A Fatal Game 11 - Closure

Story by Z-JAM-C on SoFurry

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#11 of Chronicles of FinalGamer 17 - A Fatal Game

And so a chapter of the life of James Campbell comes to a close at last. With one demon of his now slain, his guilt now put to rest, the FinalGamer is now ready to take on the next world with full determination. What peace and adventure shall he find in another land far from here?

But what other plans lie ahead for him from these mysterious spirits? Only time shall tell.

Fatal Frame copyrighted to Tecmo, "The Ancient Demon" and "the Spirits of the Pact" to Namco, FinalGamer to me


The cave was almost pitch-black, the walls barely outlining their corners. James noticing many twists and turns throughout the place, as if it were one giant maze. Even the small white lights, wispy flames floating in the darkness, could barely illuminate the walls around him. One little light after another he passed, all in straight rows along every single possible pathway. Bringing out the camera device, he turned it on to find it immediately indicate towards the white lights themselves with the lit-up d-pad. But only faintly. Lost souls, weak and unaware of their existence, the raptor wondered what they used to be. He kept his device out for the demon, trying to keep the indicator going as it sensed the area around him. Silence reigned throughout the cavern. Not even his feet made a single sound on the cold hard floor. But there was one sound that soon came to him. A rumbling continuous sound from far away, like that of thunder. But this was somehow different. Instead of the rolling tremble of thunderclouds approaching, this was more like the sound of a deep grinding motion. Something crushing against another, over and over again in a certain rhythm. James' heart started to race, trying to control his fear. James tried to remember what the Red Arremer said, to not let the demon inside him control him. He knew he could die, he knew he was trapped unless he could defeat this thing. If this was a certainty, then he had nothing to lose. He did not want to build a suicidal streak, and he knew that recklessness would be his undoing as many others had reminded him. But he had faced terrible things before. This was just another beast to slay. That's what he kept telling himself.

The sounds came closer, and the camera started to flicker with a rising intensity towards the direction of the noise. James couldn't even see the ceiling of the cavern, and he had to wonder just how truly large was this demon of old. He would soon receive his answer when he saw something loom from one corner, swallowing one of the little white souls with a mighty crunch as if it were a pill. Fear ran deep into his soul like a waterfall underground, daring to make him lose his senses with its twisted appearance. An enormous spherical creature, faded into a paling colour with a gaping maw of twisted broken teeth, like a bare snowy forest after a hurricane. Its once perfectly round shape was now chipped and scraped across every part. Its eyes were that of a hunter's eyes, staring from above its enormous mouth, which stretched out to 1/5 of its entire body size. Only hatred remained within. The raptor bravely stood his ground, keeping an eye on the creature who merely stared down upon its new prey. A mortal. The lost souls shivered around James. Even they understood fear from what little they could remember. But the raptor was fighting against his own, shaking powerfully before he steeled his nerve and spoke with a strong voice, trying to summon the will of a hero into himself. "H-heh...hhheheh....y-you don't scare me. Heh, w-what are you, you look like a shark fucked a puffer fish." The demon clamped its jaws hard upon another little soul, the white light disappearing into its eternal gullet, rows of vile crooked teeth slathering with a flat scarred tongue inbetween. The creature hissed with the last breaths of a thousand corpses, the scent of grave dirt coming from its breath. James felt the cold musty air hit his nostrils, shivering to nearly retch as he brought out his camera. Holding it in both hands, he knew the moment he attacked, this monster was going to hunt him down relentlessly. And it knew this maze better than he did. "Ready?" He said this to both him and the beast, as it waited with a curious glare upon the intruder. He focused the device hard onto its eyes, which curled back slightly in an arc along the top of its ball-shaped body, above the mouth. Then he pressed the shutter.

