Aether Nexus: Curse of Love & Hatred

Giona lay curled up in Dama’s bed, the thoughts of the boy swirling in her mind like a whirlwind. They'd met just a day ago, yet she already felt an unknown spark, a connection, a longing even.

His kind words echoed in her mind, the image of his warm smile lingered in her thoughts. What puzzled her the most, however, was that she couldn't shake off the feeling that their encounter wasn't mere chance.

Turning to her left, she was met with Mumu’s unrelenting stare as it sat on the floor beside her. It had been like that ever since she woke up.

It still slightly creeped her out, but she now knew it meant no harm, it even fed her bread when she woke up. Curiously though, the fox one was missing.

Rolling back onto her own back, lost in contemplation as to what to do, she could only stare at the same hardwood roof that she first woke up to. She couldn't help but to ponder on Dama’s return, a single tear starting to form within her eyes.

Shortly after though, a knock on the front door would shatter her reverie, sending her jolting up. “Don’t worry Mumu, it’s me! You can open the door!” Dama’s unmistakable high pitched voice rang from outside the front door. It signaled to the appointed warden of the house, Mumu, to relinquish his duties for the day.

Once Mumu opened the door, Giona couldn't help the biggest smile on her face from forming as she saw Dama’s own smile in the doorway. “Dama!” she exclaimed, letting loose a few tears and clenching her blanket from excitement.

“Hey Giona! Looks like you were awake, hope I didn't make you wait for too long. I actually have someone that wants to meet you from Enohay Village.”

In a presentational gesture, Dama stepped to the side to reveal a shorter individual. Her chocolate brown skin shined brilliantly among the sun's rays seeping in from the outside. Her stone gray, long hair and bushy tail, of which seemed to be the length of her own body, served as a natural contrast and had their own shine as well.

As the two met each other's gaze, Giona saw the woman's giant ears on your head perk up. “Ah, why hello, dear. So you're Giona. I'm Tsubasa Inin, Enohay Village Chiefess. It's nice to meet you. It's also nice to see you again Mumu~!” Tsubasa expressed whilst pinching Mumu's soft belly.

Making her way towards the bed, Tsubasa sat right beside Giona. Giona herself felt a little uneasy with such an unexpected turn of events.

As if sensing her uneasiness though, Tsubasa carefully wrapped her tail around Giona and held out her hand. “May I see your hand, Giona dear?”

“Oh yeah, uh, Granny Tsu," Dama interjected, closing the front door behind him, "she…doesn't really know how to speak…or read and write for that matter. She only knows how to say her name and mine as far as I know.”

Tsubasa's ears drooped to the side, “I see… Oh?”, only for them to perk right back up after she felt Giona's hand.

Feeling the warmth of her tail rubbing her shoulders and the soothing tone of her voice, Giona felt at ease with Tsubasa and lent her hand, albeit a little confused.

Rubbing the girl's thin and bandaged fingers, Tsubasa understood the depravity of her previous situation immediately. “My… Oh dear… You truly have been through a lot, haven't you? I admit Dama, you did well with these bandages. Has she eaten at all?”

“Of course. While she was still unconscious, I would try my best to feed her some vegetable stew and water. Last night she finished an entire bowl, and it seems she ate the bread I left for her this morning.”

Tsubasa smile and nodded with pride before turning her attention back to Giona. “Hmm, isn't she wearing your shirt?"

"Uh, well yeah. Didn't really have much else to cover her." Dama responded, trying to shake off the embarrassment he felt by rubbing his head.

"You make it sound like I'm chastising you—quite the opposite, good job. Next time, I'll bring some clothes for her. Now, if you will excuse me Giona dear, I just need to check something.” Tsubasa said as she pulled the collar of Giona's shirt down enough to bring the mark on her collarbone into view. “Yep, two black crescent moons. The Witch Clan's Mark—this girl is indeed a witch...”

Dama walked towards the bed in disbelief. “Really? Hard to believe, I always thought the idea of witches were just stories to scare children. Especially when you compare such stories to the tales told about Giona Tamaki. It's like night and day.”

“In a sense, yes. I know I've scared many of the village's children into behaving from said stories, kehehee!” Tsubasa cackled like a mischievous child.

