A surge of raw power coursed through his body, a strength that could rival even Jason Voorhees himself.
Back in the day, Barry could only tap into half of Jason's power when he transformed. But now? He was packing the full punch, even in his normal state.
Talk about progress worth celebrating!
Barry ran his fingers over the mask on his face, now two-thirds restored, and could feel the growing force of resurrection within him. If he kept slaughtering without regard for his body's limits, one day he might just achieve an immortal, indestructible form.
He could become a permanent contender in the hellish resurrection game.
With a thought, the mask vanished.
Barry scanned the scene. The massive church was eerily empty, and thick fog clung to the world outside.
Since his last act of vengeance, this was his first time back in the real-world church.
Guided by a faint instinct, Barry wandered until he stood before a hidden doorway.
He pushed it open and stepped into a dim basement.
Lighting a candle, he revealed a room marked with cult symbols. A few shovels leaned against a corner, and the dirt floor looked recently disturbed.
In the middle of the room lay a long, unidentified object covered by a yellowed cloth, vaguely outlining a human shape.
Barry approached, his eyes heavy with sorrow as he lifted the cloth. Beneath it was a charred, blackened body.
"I was too late."
Though the face was scorched beyond recognition—even a mother wouldn't know who it was—Barry knew instantly. It was him.
This was him.
Sure, it was charred, but the good bone structure was still there, hinting at the handsome guy he'd been in life.
Barry stood in silence, as if mourning himself.
After a long moment, he moved.
His chest ripped open, followed by his limbs and face, splitting into a deep, star-shaped gash.
Straw-like tendrils shot out, stabbing into the corpse on the ground.
The body jerked upright, manipulated like a puppet, staring into Barry's eyes.
In the next moment, the charred shell crumbled as the tendrils latched onto every bone with precision.
Crack!
A full skeleton was yanked into the air.
The boneless corpse collapsed in a heap.
The straw tendrils carried the bones back, transplanting them into Barry's body.
Now supported by his original skeleton, Barry felt a rare sense of completeness, like a long-missing piece had finally been restored.
As the bones settled, a deep darkness flowed through his soul.
A powerful suction erupted.
The surrounding building cracked, splintering into hundreds of fissures as waves of ash and soot were pulled toward him.
A swirling mass of dark red energy churned in his chest.
His power surged—exploded—skyrocketed!
When the transformation ended, the world outside had plunged into the Otherworld's darkness.
Barry felt a strange new connection to his surroundings, a deeper bond, almost intimate.
Every move he made could summon overwhelming force.
The dark energy within him thrummed, resonating more strongly with Silent Hill.
Following his instincts, he blinked and found himself atop the church.
Standing on the church's emblem, Barry looked down at the world below, high above it all.
Man, what a rush!
Without realizing it, Barry had upgraded his dark powers, even seizing a sliver of Silent Hill's authority. With Alessa offline and Barry being a trusted figure, he'd slipped into that power like it was meant for him.
Hiss!
A strange roar snapped him out of his thoughts.
Looking down, he saw it.
A creature as thick as a barrel, over twenty feet long, with six human-like arms for legs. It resembled the human-faced stick insect he'd once become, but this one was jacked—like it hit the gym.
It slithered up the church's outer wall, scaling it with ease.
At the top, the creature's form was fully revealed.
Its face was like a pale, featureless mask, its mouth lined with jagged, saw-like teeth. When it roared, its jaw stretched to an absurdly wide angle.
It crawled humbly at Barry's feet, circling him like an excited puppy.
"Tch, tch, tch!"
Barry teased it with a cluck of his tongue, and the creature wiggled happily.
The moment he saw it, Barry knew—this thing was born from some aspect of himself, like Pyramid Head was to Alessa.
He hadn't expected his companion creature to look this wild, though.
"Based on your look, I'm calling you the White-Faced Stick Insect."
The creature let out a hiss, as if agreeing.
"Alright, go play somewhere else."
Barry gave it a light kick, and the White-Faced Stick Insect obediently scurried off.
Closing his eyes, Barry's soul stayed in his body, but his mind seemed to drift far.
Through the floating ash in the air, his vision expanded. He could see from countless angles, like he had cameras posted everywhere.
"What a wild feeling."
Birds in the sky, dust on the ground, the veins of a leaf—if he wanted, Barry could find the perfect angle to see it all clearly.
With a wave of his hand, he could channel his power through the ash from miles away, summoning the White-Faced Stick Insect on command.
This feeling, this power, made him feel like the master of this place.
Barry stepped forward, walking through the air as if inspecting his domain.
Some time later, the real world returned, and daylight flooded back.
Mid-stride in the air, Barry misstepped, plummeting to the floor with a face-first crash.
Good thing his body wasn't made of flesh. A few deep breaths, and he was fine.
A fall like that? Barely a scratch.
Suddenly, a shadow loomed over him.
Barry looked up, spotting a pair of small shoes, black socks, and a blue-purple dress.
Someone was here.
Someone who shouldn't be here.
Why was she back?
"Alessa?"
"I'm back."
Barry blinked, confused. "Weren't you off looking for your mom? Why'd you show up at my place?"
After a pause, he managed, "Was she mean to you?"
With the demon gone, the Alessa in the blue-purple dress was just a vessel for her consciousness.
In response to Barry's question, she answered calmly, "She was good to me. But her love… it wasn't meant for me."
Barry said, "So, Alessa, you came back from out there?"
"No. I never left."
Her words sent a twinge of guilt through Barry. You didn't leave? Why didn't you say so sooner?
Alessa continued slowly, "I let them go."
"Even if I forced her to stay with me, all I'd get is a fake smile from Rose."
"That's not real love."
Barry was at a loss for words.
Well, damn. Turns out you're a stickler for the real deal.