Aether Nexus: Curse of Love & Hatred

“A year!?” Mystigo exclaimed, almost spitting out his tea. His voice carried his sense of utter disbelief at the passage of time.

“Quite a shocker, isn't it?” Kima sipped her tea while deep in thought. “What profounds me is the fact you even woke up… Those burns you had were so severe. Even with my healing magic, I couldn't imagine a normal person surviving such injuries,”

Mystigo rubbed the back of his head, preparing a response, but stopped witnessing a peculiar sight.

Kima's tea cup, with a mere twitch of her finger, began to hover weightlessly in the air. As it gracefully orbited around her, Kima turned to Mystigo. “But you’re no ordinary individual. Considering your burns, the fact a big explosion detonated right before we found you can't be a coincidence. Tell me… What kind of trouble has a young witch such as yourself gotten himself into?”

“Witch? So you both know of and saw my curse mark…”

“Hehe, I was the one who bandaged you after all. Always on the left collarbone. Being raised within one of the four Reality Dynasties has its merits.”

“I thank you, truly… And what you just did with the teacup… Mina-ttraction… One of the five hereditary techniques of the Juryoku Clan.”

“My, you know your stuff Mystigo. Though, that just makes me all the more curious as to who you really are…”

Meeting Kima's gaze, Mystigo became overwhelmed by her sudden stern expression. He felt like a child being chastised by his mother for doing dangerous things.

Averting his eyes, Mystigo was hesitant to tell anymore about his circumstances, but with a nudge from Kima, he caved in. “I'm… I'm on a mission to destroy the Soul Divination Council.”

Kima gasped, facepalming both of her cheeks in shock. “The Soul Divination Council!? Why go against them? Aren't they the biggest church in Eranovum?”

“It sounds ridiculous, I know… The Soul Divination Council may have started out with good intentions centuries ago, but along the way, something, or someone, corrupted it. Now, they’re messing with things they cannot control. If what I saw is true, then a war is coming that may bring Eranovum to its knees.”

“A-A war? Why?”

“I do not know… But I know exactly how. It will be brought about by my people's most powerful curse: The Curse of Hatred. The Soul Divination Council will be the catalyst… Somehow… That’s why I'm set on destroying them to stop the war before it even begins… Along with finding trustworthy allies and the two Fated Heroes, should I fail.”

Kima slumped back in her seat, staring at the roof in a cold sweat. “A war… Curse of Hatred… Fated Heroes…? I'm sorry, but this is very hard to believe…”

Mystigo chuckled as he looked down at his tea, his reflection staring right back. “I figured… Which is why up until this point, I've been alone in this task. I don't blame you if you think I'm crazy…”

“Nah. In this world, anything's possible.” Kima responded while patting Mystigo's shoulder. “You mentioned ‘seeing’ something, right? Care to elaborate?”

“I'm afraid you might just think I'm insane if I do.”

“Come on, you look like you haven't had the chance to talk to anyone about this, I'm all ears,” Kima crossed her legs with a gentle smile. “And besides, you've already got me hooked.”

“Alright… I saw a vision from a sword I found in a well protected dungeon. The place was riddled with traps, monsters, and illusions, all there to protect the sword. Though, I was able to get through all of it. At the end sat an altar, housing a sword in its center…” Mystigo took a moment to look down at his left hand, the one he used to grab the sword’s hilt. “When I went to grab the sword, I was suddenly thrusted into an unfamiliar world.”

“Another world?”

“Another realm more like it. It was… Overwhelming, in every sense, especially the light. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw a giant tree, the biggest I’ve seen yet. As I stared at it with no control of my body, that was when… I saw them.”

Kima leaned closer, hanging onto every word. “Them? Who did you see?”

Mystigo lowered both his head and his voice to a stern whisper. "Eight individuals veiled in shadow. They stood in a circle around the tree, each one bearing a presence like no other. They also each stood on a strange symbol. They were like nothing I’ve seen before, so I studied them, but that was when the vision took another turn…”

Mystigo paused, recounting the haunting vision that came after. He contemplated his own sanity for a moment before going deeper into his experience. “On the ground, beside the symbols, a puddle of shadows started to bubble. From within emerged a pair of girls, identical in appearance. Their soft face, dirty blonde hair, even body type, it was all the same… Say for one difference, one of the girls’ right eye had one of the symbols from earlier."

Placing his hand on his left collarbone, Mystigo continued, his voice growing more urgent. "They bore the mark of the Witch Clan upon their collarbones. Both clung to each other in a desperate embrace, their eyes fixed upon me with fear and longing."

