Aether Nexus: Curse of Love & Hatred

“Boy..." Tsubasa almost snarled. "Why exactly do you have the scent of a witch on you?”

“Huh? W-Witch!?” Dama said bewildered before going on to sniff himself. "Also scent?"

A playful, yet serious chuckle escaped Tsubasa as she dusted off Dama. " It's no use, boy. You’re a human; your nose isn’t powerful enough to pick up such things, unlike my nose, gifted from my beastmen heritage.”

Tsubasa stood up with her hands behind her back and circled Dama, continuing her sudden interrogation. “Nonetheless, boy, you still haven’t answered my question. What have you been doing to disappear for almost two weeks, then come back with a faint tinge of a witch’s scent? Did you perhaps encounter someone? Did they do anything to you? Where did you first meet them?” she demanded, getting closer to Dama with each question.

“Well… Um, ahem, a-about that, Granny Tsubasa…haha…” Dama laughed out in a nervous manner, rubbing the back of his head.

“Yes?” Tsubasa went nigh nose to nose with Dama in response to his shaky stammering, awaiting his answer.

Instinctively backing up from the sudden lack of space, Dama felt Tsubasa’s bushy gray tail already curled around his legs and lining his back, trapping him in between it and Tsubasa’s stern stare he could feel digging into his soul.

Pushing back on Dama's attempt to walk back, Tsubasa brought him closer using her tail. “Go on, boy.”

Dama put his hand up between him and Tsubasa, trying to create room to breathe and explain. “O-O-Okay! I’ll tell you. The river that goes beyond the Enohayen Mountain Range and flows into Enohay Valley? I…I met a girl, around my age and at one of the banks, while climbing down the mountain."

Tsubasa's ears shot straight up at the news, her eyes widening slightly. Now that her attention was piqued, she loosened her tail a little bit.

Finally able to back up a bit, Dama gulped before continuing. "S-She was unconscious and covered with injuries, so I had Mumu and Nina help me get her back up the mountain to my cabin to treat her wounds—but if what I’m thinking is what you're thinking, there’s no way she can be a witch! She doesn’t fit the descriptions in most stories at all!”

“You’d be right dear, those stories are just that—stories and fairy-tales. Fictions. For the most part anyway, there isn’t really a way to completely identify a witch, except for one thing that all witches have, no matter what—a 'Curse Mark.' It is a peculiar mark, usually on the left side of their bodies, in the form of animals they’ve bonded with as ‘Familiars.' Did this mysterious girl have such a mark, boy?”

Reminiscing about his fateful encounter with Giona, Dama confirmed seeing such a thing. “It hurts thinking back to her in such a state…but yes. I remember seeing a pair of black crescent moons intertwined with each other on her left collarbone…”

“Black Crescent Moons, you say!?" Tsubasa gasped. "That’s the Mark of the Witch Clan!”

“Eh? B-But I thought you said it was a curse mark?"

Wrangling her excitement back into place, Tsubasa coughed into her hand. “Ahem! Well, yes indeed, I did say that, but that was me jumping the fences too fast. They’re technically the same thing. The Mark of the Witch Clan morphs into a Curse Mark when a witch finally bonds with a familiar. Meaning you found a witch with no familiar, quite rare, on top of meeting a witch in the first place." Tsubasa grasped her chin as her voice trailed off. "They usually keep themselves hidden from society…”

“Granny Tsubasa, if I may ask: how exactly do you know about all of this?" Dama questioned, noting to himself how strange it was his grandmother figure knew so much.

A warm chuckled escaped Tsubasa's lips as she wagged her finger in front of Dama. “It’s another gift I’ve been given, a blessing from time itself, simple experience boy. Don’t forget, I was already in my sixth decade when you were born. Not to mention I myself wasn’t born here," she looked up solemnly, "alas, my birthplace is no more…”

Shaking her head after a few seconds, she uncurled her tail from Dama and used it to pat him on the head as she passed him, walking towards the entrance. “Come boy, take me to her.”

Dama heeded Tsubasa's command and began walking beside her. “Yes ma’am!”

Now walking through the majestic shrine complex, built by the Enohay Village ancestors, Dama and Tsubasa ventured to the exit.

Subconsciously, Dama started to rub his stomach thinking of how Giona will react to Tsubasa—something his grandmother figure picked up on. “Something wrong, boy? You’re rubbing the left side of your stomach. That’s a tick of yours when you’re nervous if I recall.”

“It’s just… You’re—you're not planning on doing anything to her, right?” Dama said, his voice laced with unease and concern for Giona.

Hearing said unease and concern in Dama's voice, Tsubasa adopted a smug smirk and tone. “Oh~? It’s only been two weeks and yet you’ve bonded with her this much?”

