章 14: A Forced Pact With The Devil
Jared's lips curled into a sly grin as he posed a question to the Gastly. "Say, since this isn't your dream, what happens if you die in it, Gastly?" However, the shadow remained silent, leading Jared to wonder if it had lost the ability to respond. Not wanting the shadow to completely disappear, he eased up on the brightness of the light, granting it a momentary reprieve.
Although Jared waited patiently for a response, the stubborn shadow persisted in it's defiance.
Getting annoyed now, Jared once again asked. "Become my pokemon," then he tempted, "and you can once again possess that shadow and eat me every night. How's that sound?"
The shadow spoke up, its confusion evident in its words. "You... why... pain... you...?" it asked.
Jared's shook his head, "That's where you are wrong, Gastly," he said firmly, "Yes, it might hurt in the short run, but want to know something I truly fear?"
The shadow remained silent, so Jared took it as a cue to continue. "It's forgetting," he stated simply.
Lifting his lantern high, Jared once more regarded the flame with fondness. It was as if it were the most precious treasure in the mans eyes, "It looks fragile, doesn't it?" he mused. "Like a little gust of wind could put it out forever." After a moment of admiring the flickering flame, Jared went on, "My greatest fear is one day forgetting my purpose. It's one day taking it for granted, growing complacent, forgiving myself, allowing it to snuff out, never to burn again."
As if he had suddenly remembered the shadow's presence, Jared turned and gave a menacing smile, "But enough about me," he said.
The shadow felt threatened by the man's piercing stare and his strangely fanatical tone, "So, Gastly, you feed on nightmares for sustenance don't you? Am I right? You need us humans to live, right?" The mans words felt like an attack, and the little shadow felt mocked... but also helpless.
Finally, it croaked, "...so...?"
Jared continued, adding onto the shadow's words, "So... I submit an exchange. I will keep giving you nightmares, and you will fight alongside me."
But the shadow mocked, seemingly taking revenge for Jared's previous words, "Fool... Nightmares... end... end..." it repeated.
Jared shook his head, "That's where you're wrong."
"...Wrong?" the shadow questioned, confused.
Jared nodded thoughtfully, his eyes glimmering in the flickering light. "That's right, I'm a little different," he began, his voice low and measured. "Some may even call me cursed in a way." He paused, considering his next words, "When I was a child, I once watched a horror movie," Jared scratched his chin, realizing the shadow might not understand, "So, what's a horror movie you might ask... well, you could say it's a kind of... play. Humans watch them to entertain themselves."
The shadow pulse thoughtfully, but Jared couldn't be sure whether it was considering his words or something else entirely. He pressed on. "Anyways, every single night without fail, I would relive the horrors I saw in that 'play'. Not just that, but whenever I experience something traumatic, I would always dream of it. Without fail, I always become tormented by it for a long time."
He waited for a moment, watching the shadow. When it remained silent, Jared continued explaining. "So... what I'm getting at is, you don't have to worry. Even if this nightmare one day ends, won't I just have to relive a few more horrors to dream again?"
The man turned back to the lantern, bending down to get a better look at the little flame, "However, this dream in particular, you could say it's special for me. For some reason, I feel..." Jared paused, feeling the word wasn't right. It wasn't just a feeling, he knew it for certain. "You see this here?" he continued, gesturing towards the flickering lantern. "As long as I never forget why it burns and for whom it burns, then when I close my eyes, I know that I'll always be able to find it. Perhaps this place is my own true home now, a place only for me."
With a sudden intensity, Jared pointed a finger at the shadow. "But since you've trampled upon this sanctuary of mine without my permission... well, you will either join me or we will both discover what happens when you burn until nothing remains."
The little shadow remained stubborn. "Join... die..."
Jared fixed his ruthless gaze on the shadow but he still hesitated, "You're going to die if you join me?" he asked, his voice low and threatening, "Why?"
"Traitors... eaten... nothing... left..." it replied, almost in a whisper.
But Jared was undeterred, "Be that as it may, I'm willing to take that risk. Without you, I have no path forward. You could say I won't let you go even if you die, so join me and risk it, or die here," he said firmly.
The human began to look like a devil in the shadows eyes, but perhaps the devil could be tricked, "We... Agree..."
But the man was not so easily fooled, "Then vow it. I know you Pokemon are bound by vows. Vow to serve me forever or die."
The shadow twisted and turned in discomfort, but seeing no way out, it could only give in to this demon wearing human skin, "We... we... vow... serve... forever..."
As soon as the vow was made, small pieces began detaching from the shadow and entering the lantern, as if they were drawn by something. With interest, Jared watched the little filaments of darkness enter his lantern, increasing the intensity of the flame.
"Curious," Jared muttered to himself.
As Jared turned around, he quickly realized that the mass of shadow was no longer affected by the light whatsoever.
"Since you are no longer burning, then it looks like you kept your promise," Jared said, observing the shadow with some relief.
To his surprise, Jared then noticed that the dream was beginning to bubble, as if it were breaking apart. The world around him began to shake and tremble, as if a great force was trying to tear it apart. "It looks like this dream is almost over" He muttered.
