Tragedy ✔️

Chapter 15

I can't run from this anymore. Fate brought me here and for some reason, I am the only one who survived from 6x3, except Ms. Pudge. I can't let the king inflict fear any longer. Now that the living world is threatened by death, we have to come together and fight this war. I don't believe everyone who is here did wrong, but instead, they are being prevented to rest in peace. I will change that.

We appear in the town square, where a big, three story courthouse stands in the middle of the square. It is made of stone from the outside and it looks like something from the Middle Ages. Abandoned shops surround the building, and a road looping around the square with pot holes covers most of the road surface. You can tell vehicles don't transit in this area. Despite the sight of abandonment, people still roam the street, trying to clear their minds from the pain they live with. It's actually almost...peaceful.

"How will we get the entire town in one place?" I ask Ms. Pudge.

"Well," she says scratching her head, "Inside the court house, there was a siren used long ago during the war to alert everyone to meet in the town square."

"The war?" I ask, not remembering anyone telling me about any war from the past. I know Ms. Pudge tried to destroy the king, but by the tone she's telling me about this war, I have a feeling it was way before she arrived here.

"Yes, the Equilibrium War," she says, taking a deep breath. "Long ago, way before my time in this place, there was a war that broke out between light and darkness. The light tried to free the people from the darkness. They tried to merge this world with the light world to create peace and balance between good and evil, because there can never be just one."

I stare at Ms. Pudge, listening intently at this new piece of history I hadn't heard before.

"But the king couldn't let his kingdom, the place he considered his 'paradise' be conquered by his enemy," continues Ms. Pudge, "He made everyone in this world fight against the light even if it meant losing their freedom. Many people from here were in favor of the light merging both worlds, but that was treason, punishable by destroyment. It was either fight for darkness, or vanish from existence. After months of battle, the light world discovered that they had made a terrible mistake. Their plans to bring the darkness to the light was pointless and would ruin the balance of nature, causing the end of the universe if they had proceeded with their plan. The light was stronger and darkness was vanishing. That might sound like a good thing, but there's a thin line between darkness and light. They surrendered from war, and instead, they shut the gates to the light to bring balance to light and darkness. They would have to wait until both sides were stable to resume their plan."

"Wow," is the only thing I can say because I learn something new every day. The light let darkness win so darkness could get stronger. How does that make sense? Does this mean that this civil war we are about to begin is the continuation to the Equilibrium War?

"I know you're scared, Colin," she says, "But you are starting another war. Are you ready to fight?"

I lift my head up and put on a bold face. I am ready to fight for the light, even if the darkness fills my soul.

***

I walk toward the entrance of the court house and fling the doors open with my magic. Rust that has taken control over the years makes the doors creak. As we walk in, a musty aroma, kind of like an old library smell, fills my nose. I look around the big reception room where the only light that fills the room is from the open door. The old floorboards squeak and are rotting. The wallpaper on the walls is peeling off, revealing the moldy, wooden planks behind it. Papers are scattered all over the ground along with glass and other debris. It looks like a haunted house from a movie.