[You have found the Krvavi Lagoon!]
[Krvavi Lagoon is a claimed Domain!]
[You have entered the Domain of Giggles the Nuckelavee!]
[You are under the effect of [Comicality]]
[You are under the effect of [Absurdism]]
[Epithet Skill [Gatekeeper] has mitigated harmful effects from entering the Domain without the Owner’s permission]
With each passing day, [Gatekeeper] proved to be as useful as [Duality]. I did not know what abilities the creature before me possessed, but I knew, had it not been for [Gatekeeper], I would have been reduced to the same level Onna was, laughing and laughing without rhyme or reason, desperate to find an end to her laughter.
“You do not laugh.”
Giggles voice echoed across the Lagoon. There was a soft, almost grandfatherly appeal to the voice. It was aged. Aged but sharp.
“You didn’t tell me a joke.”
Giggles right hand rose, stroking down his long, bearded chin. “That is true.” He said. “It has been too long, since one came and did not laugh. This one has forgotten.”
“Forgotten?”
“Forgotten how some have plugged their ears.”
Onna’s rasping laugh continued, as she clung to my feet, eyes wide and open as if begging me to make it stop.
“Can you make her stop laughing?”
Giggles shook his head. “One cannot stop a person from laughing at a joke any more than they can hold back the tide of a river with a stone.”
“If she keeps laughing like that, she’s going to die.”
Giggles countenance softened. “It always hurts this one’s heart to witness the suffering of a maiden. This one does indeed have a way to stop the laughter.”
Giggles right hand extended forward. “[Catharsis].”
Onna stopped laughing. She stopped breathing. I searched, quickly, and noticed that her name no longer appeared above her head.
“You… killed her.”
“It is better, for those who cannot withstand the joke, to be deprived of it.”
With a word… did he kill her with a single word? I found my thoughts racing, my confusion growing. I would have to end this timeline, but I needed to learn what Giggles’ power was, what his weakness was before I did so.
“Tell me, humorless one. What is your name?”
I kept silent at first. “Janus.”
Giggles nodded serenely. “A beautiful name. A sad name. Your Night One must have been hurting, to grant you a name meant to ward off betrayal.”
“How would you know that?”
“Look around, humorless one, and see.”
The Lagoon was serene. The water, clear to the bottom, with ne’er a fish in sight. There were no other living things present beside myself and Giggles, the odd black horned-centaur.
“I don’t see anything.”
“You do not look.”
My patience with the situation was wearing thin. “You’re off your rocker, aren’t you?”
“You do not see? You do not hear? Tell me, humorless one, how do you live without understanding the joke?”
“What joke?”
“You,” Giggles pointed. “I,” Giggles pointed at himself. “This,” he gestured to the Lagoon. “All part of the grand comedy.”
“Right,” I said, dryly. “Whatever. I don’t suppose you’re willing to just tell me what your weakness is and then over this domain peacefully?”
“Tell me, humorless one, why do you seek my domain?”
“There’s food on the other side. Resources. Tactical advantages.”
“The villagers of Krvavi Village are mine to protect, humorless one.”
“A nightmare protecting villagers? Sorry if I find that hard to believe.”
Giggles cantered across the Lagoon surface, hands behind his back. “Once a year, humorless one, they offer to this one their most beautiful and their most brave. Female and male, I take. For decades so it has been. The people have come to worship this one. They revere this one as their guardian. The joke, it is so painful, humorless one. Alas, guardian, this one is called, and so, guardian this one shall be.”
Skill [Water Striding] has gained a Level.
“Funny indeed,” I said. “Unfortunately I’m here to take that village for myself. So that makes us enemies.”
Giggles nodded sagely. “A shame, humorless one. This one shall indulge you with some honesty. This one does not care, for guardianship. This one does not care, for their male or female, young or old, cattle or crop.”
“You don’t?”
“No, humorless one.”
My brows furrowed. “So why do you protect the village?”
“This one does not care. Yet, this one shall still uphold the duty. Because it is what this one is expected to do.”
“I don’t understand.”
Giggles pointed to the sky. “That is the joke, humorless one. Thy purpose, from creation till cessation is already determined. A nightmare must be as a nightmare is to be. This one must kill, despite wishing only to live. This one must take, despite having no need. This one must destroy, despite a desire to create.”
“That’s the way it is,” I said shrugging. “But there’s nothing that says that’s how it always has to be.”
“Ah, humorless one, that is the grandest joke this one has heard in a long time.”
“Thank you. I wasn’t even trying.”
Giggles shook his head. “Humorless one, you must understand that one cannot change their essence. A nightmare shall be as a nightmare is meant to be. Even you, humorless one, are moving as you are ordained to move. This one can tell, the hunger that resonates within you. You desire to sink your teeth into Alamirian and livestock alike, feast on flesh, dine on blood. With one part of your soul, you desire peace. With the other, you happily welcome war.”
“That –” I blinked. “That’s true. You’re not completely crazy after all.”
“Your desire for peace will only succeed if man and dwarf change their essence. If they do not do as men do and judge by the appearance than the soul. It will only succeed if nightmares do not do as nightmares do, and restrain from pillaging, devouring and conquering. Neither of those two things can happen, humorless one… yet, this one
