Shatter the Curse

“It’s getting closer!!” I complain with a glance back at the spikes along the rolling ammonite.

    Despite being already running for dear life, we can’t even maintain the distance between us and the Gemollusc.

“Its shell won’t burn…” Tyffeon remarks. “Keep running!”

“That’s what I try to do, dummy!!”

    Why did I have to imagine a big monster with such a convenient way to move? It sounded so cool as a concept on paper, even cooler once animated but hey. Here and now… I never thought I would understand what an ant chased by a donut feels.

“There!” Tyffeon suddenly grips my wrist, forcing me to run to the side, into a cave carved into the rocky walls.

    Unable to adjust his trajectory in time, the monster is forced to abruptly slow down as we withdraw from the galleries. But as we run into the cave, I can hear the grumble getting closer anew.

“Ughh, this one is gonna be clingy…” I note, glancing around us. “Let’s hide over there!” I point at a large rock.

    Not losing time, we rush towards it, crouching behind it in a hurry.

    I try to hold back my breath but fail miserably, needing to retrieve it first.

    Now that is an embarrassing situation… Only wearing a swimsuit, I haven’t had the time to take my bow and arrows. They’re still in the cave. Neither did Tyffeon have the opportunity to take his sword.

“Are the others fine? When we fled from the cave, crystals were falling from the ceiling… But…”

    I shake my head.

“No. They’re not weak enough to die like this. I need to focus on our own situation.”

    The ruckus has calmed down a bit, so I guess the monster is now no more rolling all around, at the very least.

    I turn to face Tyffeon.

“We have to beat it somehow… can you aim flames at its tentacles?”

    But when Tyffeon raises his head to meet my gaze, the way he glares at me almost makes me gulp.

“Why did you have to run straight into its direction?! You could have died!” He scolds in a lower tone.

    I clutch the pendant I’ve put back around my neck.

“I… Sorry. This was foolish but, I couldn’t risk letting it break my…” I trail off.

    Tyffeon clenches his teeth.

“What is so special about this pendant? You think your life is worth a rusty piece of metal?”

“It’s not rusty! You don’t understand… It’s a precious souvenir, it’s the only thing I have left…”

“From whom? Someone who betrayed you?” His voice grows heavy with anger. “How long are you gonna hold onto that as if it was the most important thing you had?? Does what you have in this world hold no value? You have other things you should better protect. I have. I still have.”

***

“Tyffeon. What is precious to you… try not to lose it.”

    He glances back, not knowing what to say. The unease he feels only deepens when he sees Saccharia curled upon herself, holding against her chest the studded helmet.

***

    Eyes wide open, I can’t find a single word to say.

    Not waiting, he reaches out his hand to grip my pendant, furious.

“You have to get rid of this cursed artefact!”

    In a reflex, I cover his hands with mine, preventing him from snatching it from me.

“Don’t do that! I can’t!”

“I won’t let you too become like this. Your place is by our side, not in the past!!”

    The rocks crumble into pieces. A tentacle has heavily fallen down upon them.

    As we are both forced to stand up, I let go of his hands. But Tyffeon still holds onto my pendant…

    The chain shatters.

    At the same moment, the tentacles, the whole octopus protruding from the shell ignites. Giant flames engulf it, roaring, before it has even the chance to make a single move, the rocks flying towards us deflected by a gust of wind.

    Taken aback by the rapidity with which Tyffeon has gotten rid of the monster, my eyes turn back at him only to realise that he still holds my gaze.

    He hasn’t even paid attention to the Gemollusc…

“Why…”

“I won’t lose anyone again. What has happened to Curreo… to Saccharia… I won’t let it happen again.”

    Is he worried to such an extent? Despite how precious this pendant… this part of me is… he’s just as precious to my eyes.

    No, this is a lie.

    He’s far more precious. Of course he is. And, he, is still there. Is it why I don’t feel more angered that he snatched it away from me? A cursed artefact, so this is how he sees it…

    Stepping forward, Tyffeon approaches me, reaching out his arms. I can feel his grip over my shoulders.

