Water

This was pleasant. 

There has been a pen in the first room on the second floor that's been lying there all game. It always annoyed me, though I don't know why. It's a weapon of wisdom, so use the Ark of Wisdom on it. The pen will disappear! There's also been a blank painting in the secondary figurine room all game. And suddenly it has a drawing on it? Hmm...

Anyway, this is the World of Darkness. Battles are random and only occur when entering doors. That's not important. This world is filled with puzzles. Some brain teasers, some memory, some multi room processes. None are particularly difficult, but they're pretty fun. Or maybe I'm just glad they're different? Most puzzles have a hint on the north wall to make things obvious. Good thing, too, because there's rarely any clear direction. There's even an optional one with a boss. The rewards are more than solid, so I'm glad I did some grinding last night. If, for no other reason than because you can't return to the World of Darkness. 

But there is some plot here if you go looking for it. All the clues are written in first person, but they start to get more and more deranged as you progress. There are also notes scattered throughout that sound like something Jack from The Shining would write. There are diary entries from someone who roamed these halls before us. He was down here for so long that he lost his mind. The last one tells us they were written by someone who now calls himself Darkness. Darkness is also the name two of the end world bosses spoke of...

In fact, it gets unsettling at the end. Felys hears steps approaching her as she picks up the Ark of Water. We've been all along this entire time, save for the occasional fight. Then suddenly she isn't... Before the door opens, she returns to the church, but a new voice talks to her. It's Darkness. He tells Felys that he grew up in that church. That he's walked where she's walked. He's sought out the Arks. He promises they'll meet soon. Speaking to the Goddess has her frantically telling Felys to gather the Arks. There's one more to get, and we'll get that...

... tomorrow!

A nice short story tonight. It's welcome, even though tomorrow's is gonna be another long one. It got me curious about who Darkness is. Does he have a reason for being evil? Is he evil? Is this the Goddess' fault, and can I follow in his footstepes?