Key & Compass presents:
Light into Darkness
by Christina Nordlander

Light into Darkness is a Z-machine interactive fiction story written with Inform 7 and is © 2016 by Christina Nordlander. It was an entry in La Petite Mort division of Ectocomp 2016 where it tied for 4th place.

You play as a wife and mother awoken at night by... something. Investigating, you somehow end up outside your home and looking in a window where you see a vision of yourself doing something horrible. Is this your future? Why would you do such a thing?

This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the story.

Walkthrough
Extras
- Characters, Endings, Inventory
Thank You to my Patreon supporters
External links:
- This story at IFDB, IFWiki, and ifwizz.
- Tweet about this walkthrough on Twitter.

Walkthrough

Bedroom

In this first scene, you are investigating a noise. It ends either when you examine the window or try to enter Marjo's Room.

> x Tapio. wake Tapio. listen.

> x knife. take knife.

> x window.

You are now elsewhere and feel insubstantial.

Dark Garden

> x me. x window.

You see a disturbing vision of the future. Then you are elsewhen, probably the next day.

Sunlit Garden

> x Tapio. n. e.

Marjo's Room

> x bed. x animals. x desk. x mess.

> w. w.

Bedroom

> x bed. x nightstand. x bottle. x window.

> e. (Marjo enters before you can leave.)

> x Marjo. talk to Marjo. talk to Marjo.

> hug Marjo —or— hit Marjo —or— east.

*** You have died ***

> undo

> take bottle. hit Marjo with bottle.

Void

> x newspaper. x book.

> i. x bottle.

> take book —or— take newspaper.

> n.

*** You will continue to fight ***

Interestingly, the story never really explains how your character seems to flit between locations, times, or realities. But I suppose when the occult is involved, unusual things can just happen.

Extras

Characters

Tapio is your husband.
Marjo is your daughter who has somehow gotten involved with the occult.

Mentioned:

Your mother was the knife's original owner, according to the knife's description.

Endings

You have died if you try to deal with Marjo in any way other than hitting her with the bottle.
You will continue to fight when you leave the Void.

Inventory

a knife. It's on the nightstand of your bedroom when the game begins, but regardless of what you do with it, it leaves the game when you find yourself in the dark garden.
a bottle. It's on the nightstand of your bedroom when you're looking for Marjo. Take it and hit Marjo with it. Sorry, but it's either she dies or you die at that point, and her death will stop her from killing anyone else.
a book and a newspaper. Both items are on a table in the Void. Read both; they are differing accounts of you killing Marjo. Take one of the two items; choose the account that you feel the most affinity to. Whichever you take causes the other to disappear and opens a bright exit from the Void. If you choose the newspaper, the light will seem to burn you as you leave, but otherwise the ending is the same.

Thank You to my Patreon supporters

This walkthrough is provided free of charge since the work it's based on has less than fifteen locations. Please consider it a thank you for your support!

I create larger walkthroughs too! Please visit my Patreon account if you're interested in helping me create more interactive fiction walkthroughs. I appreciate all the help I can get! Thanks again.