Chapter 42: THE MASTER OF THE GUILD.
[CONGRATULATIONS!]
- You completed an anomaly quest.
[THE SEASIDE MALL WILL NOW REVERT BACK]
Reverting in progress...
A low static hum rattled the floor. Johnquis felt it deep in his bones, the anomaly’s heartbeat dying as the dream peeled away.
The ground floor, once spotless marble and fancy restaurants— cracked apart. The polished counters glitched, flickered, then rotted in a second. Menus and neon signs turned to static before dripping off the walls like wet paint. The Queen’s nest shriveled, roots snapping back into the ground like veins cut open. Half-formed Eaters melted to sludge, soaking into the broken tile.
The second floor bled next, mannequins in glass displays fell apart, silk dresses dissolving to rags. Shelves sagged under mold, toys crumbled to stuffing and dust. The bright carousel flickered, painted horses rotting to fiberglass shells, the music box popping out one last dying note before going silent.
Upstairs, the food court rotted to burned stalls and rusted fryers. Burger mascots sagged, menus spit out error codes, the smell turned from fresh-cooked to centuries-old grease and mildew. Tables splintered, benches warped. The fake summer sky on the top floor cracked wide open — the indoor pool turned black, umbrellas collapsed, the casino’s neon signs fizzed out. Slot machines jammed, poker tables fell to pieces, chips dissolved into piles of wet rot.
[REVERTING... COMPLETE.]
Back on the first floor, Johnquis glanced around the ruin — a dead mall, 300 years old again, all lies stripped bare. He wiped Queen’s sludge from his jaw and smiled at Dancer, who stood drenched, blade still glinting.
"Well... there goes her summer dream."