“Pfft, with that laugh, I'd think you were a witch, Granny Tsu!”

“Hmph, if only I was, maybe then I'd have an ability to curse people that visit Enohay Village and make a ruckus!” Tsubasa grumbled, only for a mischievous smile to form as she imagined cursing people she didn't like.

Reminding him of Tsubasa's earlier deal, Dama inquired further. “Oh yeah! Don't you think it's about time you spill the beans on these ‘Techniques’ you talk about from time to time? You did say you'd tell me once you met Giona.”

Tsubasa put a finger on her chin. “Hmm, I did, didn't I? Well, you might want to sit down boy, it'll take some time to understand, so you better listen, alright?”

“Roger!” Dama elatedly shouted, sitting down on the stool beside the bed, his ears wide open.

As Tsubasa cleared her throat to begin talking, a soft voice would speak up. "Dama?" Giona murmured, still confused as to what was going on.

Turning to Giona, Dama gave her the very same gleeful and reassuring smile she first woke up to. "Don't worry Giona, Granny Tsu is one of the best people I know! You can ask her anything, and she will have an answer to it!"

Before Giona could reply, Dama rested his hand upon her left hand on the bed. "You can trust her, like you trust me, I promise."

"Pwo...mise?" Giona responded, as if she was half her age, shocking Tsubasa.

Dama nodded. ""Yeah, a promise! Like yesterday, when I promised you the soup would taste great, and when you tasted it, you loved it? That's both what trust and a promise is."

After staring at Dama, Giona took a moment to look down at his hand resting on hers. Using her fingers, she explored Dama's own fingers, feeling an odd warmth from them.

Eventually, Giona's hand became intertwined with Dama's. Looking back up to a confused Dama, Giona smiled with a sparkle in her eyes. "Twust... Pwomise... Dama!" she said, her face beaming with happiness—a face that caused Dama's heart skip a beat and his own face to become flushed.

Tsubasa sat mere centimeters away watching the whole scene, her heart practically melting. Soon, chuckles started to pour out seeing both of their faces flushed like ripe cherries. "My, seems she has already taken a liking to you," she clasped her hands together, "so sweet~!"

"N-Nevermind that, Granny Tsu!" Dama said as he turned back to Tsubasa, leading to Giona to do so as well. "Please, c-continue..."

Seeing Dama's face starting to glow red, Tsubasa hid her chuckles by pretending to clear her throat again. “Ahem! Well, to start. Dama, do you know your soul?”

“Do I know the soul?" Dama responded, looking to the side before bringing his attention back to Tsubasa. "Of course I do! The teachings of Enohay's religious beliefs speak a lot about it. ‘When one prays, they must open even their deepest desires into the world for thy gods to hear. Only when thy body, heart, mind and soul are joined, can thy prayers be heard—’ for example is written on one of the tablets by Goddess Helia’s Statue!”

Tsubasa nodded and crossed her arms. “While it's good to hear that you've been keeping up with our teachings, I specifically asked whether or not you know your soul, boy.”

“My—My soul? I…I mean…" Dama replied, taking his hand away from Giona and looking at it. "I know who I am? I'm alive. Does that count?”

Tsubasa stood up from the bed and walked towards the window, explaning along the way. “On paper, yes. Though you may only know about your soul on a surface level. The reason I asked that question was because the soul is what houses an individual’s ‘Soulful Technique.'

Raising a finger, Tsubasa continued. "It's an ability that most living beings are born with, but not all. Fewer even know they have one, let alone control them. Your ability that gave rise to Mumu and Nina is one of these Soulful Techniques.”

“Is that so," Dama murmured as he grasped at his chin, "wait, you said 'most living beings', does that—?"

"Yep," Tsubasa answered before Dama could finish, "that includes animals and even plants. Wonderful, isn't it?"

"Well, do you know how they work?"

“That I cannot answer, Dama. Every ability is suited to their user. To learn how to control it is frankly a task only you can handle my dear. Maybe if I had an ability of my own, I might have been able to guide you more. The only advice I have for you if you want to explore your ability, is to search within yourself—within your own soul. I guarantee all your questions will be answered,” Turning around, Tsubasa smiled gently at Dama, ”all you have to do is ask.”