A satanic earth-shattering roar came from the beast as it felt an intense agony run through its very form, shivering with a pain it had never experienced before. James did not stick around, running down the halls to find a good place to charge and await another attack. He ran towards the north, reaching down a long corridor of white hopeless souls who remained still with fear, until he hit the wall, both east and west leading to corners. He saw the creature come towards him from a distance, devouring soul by soul with hateful relish. He waited until it had come to a nearby junction right in front of him before taking the shot, flashing for the eyes and making it screech with unholy fury, forcing it to turn and hide to recover. He could hear its deepening gullet consume more souls, crushing them somehow into nothingness as the sounds slowly came from the west. It was trying to sneak up on him in a corner, soon coming up around the wall to chomp its way towards him. James readied himself to fire, but it was too close to aim properly and he forcefully dodged and ran south. It chased after him without fail, heading back along the path James had come from, but this time he swiftly ran into a seemingly empty hallway to the east, quickly reappearing in an identical hallway with souls once more. He could hear the creature try to find him, coming from the northeast and slowly devour all in its path. James was ready this time, facing directly north and charging up the camera so it was ready for a full-power shot. Then he could hear the creature stop. Ceasing its vile consumption, it started to make a different path towards him. Now he panicked.

All he had were four directions, two of which where the noise came from. The northern path was full of souls, the east seemingly absent and splitting into slightly twisting tunnels. He looked back and forth between them, hearing it further come from the east, yet slightly fading away as if the beast had run away. This confused and terrified James all the more, underestimating the true intelligence of this avaricious demon spirit. He turned east fully, seeing only a few twists and turns of pitch-black walls. Nothing came, and still he could hear it coming, grinding its teeth over and over again with a slathering vile hunger. Then he heard it right next to him. He turned just in time to see it come right up behind him from the south. He screamed and fell back, flashing the camera off to make a poorly aligned shot that barely fazed the beast as it beared down upon him. James was close enough to another passage to not be trapped in the single hallway, rolling quickly towards the east as he dodged through the twisting passage, exiting towards the north. Running far back to the northeast area of the maze, with fewer souls around it than before, James tried to regain his courage while hiding in a corner, shivering as he braced himself for another confrontation, charging up his device. I can't be scared. I can't, I can't afford to let this demon out of me now, not like this. You better stay the fuck inside or else both of us are DEAD. Jesus am I even HURTING him?! What the hell is he?! What did he USED to be?!! The raptor noticed something near the corner, directly south of his position. Along a small row of white spirits, was a single larger soul of a pale pinkish colour, pale and whispering strange words to him that he could not understand. Even if he could, they were far too faded for him to comprehend. But this was a more powerful soul certainly, even he could feel the strength radiating from the shapeless form. He had no idea what to say, especially when the demon found him sooner than he thought.

Charging towards him from the west, James turned and fired a camera shot straight at the monster, making it roar and shiver with agony. The raptor smiled at realising that he was certainly dealing damage, running past the large peach-coloured spirit to make his escape. But much to his horror, the beast gained a whole new level of terror to impose upon him. When the demon reached the whispering strong spirit, James could hear the forlorn screams of a dying warrior emanate from it as it was soon devoured into the infinite maw. As it digested the strong wandering soul, the creature hissed with a tremendous power surging through it, its very form twisting slightly in flecks of spiritual energy all across its spherical form. Its eyes twisted and warped, its mouth swirling violently like a black hole, the very death of stars and moons emanating from the immense power it suddenly obtained. The demon now had a face like a river of sorrow, a single gestating mouth with eyes slowly dripping into wispy traces. James panicked and fired another shot he had charged up during this, but much to his horror, it did not even register the pain. Even when it had been aimed directly at its now-warped eyes.

Fear made him run. Panic made him fall when he heard its newfound roar. It was the roar of the boogeyman, the roar of the monster in the children's closet, the very roar that every child has imagined hearing when they slept a dreamless night. James could feel his inner child scream and cry, puncturing his heart with his fear and collapsing from carelessness. He wanted to move, yet he was too afraid to even breathe. He begged to disappear, wishing everything to just disappear, the child inside of him screaming to wake up in his bed, somewhere far away. But he did not wake up. He felt his fear rise to the very climax of heart-pounding agony. He could feel his eyes shudder with each crunch of the crooked demon teeth that were coming closer, the newly-energised beast ready to consume its mortal prey. James expected there and then to just black out, and submit to the demon inside him. But then he felt something even stranger. Where he would have normally felt his head turn light before suddenly blacking out before awakening to a vile murder before him, nothing came. Nothing happened. A shiver ran deeper inside of him than the ones in his heart. Why was the demon not clawing out of his body to take over and devour the spirits around him? He felt another sort of shiver instead. And then he realised.

