Doom Shrooms are better known as Mood Shrooms because of how they influence the mood of whoever consumes them. The only reason they’re called Doom Shrooms in the first place is because the first person who figured out how to process them felt like it was the apocalypse after consuming them, like it was their doomsday. That person thought everyone would experience the same feeling of impending doom they did after consuming the ash and thus Doom Shrooms were named as such. However, Doom Shrooms amplify all sorts of subconscious emotions and not just feelings of imminent demise.

After first consuming Doom Shroom ash, the users would experience a gradual increase in sensitivity towards their surroundings. Bright things would get brighter, warm things would get warmer, and sweet treats would become sweeter. At the beginning, this would be an enjoyable experience and if it stopped there, Doom Shrooms wouldn’t be more sought after than any other hallucinogenic herb. But for the next 24 hours, these effects amplify tremendously in magnitude until all traces of inhibitions are completely destroyed, turning humans into beasts. I’m lucky I ran into such an abundant cluster of Doom Shrooms otherwise I’d need to dump my whole supply of Schon just to get a less effective outcome.

I remember Riane describing Doom Shrooms to me months ago. She said, “Imagine you’re walking down the street and you see a vendor hawking roasted meat. All of a sudden, you just remembered you haven’t eaten for years. That’s obviously not the case at all and you’re only a little bit hungry but it feels like years have passed since your last meal and your body is wracked with ravenous hunger. Instead of walking up and purchasing that meat like a normal person, you barrel into the vendor’s stand, punch him in the face, and devour all his meat while you stand over his bloodied body. You lose yourself as you enjoy the savory flavor from the meat, completely forgetting about the vendor who you just attacked and once you’re finished, you move onto whatever else your heart desires the most next.”

Momentary surges of anger that would ordinarily be glossed over and forgotten in seconds turn into all out brawls, moments of sadness that would slightly dim one’s mood turn into existential crises, and specks of attraction turn into uncontrollable lust. When Bella arrived in front of me, she wrapped her arms around me and started kissing me. Lost in terror, confusion, and pleasure, all I could do was stand there and surrender myself to her. When she tried to start undressing me, it was like I woke up from an intoxicating dream.

Grabbing her by her shoulders, I spun her around until the back of her head was facing me, her moaning, “Oh, Isaac. You’re so rough. But I love it.”

Wrapping my left arm around her neck, right under her chin, I grab my left wrist with my right hand and choke her like Quinn taught me. Realizing she can’t breathe, her hands desperately claw at my arms as she slowly loses consciousness. The entire time, I murmured, “I’msorryI’msorryI’msorryI’msorry,” into her ear. When her hands stopped clawing at my leather sleeve and her arms dangled limply at her sides, I let go of my chokehold and gently laid her down on my pile of rags. Putting a finger up to her nose, I sigh in relief feeling her breath.

That was the very first time I’ve ever used that move I learned from Quinn. As Candle’s primary scout, he has to take out targets silently pretty regularly, this being one of his many methods. When I was learning how to use axes from him, he taught me this move as well in case it ever came in handy. Though I definitely wasn’t expecting the first person I’d need to choke out to be Bella.

I just didn’t know how to deal with her. I didn’t want to kill her, I didn’t want to sleep with her, and choking her out was all I could think of. Just like that little girl from this morning, I don’t want anything to happen to Bella but at the same time, this place is getting burnt to the ground, one way or another and if she dies… Well, I hope she doesn’t die. After messily trying to cover her body as much as I could with her clothes, I headed outside.

The citadel is still chaotic, even worse than before. People are having sex, relentlessly attacking someone else, laughing, and crying all at the same time. No one even spares me a glance as I make my way through the citadel, way too busy with their own havoc. Grabbing a blazing torch hanging from one of the shacks, I hesitate for a moment as I stare into the flames.

All sorts of memories flash through my mind like the night Gavin and his team captured me, Corbin’s horrific face and his insane ramblings, Hawthorne saving my life and then nursing me back to health, and The Climb which thoroughly exhausted me both physically and mentally. Remembering all the shit I’ve gone through these past few months because of these inbred freaks, I hold the torch against the shack, lighting it aflame. Walking forward, I light every building I come across on fire. Tonight, Rebirth Haven is getting burned to the ground. No more Fold, no more Pit, no more inbred cult, and no more Savior. No one is ever going to be put through what I went through again, what all of us went through.

Most of the citadel’s buildings are packed tightly together near the surrounding wall to give The Pit as wide of a berth as possible. I’m not sure if it’s because they were afraid of accidentally falling in half asleep but the way the citadel is laid out, I’m surprised this place hasn’t burned down sooner. The fires I started quickly spread to neighboring shacks but even with such a calamitous emergency happening, everyone is still too busy fucking or fighting to put out the fires. Hmm, I might have underestimated how strong Doom Shrooms were.