Dama pondered on his grandmother's words, trying to connect them like puzzle pieces. “Hmm, all I have to do is ask?" he uttered to himself before perking back up, "Hold on!”

Mirroring Dama, Giona and Tsubasa both perked up.

“Oh? Did you figure it out, boy?”

“Maybe! Remember earlier, at the shrine?”

“Oh yeah, when you were sleeping~?” Tsubasa sarcastically mused, much to Dama’s annoyance.

“Yeah yeah," Dama waved off Tsubasa's sarcasm, "something weird happened. Instead of praying, or I guess ‘sleeping', I don’t know what came over me, but in my mind, I started asking questions. Next thing I knew, I was standing on an unknown lake so clear, it perfectly reflected not only me, but even the clear blue sky filled with clouds above it. Mumu and Nina were there too, alongside some glowing orb just…floating there.”

“A floating orb you say? I've never heard of something like this. Go on.” Tsubasa said as she fully turned around, her tail wagging a bit from the new information.

“Well, when I grabbed the orb, I was suddenly thrust into a different place—a void of light. After panicking for a moment, I turned to see the BIGGEST tree I've ever seen. Its thousands of branches reached in every direction, interconnecting with each other in such beautiful patterns." Dama exclaimed whilst stretching his arm as high as possible.

Pausing for a moment, Dama lowered his arm to look down at his hand. Thinking about what that golden energy it emitted right after, he continued. "Along with the branches were a staggering amount of leaves. The more I looked at the tree, the more I felt enveloped by some energy, or to be more exact, a pulse, like a heartbeat. It's hard to explain...”

Tsubasa stared wide-eyed at Dama. "I—I don’t know what to say. No wonder you looked so out of it back then. A giant tree with many branches and leaves, pulsing as if it had a heartbeat…”

“You know what it was, Granny Tsu?”

Tsubasa took a moment to answer, scratching her head while thinking. “I'll admit, it rings a faint bell in the back of my mind, but I keep on drawing blanks. Sorry, my boy.”

“It's alright Granny, you've already helped me greatly! We could figure it out together some time later.”

“Yeah, that'd be nice. Though, I think it’s about time we got back on track, I still have to talk about Cursed Techniques and Affinities. Does that perhaps ring a bell Gi—!?” Tsubasa's voice abruptly stopped, the shock of seeing a Giona's terrified face stopped her question in its tracks. “G-Giona, dear?”

Noticing the same thing, Dama sprung up from his stool to comfort the shivering Giona. “Giona, your face, it's drained! What's wrong?”

“S—ol... S-So… S-S-Soul…” Giona muttered over and over, seemingly in a state of shock. Grabbing onto Dama's shirt, she couldn't stop herself from shivering in fear. “D-D-Dama…”

Dama embraced her in an attempt to calm her down. “Yes, I'm here Giona. Everything is okay." Looking up, Dama pleaded with Tsubasa for help. “Granny Tsu, what should we do?”

“Saying ‘Soul’ must have triggered something. Poor thing…” Taking a moment to think on what to do, Tsubasa walked over to Dama's desk and grabbed some items.

Walking back over to the bed, caressing Giona once more with her tail, Tsubasa put her plan in action. “Giona, here, use the back of this book to draw whatever is on your mind on this piece of paper. Use this pen, and be brave for me, okay?”

Unwrapping his arm from around Giona, both she and Dama curiously looked down at the book. “Do you really think she can understand that Granny?”

“We'll see…" Tsubasa said before thinking to herself, "She can definitely recognize some words, like ‘Soul’, so it's not too far-fetched to try this out.” Drawing the window that was right in front of the bed, Tsubasa hoped Giona could understand what she meant.

Minutes that felt like hours went by as Giona took the pen and stared blankly at the sheet. Finally however, she started to doodle something.

It was crudely drawn, as if a five year old was the artist, but Dama and Tsubasa could make out an unknown symbol—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.

To Dama, it reminded him of the floating orb he saw earlier.

To Tsubasa, she recognized the symbol from a Jufuris Kingdom Knight that had come across Enohay Village years ago.

To Giona though, every time before she would be confined into total darkness, the last thing she would always see on their black cloaks would be that symbol...

The Soul Divination Council's Insignia

-

Next: (Chapter 10) Soulful, Affinity, and Cursed Techniques: Part 2