The Curse of Returning Home

Warped wooden flooring creaked under Tomita’s feet as his body lurched to a rest. Whispers of gathering pain radiated in his arms as he adjusted to the instantaneous change of surroundings. Gone was the roaring bear and pouring rain of the Sanctum’s Island. Now, only a light patter of evening showers could be heard as it fell on the outside of the small hut in which they were now hiding.

Piles of dusty, tattered books were strewn haphazardly across every visible surface. Tapestries of art and heraldry layered over one another like forgotten ribbons. Scrolls sat untouched on shelves. A small cauldron hung over a sunken hearth with a small floor mat nested nearby. Izhari flinched in Tomita’s arms, pulling him back to the burning sensation rising in his muscles as they finally began to strain. Without a word, Tomita lowered her to the ground and let her gather her footing. Then the rage, terror, and confusion flooded him in a torrent.

“Okay, what the hell was that?! What is going on?! Who are those things, why are they hunting you, and why was I so afraid even though I don’t even know what’s going on?!!” Tomita shouted as his hands continued to shake.

Unfortunately, as much as he did not want to admit it, Tomita knew that his shaking hands and angered tone were not just reactions to the shock and trauma of the last hour, but also a sign of a crippling demand from his body for a liquid he had not consumed in hours. Still, that was not his main concern at the moment. His main concern was figuring out this new realm and situation he seemed to be trapped in with this strange cat girl who would not face him.

“Hey! Answer me!” Tomita demanded.

To his surprise, Izhari did not answer him, and instead began to sob a broken, violent sob of rage and defeat. Her shoulders shook with seething ferocity and before Tomita could say anything else, the small creature began to forcefully punch herself in the sides of her head with both hands as she let out a wail that turned into a small roar.

“Hey… Hey, stop…” said Tomita as a new sensation grew in his chest.

It was beyond despair. Beyond depression. It was the feeling of being shattered. It was the feeling of hope burning away in a raging flame. It was the feeling of being consumed by the abyss. It was The Void.

Shackles of agony threatened to pull Tomita into the floor with this projected sorrow. Izhari wailed and ran her exposed claws down her face before freezing and tensing every muscle and fiber in her being so hard it seemed as though she might rip into pieces.

Tomita forced himself to step forward and reach out to her.

“Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay. You’re home…” he said in an attempt to be comforting.

Izhari pulverized her head and stomach with even harder blows.

“Hey! Stop you’re hurting yourself!” said Tomita.

“It took me seven months to get to that Sanctum!! I gave up everything to reach that place! And now I am back here! With nothing to show for it but YOU!!!” she raged.

“I AM A FAILURE!! I AM THE ABANDONED ONE! I AM WHAT THEY LEFT BEHIND!!!!” she roared as tears fell freely onto her shawl.

Tomita couldn’t speak.

“And for you, a suicide, to tell me to stop hurting myself! That is rich!” she scoffed as she covered her ears to drown out her racing thoughts.

“Now listen, just because I did that to myself doesn’t mean others should hurt themselves! I am sorry you lost all of your progress. But surely there must be some other witches or mages or whatever you call them that can help you undo this and get a correct familiar instead of-”

His words struck a nerve and nearby empty vials all shattered as Izhari’s hate exploded.

“THERE ARE NO OTHERS!!! I AM ALL THAT REMAINS!!!” she screamed.

Tomita froze. Her hateful stare burned through her blind eyes and he felt a judgement against him that had not been felt since the days of his father.

“Wh-What do you mean?” Tomita asked.

Izhari fell to the ground and wept as the rains outside began to intensify.

“How are you the only one? Surely you’re not the only magical being in this realm…” he said softly.

“Oh no, there is one other. He is the reason all of this is happening. He rounded up every known maji in the lands and took their wisdom then slaughtered them. Then he remade the world as he saw fit. But I was the forgotten. I was the abandoned. The Lexicon had no knowledge of me, so I escaped his wrath… Now, all the world has forgotten we ever existed…” Izhari exhaled as she crawled to the mat.

Her words seemed true. There was something tragically honest in her tone, and her defeated heart was seemingly emanating into Tomita’s soul as he watched her pitiful, dejected body reach the cushion and ball up in defeat.

“Is… Is… Is that why they were hunting you?” he asked.

“No, they did not know I was a maji at first. They are memory hunters. All beings in the realm were tricked into wearing memory crowns. To not do so is a capital offense. They found me without one, and were going to arrest me. I killed the first wave, and had been on the run for days when the second group found me. I dealt with them and summoned you…” she whispered as her small paw ran along her shoulder for comfort.

For the first time since arriving, it was momentarily quiet. None of this made sense to Tomita, but he realized he could not yet press it any further. Instead, his gaze settled on her wounded, rotting leg, which was now halfway covered in festering, inky, black infection.

“Your leg is still hurt,” Tomita whispered.

Izhari didn’t speak and instead pulled it closer to her body. Tomita sighed and moved closer.

“It looks unhealthy. If you do not have the strength to heal it yourself, t-t-tell me what to do and I will grab it,” he responded in a sincere offer.

His stutter had returned. Trauma of everything that had transpired had undone years of speech therapy.

Her ear twitched ever so slightly.

“Also, forgive me, but do you have anything to drink? I need water, and I need… well, we c-c-c-called it alcohol…” he said in slight humiliation.

This was enough for Izhari to finally turn and face him. Even though she could not see him, Tomita could clearly read the absolute hate pouring from her gaze and onto him. It was a sensation he knew all too well.

“You need etherdrop?” she asked.

“If that’s what you call drinks that in-in-inebriate you, y-yes…” he said as he looked away from her unseeing eyes.

Silence hung in the air like damp fog as Izhari forced herself up and patted her way over to a nearby cabinet. Several small glowing vials clanked into one another as she retrieved two different containers of varying sizes. One glowed white and hazy blue. The other was clear and green. That was the one she handed to Tomita.

“Thank you,” he said out of habit as he received the strange container.

“If you need water, go outside and catch some fresh rainwater in the pail by the door,” Izhari responded as he whispered something unheard into the white and blue vial.

Tomita watched as she calmed herself and took a sip from the container. She tensed briefly before exhaling a visible stream of ethereal steam which fell slowly into the milky liquid of the container, where it once again became liquid.

“What’s that?” Tomita asked in genuine curiosity.

His inquiry was misunderstood, and Izhari slammed it back into the cabinet before returning to her mat in silence.

“Return the pail to its exact spot once you are done,” she said as her tail curled over her legs.

With that, she forced herself to cry into sleep. Tomita was left alone in the small room to drink the glowing beverage alone. After a pause, he uncorked the bottle with shaking hands and took a sip. It was bitter and earthen, like stagnant matcha. A strange burn followed, and his eyes immediately became heavy. A few sips later, his hands were no longer shaking.

“Thank you, for getting us out,” Izhari murmured a few minutes later.

It surprised Tomita. He was sure she was asleep.

“You’re welcome. But your leg st-still needs-”

“I’ll fix it tomorrow.”

That was enough. Now Izhari did actually fall to sleep. Tomita found his vision blurring even though he had only had a few sips. After another sip, he rose and made his way to the doorway where he grabbed the pail and exited into the rain to gather water. Clarity swiftly abandoned him, and after a few moments of standing in the rain, he took a few gulps of rainwater before stumbling back into the hut, shutting the door, and falling into a nearby pile of books. There, he instantly lost consciousness as exhaustion, confusion, and chemical reactions sent him into a dreamless slumber. The pail was by his side, far from its designated spot.