As I make my way through the citadel, lighting countless fires indiscriminately, I pause in front of the citadel’s armory. It’s a pretty well built two story wooden building filled with weapons the cult has collected from the Vipers throughout their entire war. Items belonging to Trial takers are protected and preserved in case those challengers make The Climb and join the cult but these weapons are purely the spoils of war. The blades I’ve forged at the bottom of The Pit will need to be armed.

Leaving the armory alone, I keep walking until I reach the canteen. Inside, the tables are smashed into bits and pieces, food is smeared on the walls, and there’s the unmistakable stench of blood wafting through the air. Curious, I walk in and find the ugly cook dead on the ground with a dagger stabbed through his heart. His eyes are still open, filled with manic rage even after dying. It’s… unfortunate because he never wronged me in any way and I actually liked him. Kneeling down, I close his eyes before leaving the canteen after setting it on fire.

Tonight will be a test for myself just as much as last night was a test for the Vipers. Seeing how nearly half of the citadel is on fire now with the raging flames quickly spreading to the other half, I start heading towards the wooden platform suspended over The Pit. Before I can reach it though, two naked men trying to kill each other fall in front of me. The one on top is holding a knife over the bottom one, the knife’s tip dangling dangerously over the bottom’s one’s throat. The one on bottom, who I seem to recognize, is desperately holding back his attacker’s wrists, struggling with all his might to keep the knife out of his neck. Oh, it’s Yoel.

Pondering what I should do for a moment, I unsheathe my sword and walk up to the pair. When Yoel’s attacker turns to see who’s interrupting his private matters, I stick the tip of my blade into his neck, his face painted with shock. Letting go of the knife, he tries to cover the wound with both hands before falling backwards. After a few moments, he breathes his last breath, still completely naked and covered in his own blood.

While still on the ground, also covered in blood but from his assailant, Yoel breathlessly shouts, “Brother Isaac! May the Savior bless you from the tips of your toes to the top of your head! You’re my godsdamned hero! Holy shit! Time after time after time! This motherfucker interrupted me from finally losing my virginity. He deserves dying in his own filth!”

Maybe I shouldn’t have saved him after all. Sighing, I shake my head and hold out my hand, pulling him to his feet. What can I say? The weirdo grew on me these past few weeks even if our first meeting was a bit strange. Looking at him, I say, “Why don’t you get to work putting out these fires, Brother Yoel.”

Nodding incessantly, Yoel runs off in a random direction before turning back and shouting, “Leave it to me Brother Isaac! As soon as I finish losing my virginity, I’ll help you deal with the fires!”

… Right. Forgetting about Yoel, I continue making my way over to the wooden platform. But as I get closer, I see someone’s silhouette holding a torch, standing right where the platform connects to the ground. I almost can’t believe what I’m seeing for a second but… it’s Gavin.

There’s a grave look on his face and when he sees me, his face twitches before settling back down. Walking up until there’s a three yard separation between the two of us, I smile and wave at him, saying, “What a beautiful night it is. What brings you here at this time, Gavin?”

Instead of responding to my provocation, he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. He… doesn’t seem to be behaving like he’s been drugged with Doom Shrooms. He’s too controlled, too restrained. Don’t tell me he someho-

Gavin’s eyes abruptly snap open and he stares at me with a sharp gaze, speaking with a cold tone, “I should have killed you the day we met the Savior. He’s… what he is but I should have trusted my gut on what I saw back then. I knew you were a blight on this community. It’s my fault.

“There were so many warning signs and I could have acted on any one of them but I deferred to the Elders’ judgment like a moron. So fucking stupid looking back on it now but maybe I hoped, hoped deep down I was wrong. When those fucking incompetent buffoons finally agreed to hold you accountable for killing Eldon, it was like an overbearing weight was lifted from my shoulders. Only for it to come crumbling down the next day when they refused to believe you somehow had a hand in bringing the snakes to our doorstep. Naive, pathetic fools who can’t see a rat for what it is, the whole lot of them. Not like I’m any fucking better.

“This is all my fucking fault and now the community I’ve made my home and put years of my life into is coming to an end. I knew something was off this morning with how strange you were acting in the canteen. But I was too late and couldn’t figure it out in time. The fucking water. I can’t fucking believe it.

“You think you were slick with what you did with Quil? Nah, the moment those fires started, I planted myself right here waiting for you and here you are, the rat faced bastard himself. Couldn’t leave your little Pit friends behind, huh? You took everything away from me and now I’m going to take everything away from you.”

Finished speaking, Gavin turned around and tossed the torch he was holding towards the wooden platform behind him. I could only watch in horror as the torch landed on the bridge, igniting it.