“Don’t take me for a fool. I know you’re hiding something from me. You already know something about the emissary of this kingdom… Have you already forgotten that you’re not fighting alone?”

“I…” I try to avert my gaze, but it’s almost impossible.

    A sigh escapes my lips as I mid-close my eyes.

“I didn’t want you to get hurt…” I admit. “I’m not sure who the emissary will be. …But I can feel who is the more likely to develop the Taint.”

    I clench my fists. His resolve… I’ve never been able to show such determination, I know I should respect it.

“Your father is among them.”

    He widens his eyes at my words. Was that a mistake to tell him? Should I have kept the secret? That’s such a burden to take…

    For a while, he doesn’t utter a word. His grip on my shoulders loosens, until he releases me.

    A few steps away, the last flames extinguish. An odour of grilled octopus fills the air.

“Is there a way to avoid it? Can he be saved?”

    I don’t want to lie. I don’t want to give fake hopes.

    But…

    What if it is truly possible? If there is even a slim hope, if there’s a way to twist fate so that we can exclude this very scenario…

“I… can’t promise it will change anything. But I may have an idea.”

***

    When the crystals started falling over them, Timoria closed her eyes, bracing for the impact. She thought, she was sure they were going to be buried under a bunch of these translucent minerals.

    And yet, it has already been a while, and she feels nothing. No pain. Not even the slightest inconvenience.

    Perplexed, she opens her eyes. Beluacor must have come to the same conclusion as he turns a glance to his right, to his left. Just as she does.

    As mysterious as it is, the crystals have fallen all around them, some protruding from the water, but none has fallen near them. Avoiding them in a neat circle…

“Are you okay, lass?” Beluacor asks.

    She nods, a bit lost.

“I don’t know what just happened, but let’s find them back!” He heads to the entrance of the cave, passing between the crystals.

“Y-Yes!”

“Hoo, hoo.”

    Noticing Awa still perched on her leaf, thankfully safe, Timoria leans towards her and retrieves the owl before following Beluacor into the galleries.

    She hopes that the monster did not get them… Why did Amako rush towards it, though? She ran as if she wanted to protect someone, but Timoria couldn’t see anyone.

    A thought crosses her mind.

    And she, would she even be able to throw herself into danger like that if it were to protect someone? She doesn’t want to see anyone hurt, she wishes she could prevent them from suffering but… does she even have what it takes?

“They’re over there!”

    The sound of Beluacor’s voice makes her shift her attention to the figures of Amako and Tyffeon ahead of them.

    A rapid glance allowed her to see the roasted monster, smoke ascending from its tentacles.

“Welp, tonight it’s takoyakis.” Amako says, but she barely listens to their discussion.

    Despite having no weapons with them, it seems they didn’t have any real difficulty there. As they approach Tyffeon and the Saintess, she notices it. The determination in their eyes.

“How do they do?.. How do they do to be so confident? I don’t want to be a burden.”

    Her fist clenches against her chest.

“I want to live up to their expectations. I want to be useful.”

***

    The same evening, Tyffeon joined us in our room for a reunion. The three of us seated in a circle, we kept Beluacor out of our schemes.

“We have to act before the emissary of the Taint awakens. There may be a way to, at least, influence its apparition so that we restrain it to a certain location.” I turn my words to avoid giving away the whole scenarios thing. “This said, the best way to do so will set the whole kingdom against us.”

“What do you suggest?” Tyffeon asks.

“We’ll have to destroy the eggs kept for the festival.”

“The… eggs?” Timoria tilts her head.

“Yes, the ones the Knockers bring back with them from the depths.” I pause. “They are the source of their sin.”

    Tyffeon seems about to make a remark, but refrains. Instead, he takes a while as if to weigh the possible outcomes. It may put us in a dire situation, but that’s the best I came up with to try to eliminate a few scenarios from unfolding.

“You know that there’ll be no way back once we do that?”

    I nod.

“That’s the only way for us to be confident that nothing will happen when we depart.” My expression grows more serious. “The operation will debut in two weeks. In that amount of time, we’ll need to get ready for what awaits us.”

“Depart… But where to go?” Timoria asks.

“To the depths of the dungeon.”