Ayana the Courier

"I'll be fine," Ayana said after landing in the Twilight Jungle. "I'll easily evade the Gloom monsters and get to where I need to go, for sure..." Ayana wasn't sure though; she was nervous. None of her past deliveries compared to this one. It was the Twilight Jungle after all. The place was vast and expansive with many dark crevices to explore, giant, green trees to climb, and dangerous foes to avoid. Ayana’s thought was followed by a whisper. “What was that?” Ayana said.

That's when the Dusk Orb spoke to her. "This delivery doesn't have to be a difficult one." Ayana jumped, and in doing so, dropped her bag. The Dusk Orb fell out, and Ayana was more surprised than ever.

"No one told me I was going to be delivering you! You're a weapon of destruction! Anarchy!" Ayana shouted.

"Now, now, don't be rude. I have an offer for you," the Dusk Orb said as its face turned within the glass-like casing of the orb to see Ayana.

"What's your offer?" Ayana replied.

"I can guarantee your safety along this trip, but you'll have to give in to your dark desires and release your aggression," the Dusk Orb said with a grin.

Ayana stared at the smoke-filled orb. "No, I won't resort to anarchy. I'm a pacifist, and that's how it's going to stay," Ayana said. She picked up the Dusk Orb, a purple glow emanating from its smoke, and put it back in her bag where she couldn’t see the encased skull. Ayana continued her journey into the Twilight Jungle until she encountered a Gloom monster. Ayana sighed and said, "I guess it was only a matter of time until I found one of you." The Gloom monster heard Ayana's voice and shifted over to her.

"The offer is still on the table," the Dusk Orb said, and Ayana was quick to respond.

"Will you be quiet!" She yelled. This angered the Gloom monster, causing it to attack Ayana.

However, the young woman was agile. She leaped over the Gloom monster and through its legs when it lunged forward to attack, this made the Gloom monster miss, stumble, and fall, all at the same time. Ayana left the Gloom monster in the dust after its mishap and moved further into the Twilight Jungle. During her expedition, Ayana confronted several more icky, sticky, violet-glowing Gloom monsters that only got harder to bypass as she progressed. Ayana began to tire more and more with every creature. Eventually, Ayana came across a beam of light that signaled the end of her quest. "Finally," Ayana said with a smile on her face. "I've made it..." Once she finished that sentence though, the beam of light disappeared, and Ayana looked up, it was a massive Gloom monster, the largest Ayana had seen so far. It towered over the trees with its jaw full of skeletons, pointed claws, and fluorescent eyes. She thought to herself, "How am I going to get past that?" That's when she remembered what she was carrying, the Dusk Orb. Ayana didn't want to, but she started to reconsider the Dusk Orb's offer.