Aether Nexus: Curse of Love & Hatred

One big circle with another orb-like object in the middle. A tail-like protrusion sprouted from the bottom right, with a six-pronged star and another star in the middle finishing the symbol.

“This symbol…” Dama's words trailed off, the only thing that came to mind was the glowing orb, which still proved to be a mystery to him.

“I remember this symbol…” Tsubasa uttered.

Dama perked up immediately at Tsubasa's claims. “Wait, you know of this symbol Granny Tsu?”

“I do." Tsubasa responded, leaning back on the bed to look at the ceiling. "Some years back, around when you were born actually, a knight, hailing from the Jufuris Kingdom, came across Enohay Village. He wore an emblem that had that very same symbol on it.”

Dama inquired further. “Jufuris? The kingdom west of Reaon? So…does that mean Giona is from Jufuris?”

“Could be. Giona, does Jufuris Kingdom ring a bell?”

“Dark… Cold… Bad… D-Director...” Giona muttered, confusing Tsubasa. Her eyes welled up with tears, of which Dama gently wiped away as Tsubasa thought to herself. “Hmm… She must still be remembering something about her past…" she thought before diving deeper, "Giona dear, is there anything else you can draw for us?”

Another long and awkward pause would settle in the room as they waited for Giona to do something. Just as Tsubasa was about to give up, Giona started doodling again. Though her shaky hands did not help the process, resulting in another crude drawing. This time however, it was two images.

One was of a creature with long ears and a tail. She also drew fur on it as well, with emphasis on bald patches across its body.

The other was a shapeless, black blob at the corner of the page. Giona made sure to not color in where their eyes and mouth were, resulting in it having an unsettling appearance.

“W-What is that?” Dama's voice came out laced with confusion, having no idea what Giona had drawn.

Tsubasa pointed to the drawing with a tail. “It’s a rat—Soul, Dark, Cold, Director, Rats…” she quietly mused to herself. Her thoughts felt like a whirlwind trying to piece together Giona’s cryptic comments and drawings.

“Rats? Hmm… Hey, do you think rats may be her familiar Granny Tsu?”

Tsubasa grasped at her chin once more. “Unfortunately no. From what I know, while witches can change familiars, and thereby their curse mark, I don't think a curse mark can revert back into a witch clan mark. She could have drawn rats since she lived in close proximity with them—but that itself raises troubling implications…”

Looking back at the paper, Tsubasa studied it further, specifically the blob drawing. "Though, I have no idea what that thing is. It looks...humanoid, yet not at the same time, as if it came from the shadows... Why do I feel so disturbed looking at it?" she whilst gulping out of fear, which puzzled her even more.

"Troubling implications...?" Dama uttered as he turned towards Giona and focused on her bandages. “Her bruises and malnourishment, the way she freaked out when she first woke up, she was close with rats, the dark scares her…!?” his hand clenched his stitched brown trousers at the realization that her past could have been much worse than he had first anticipated, his eyes welling up with tears.

As Dama's face contorted more and more with a mixture of rage and grief, the subtle tremble in his jaw revealing the restraint he held against his emotions, he would feel something that would snap him back—it was Giona’s hand on top of his own. An action Giona learned from Dama himself.

Looking up from their intertwined hands, Dama was met with Giona's face full of emphatic concern. Somewhat shocked at Giona's gesture, Dama sat stunned as she got closer to him. Now nigh nose to nose to Dama, Giona raised her left hand to Dama's face, and mimicked his previous motion of wiping her tears.

Before both of them knew it, Dama had Giona in a tight embrace, both shocked in the moment with Giona affected the most at such a sudden act.

It was a new feeling for her, the warmth of Dama's body was more than anything she had felt up until that point, and even more than that, it was as if she could feel something else radiating from him. Slowly, she lowered her hands towards Dama's back.

Taking a few seconds to realize what he had done, Dama jumped back before Giona could properly reciprocate. “Ah! I-I'm so sorry Giona!" Dama frantically tried to explain himself, "I really didn't mean to do tha—!” Only for Giona to mimic him once more and pounce on him, almost causing the pair to fall off the bed. “Oof! G-Giona?”

Giona nestled further into Dama’s chest in response, relishing in the warmth she felt from him.

Tsubasa covered her mouth with the tips of her fingers, which did not hide her smug expression well, as she watched another heart-melting scene. “My my, just what am I witnessing here~?” She remarked in a teasing manner.

“Du-I—Th-We-I don't—!” Dama could only respond with broken words as his face began to glow a bright pink.

Seeing such a spectacle, Tsubasa continued her playful assault. “Fufu, at this rate, you'll become her familiar Dama, better be careful~!”