"But then," Mystigo went on, his voice almost trembling, "From the depths of the shadows behind them, a monstrous form began to emerge, a swirling mass of darkness that seemed to devour even the light around us. Once fully formed, it bore its sharp claws and fangs at all three of us, and lunged, consuming us in an abyss…”

Kima’s eyes widened with horror and fascination, causing her curiosity to get the better of her. “My goodness! What happened after?”

Mystigo looked up at the ceiling, further reminiscing about his experience. “Next thing I knew, I was upon a desolate battlefield, the acrid stench of smoke and blood thick in the air."

“The war…” Kima whispered.

“Yeah,” Mystigo confirmed, clenching his fists together. “Before me lay a scene of unimaginable devastation… Raging fires stretched as far as the eye could see. Littered arrows, broken swords, and the twisted, armored visages of fallen warriors. Ravens feasted on the corpses like a prestidgious feast. The ground was lathered with blood, the cries of the damned and dying echoed in my ears. I remember looking at the numerous flags that were scattered beneath my feet. almost every flag had one of the four kingdoms’ symbols on them.”

Mystigo then looked towards the picture on the wall, focusing on the boy in it. “I began to navigate the desolate landscape and soon looked upon the horizon where two figures stood, silhouetted against the blood-red sky. One of them held a sword. The very same sword I had just found. As I drew closer to them, a sense of impending doom washed over me. Paralyzed, I heard a cracking sound, and looked around me to one of the most horrifying sights I've seen. The corpses that littered the battlefield began to stir, twitching and convulsing as if pulled by some dark force. One by one, they rose to their feet, mouths agape and their eyes hollowed out.”

Kima felt a chill go down her spine. “R-Reanimated corpses?”

“Your fear is justified, my mind reeled at the sight as they marched past me. It was unreal. Their gaunt faces bore the mark of death, their movements stiff and unnatural…”

Kima sat in deep thought, absorbing all the information. “Reaon, Regalia, Poulm, & Jufuris… There’s been peace between them for so many centuries, to think there might be something, or someone, out there to cause all four to go to war with each other…”

“No… Not with each other.” Mystigo said hauntingly.

“Huh!? Then who?”

“The Curse of Hatred. I didn't know it back then, but the shadow that swallowed me and those two girls, it was the manifestation of it…”

“Wait, do you think… One of those girls…”

“Indeed, one of them will be consumed by the Curse of Hatred… And bring about a war that could destroy the world as we know it.”

“I see… But I still don’t understand, what does the Council have to do with this?”

“It was the last thing I saw, right after the horde passed me. A man with a black cloak, bearing their insignia, stood there, watching. I will never forget those crimson gleaming eyes bent on the suffering of others, even twenty years from now…”

“Twenty years!? You don't look a day over twenty!” Kima shouted, accidentally interrupting Mystigo.

Mystigo didn't mind and swiftly explained. “It's to be expected, I'm bonded with a familiar, ever since I was thirteen. Witches bonded with familiars age five times slower than the average mortal. Physically, I'm nineteen, but mentally, I'm forty-three.”

Kima's jaw practically dropped at the information. “Holy… You're quite a bit older than me if that's the case… And when you mean familiar, I don't suppose you mean that worm creature?”

Mystigo started to ease the tension in his body as he reminisced about his most trusted ally. “Yeah, his name is Guspane… I also have to thank you for taking care of him, means a lot more than you realize.”

“Eh? Well, of course, but how did you know?”

“We've been bonded for so many years now, I can not only feel his presence, but almost everything he feels, even his emotions. Right now, I can tell he's been well fed and happy on this farm.”

Mystigo gratefully smiled at Kima for a moment, only to perk up. “This is actually a good time to show you.”

With a snap of his fingers, Mystigo conjured a swirling vortex of deep purple energy, crackling with sparks of arcane power. Kima's eyes instantly filled with wonder at the portal's mysterious allure.

“Guspane! I'm awake buddy!” Mystigo ecstatically shouted into the portal, beckoning his comrade to come. Shortly after, a slimy worm started to emerge, though with some unexpected luggage.

Clinging onto the end of Guspane's tail was a slightly tanned boy. He wore faded denim overalls adorned with patches. Beneath, a well-worn plaid shirt in shades of earthy greens and browns wrapped around his frame with its sleeves rolled up. A pair of scuffed leather boots completed his outfit, showing his countless adventures around the farm.

The feature that caught Mystigo's eye however, was his tousled hair swept to the side. One half a dusty gray, and the other a dusty black.

“Kismeto!?”

-

(Chapter 23) Destiny Child: Part 2