Curse 10: Truth From Within

Welp, I was here once again.

I made sure that Peri stood guard in front of the bathroom door. And—to double-check—I locked the window area, made sure all the stalls were cleared, and I checked every nook and cranny of the bathroom.

"... Right." I blinked.

I placed my index finger under my chin.

"There's no way the dark cloak figure could sneak in here normally."

I slowly walked towards the mirror area.

It wasn't a very long walk. I slowly reached out to touch the mirror itself.

With my palm touching the glass, I could feel the coldness from it. The exact room, the exact floor, mirror, and stalls. My blood once painted this entire room as I took my last breath.

My mind hadn't shaken this horrible feeling that it would be the last time that I would be put to 'sleep'.

The dark cloak was my reaper.

Every breath I took, I could never sleep well without thinking about that hot breath that would slay me for no reason that I could understand.

However.

I got the feeling that being in the same place as last time might cause them to come to me.

After all...

"... It seems like they're fond of me," I whispered to myself.

"Right you are, sweetie!" I heard a voice from behind.

"AHHH—!"

The dark cloak covered my mouth from behind. I looked at the same mirror, and I could see the hood not revealing their face.

"Bad girl~! You came back despite knowing that I might kill you again! Do you really like being put to 'sleep' by me?"

The dark cloak went closer to my ear. "After all, you were smiling when I put you to 'rest'~!"

Damn it! Let go!

I struggled to grab hold of the black glove.

Knock! Knock!

"Hey, Tristis! Are you okay?!" Peri sounded worried.

Peri!

I widened my eyes in shock.

That meant he was there the whole time, and they STILL managed to enter the bathroom!

"Oh my~! What a noble guy! Are you two going out?" The dark cloak asked me.

All I did was stare daggers at them. The fear I was feeling got replaced when she mentioned Peri.

Don't you dare hurt him! I screamed in my mind.

"Scary! You're not afraid of me when he's around. Smart girl you are~!"

The dark cloak slowly looked at the entrance and took a deep breath.

Then, something unexpected happened.

"I'm okay, Peri! I adjusted my panty since it was stuck! Wanna see~?!" The dark cloak spoke in my voice!

"You really need to stop that! I-I'm a guy, and y-you're a girl, so let's keep those things private, please!" I heard Peri's voice, shaken. But it was mostly from embarrassment, I believed.

"Hehe~! Sorry~! I just want to hear your super cute voice~! I'll be out in a few minutes, okay~?" The dark cloak made the same singing voice as me.

"S-sure. Um, take your time, now..." Peri whispered.

I heard his footsteps walking away from the doorstep.

The dark cloak sighed and tapped their dark neck.

They then let go of me and sighed in an unexpected way.

"Phew~! That was close~! Seriously, you two should just go out at this point! That boy seems to be easily influenced by your mere voice, Tristis!" I heard a more feminine voice from the cloak. But it still sounded discordant.

"... Wait. You're a girl?" I raised my left brow.

"Huh?... Oh. My magic must be on the fritz!" The dark cloak shrugged. "Oh well! It's still manageable, and you don't recognize the voice anyway!"

Dark clouds formed in the middle of the bathroom.

Wait.

There was more darkness highlighting the whole room.

Was it her magic?

The dark clouds in the middle formed two chairs and a simple dark desk.

The dark cloak playfully twirled around and sat on one of the chairs. With her legs crossed, she rested her hands on them and chuckled. "Now then! What did thou call upon me!" She said dramatically.

I narrowed my eyes.

"I didn't call you. You snuck up on me." I corrected her.

"Now, now! Let's not play dumb here, Trisie~! You came here despite me killing you~! You must've expected me to come to you, right?" The dark cloak asked. She placed her hand under her invisible chin that was hidden within the darkness of the hood. "Either you wanted to talk... or you fell in love with me!" She raised her index finger.

I simply stared at them in disgust.

The dark cloak sat there all quiet and awkward.

Once she got the message, she sighed and playfully used her right hand to tell me to come closer: "Sheesh, a critic! I killed you a few times, and you're acting like I'm the bad guy here! Awkwarddd~!"

I slowly walked towards her with my brows furrowed further.

"What did you expect from murdering a child, traumatizing them, turning her into a crazy woman, and making her distant from everyone around her!"

