#The hero's hp is so low soup can restore them back to full hp

[cupcakesmoothie]

I've played this game before. Saved the world a dozen times. Gotten the legendary swords (There are three, not counting the Blood Sword that requires 400 kills to unlock, and going down the Revenge Seeker questline). Found all the endings, explored all that this world has to offer.

But this village. Downfall Village. The developers sorry, gods, weren't exactly subtle when they named this place. The lore here states that it's named such because of the way it's so close to Chrysalis Waterfall, but the true reason is obvious.

This village has been doomed from the start.

The moment I step within one meter of the village church, they'll all be doomed. The forsaken god will break out of its prison, killing countless people, and I will be forced to watch. It will trigger the sacrifice of Mallory, my first love, and I will be powerless to stop it.

I watch Mallory as she pets Maximus, the old dog that hangs around the church gates. The poor boy whines for attention every time I near, as do all other dogs, but he's just so out of reach.

I am weak here. Not just to the crushing doom that surrounds the church in a one meter radius, but physically. The ogres I used to be able to slay with my bare hands now require at least three well placed strikes of my starter bow, two if I'm lucky.

I sort of miss the Artemis bow, the strongest bow of the land, the first priority of any ranged fighter. It was a lucky bow that could take down any common dragon with one shot. Dragons that I can only see flying off in the distance, the well placed mountains and village fence serving as indestructible barriers.

It's worth it, I think, when I see the happy smiles of the village children when I give them my sweet apples, oblivious to the tree that regrows them every three days just outside the village gates.

Mallory is warm when she holds me in bed at night. I am unused to sleeping, usually spending my nights fighting dragons for their claws, faeries for their wings, demons for their horns, for the experience of it all.

But here there is little to do. Little experience to gain except from the ogres that roam in the distant Dark Wood. And from helping the villagers with minor chores.

Here I am free from the need to get stronger, to be able to kill most anything with a single strike, to help save the king with a series of pointless tasks and long journeys for a single piece of paper the prince couldn't be bothered to use a teleportation spell for.

I know it's pointless. Only delaying the inevitable every time the village elder asks me to help him find his glasses with the exact same words.

This village was only meant to be a stark reminder that good things never last. A reasonable backstory to give the rest of the journey a place to start.

But here it is bright, and a good soup will restore me completely. Here there is Mallory, who runs her fingers through my hair as she tells me about her dreams to travel a world she will never see.

I've played this game before. Defeated the Dark Lord a dozen times. Gotten all 75 capes (Even the one that requires you find one of every single flower and grants you the ability to see all medicinal plants in a mile radius). Found all 141,080 treasure chests, explored the world on behalf of my beloved.

There is no need to progress it any further.

Everyone loves the brooding Adventurer who took a liking to your village. For weeks, they have been quietly enjoying your peaceful ways and helping around. The Hero’s secret is that this is only delaying the inevitable. Once they go back to advancing the Main Quest, the village will be doomed.