The demon inside him was afraid of the creature hunting him. It had to be, there was no other reason for James to feel such deep shudders that both begged to be released yet also restrained themselves intensely. Was it afraid? Or was it biding its time? Did it want its soul for itself, but not enough to fight another monster? Either way, this fact alone only terrified the raptor all the more. And then he turned. The monster bore down upon him, opening eternal darkness before James. He shielded himself pathetically, covering his face as he cowered. The jaws came down upon him. He was dead. Surely he was. He could feel his soul being raked at by the teeth of an evil phantom from centuries past. It was a pain not unlike the knight he had once faced, the one who had cut his soul, wounding him deeper than he could ever have imagined. But this time it was brief, and a thousand times more agonising. A single shriek was all James could say. But the demon passed through him. His world slowed down as he felt the sensation of near-death upon him. A strange painless transcendent feeling, as if one were floating upon stormclouds, tense with the burning sting of danger marred by the weightlessness upon your feet. He heard something shatter in the silence of the maze, deep within his body. Was it his soul? Was this what it felt like for his spirit to be devoured?

No.

He could feel something else. The feeling of his heart being restarted, by a force beyond that of his own body. He felt himself leap up and push forwards into a sprinting run before he turned. The monster had realised something was wrong. That it had not been given sustenance from its prey. They both stared each other down. In the middle of the hall between them, were glass shards. James would have understood where they came from, were he not so focused on facing his most dangerous foe yet. He saw the twisting face slowly revert back to its original form, eyes blinking back into their hollow rage, mouth untwisting back to a single hollow abyss. James stood with device in hand. He had no words for it now. He made sure it would die this time. Even though it had revitalised itself temporarily with a warrior's soul, the Pact beast was wearing down, weakening from the exorcismal wounds upon its flesh of spirit. With a charge it came for him, launching its fangs with horrendous gnashing scrapes that stabbed James' ears with their sharp piercing sounds. But he stood firm, knowing he was given a second chance, somehow. He knew he had to make this count. He charged his shot. The camera clicked. The jaws came down a few feet before him. It pulled back with jaws open once more, screeching a violent howl of pain and fury. This one was somehow stronger than before, either that or it was reaching the end of its power. James was not running away anymore, his second wind returning as he stepped back towards the junction, letting it come for him with a sluggish pace.

He fired his camera once more, blasting it in the eyes, another roar of unending anguish coming from the demon soul. The white spirits nearby dotted out in a line all seemed to quiver with joy at their oppressor's nearing defeat. James felt as if one final shot was going to end it all. But to his surprise, the demon surged forwards, forcing him to step back, chomping down on the white spirits in his path much to the raptor's distress. It wasn't trying to eat more souls however, but rather it was aiming for something else, when it suddenly turned towards the north at a junction, reaching the northwest of the map. Then James saw it, just as he was pushed back against the far wall. The soul of another warrior, glowing stronger than its spiritual brethren. And he could feel the creature of the Pact slowly approaching it. James stood before the strengthened soul, charging up his device for the final shot. It came from around the corner, its shadow swallowed into the darkness of the maze. All James could do was rely on his hearing. The teeth came into view. A jagged V-shape cut into a circle. Its eyes soon followed. Then came the flash. The moment that final scream came to James' ears, he almost imagined it was coming to him from a deathly hallucination, the final wishes of a soul just before its devastating failure. But not here. The creature started to shudder and convulse all over its body, crying out with a warped anguished cry of despair and blind rage. Its mouth suddenly turned wider, howls of fury that rang in his ears and forced him to his knees as his eyes blurred from such power.