Dama shook his head in an attempt to stave off his embarrassment and raised an eyebrow. “Is that even possible, Granny Tsu? Even then, what kind of Cursed Technique would she get if I became her familiar?”

“Oh, I see you connected the dots, eh?” Tsubasa adjusted her position on the bed to explain further. “Indeed, once a witch bonds with a familiar, and therefore, gain their curse mark, they are given access to a Cursed Technique, similar to a Soulful Technique. Think of it as a familiar sharing their own Soulful Technique with their witch owner.”

Taking into account for Giona, Dama readjusted himself to help absorb such information. “Man, that's a lot…”

“Indeed, the world we find ourselves in has so many mysterious factors built into it. It's overwhelming at first, but as you look at the bigger picture, it's honestly a miracle life was able to prosper as it did and prove just how beautiful it can be…" Tsubasa looked up at the ceiling again, briefly remninscing about her entire life before waving it off. "Heh, look at me go and get all soppy on you—do you have any more questions Dama?”

“Well, I’m just curious, how do you know all this Granny Tsu? Have you ever met a witch before? Do witches really have their own scent?”

“It'll come as a surprise to you, but no, Giona is the first one I've seen myself." Tsubasa said as she put her finger on her nose. "When it comes to their scent, it's best to describe it as 'earthy and sage-like.' It's like how you can tell the smell of clean outside air from the air inside a house, it's different, but you can barely explain why."

Laying her hands on her lap, Tsubasa continued. "The reason I know so much about the Witch Clan is due to the teachings of my original tribe. Some of them also had Soulful and Affinity Techniques of their own as a matter of fact, which is why I also possess a lot of knowledge about them.”

Dama tilted his head to the side. “Affinity Techniques? I recognize Affinity, but there are techniques too?”

Tsubasa scratched her head, realizing her mistake. “Ah, that almost slipped my mind. Correct, though they differ quite a bit from the previous two. Before I explain further, how much do you know of the Affinity Elements?”

Wrapping his arm around Giona, reciprocating her embrace, Dama gladly answered. “Well, I know that there are five Affinity Elements: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, and Thunder. They’re natural-born elements that some people can manipulate if I remember correctly. Ms. Alder's youngest son had the ability to manipulate existing fire, right?”

Tsubasa laughed as the mention of such a thing made her remember something. “Pffft, indeed he did. Unfortunately, he had sloppy control, which is why the Alder's Family Farm almost burned down seven years ago. While we made sure to restrict him from playing around with such power, especially at such a young age, if he had actually practiced, he could have made his own Affinity Technique. Affinity Techniques are more akin to specialized martial art forms, in which one uses their element to improve their fighting style and prowess.”

“Woah!" Dama face lit up as his imagination went wild for a moment, before sulking a bit. "Bummer though. I remember when I was younger I would try and control any of the elements, but it never really worked out…”

“Judging by how reckless you were back then, I'm glad you didn't.” Tsubasa said as she shrugged with a smug smirk, causing Dama to angrily pout in response.

“Oh settle down, you know it's the truth. Either way, you may never know Dama, you could find that you had the ability to all along in the future. Most things in life are uncertain. The only constant is our past, of which serves as a natural storage for secrets and mistakes to learn from." Tsubasa words came out filled with wisdom only garnered by years of experience, striking Dama to his very soul and making him contemplate on her words.

Reaching over to Dama, Tsubasa booped his nose with her finger to finish her advice. “All of that to say this—these abilities, these gifts, us mortals were given by Adam and the Gods, is something to be used with care. Some may use their powers for selfish reasons, even use it to gain power over weaker individuals."

Patting Dama, Tsubasa smiled. "However, there are always those who use the gifts they've been given to help others. It makes me happy to see you turned out to be one of them Dama.”

Becoming slightly flushed once more, Dama was nonetheless grateful for Tsubasa's comment. “Shucks Granny, I just try my best to make everyone smile around me, that's all.”

Taking a moment to look down at Giona, who had such a happy and peaceful face as she embraced him, Dama couldn’t help but to rub her head as he thought to himself. "Though, to think there are others out there with magic I could never even imagine. I wonder if there's a person out there who wields all three techniques under their belt. They would be a monster for sure!”

As he pondered on the magical mysteries of the world outside Enohay Valley, he looked up at the warm brown hardwood that made up his roof…

Elsewhere, an enigmatic man would share in Dama's quiet contemplation as he also gazed up at something. A looming fortress, reinforced with weathered, cold gray stones.

The solitary man, who seemed as much a part of the dusk night as the secrets harbored within the fortress, would soon step forward. “So, he was right. Thank you, Alaric Benom…”

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Next: (Chapter 11) Mysterious Aserian Island