A violent awakening, an unforgiven fate, a dark world...
Summary[]
Arthur and John wake up in the Dark World, a horrifying place filled with gruesome dangers and twisted monsters. They escape from a tower, meet a Wratcatcher, enter No Man’s Land, and find a few familiar faces before continuing their journey.
Synopsis[]
Arthur and John wake in the Dark World, buried alive in a coffin. They break free and spot the man who buried them. Together, they decide to kill him. Arthur beats the man to death and severs his head with a shovel.
Afterwards, Arthur and John argue with peculiar intensity about what’s going on. It’s revealed that they have nothing on them, not even their clothes, and John directs them to look in the coffin. There, they discover their lighter. Upon lighting it, they come out of their supernaturally-induced anger. Arthur, sickened at murdering the man, vomits as John expresses remorse.
John also points out a long white scar on his left arm, which neither recall Arthur having before. After discussing their purpose here (prevent Kayne from destroying reality) and noting the headstone does not bear their name, they proceed up a tower. The tower is filled with hanging corpses and wall hooks. According to John, buildings in the Dark World aren’t built but simply come into being.
At the top of the tower, they look around at the Dark World, draped in perpetual twilight with no celestial bodies. Nearby is a mountain range. The tower itself is covered in thorny roots. Though hesitant, they decide to scale down the side of the tower. Needing both his hands, Arthur carries the lighter in his mouth.
On the tower, they find an iron pin with rope (later discovered to be human hair) attached to it. Arthur climbs down, injuring himself heavily on the horns, and reach the end of it. When Arthur discovers a human scalp, he cries out and drops the lighter in panic.
From there, they descend using the vines. They hear a bell in the distance and find that there are centipede-like creatures between the vines. It attacks them, causing Arthur to fall.
They seek the lighter from the ground – a being has found it and continually flicks it. They move to attack, but before they can do so, another person enters. He wears an elongated mask, dresses in black, and wields a large metal pole and iron canister. The masked man beats the lighter-holding man to death. Amidst the commotion, Arthur retrieves the lighter and flees. The masked man pursues.
While Arthur runs, other naked men appear and run on all fours as they are pursued. The masked man kills several. Eventually, Arthur flees into a cave and discovers one of the naked men there. The masked man follows Arthur inside and sprays them both with a foul-smelling liquid. It doesn’t harm Arthur, but melts the flesh of the naked man. A strange rat-like creature emerges from the corpse, lunges at Arthur, and is killed by the masked man.
He and the masked man start to converse. The masked man is brusque, asking Arthur what he is (if not a Wrat), and Arthur expresses his desire to leave. Eventually, the masked man introduces himself as a Wratcatcher. He notes that the wheezing men kept Arthur in the tower – that they would have kept him safe by keeping him dead.
The bell rings again. Though the Wratcatcher hears something, he does not hear a bell and points its source to a different location than Arthur hears. Arthur and John decide to follow where the Wratcatcher points.
Leaving the ratcatcher behind, they pass through a stone-spike-laden tunnel in a mountain range. Ultimately, they come through the range and find a No Man’s Land reminiscent of World War I. Huge spindly creatures with lanterns for head roam the fields. The bell rings from the other side.
John notices the ground is covered in faces of the fallen. All of them speak at once: crying, begging, pleading, mumbling. They can pick out one: Kellin singing ‘Plastic Jesus’. They seek him out. Though initially unaware, Kellin eventually recognizes them. He regrets killing his sister to try and take her gift from her. He expresses a lifelong desire to feel special, a grief that Arthur was chosen to have his sister’s power instead, and notes that Arthur made him feel special by choosing his truck. He warns Arthur that “he will put you in the ground, too” but is buried alive before he can elaborate.
While distracted, a lantern creature approaches. John warns Arthur to stay perfectly still. He sees tortured souls within the lantern, but Arthur’s skin is badly charred by the strength of its light.
The bell rings again, distracting the creature, and Arthur flees. He falls into a trench. After untangling himself from barbed wire, they experience a moment of relative quiet. Arthur expresses curiosity as to why John is holding secret his previous experiences in the Dark World, after all they have done. Just as John is about to tell him, they are interrupted by a gunshot. A soldier approaches, causing Arthur and John to flee into a bunker.
They ambush the soldier and pulls away his gas mask, revealing red eyes. Arthur goes for his trench knife, but stops and follows John’s plan to shine the lighter in his eyes. This breaks the soldier out of his bloodlust. John was not sure this would work. However, he recognized the soldier as Marie’s son: Frederick Pilon, who died in WWI.[1]
Arthur and Frederick talk, with Arthur explaining his connection to Frederick’s mother. Frederick realizes he died during the war and ask after his mother’s well-being. He also helps them by showing them the way out of No Man’s Land and providing clothes and a gas mask.
However, he refuses to go with them, citing that he must help his soldiers. He cannot leave the war. He explains that the men he’s killed outside No Man’s Land have been infected with rot. Though he doubts the efficacy of the gas mask, it is all he can offer. He also warns about the Dollmaker, who takes “unique and interesting” pieces from people – such as the scratch Arthur has on his arm.
Frederick and the boys part ways. He asks that Arthur tell Marie that Frederick loves her and owes her everything. He also reminds Arthur to write her. Arthur agrees, and Frederick wishes them godspeed.
Votes[]
- Chapter 261: Scale Down The Outside [300] / Search For A Door [151]
- Chapter 262: Take Back The Lighter By Force [262] / Risk Losing The Lighter [240]
- Chapter 263: Follow The Man's Direction [253] / Attempt to Follow The Sound [212]
- Chapter 264: Stay Still [347] / Run [54]
- Chapter 265: No vote.
