Line #3 NightmareFuel/ChildOfLight


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/child_of_light_norahs_deceit.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:"If I had to take a guess,\
3	I'd say she's pretty [[AxCrazy insane]], yes?"]]
4
5	Beneath the [[ArtStyleDissonance beautiful watercolour painting art]] and whimsical FairyTale world is [[CrapsaccharineWorld plenty of fear and unpleasantness]].
6	----
7	* [[DownerBeginning The end to the game's intro.]] Imagine you're [[GoodParents a parent who loves and is loved by your child]], and at the end of a celebratory day they go to sleep... [[OutlivingOnesOffspring and the next morning you find them dead]]. While the soul of [[TheHero our heroine, Aurora]] is sent to Lemuria, [[LockedOutOfTheLoop the Duke doesn't know this]] and [[TearJerker believes he has lost her forever]].
8	* The Mahthildis Forest, where Aurora begins her journey back home. She describes the place as "Woods darker than night" with "shadows lost of light", an apt description (tellingly, the melancholy music that initially plays there is literally titled "Woods Darker Than Night" in the soundtrack). As she ventures her way through the forest, Aurora is watched by hungry wolves, spiders, and even wailing spirits, and until she meets [[FairyCompanion Igniculus]], she's all alone.
9	* The fate of Lemuria as told in the Lady of the Forest's vision. Once a beautiful land full of hope, its Queen disappeared and a usurper called [[BigBad Umbra]] sent [[CoDragons her daughters]] up to the skies to steal the sun, moon and stars, plunging Lemuria into endless darkness and allowing Umbra and her forces to completely conquer it. Umbra then became known as the [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen of the Night]] and rules with an iron fist, repressing the Lemurians and making their lives miserable.
10	* Nox herself. TheReveal that Aurora's own stepsister, the seemingly loving and caring "Norah", is a heartless [[TheSociopath sociopath]] who [[FalseFriend had formed a close bond with Aurora while plotting to kill her the whole time]], is absolutely horrific. Nox's [[SlasherSmile unhinged expression]] and [[RedEyesTakeWarning red]] EyeColorChange do ''not'' help. What makes it such a powerful PlayerPunch is that "Norah" was a legitimately likeable character and ally--FantasticRacism with the Bolmus Populi aside--before she betrayed Aurora to her mother, [[WickedStepmother Umbra]].
11	** Making Nox even scarier is this: are there psychological abusers out there in RealLife who act loving towards a child so that they can gain their genuine love and trust, for the purpose of manipulating them for their own benefit? [[RealismInducedHorror Yes, there are.]]
12	** Want more NightmareFuel? Nox's age. Consider that she's explicitly described as the younger of Queen Umbra's two daughters, and her mother appears to be in her thirties to early-forties. With this in mind, it would not be far-fetched to conclude that Nox is in her early- to mid-''teens''. The idea that someone so young could be happily engaging in psychological abuse, attempted murder, torture and implied genocide [[TroublingUnchildlikeBehavior is horrific all on its own]].
13	* The Forgotten Tower, a prison tower where those who are deemed guilty in the eyes of Umbra and her two daughters, Nox and Crepusculum, are imprisoned (without trial, of course) and subjected to abuse and torture from the guards, and God help you if Umbra or her daughters decide to pay you a visit. If the player explores the tower, they can even find the skeletons of dead prisoners hanging from the walls.
14	* The Pisceans being terrorized by the Ogre. You don't get to see the Ogre taking them from their village on-screen, but it's not hard to imagine how frightening it must be for them. By the time Aurora and her friends ([[SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGear Nox leaves the group after her betrayal]]) arrive there, there are only two residents left, Gen and her supposed grandfather Drust. Drust can't bring himself to tell Gen that the Ogre devours those he abducts; as a result, Gen and Aurora [[HopeSpot remain optimistic]] that Gen's parents can be brought back to their daughter. [[TearJerker The truth is painful]] for them both, and Gen breaks down crying as she has to contend with the fact that she's the LastOfHerKind. Sure enough, the player can find the skeletons of the devoured Pisceans in the final dungeon the Ogre was guarding.

Context NightmareFuel / ChildOfLight