"... Ah! A powerful woman with a great bod and many talents!" The dark cloak pointed both fingers at me.

I grunted and finally sat down.

"Thank you..." I said in a dead tone.

"You're welcome!" The dark cloak clapped her hands together.

"..."

I wanted to say something, but I didn't want to get killed if I said something wrong or upset her.

But just in case, I'd better set up the conditions for this meet-up.

"Firstly, even if you kill me, I'll still remember you."

"Aware," the dark cloak answered quickly.

"But you might do it anyway."

"I will," The dark cloak answered in a light tone.

"Yet, you don't feel bad?"

"... Maybe. Killing you from young left a bad taste in my mouth. So I decided to give you a gift the second time I killed you myself!"

You don't sound sorry, though...

I sighed once more and took out my book. I turned to the section with the dark petal and showed it to her.

"Anyway. I got a question. About this thing here." I spoke softly.

"You can speak normally. My magic cancelled out the noises for the outsiders." The dark cloak cheerfully added.

"... Okay? So, the 'one more remaining' message. What does that mean exactly?"

"Ah! Finally getting to the good part!" The dark cloak raised both of her hands in the air. She then lowered them and stroked her invisible chin once more. "But I can't really tell you that yet. The real name of the flower."

"The name? I was asking about the meaning of the message..." I pointed at the dark petal.

"Hmm? Oooh! Oh. Forget what I said then!" The dark cloak turned away awkwardly.

"There's no way I could forget that..."

The dark cloak flinched and held her head on the table. "Damn it! I thought that would work!"

"..." I sweat at their reaction.

The dark cloak sighed deeply and looked at me... or, the darkness of the hood stared at me?

She weakly raised her index finger.

"... Fine. I'll tell you about the stupid message..."

The dark cloak sat up straight and crossed the other leg. "That is a reminder of how many times you go back from a certain checkpoint."

"A checkpoint?"

"Right," The dark cloak answered in a serious yet deep tone. "I created it so that you wouldn't abuse the power so much. I won't allow you to kill yourself over and over again to get some kind of solution that could possibly make you 'happy'."

"Ironic, coming from a killer," I grumbled.

"What I do to your life is my business. I can do whatever I want with you since it's within my rights." The dark cloak said bluntly and without any remorse.

"The hell?! You think you can do whatever you want with me and expect me to do nothing?"

"Basically," The dark cloak shrugged.

Slam!

I slammed my hand on the table.

"DON'T MESS WITH ME! YOU THINK MY LIFE IS JUST SOME RESOURCE THAT YOU REPRODUCE LIKE WATER THAT'S FROM A RIVER?!"

"..." The dark cloak didn't say anything.

"My life has been hell ever since I got this stupid curse. Dying. Reviving. Dying! Reviving!"

I held my head and shook it. "Every time I see that dark place, I feel myself slipping! You know what that's like?!"

Slam!

I slammed my fists on the table hard.

"DO YOU?!" I screamed at the dark cloak.

The dark cloak seemed to be thinking. Conflicting on how she should respond.

Is she mocking me—?!

"'Cold. Empty. Draining. Nothing. Like dipping in cold water. Like swimming at the bottom of the ocean. It was numb. I wouldn't be warm,'" the dark cloak said.

"....H-huh?"

For some reason, those words sent a shiver down my spine.

"It's nothing. You don't feel anything. You cannot do anything." The dark cloak tilted her head. "You don't have a body, you're floating in the middle of nowhere."

I slowly hugged myself.

"... Stop it," I whispered in fear.

"You don't even hear a peep as the darkness engulfs you, and your sanity will run dry by the second." The dark cloak continued.

"I-I said, stop it. Please!" I felt tears forming.

The dark cloak raised her fist.

"That's what death felt like. That's how it's supposed to feel. That's what 'Tristis Messor' felt every time she dies. That is your answer—"

"I SAID STOP IT!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.

I slowly quivered in fear, staring at the black hole of a person.

"... You monster. You monster!... You don't give a damn about me!"

I felt my tears falling. "... You know all of that, yet you kill me!"

Slam!

I slammed both of my fists on the table.

"WHAT DID I DO TO YOU!? WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU?!"

SLAM! SLAM!

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO YOU! I WAS LIVING A NORMAL LIFE UNTIL YOU PUSHED IT!"

SLAM! SLAM!