As the shadow spoke, Jared couldn't help but notice a difference in the way the shadow talked. It was as if the weight that had previously hung over the shadow's voice was gone, replaced by a newfound smoothness.
"Traitors, eaten, gone, forever. Traitor. now. now. WE" the shadow repeated.
Jared was taken aback by the shadow's statement. "What do you mean by that? Are you a traitor? Will you be eaten by something?" he asked, trying to make sense of the shadow's words.
But instead of answering, the shadow posed a question of its own. "We are?"
Jared paused to consider the shadow's question. "You're a Gastly, right?" he ventured.
The shadow fell silent, seeming to ponder something for a long moment. Finally, it spoke again. "Emotion, Shadow, Gastly, Haunter, Gengar, Mote of Greater Shadow. All. All," it said with certainness.
Jared furrowed his brow in frustration, finding it difficult to communicate with the elusive shadow. He exerted considerable effort to decipher the meaning behind its words. Jared attributed this difficulty to an old saying he knew from Earth: "If a lion could talk, we could never truly understand it." Lions experienced the world differently from humans, with vastly different points of reference. In Gastly's case, Jared realized it would be even more challenging to comprehend, considering that ghosts didn't eat, could pass through physical matter, and likely existed as intangible smoke or some other ethereal substance for their entire lives. Their way of life was a world apart from his own.
Hoping to gain some clarity, Jared probed further, "So, you're saying you're a Gastly, a Haunter, a Gengar, and a mote of greater shadow?"
Before the little shadow could reply, the dream finally disintegrated, causing Jared to open his eyes.
Momentarily confused, clarity soon returned to Jared's eyes. He leapt up and searched the room with anxious eyes, desperately hoping that his experience had been real and not just a wishful delusion. "Gastly, where are you?" he called out, his voice filled with urgency. "Where are you? You made a promise, didn't you?"
Jared suddenly felt a gentle tug, almost like a tiny strand of hair was trying to gain his attention, causing him to stop in his tracks and look around in wonder. It was like an invisible force was pulling him towards something, trying to show him the way. However, the feeling was conflicting, as if it was trying to point to several corners of the room at once. Perhaps it had been there since his awakening, but in his panic he didn't didn't notice.
Suddenly, and without warning, the shadows beneath the creaky floorboards of his home began to seep out, spreading across the room. It was a remarkable sight, and Jared couldn't help but gasp in amazement. It was as if the darkness of the night had grown lonely and decided to visit him despite the morning sun wishing it away.
Gradually, the writhing shadows coalesced until they took on the form of a fanged ball of living smoke, right before Jared's very eyes. It was easily recognizable to anyone who saw. It was most certainly a Gastly!
Speechless, Jared simply gazed into the creature's two enormous white eyes, noticing that he could even see through the living smoke thanks to the morning light.
Then, he heard a voice that seemed to emanate from nowhere in particular: "aaastllyy gaasttt"
Was Gastly addressing him?!
Slowly, Jared's mouth turned into a wide gaping smile. He couldn't believe it - it wasn't just his imagination or a wishful dream!
As he clenched his fists, he clearly felt his heart pounding a million miles a minute.
"You're real, you're actually ****ing real!" he gasped.
Gastly emitted a series of indecipherable noises. Confused, Jared pressed on, "Can you understand me?" Gastly remained motionless for a few moments before Jared sensed a glimmer of recognition in the creature's eyes. But then he realized it was probably just his imagination.
Jared couldn't help but keep his gaze fixed on Gastly, fearful that the creature might vanish at any moment. His mind was a whirlwind of questions, "Why was I so certain that Gastly could understand me in the dream? And why did I say all that back there about that lantern, just what is it exactly? and was that even my usual way of talking?"
Pondering over his concerns, his frown deepening as he turned to Gastly's floating figure. In his dream, Gastly had mentioned being labelled as a traitor, but Jared had no idea what that could mean. Would Gastly's own kind come to attack him? But it was all just speculation until Gastly provided more information. Unfortunately, Jared was unable to understand Gastly's garbled speech, and he was left with no choice but to wait for another dream where Gastly could communicate with him more clearly.
Jared nodded to himself, finding comfort in the thought that Gastly would come to him again in another dream. He needed to know what threat he was facing, but at least things weren't at their worst yet. After all, it usually took at least three days for a Gastly to disappear, and up to two weeks.
Still despite the future danger, Jared couldn't help but feel a sense of joy and relief wash over him as he looked up at the mass of gas, grinning from ear to ear. "No matter what happens in the future, we're in it together!" he declared with determination.
As Gastly floated there, uncomprehendingly, Jared felt a twinge of embarrassment and cleared his throat. "Don't worry if you can't understand me. I'll tell you again tonight," he reassured the ghostly Pokemon.
Frowning at the language barrier, Jared decided to try something different. "Gastly, hypnosis?" he ordered, hoping that the Pokemon would understand.
To his delight, Gastly's eyes widened slightly, indicating that he had likely understood his words. However, Jared suddenly felt an overwhelming wave of drowsiness wash over him. He remembered feeling this way before! Raising an accusing finger, Jared questioned, "Gastly... you..." But before he could lay blame on who he knew to be responsible, he collapsed back onto his mattress and fell into a deep, sound sleep, snoring loudly.
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