Barns didn't know why he expected the Dimartino celebration to be nice. As he strolls through, it's only slightly more civil than the monsters' party was.
Alcohol, everywhere. In each corner or alley, Barns can see people getting wasted in public. Some of the women of the town are scantily-clad, and as he looks down one alley, he sees his crab soliciting two prostitutes.
"Clancy, what are you doing!?"
"HUMAN WOMAN."
Barns claps his hand to his forehead.
Clancy scuttles off with the two women in tow. He's snipping at the air excitedly as he skitters off.
Barns watches them as they go across the street into an abandoned building.
"What's a crab gonna do with a woman, anyway?" Barns mumbles out loud to himself. "Uck. I don't even want to think about it."
Barns walks to the town center. Many people are gathered, laughing and cheering. It brings joy to Barns' heart.
This is the result of his struggles so far. This town, full of cheer and laughter, would have never existed if Barns hadn't stepped up and become a hero. It may not be the most virtuous place, but it was the start of something.
Barns always believed it, but now he knows with certainty. He could pull off an Apocalypse Reset.
Barns grips his fists. 'That's right. Every soul I save brings me that much closer!'
Suddenly, Barns is tapped on the shoulder, and he feels a heavy arm fall around him. He glances over and sees the town mayor, Quinn, getting comfortable.
"Nice to see you with clothes on," Barns quips.
"Mr. Hero, look at this place. Twenty-four hours ago, it was a den of monstrosity. Now, it's a budding community, full of hope and life!"
"You don't have to call me Mr. Hero. Barns is fine," he says shyly. "I like Barns."
"Ahh, but that's so casual! You shall be Mr. Hero forever and always to me!" Quinn squeezes the young man's shoulder.
They talk for a while, until Quinn shifts the conversation to something a little more serious.
"You are obviously quite young. How do you know so much about the apocalypse?"
Barns feels a lump form in his throat. He hadn't thought of telling anyone his secret - that he was actually reborn and lived a past life as a hero. At least not yet.
"I was reborn," Barns says, opting for honesty. "I fought at the Capitol, right toward the beginning of the apocalypse. But then I died…and I was reborn as…well, me!"
"Do you know what happened after you died?"
Barns shakes his head. "Clancy - the crab - told me that all humans died."
"Yes. That is what I believe too. The proud kingdom of Dimartino was one of the last places to fall. There were seven apocalypses total."
"Seven!?" Barns exclaims.
Quinn begins to detail what happened to the world over the last many years.
1. The Apocalypse of Fire. Villages, towns, and cities all over the world began to burst into flames. Barns remembers this well.
2. The Undead Apocalypse. Deceased humans began to reanimate from the ground as zombies. They swarmed most of the major population centers, causing widespread death and a collapse of society.
3. The Monster Apocalypse. Hideous creatures began to emerge from the earth and kill humans, stealing their souls. And then, those human souls were turned into more monsters. This was just beginning when Barns died in his first life.
4. The Apocalyptic Plague. Terrible sickness swept across the land and the human race. Farms were ravaged by blight, and sick humans began to rot away.
5. The Vampire Apocalypse. Surviving humans were beginning to fear the forces of the night, and they embraced darkness to survive. Some turned themselves into Vampires and grew a desire to feed on others. These vampires established strongholds, taking the surviving humans prisoner and making them vampire thralls.
6. The sixth Apocalypse brought demons. All humans who remained in power were given the choice - live on as demons, or be killed. Those who accepted were transformed and then turned their own citizens into monsters. These demons took charge of the post-apocalyptic world order.
7. The final devastation - the Celestial Apocalypse. A giant meteor crashed into the earth, into the only kingdom that remained in power. It is believed the entire kingdom was vaporized in an instant. At this point, humanity was functionally extinct, with only a few pockets of survivors clinging to life in hiding.
"I thought you should know, that your quest will not be as easy as just killing monsters," Quinn proclaims. "And also, I'd hoped to share one other tidbit of information to you. Before I became a demon, I remember hearing that Princess Maria was also out there, unchanged. For her to have survived twelve years on her own…it's unthinkable."
Quinn and Barns parted ways, as Barns wanted to check out more of the celebration.
Barns watches people sing and dance in the streets, happy and merry. He can't help but grin wide. It reminds him of his past life before the Apocalypse began. When times were simpler…although, times were never simple for him. As a member of the Flame Clan, he's been a warrior for as long as he can remember. If only he still had access to his Flame skills in this new life.
Barns wanders to the edge of town, and he looks out into the jungle. He wonders how many people are still out there, waiting to be saved.
Suddenly, loud bells are ringing out over the town. Barns looks up in awe.
"The Celebration Dinner is about to begin in the town square!" It's a booming, friendly voice that speaks over an intercom system. Seems like they've repaired town quickly!
"The chef tells me that we will be having a delicious crab boil this evening, so please come by! He says it's the biggest crab he's ever seen!"
Barns feels a sudden panic come over him. 'Crab on the menu?' he thinks to himself. 'I don't like the sound of that.'
In a leap, Barns runs toward the town center, praying to all that he can, hoping that his intuition is wrong this time.
"I'm coming, Clancy!"