[That's too extreme, even for you]
'Well'. Levi then recalled what he knew about them from the story.
The Sympathizers were born in the Age of Despair. They claimed to understand sorrow better than anyone else, and for a time, people believed them.
When society began to reform, they were among the first to raise a church— not in tribute to a god, but in tribute to the world itself. They preached of grief, of patience, of bearing the weight of punishment as a way to cleanse despair.
At first, they were seen as guides. In fact, they acted almost like a moral police force, binding criminals, halting reckless deforestation, even mediating disputes. Their grief-stricken sermons carried weight.
But the cracks appeared quickly. Their teachings and methods grew harsher, too absolute. Those who refused their "corrections" were branded sinners. Murmurs spread of punishments carried out in secret. Though no evidence surfaced, the whispers persisted.
The higher authorities ignored it all. After surviving the Age of Despair, they were unwilling to cast aside any faction that could hold power.
That was their mistake.
The people fought back. Communities rebelled, refusing to accept the lash of sorrow. In turn, the Sympathizers grew more ruthless, more creative in their cruelty, always justifying it as "justice in the world's name."
Everything changed when they were accused of working with Elderspawn. The accusation was never proven— in the story, it was revealed later to be a setup— but by then, it no longer mattered. The stain was enough. The Sympathizers were hunted down.
Cornered, they vanished into the wilderness. Until they found a temple. Until they met 'Her'.
When they emerged again, they were unrecognizable.
No longer protectors of nature. No longer the peacekeepers who bound offenders.
They were kidnappers of virgins. Raiders of villages. Wielders of strange, unnatural abilities— conjuring fires and waters. They spread terror, cloaking it in ritual.
So terrible was their return that even the Constellations themselves were stirred to act.
All in all, the Sympathizers were bad news. The worst kind.
'Well it's neither that or i am doomed'. Levi nodded at his justification.
'Besides they are basically unacknowledged heroes like that dude 'For Konoha'.
Back when the world ended, they were the ones who made sure no one acted out of line.
He snorted. That didn't justify what they had become. They were evil through and through. But that wasn't his business.
What mattered now was survival.
Levi trudged deeper into the forest, the leech hovering a few meters ahead, ready to serve as a meat shield.
"Damn it". He hissed, slipping for the fifth time on a patch of moss. The ground was still damp, unnaturally so, even though he had long left the basin behind.
'Now I need to focus on essentials— food. In a jungle like this, that shouldn't be too hard. And als— what the?'
Levi froze. His words cut short as his eyes locked on the scene before him.
Ahead, past the tangle of trees, the forest opened into ruins. A city— or what was left of one.
Broken streets cut through the undergrowth, lined with walls that leaned like tired old men. Every building was made from the same stone— black, heavy blocks that seemed to drink in the light. But time had not spared them. Moss had crept up every wall, every arch, burying the black beneath a suffocating green.
And in the heart of the ruin stood a chapel. Its spire was cracked in half, its doors sagged inward, but its bones still clung to a kind of grim dignity.
The black stone there was almost gone, swallowed by moss, yet the shape of the place felt older, heavier— like it had been waiting for centuries.
Levi's gaze snagged on the statue before the chapel. A tall figure carved of the same black stone, though the details were worn with age. The strange thing was the moss. It swallowed the city whole, yet stopped short around the statue. The stone there was bare, untouched, as if something kept the creeping green away.
He frowned. The air felt heavier here, thick with silence.
The leech twitched uneasily at his side, its movements sharper, almost restless.
The entire thing was thick heavy with silence, even from his position he could already feel the silence creeping in like it was trying to shackle his thoughts.