The mouth stretched even further back, both underneath and above its shape, pulling back with curled lipless teeth that spasmed and twitched like monstrous claws until they snapped halfway from their soulless roots. The infinite soul-devouring maw looked as if it were trying to devour itself, swallowing the whole body backwards as its scream turned even louder, to the point that James' hearing went out. The world turned silent around him. All he could see was a writhing agonising demon consuming its own form in violent anger and pain. Soon it disappeared, like the snake who had eaten its own tail, fading away into a tiny speck of dust. A few minutes passed. James' hearing soon returned the moment his senses realised. He had survived. The demon had been slain. There came no victory cry, no childish whoops, no arrogant struts. All that came from the FinalGamer...was relief. He fell back against the wall, breathing out the heaviest sigh he had breathed in a long time. He slumped onto the cave floor, clutching his knees close and shaking with both disbelief and exhilaration. I...I did it. I...I killed an ancient demon. I managed to do it, I didn't die! I survived, I SURVIVED!

He soon broke into tears, but only briefly, just to release the tension and fear that had been building up inside of him for the past while. His soul felt renewed, his spirit strengthened perhaps literally. When he felt he had managed to recover and accept his victory, he stood up cautiously, passing the remaining souls by without a word, and looking for the way out. "Uh...guys? I...um...I uh...I beat him?" Even he wasn't sure he had. The entire end to the battle still felt like the last two seconds of a dream before waking up. "How do I get outta here?" As if answering him directly, a light shone from the very center of the maze. Walking halfway along the hall until he stood at the direct north, he turned south, and saw the door. It was the same as the one that he had entered, shining softly with a welcoming light from the rectangular wall it was placed in. James wasted no time in approaching it, quickly opening it up and passing through. The maze disappeared behind him, into a darkening abyss of black and blue. The four spirits of the Pact appeared before him, as he stood upon the baptismal path. His eyes were slightly unfocused, listless, as if he hadn't realised what had just transpired. Our faith in you was well-paced. Truly the watcher was right about you James Campbell. "Yeah...I...I guess so. ...but...I...I should have died." What do you mean? "I...he bit me. Like, he devoured me, somehow at one part when he got real angry and charged up with some kind of unholy power and...I should have died. Wh-why didn't I die?!" We do not know. No spirit has ever managed to resist the creature's maw and survive from its bite. Perhaps there is something about you that can allow you to survive such. "No no that can't be it. ...huh?" He felt something sift inside of his satchel when he shook in denial. Gently opening it, he found something had been broken inside. The small hand mirror he had obtained from his own "ghost". A question sparked in his mind. "OH, yeah, I got something to ask you! Who the hell stole my reflection?! And why was there this ghost that looked exactly like me running around?!" A ghost...like you? "Yeah, like me!" ...this is unusual. May we examine the mirror? "Uh sure."

Handing it over, the shadows gently lifted the broken mirror into the folds of their aura, examining every inch of it with scrutiny. Soon they sparked a little with bright colours of realisation. This is...a stone mirror? How did you find this?! "My ghost dropped it after I defeated him with the camera, no idea why he had it but the moment I had that mirror, my reflection came back. ...WAIT, now I remember, that monster in the maze broke my mirror when it...wh-when it...got me." We understand now. "Huh?" This is a relic from the owners of this mansion. The mirror has been crafted from a sanctified glass that can resist the powers of vengeful spirits. It is the same glass that the lens of the researcher's device is made of, which we believe can harness and focus the power of the mirror glass greatly. At first James wanted to argue on this, but then he remembered the strange words his ghost had left for him. Words that he should have expected to be of violent vengeance, but instead now seemed to be that of pleading. "Save...mirror...protect me? ...wait..." He was trying to give me that mirror to protect me? ...but why? He still attacked me and everything with that evil voice. Is something wrong? The spirits' question broke James from his brief thoughts "Uh n-nothing I...just thinking about..." We expected you to be more than pleased at having survived and defeated such ancient evil. "B-BUT...I...I...I think it hasn't sunk in yet. I've...I've faced a lot of weird things. A lot of them...but...that thing had such an...an aura around it that it terrified me. And I was so scared I just dropped down and waited to let it kill me! Then I got a second chance, because of this mirror, somehow! I shouldn't have lived...but someone...believed in me. Even the demon inside me didn't try to protect my soul for itself." Your fears of inadequacy are unfounded, regardless of how you faced the demon. What matters is that you defeated it well and truly. You are truly a hero, and we are forever in your debt. "Heh...forever in my debt...yeah." He smiled softly at hearing such a phrase, gently clasping a hand round his pendant. Despite his struggle to accept what had transpired, the spirits asked him still: We are ready to fulfil our reward to you. "H-huh?" To find your dearly departed, to end your pain at last. Do you still wish for us to find her? "...yes. ...I...I need to ask her something." Very well. Please wait for us.