Flustered, Dama perked up. “What? No, it’s just—I can tell she has already been through so much...and most people here don’t take to the idea of a witch too kindly…" he said as he rubbed the back of his head, thinking about Tsubasa's earlier comment. "Either way, she only woke up yesterday."

Tsubasa closed her eyes, assessing the situation, and continued to walk with a confident stride. “Normally, I would be more alarmed. However, from what you’ve told me, seems she hasn’t acquired her curse mark yet—meaning she also doesn’t have a ‘Cursed Technique’ either. Combined with her being around the same age as you, she shouldn’t be of any danger." she said before cupping her chin in deep thought. "Though, her injuries are concerning if they were man-made…”

“Cursed Technique? Why does that sound familiar—!" Dama thought before remembering the second reason as to why he came for his grandmother's guidance. "Oh! That’s right!”

“Hm? What is it my boy?”

“I remember that I also came to ask you about my supposed ‘Soulful Technique’ you’ve mentioned in the past. Do Soulful Techniques and Cursed Techniques have the same relationship as the witch and curse marks?”

Tsubasa opened her right eye as she raised the same eyebrow in response. “Oh that? Fufu, you’re a curious one indeed Dama, but I think I’ve blabbered long enough, else your still growing adolescent mind will explode right off your head with such an influx of information~!” she responded as she demonstrated using her hands.

Dama waved off Tsubasa's obvious excuse. “Pfft, come on, the amount of times you’ve said that to me when I was younger hearing your nightly story times. You’re just tired of talking Granny Tsu.”

Huffing, Tsubasa closed her eye in a defiant manner. “Pah! Think you've got me all figured out, huh? Be that as it may, I’ll tell you the rest once I’m face to face with this witch… Hm?” Looking to the right of her, she perceived the holy area of the prayer shrine. There, a woman sat kneeling before an expertly crafted statue of a beautiful woman.

Reacting to Tsubasa’s complete stop, Dama looked to the right as well, seeing the same woman. “Ms. Adin?”

Tsubasa's ears perked up. “Oh, it is her! Out of everyone in the village no one prays more than her. I admire her diligence, why don’t we join her before leaving? We still haven’t given our blessings for today ourselves.”

Climbing the marble stairs at his granny’s request, Dama respectfully kneeled beside Ronoa Adin—a woman of dark blue hair and a simple brown kimono—deep within her own prayers.

Shifting his weight just a bit, Dama put his single hand over his chest and closed his eyes. The scenery was peaceful and quiet, the wind fluttered by his hair, and slowly, Dama could feel the very earth enveloping his body.

He felt at peace, connected with life itself, as if he could grasp it. It was a feeling he welcomed every time when he gave his prayers to the gods of Enohay Village—namely the earth goddess: Goddess Helia.

Yet, Dama for some reason couldn’t say his usual prayer. It wasn’t that he was not grateful anymore, far from it.

He survived that cursed plague that took his father, mother, and little sister.

He was even gifted a mystical ability that gave life to Mumu and Nina.

He was overall content with life moving forward.

So why did he feel like something was missing now?

“What was the plague’s origin? Who exactly is Giona? Where did she come from? Why was I given this ability? How did I give life to the stuffed animals my mom made?” In place of his usual prayer, Dama couldn’t help the wave of questions that he held back for years, only for Giona’s appearance to cause them to rush in and fill his thoughts.

Continuing to ponder each question, a strange feeling would feel in the atmosphere around him, like he was in a vacuum—as if the very world around him ceased to exist. A strong light proceeded to glow before Dama with immense intensity, making him wince in confusion.

Expecting to see the sun, Dama opened his eyes, only to be met with an enigmatic orb of light, bestowing the clear pristine lake beneath and bright blue sky above it with its unsullied glow—not a shadow or hint of evil to be seen. Entranced with the orb’s light, Dama slowly stood up and crept forward towards it, each step making a symmetrical ripple upon the lake’s surface.

Dama felt weightless, he felt at peace, he felt scared, he felt happy, sad, confused, eager, regret, hope, despair—Dama felt everything, yet nothing at the same time. It was overwhelming, yet he felt like he had been here before numerous times.

Now standing in front of the orb, its tail-like protrusion wiggling about, Dama noticed two ripples appear on the lake’s surface, each one at one of the orb’s sides.

As he watched the shadows below the lake’s surface grow larger, he would witness two creatures jumping out the lake with grace.

They scattered water droplets everywhere, each individual drop reflecting the orb’s almost divine glow, somewhat blinding Dama. Rubbing his eyes whilst snapping out of his trance-induced state, Dama could only think of more questions when searching for answers as to what was going on.

Opening his eyes once more though would only add another question that overpowered all others.

The two creatures standing before him and on both sides of the orb—were none other than Mumu and Nina…

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Next: (Chapter 8) Scent of a Witch: Part 2