Cursed Blessing

Victor sat before the fire with the crown in hand.

Victor held the crown to the tome. It dissolved into inky tendrils that swam across the page.

An illustration of the crown bled into existence with a caption.

Crown of the Dragon Tyrant

As a reward for reaching a new milestone, he earned the ability to store up to ten items into the book, so long as they could fit between the dimensions of the pages.

Victor had set up camp a day’s ride from Mount Pale Crown. He wasn’t sure how the dragons would treat him after commanding them with Drakan’thar’s authority. So to be on the safe side he sent them away after coming down the mountain.

Their camp looked out the lip of a mountain, sliding down into the forest below, and out towards the horizon. Dawn was just beginning to streak the sky with orange light.

He sighed.

Endran’s words and Babel’s messages kept appearing in his head.

If you had so much knowledge and determination, why couldn’t you have tried harder to be a good person?!

If you were willing to be anything for him~

Why not be a hero?~

He thought of the grateful looks from the people he had helped. Then the hateful gaze of Baylor and all he killed and tricked before that.

Victor pressed his hands against his forehead.

-

“Hoowwaaah!” I stretched my one arm in the air.

I sat up and looked around at my surroundings and was confused. It was dawn.

Victor was sitting down on a fallen tree across from me, the fire had gotten started, keeping the chill away.

I pulled my jacket close, and scooted my sleeping bag closer to the fire.

“Victor, what happened?! Where are we?!” Dozens of thoughts and hypotheticals raced through my mind. We were just on palace grounds.

“Morning Enderan.” Victor looked at me with sadness. “You died.”

He told me that my mother was a being called a phoenix. A creature I had never heard before.

I was astonished to hear about how we explored the palace and encountered the vengeful spirit of Elori’sha, who was upset at our presence there. Then taking advantage of my curse, we summoned Drakan’thar’s spirit from the nightmare realm and almost succeeded in breaking my curse.

However, he had no intention of helping us after I burnt his wife’s head off. I was pissed at myself. We defeated him in the end, but he had killed me in the process and severed my bond with Yoki.

Victor knew about my mother’s secret, so he brought me down the mountain with Revian again, and we parted ways here. After killing both Elori’sha and Drakan’thar, Victor didn’t want to take any chances around the dragons.

When he told me about my rebirth, I was stunned. I was a charred corpse that burnt again, into ashes. From those ashes, a smaller more pristine body burst forth, and Victor put a blanket over me and dressed me.

I was upset to see that my arm was still missing. However, red scales replaced my burns. Luckily from afar, they passed off as burns and no longer stung.

Because of my half-phoenix anatomy, a new arm hadn’t grown with my new body, and my curse seemed to advance just a bit. Compared to how Victor described my before my death, it was probably a blessing.

He had retrieved my amulet, but had to replace the chain because it had snapped.

After the debreifing, I just sat there, Yoki sitting on my lap.

“So we failed.”

Victor shook his head. “Don’t beat yourself up. We got some treasures that I think could make for some great bartering chips if we play our cards right.”

He saw that I was still upset and consoled me. “Hey what’s wrong?”

“All of that effort was wasted on me.” I looked up at him. “And although I should be grateful to be alive, I wish I still remembered. I want to cherish these adventures with you and I don’t want those memories stolen from me!” I felt like such a child, as tears began to well up in my eyes.

Victor’s upper lip began to tremble and tears formed around his eyes. I realized just how much he had to take on by himself. He had witnessed my death and probably wasn’t sure if I would get back up, despite the knowledge that he had.

“I’m sorry Victor, I’m being unreasonable.”

“You’re not!” He stood up and walked up to me. “Enderan, any time spent with you will never be a burden on me. I’m grateful to be with you.” He wiped at his eyes and took a deep breath. “Before meeting you I was not a a good person. In fact I’m still a horrible person!”

“That’s not true! Victor-

“I am! Enderan, for years, I have been betrayed, looked down on, and taken advantage of. My own brother tried to have me murdered!”

I stopped. There was so much I wanted to learn about Victor. And the reason I didn’t ask much because his past always seemed to bring a touch of sadness and hesitation from him.

“I had to lie, cheat, and kill to survive Enderan!” He composed himself. “I thought I’d convinced myself that I could do whatever it takes to get what I want, and that I should hone that cut throat coldness. It wasn’t until I met you that I realized that I couldn’t.” He looked at me with pride and admiration. “You ispired me to help people. I love the feeling of being adored and praised. But it only felt the best when I was helping people I knew needed it, and would appreciate acts of kindness.”

“When you helped complete those contracts and saved the people of Galebrook, I saw the grateful looks and praise given to you. I promised to help you on your journey to be a hero Enderan, and along the way, you inspired me to be one too!”

I felt my heart thunder in my chest and laughed as tears fell from my eyes. “You’re my hero, Victor! Ever since you helped me leave my room!”

He returned my appreciation with a smile. “I understand that it’s upsetting that we didn’t get what we wanted on this journey, but it’s only one of the many we will embark on. And I was only one of the many people you have inspired to live a better life Enderan.”

“I promise you. That I will be a better person.”

“Where is this coming from?” I asked while wiping away tears.”

“Because I’m human scum Enderan. So it’s a miracle that you can inspire me to do better.” A resolve seemed to light in Victor’s eyes. And I was happy for him. Though I didn’t know how far he had thought he had fallen, I would make sure that he would live the rest of his life proudly.

“Never forget. That your life, no matter how short, can have many great things awaiting you.” He reached out his hand to me. “Even the most cursed lives, still have their blessings.”

“Victor…” I wiped the corners of my eyes. “I already know I have been blessed.” I smiled up at him and took his hand. “Because you’re here with me.”

He pulled me up, and Yoki slid up over my shoulder. Together we faced the horizon.

High up in the mountains, we watched the sun rise on a brand new day.

[THE END]