From the Gallows | Wilbur Soot

Act Five: The Dinner

That night would go down in history as being one of the worst catastrophes L'manberg had ever faced.

Those affected by the acidic rain were studied and brought in for tests as those in the medical field did everything they could to try and help them. The variable that remained unknown for a long time was why the rain only affected some and not others.

Inferna had remembered from an environmental science lesson with Technoblade that acidic rain isn't harmful to humans, but only to plants and aquatic animals.

Inferna kept this in mind as she visited the affected citizens who crowded the hospitals. She noticed that every single affected citizen was part or full mermaid, fish, turtle, or other aquatic animal, which went hand in hand with what she'd learned from Technoblade. Though it was still sad for those affected, the good thing was that this meant the acid rain didn't affect most citizens. The chaos that night had made it seem like more people were affected than there actually were.

Inferna couldn't help but feel an all-consuming guilt on her father's behalf for what he'd done. She didn't know exactly how he'd caused the rain, but there was no doubt in her mind that he did. Because of this guilt, Inferna felt obligated to help in any way she could at the hospitals for the following few weeks after that night.

It's just another night Inferna isn't on duty at the castle, so, like usual, she's decided to spend it helping at the hospital once again.

"Is there anything I can get for you? Water? Food?" With no experience in medicine or anything of the sort, all Inferna can do for the hospitals is help the patients with their basic needs.

The shark hybrid thinks for a moment. "Sanity."

Inferna gives the man a quizzical look, taking a seat on his bedside chair.

Burn scars run down his entire body. It looks like when you cry and the tears wipe away your makeup in streaks, except there is no makeup, it's the pigment of his skin that goes away in streaks. The only part of him that clues to his being a shark hybrid is the small fin that pokes through his shirt in the back, and the pair of gills across the right side of his neck. The man's hair is a black and indigo balayage, though it isn't a long cut. He's extremely handsome, that much is certain.

The man takes a deep breath, shutting his eyes for a second. Once he finally collects himself, he speaks again. "Promise not to judge?" Inferna nods, not having the slightest clue as to what he's going to say. "Everyone who I mentioned this to has told me that I was just seeing things. That I was delusional," he continues. "You know the bad man in the sky? The god of the other realm out there? Nightmare?" The man shudders as he speaks the name.

Inferna sits up a bit straighter. She hasn't yet run into an instance where she had to talk about her father here in L'manberg. She knows that everyone is terrified of him. Even Philza. But when people get scared, they go silent. Everyone seems to be too scared to even talk about him.

"I know I'm being foolish," says the man. "I probably was just seeing things. But I swear, that night I saw his face light up the sky. His symbol."

This is the first time Inferna has heard someone mention what she'd seen that night. To be fair, her father's face did only flash in the sky for a split second, so it makes sense that most people didn't see it, or were playing it off as a mind trick.

"You think I'm crazy too, don't you?" The man sighs.

Inferna shakes her head. "No. I saw it too."

The man's face lights up slightly at that. "I knew it! I knew I wasn't crazy! God, that menacing smile will forever bring me nightmares. No pun intended." The man starts to laugh, though it's a bit hysterical. A manic laugh. A terrified laugh.