I Awakened A Divine Curse

Auren froze at the lake's edge, his body still bent forward, ready to enter the water. He blinked once, then twice.

He couldn't step in. Not because the water repelled him, but because two figures had just risen from the lake's edge to his left.

The first had silver hair cascading down her shoulders, glistening like mercury under the pale moonlight. Her face, though rough and darkened with grime, couldn't hide the beauty that pierced through like sunbeams through storm clouds.

The second looked even more haggard, his once-blonde hair now almost black. Filth clung to him as though he'd been rolling in soot for an eternity.

"What in the world happened to you two? Did you swim in a mud pit for ten years?"

Auren asked, his voice cracking with disbelief.

Jasper's lips curled into a weary smile.

"I could say the same about you, Master Auren."

Auren paused, glancing down at himself. Indeed, of the three, he appeared the most disheveled—clothes and skin soaked in black blood like mucus. But there was a difference.

"This is different," he muttered.

"How so? You look like you were dragged through sewage."

Auren's voice rose an octave.

"S-sewage?! How dare you?"

Jasper shrank back, scratching the nape of his neck.

"Ah, forgive me, Master Auren."

His eyes darted away, a sheepish grin playing across his lips.

Auren narrowed his eyes, studying the pair. Something had changed—nothing dramatic, but unmistakable nonetheless. Their presence felt weightier, more substantial. The light in their eyes had shifted too.

Jasper's gaze especially had lost its naivety from just hours ago, now carrying shadows of experiences unseen.

The noble scion chuckled softly. "

Well, it certainly has been a while, Master Auren. We searched every corner but never found a trace of you."

His expression clouded, voice dropping to almost a whisper.

"We nearly believed you were... dead."

Then, like sun breaking through clouds, he smiled and glanced toward Meredith, who knelt by the lake, already washing her face with cupped hands.

"Lady Merr insisted you weren't dead."

Jasper's voice softened with wonder.

"I don't know why, but she never wavered in her certainty."

Auren's gaze darted between them, lingering first on Jasper, then Meredith, before snapping back to Jasper with laser focus.

"What do you mean... 'been a while'? Looking for me? Thought I was dead?"

His brow furrowed, deepening the creases etched with dried blood.

"You're spewing words that make no sense."

Meredith rose from the water's edge, her face now cleansed of grime. Her beauty bloomed in full splendor, droplets catching moonlight as they trickled down her smooth skin.

She said, her voice calm like still water:

"We don't know how much time has passed. But since we parted ways, war has erupted between Heart and Highrise. Somehow, we found ourselves caught in the crossfire."

Auren's eyebrow arched. He turned toward the lake, staring at the grotesque reflection that greeted him—a face splattered with putrid blood staring back from the dark water.

"Please, Meredith. Give me a moment."

With those words, he waded into the lake, each step deliberate.

As Auren submerged himself, scrubbing away layers of filth, Meredith and Jasper wandered toward the massive Sandworm. Half its colossal body lay buried in the dunes, the rest sprawled across the sand like a fallen monument.

Terror flickered across Jasper's face.

"Lady Merr, could this possibly be...?"

She nodded, her expression grave as stone.

"An Abyssal Blighted. Without question."

The color drained from Jasper's face.

"How in the world? Did Master Auren actually slay such a creature?!"

Meredith glanced back toward the lake where Auren bathed, her eyes—though solemn—echoing Jasper's disbelief.

Minutes later, Auren emerged from the water. His clothes clung to his frame, water cascading down his body in rivulets as he approached them with unhurried steps.

Without ceremony, he peeled off his shirt and began wiping his face and torso before wringing the garment dry. As he worked, every precisely defined muscle in his pale body coiled and rippled with sculpted strength, particularly evident as he twisted the fabric with powerful hands.

Meredith averted her gaze, suddenly finding the night sky fascinating. The dark canvas of stars had always been a comfort to her.

Once finished, Auren opened his palm. A short, curved black dagger with pulsing crimson veins materialized in his hand. Without hesitation, he began carving into the Sandworm's enormous corpse.

"So, let me get this straight," he said, not looking up from his work. "A few hours ago... we parted ways... right?"

Meredith's voice sliced through the night air, cool and emotionless as winter steel.

"It has not been a few hours. It's been a very long time since we parted."

Auren's hands stilled, his blade hovering above the Sandworm's flesh. A frown etched itself across his features as he contemplated the meat he'd been harvesting.

He already suspected the cause of his confusion. Still, the implications stretched beyond belief.

"Can you tell me how much time has passed?" he asked carefully. "In a manner that makes sense, despite the...lack of time flow."

Meredith locked eyes with him. Her gaze gradually drifted distant, as though peering through a window into memories she'd rather forget. She drew a soft breath, like someone preparing to lift a heavy burden.

"We stumbled upon the priestess who captured the dawn. An Exalted, immensely powerful. She promised to help us locate the Paladin of Highrise who took you captive."

Her fingers curled into a loose fist.

"Instead, she sold us to the kingdom of Highrise. We were fools, believing someone of her standing within Heart would assist us if properly compensated. Our offerings meant nothing to her—we were merely bargaining chips for something far more valuable from Highrise."

The moonlight caught the bitter smile that flashed across her face.

"They branded us as Heart infiltrators—not entirely false in my case, as Heart had offered me shelter. We were to be executed as a warning to others, but the other Nascents..."

Her voice softened with gratitude.

"They freed us. We had nowhere to run. The red-haired one insisted Heart was our only sanctuary, the only safe haven we truly knew."

She looked away, toward the endless dunes.

"We fled to Heart, but unwittingly brought Highrise's army in our wake. They had permitted our escape, using us to reveal a path into Heart's territory. Heart's defenses were nearly impenetrable—the small breach we created was all Highrise needed to strike first."

Her shoulders tensed.

"With that first blow delivered, Heart countered with a devastating assault of their own. War engulfed the entire plain of Shattered Stones."

Meredith's voice dropped to a whisper, haunted.

"We had no choice but to flee but we were apprehended and commanded to march alongside their soldiers..."

Her eyes darkened, pupils dilating with remembered horror.

"The methods by which chaos was unleashed..." She shuddered visibly. "They were cruel beyond measure, especially terrible for us Nascents. Eventually, we had no choice but to abandon the battlefield."