I kept slamming my fists until I felt liquid from underneath my hand.

GUSH!

"I HAD A LOVING FATHER AND A SWEET MOTHER! I HAD FRIENDS THAT LOVE ME FOR WHO I AM!"

SLAM!

"I EVEN HELP OUT WHENEVER SOMEONE IS IN NEED! SO WHY?! WHY ME?!"

SLAM! SLAM!

"WHY ME?! I NEVER EVEN SAW YOU IN MY LIFE! WHAT THE HELL DID I DO TO YOU TO DESERVE THIS?!"

I leaned forward and shouted: "WHAT THE HELL DID 'TRISTIS MESSOR' DO TO YOU TO BRING MY LIFE TO A LIVING HELLLLL?!!!"

The dark cloak didn't say anything. She simply sat there without showing a hint of sorrow.

This monster. She couldn't be human!

There was no way a fellow human would do that—

"... 'What I did to you'? 'Why am I doing this', 'why am I bringing you to a living hell'? Honestly, aren't you something, Tristis," The dark cloak... sounded amused.

"... H-huh?" I whispered.

"Think about it? Who are you, Tristis?" The dark cloak said in a relaxed way.

"W-what does that have to do with—"

"A lot. Your missing background, your arrival to the village, you making friends, and living a 'normal' life. Why is that? Who decided this fate for you?" The dark cloak chuckled.

"... T-that's..." I muttered, looking at the bloodstains that were mine.

"You're blaming me for your downfall, yet you can't even answer those questions." The dark cloak shrugged her shoulders and laughed. "Sure, what I did to your life is messed up. But there's always a logical explanation for my actions."

"W-wait, are you talking about—"

"For example," The dark cloak interrupted me and pointed at the dark petal. "I knew you wanted time back that you lost when you 'sleep'. I created this petal to make that dream come true."

"What are you saying—"

"Another example!" The dark cloak interrupted again and pointed at me. "Your new powers! You can see souls and predict things before they come your way."

"... Why are you ignoring me?" I whispered in defeat.

"To be frank, Tristis, I could burn that petal and let it burn forever. Leaving you and your broken mind wandering off."

The Dark Cloak lowered her hand.

"Leaving an empty shell, bedridden for the rest of your life. It wouldn't make a difference to me in the long run." The Dark Cloak said in a very deep and terrifying tone.

I narrowed my eyes in fury.

"... I'll kill you. I'll definitely kill you! With my bare hands!"

The dark cloak sighed. That made me look up, seeing their hands resting on the table.

"You still don't get it. Stop thinking with your emotions and think, bookworm."

The dark cloak pointed at her head. "Why did I give you those signs if I simply want to kill you over and over again? Why did I show you a dark flower so that you go back to that exact spot when you die?"

"..." I didn't say anything.

The dark cloak slowly stood up.

"Why did I show up here in the first place? Why do I always speak instead of killing you?"

... Right.

Why did she always do that?

"... I won't stop you from trying to kill me."

The dark cloak raised her right index finger. "Key word 'try', by the way. Good luck with that, heh!"

The dark cloak twirled around and started to walk away from the table.

"My dear! Can't you see the answer?! Why am I doing all of this?! Why am I trying to help you figure out these problems that have been bothering you for ten years of your life?!"

The dark cloak raised her hands in the air and stopped.

"Why am I doing all of this and causing so much pain and suffering?! Why am I... being such a dick?"

The dark cloak lowered her head and shoulders before turning to me. "... This is the part you go 'Whaaaaa?!'"

I didn't say anything and simply stared at her.

She sighed dramatically and held her head before shaking it.

"Boy, teenagers. Making everything a drama."

The dark cloak leaned forward and placed her hands on her hips.

She then walked to the table and sat down once more.

The dark-cloaked figure raised her index finger. "The new power you received, 'Visio Mortis', will help you break down one's magic and return it from their roots. There's another function for that, but I won't allow you to use it until you're used to two of your powers, Tristis."

"..." I sniffed and wiped my eyes.

"Now, the petal is more of a clutch-in type of power that's tied to your magic. There will be problems that you need to solve. Things to find." The dark cloak stated. "And the first thing to find is one of the items that brought your curse to you from birth."

"From birth? Wait, so I had always had this? It didn't just show up when you killed me?" I raised my brows in shock.