The spirits faded away, and James was soon left alone upon the baptismal path. The red pillars still emanated an uneasy feeling within him, as if he were treading upon holy ground and at least one spirit was going to take great offence to his being there. Minutes passed into hours, as James turned over the thoughts churning in his mind. Was I really destined to come here? To kill that...thing? Who the hell is this watcher they were talking about? How does he know who I am?! ...why did Firebrand send me here? ...maybe I should go back to his world and ask him, if I can. But those shadow guys didn't know who he was! ...what am I doing here? He sat down in the dirt of the path, and sighed as he waited. Soon he felt a presence. She is here. James quickly stood up with panic, shaking with surprise. "S-s-she...r-really?! ...You do mean-" Yes. She too is a lost soul, searching for peace. Perhaps meeting you will resolve both your issues to move on. "She...she can't move on either?" We will let her explain...as best as she can. Unfortunately she cannot speak, the trauma of her death having weakened her spirit so after wandering for so long. But she is here for you. "Alright...let me see her." Preparing himself for the strangest and what he knew would be the most heartbreaking reunion of his entire life, James stood before the spirits as they summoned the one he spoke for. A strange light came before him, one he had seen somewhere from before, far away in his memory. It was a comforting light, yet also one that saddened him. It tugged at his heart strings yet also made him warm within it. Emerging from the light, was the head of one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever met. The last time he saw it, it had been violated and rended in two by the horrors of Silent Hill. But now he knew. This was her. It truly was her spirit. "D-...D-Daisy..."

The spectral form of his former lover hovered before him serenely, still wearing her picturesque patchwork dress just as she remembered it. Her neck was still bruised with the marks of her death. Her eyes no longer shone, but were as black as night and empty of life. He couldn't even make the gesture to hug, knowing it would not only be pointless, but also that her cold embrace would hurt his heart to do so. "You're really...oh god...n-no...n-n-no you...is it really you?" The spirit nodded softly with a small smile. Use this time wisely. She is weak, but she is here for you. James took a moment to console himself. He wanted to start with something more friendly, something perhaps more flippant. Maybe even just a simple greeting. But his confidence was shattered. He couldn't even try to be such. He had but a few questions to ask her. He felt ashamed to bring her soul back to him just to ask her only such, to not even have a conversation. But he needed to ask. "Can I ask you...something? J-just...one or two things? I need to know. I've been...I've...hhhh...I've struggled with this for so long, I need to know this, I need you to tell me even after all these years." She could only nod as he asked his question. "You...know what I did, to the one who killed you, right?" Daisy nodded once again, solemnly, the raptor gulping with nervous guilt. "I...I can't move on Daisy. I keep thinking about you, all the times we had even if it was only a year. I tried to move on, even after Silent Hill made me realise my guilt and all the times I lied to myself, but it's only made me feel worse! ...and I can't help but blame myself for what happened to you. I know that...th-that I...couldn't save you."

