I can’t stop the black mist from
coming out of my hands.”
“This is unlike anything I’ve ever heard of
happening.”
“The Sufferer is starting to become more aggressive
in taking back what is His.”
“It’s amazing as far as I’m concerned.”
“I guess. I don’t know. So many souls damned,
so few saved.”
Morticia grabs my hands and holds it tightly.
I thank her for the support and hope for the best for all souls in union with
the Sufferer who I can also feel hold my hand and whose pains and concerns I share.
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