"I'm a mastermind with a plan, not a psychopath who kills random children off a cliff. That'll be diabolical!" The dark cloak shook her head. "I only kill you so that you are aware of your magic, Tristis."

"So then, are you saying that you were playing the long game for your own needs?" I whispered, sounding a bit annoyed now.

"Bingo!" The dark cloak clapped her hands together.

"That's sick." I sounded disgusted at the dark cloak's methods.

"What mastermind doesn't do something like that, Tristis? Desperate times call for desperate measures!"

The dark cloak slowly stood up with her hands behind her back.

"Anyway! Time to do my part!" The dark cloak raised her left hand. "I shall allow you to fully access the power from within."

Ba-dump!

I clenched my chest and gasped.

It was hard to breathe.

I couldn't believe it.

It felt the same way as when I 'slept' before.

I slowly looked up and saw the world darkened. And to make matters worse, the dark cloak's light was full of purple darkness. And it was the biggest light I had ever seen.

"... So you really are a monster. You're not... human!"

"Nope! I'm what you call... an anomaly." The dark cloak gloated. "Technically, I am human like you! But I'm more like a... hmm... a crack in the normal magic system?"

The Dark cloak puffed up her chest.

"You can call me the genius who broke through the knowledge of magic!"

"..." I simply stared at her with anger.

The dark cloak flinched and scratched the back of her hood.

"Oh, right. I should turn off my coommmmaaa—I mean, switch off whatever I did to you!"

With an awkward laugh, she slicked the air, and my breathing returned to normal.

"Seriously, though, all the answers shall be revealed to you on time." The dark cloak placed her hands on her hips once more. "You're welcome to try to kill me, buutttt maybe wait until you've got all the clues first? Otherwise, how would you figure out a way to lift that curse?"

"W-wait?! So it IS possible?!" I said, feeling hopeful once more.

"Yeah, dude. It's a simple spell, really. I created it myself, after all." The dark cloak shrugged.

"Wait. So you can undo my curse?! Right now?!"

"Totally! I could do it any time!" The dark cloak nodded at me.

"... But you won't, right? You still need me to do things for you?"

"Noooowww, you're getting it~!" The dark cloak turned around and laughed. "And for being such a smart girl, I'd give you a hint on where to find information about your curse, the items to lift the curse, and why I'm doing this to your life."

The dark cloak raised her index finger. "In the library of truth is where thou shalt seek her first answer. Pass the test, and I shall show you the way."

"... Why? Why are you—"

"Argh, geez! Don't you understand?! I'm trying to help you figure out the reason for my method! Be a good sport and figure it out through your journey, already!" The dark cloak sounded a bit tired of my question. "Ahem! Anyway, I will be here if you need me. After all, you'll be scratching my back, and I'll scratch yours. But expect me to kill you whenever I feel like you might need to 'sleep', okay? Just a heads up!"

"... Do you find me dying exciting or what?" I slowly leaned back, suspicious.

"Hey, everyone's got their fetishes, Tristis! Don't judge me!" The dark cloak raised her index, middle, and thumb and closed them together. "Bye-bye now! 'FORGET ME, BUT REMEMBER ME WHEN WE MEET AGAIN, YET REMEMBER MY WORD OF ADVICE AS YOUR VOICE' KA-PHOW!"

Snap!

And just like that, the whole place turned white....

"... "

... What?

I looked around the bathroom.

What was I doing here again?

Ah, right! I wanted to meet the person who kept killing me!

But hold on. Didn't they mention that it would help with the match?

... Oh! Oh, I get it!

I just needed to test it out on the battlefield!

"Right!... Hmm, why didn't I stay with Peri and my friends and just figure that out?"

... Maybe I'm too smart for my own good. A simple thing like that should've been obvious!

Knock! Knock!

"Hey, Tristis! Are your panties on yet?" Peri asked.

"Hmm?" I tilted my head.

My panties? Why would he ask that? ... Hmm.

I grinned and skipped to the doorway. It wasn't a long walk, so I was able to get there in no time. Leaning on the door, I whispered, "You want to know the color of them?"

"Nope! I'm not going to even go there!" Peri's footsteps were going further away.

"Hehe! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"

I opened the bathroom door and chased towards my adorable yet shy friend.

Teasing Peri is the best! Hehe!