She came closer towards him and pressed a cold ethereal paw to his snout. She still smelt like freshly dug earth, which made him shiver in a nostalgic pang. "Do...do you...condone what I did?" She thought for a moment, then shook her head. Her face looked so saddened, so shameful at even thinking of what he did. And that was when he truly realised it. He knew her already well enough, that she would have never approved of his vengeance. Despite his last bit of denial staying since Silent Hill, Daisy herself broke it down, and in effect, broke him down into tears as he kneeled before her, weeping bitterly for forgiveness. He was already mentally exhausted from his previous battle, and it became an effort for him to speak. "I'm sorry...I-I'm so sorry, I'm sorry Daisy! I know it was wrong, I didn't even do it for you, I did it for myself! It was all about me! I did it to make sure nobody screwed with me ever again I..." He balled his claws into fists to restrain himself as his voice choked up tight. "I...n-never met anyone like you before! I LOVED YOU! But then someone took that from me, I had to make him pay, not for you, but for me! I needed balance, I needed to leave no business unfinished! I...I'm sorry Daisy! I MURDERED BOB! I MURDERED HIM IN YOUR NAME! I'm a monster, A FUCKING MONSTER!" At that point he wept profusely, not caring about how he looked before the spirits. Daisy attempted to hug him, trying to gesture such. She was so cold, like trying to embrace the sea breeze. James wept into her transparent arms, pouring his guilt unto himself all the more. "I'm a monster...I'm just a...s-stupid violent punk. D-doesn't matter what I did, what I've done up to now, I should have...I should have thought about what you wanted me to do. And now there's a monster inside me for real. It wasn't there when I killed Bob...but there's one now. I'm...I'm scared of what it'll do to me." He looked up towards his former lover and tried to clasp her cheeks, staring into her hollow eyes. "Daisy! Please, lemme make amends! Please let me move on! I'll move on with my life, I'll be a great person, a hero even! I'll do anything, ANYTHING to redeem myself if you just let me move on!" In response to this, she tried to speak, but nothing came. Trying to think of how she could communicate, the spirit tried to summon dust to flow around her body, slowly forming them into small mounds underneath her. She used what little power she had to bend down and draw them out before him with her finger, to soon read out:

NEVER ABOUT ME

James did not understand. His tears hiccuped with slight confusion. "I...I said before it wasn't about you, Daisy...w-what do you mean by that?" She shook her head and pressed a finger to his heart, her expression solemn as she bowed with reverence. "You mean...I...no I don't-what do you mean?" She means, began the red shadow, that she was never the one stopping you from moving on. You were. First by refusing to admit your guilt, then by refusing to find a way to make amends by trying to justifying your actions. "Oh...I...u-um...I guess I..." The raptor sighed, knowing that this was true. It had been so obvious before, but all of what had happened to him in the past weeks alone had taken a toll upon his mind. But then came the one question he had truly wanted answered, after digging a little deeper into his mind. "Daisy...l-lemme me ask you this, before you go. Just one last thing. Do you...blame me...for what happened to you?" The question had always been something in his mind since he had been in Silent Hill, when he began realising about the town's affecting on his sins. The spirit shook her head slowly, softly clearing the dust beneath her to leave behind a single word.

NEVER

It was as if the heavens had opened above him. His doubt started to trickle out of his mind like water through a sieve. The raptor sniffed deeply with a rising joy, a smile resounding upon his face as he cried: "Th-th-thank you...oh thank you Daisy! Thank you so much! I...I-I'll...let you go now. I'll do everything I can to be better, just for you! ...NO WAIT, I mean...I'll be a hero BECAUSE of you, I'll move on with my life, cuz' you know what I am? I'm the FinalGamer! I'm gonna be a legend! A LEGEND one day! I'll be a hero! I'll make sure nobody feels my kind of pain ever again! Not when I can help it! I might not get to be a knight or anything like that, but I can totally be a hero! I can help people! R-right?!" He tried to grab her arms, softly to not pass his hands through her, his eyes gazing into hers with a renewed sense of cheer. A weight had finally been lifted off his shoulders, feeling as if he were the happy youth he had once been when he first settled in to Crossville, before everything changed once again. Daisy in return hugged him as tight as she could. The coldness of her spirit rested against his heart, soothing his mental wounds wonderfully. The smell of fresh earth returned to him once more, as he choked back a few more tears. Soon they parted, the raptor finally sated with himself. "Alright...you have to go?" Daisy nodded and smiled sweetly, blinking her hollow eyes. "Hehehe...um...thank you. For everything. I'll...will you...be watching over me?" She nodded once more, but then reconsidered and turned her hands upwards in a half-shrug. The spirits translated this. She will try to watch over you, but in this state she still remains weak, and she will find it difficult to keep up with you. "Heh, alright then, you can go and rest. Really I...I'll be okay."

