The Year Of Rain

Valley. Part 2. Mistakes of the past, consequences of the present

"What do you mean by that?" James asked, giving voice to the question on everyone's minds.

Slender didn't respond right away, continuing to stare at the sight outside, a world covered in sparkling white as the light of day filled the ether.

"World War II." he said after a long pause that felt like forever. Time was of essence, but some things cannot be rushed no matter what. "Have you ever heard of the Lifeseed?"

Everyone shook their head. It didn't surprise him. It was a pretty old legend after all.

"The Lifeseed is the heart of the Valley. Only one exists at a time and is replaced every 1000 years, and it feeds the entire Valley, keeping it alive and maintaining its balance. As you can imagine, its power is enormous since it has to last for so long. Legends said that the Susurians used its energy in order to never grow hungry so that they would never have to hunt and risk enraging the gods. Quite interesting if I say so myself." Slender commented, nearly losing himself in his thoughts. "But I digress." he quickly added, returning to the situation at hand. "As it is expected in such situations, some of the Susurians were corrupted by the Lifeseed's power, but fortunately, they were stopped before anything too bad could happen. However, because of that, the gods and giants decided to seal the Valley and erased it from the memories of men, leaving only whispers behind. But that didn't last. The thing is, those gods died and with them, the Valley wasn't protected anymore. Thankfully though, it was hard to access which did offer it some security but not nearly as much as it needed. During World War II, an American scientist found the Valley and with it the Lifeseed, and a new one at that, in its full power."

"And what did they do with it? From what I know, nothing of supernatural origin had been used during the war. I mean weapons, and the like. I'm fully aware that among the soldiers there were supernatural creatures as well and they contributed a lot, but I imagine that if someone had gotten their hands on such a powerful artifact then..." James said, recalling everything he knew about the World War II.

"Indeed. Fortunately, nothing came of it, or at least so it seems. The project was closed to the public and not even the highest powers in the Government knew about it apart from a selected very few who sponsored the whole thing. They sought to create a weapon, one so dangerous that it could rival the atomic bomb, even destroy it. But their plans were foiled when someone from the inside betrayed them along with their own foolishness." Slender said, looking out the window once more, back turned to all of you. "'The gods of the Valley might have died, but their offspring, the daemons, live on, protecting it just like their forebears intended. When the Lifeseed was taken and defiled, they were driven insane and turned into monsters. It provided them with food and power, and when it was taken, they were left to wither and starve which in turn made them into cannibals, devouring each other and anything else that had any bit of life apart from plants. The power of the Lifeseed wasn't enough for the scientists and they planned to use the daemons' life force too. They tried to lure them into a trap, but unfortunately for them, the daemons had become too wild to be stopped and were wiped out in a matter of seconds."

"That sounds great. They gave those assholes what they deserved!" Jeff chimed in, getting up from his sat on the floor and punching the air.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple." Slender said, a black tentacle reaching out from his back and grabbing the adult, putting him back in his place. "Since the scientists were dead, there was no one there to return the Lifeseed to its rightful place and thus, the creatures had been left to starve though I must admit, not as bad as before. Imagine however, how they would react if they found humans."

"They would eat them." Jane said so low, almost a whisper.

"Indeed. I found myself in the Valley once. While humans are unable to find it easily, for us creatures it's another story. Monsters which had been born there yet left, still share a connection with it, their lifeforce tied to that place, a connection that can be passed down through blood for all eternity. Even I barely made it out of there alive and would have probably died if it weren't for a doctor that I met during my travels. I own him a great deal for that. " Slenderman said, ready to end his story.