The canine bent down slightly and leaned forwards with arms crossed, teasing him with a quizzical look. "I-i swear! On D-...on my mother's grave I swear...I'm not gonna use your name anymore like that. ...dunno if my mum would approve either. But I'll be fine now. I'm better now." With that resolution, Daisy was happy, and her own spirit felt uplifted with a sense of peace at last. Even James could feel it coming from her. She smiled and held her hands tightly to her chest, gently mouthing three little words to him. He smiled, and said in return. "Thank you too...Daisy. Goodbye." And so she disappeared, returning to the ether of the afterlife and beyond, forever fading from his view. The bright light slowly began to widen before him, larger and brighter than he suspected it to be. He felt his eyes suddenly become engorged with light, whimpering from the discomfort as he felt himself turn weightless. The raptor swore he could hear someone's voice, whispering something. "James...wake up." His eye blinked open. Dirt laid all around him, with the roots of a forest among fresh grass beyond. Cold earth smoothly pressed against his chest and cheek. James raised his head, looking all around him. "Wh...where am I now?" Looking behind, he found himself outside the front door of Himuro Mansion. A smile came to him immediately at the sight of the silent white pagoda, glad to finally see the front of it and to be fully outside of its influence. As he stood up to his full height, he felt something fall out of his clenched hand. "H-huh?" It appeared to be a small item wrapped tightly in paper. Gently opening to not damage the paper, he found that it was a note, reading it before looking properly at his gift.

_As a gift to you, we offer you a gateway To a world of peace and simplicity Look at your gift, see what it is Eat it if you wish, but focus on it alone

May you fare well in your travels James Campbell_

"Hmm...well...thanks guys," he said to the mansion, "but...why would you give me a mushroom?" It wasn't even a particularly healthy mushroom either, rather small and chubby, a baby shroom plucked off of its group. It had red polka dot colours all over its white fluffy cap, the smell of which was faintly sweet. He did enjoy mushrooms however, and promptly ate it in one bite. "Mmmmm...MMMMMM! Tasty! Hah, well that was pretty good, thanks again guy-...wait...mushroom?" His eyes widened slowly as he focused on the word and felt the pulling sensation return to him. This one was quite strong, the kind of tug he only got when a word immediately linked to something in his mind, without even needing to focus too hard. He had a good feeling about this one, at least since this one came recommended to him as a gift. His last cheerful words outside the mansion barely echoed throughout the dark woods, as a bright blue light sparked across the trees nearby. "Look out world! FG's coming atcha!"

But all was not over concerning FG and the new inhabitants of the Himuro Mansion. When they would depart in turn, with their duty now complete, remained unknown. But they conferred amongst themselves deep within the manor for one last time. The four spirits would concur. Does he truly know his destiny? His arrogance will take time to transform into determination. Hopefully not too long, the watcher's plans must continue as smoothly as possible. Were we right to send him to a world so carefree? I believe so. The four spirits were also joined by a fifth colour, a purple wisp that wavered beside them. If what the watcher says is true, then he may become our only hope. And if he is not? Then he will find another. But soon I shall meet him again, hopefully when I have evolved into a better form to assist him. Very well. You may inform the watcher that we have completed our part. And my part shall come soon...when the FinalGamer steps into my world.