I Awakened A Divine Curse

After trudging through the sand for what must have been hours, the sheer speed of the Sandworm's movement sank into Auren's mind like a stone in water.

The distance they struggled to cover on foot, the cursed creature had sliced through effortlessly—diving into the dunes and flowing through them as if swimming through liquid. What had taken them hours to walk, the beast had likely crossed in mere minutes.

The site of the clash stood out like a wound in the desert. Colossal patterns scarred the scattered dunes, the sand bearing witness to the brief violent confrontation between Asenya and the Sandworm. Though the grains couldn't be crushed, the marks of the assault remained etched across the landscape.

The three of them stood apart on the roughened sand until Jasper's lively voice broke the silence.

"So..." he trailed off, leaving the question hanging in the air.

Auren replied.

"We go to Sundered Spire. I'm sure she'll find her way around."

He studied their faces carefully, his gaze narrowing with suspicion.

"You guys know where Sundered Spire is... right?"

Meredith drifted closer to him, her footsteps barely disturbing the sand.

"Well, you said she could help make her journey easier. I was looking forward to that."

Her voice and eyes carried no spark of life, which somehow made the situation amusing in a way Auren couldn't articulate. Not that he laughed. He was too shaken by the nature of their ignorance.

"So, you guys set out for this Sundered Spire with only the knowledge that it's somewhere in the Black Desert? That's quite dumb."

Jasper stepped between them, his back straightening.

"Master Auren calling Lady Meredith dumb is what I will not allow. It's fine to call me dumb."

Meredith's voice rang out coolly.

"You're not dumb, Jasper. You are the one who figured out about the Sundered Spire."

Jasper's eyes lit up like stars on a clear night.

"Oh my, Lady Merr, thank you so much for believing in me. I've never had anyone believe in me like you before."

Auren stood frozen, his mind reeling at this strange exchange.

'Is this how close they've grown to each other? She even calls him by name now?!'

He shook the thoughts from his mind like dust from a cloak.

'It's none of my business.'

Jasper faced Auren, squaring his shoulders despite the slight tremor in his voice.

"What we know is that the Black Desert has five temples—one in its center serving as the major anchor temple, while the others are scattered in a circular pattern around other regions. The one in the center is the Night Temple. Once we locate the Night Temple, Sundered Spire lies directly north of it."

Auren studied Jasper, noting how the boy's confidence wavered yet held. The lad managed to deliver his message without cowering, though his words quivered at the edges.

Auren maintained an unreadable mask even after Jasper finished speaking, causing the poor boy to take an uncertain step backward, his resolve crumbling under the weight of that stare.

Then Auren finally exhaled, his breath stirring the air between them.

"Looks like both of you are in luck today. Maybe everyone is in luck today, really. Perhaps Lady Luck herself is smiling upon us!"

Meredith and Jasper exchanged glances before turning back to him with expressions caught between puzzlement and concern.

Meredith's voice cut through the silence like a blade of ice.

"Who is Lady Luck?"

Auren waved her question away.

"You wouldn't know."

Jasper turned to her, his face brightening with eagerness.

"Lady Luck isn't actually a person—it's just one of those strange idioms from the lost language. Oh, and idioms are phrases whose meanings differ from the literal meanings of the individual words."

Meredith's brow furrowed slightly.

"Why would a phrase be different from the literal meaning of its words? Seems like a nonsensical burden."

Auren looked at her, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"You're so smart. Remind me to give you some money when we're done with this trial."

Meredith fixed him with a cold stare.

"I do not need your money."

"That was an idiom, Meredith. An idiom."

"Master Auren, I don't think such an idiom ever existed."

Auren turned to him, his gaze sharp as a blade. "Well, it does now. Got any problem with it?"

Jasper's throat bobbed as he swallowed.

"No, Master Auren."

"Okay, sharp! Let's move."

Jasper tiptoed into his next question, each word placed with caution.

"Move? Where are we going? Do you know the Night Temple?"

Auren's shoulders rose and fell in a casual shrug.

"Yes. That's where I live, although now, a statue that wants me dead lives there too, so yeah, I had to leave."

He waved a hand dismissively.

"You know, I actually didn't mind killing it—I've done it before. I'd probably just need to die a few hundred times again, but he was sort of the new landlord, and Asenya begged me not to break him. So, I decided to be merciful."

Their faces transformed with awe. Jasper's jaw hung loose, while Meredith simply stared at Auren, her expression a mixture of confusion and interest.

"Master Auren," Jasper said, his voice tinged with rare curiosity, "I think you might have had far more interesting adventures than both of us. We look forward to hearing about them as we go."

A wide grin split Auren's face.

"Not until you guys tell me how the hell you thought you could trust an Exalted, and worse, got sold out without even realizing it!"

Jasper's laugh emerged as a sheepish sound, like a child caught in mischief.

"It was actually my fault."

"Oh, I knew it was. I don't know Meredith, but I'm sure she would have resorted to killing."

Jasper's smile widened.

"The fact that you could accurately guess Lady Merr's reaction... I think you know her well enough."

Auren froze for a heartbeat, stunned by his own accuracy. He masked his surprise an instant later and began leading them forward, his footsteps cutting clean paths through the sand.

"Well, it's not hard to figure out, really. Most of what I suspect about her comes from watching her combat style."

Jasper's eyes widened, bright with wonder.

"Wow? You can tell a person's personality from how they fight?"

Auren nodded, confidence flowing through his posture.

"Absolutely. It's not difficult if you're a battle maniac—not just a reckless one, though. You have to be cool-headed and intelligent to read the subtext of every attack, every retreat, every parry, every dodge."

His hands moved as he spoke, painting invisible patterns in the air.

"Their leg movements, the way they pace and spread the sequence of their attack flow over a short amount of time—all these things speak of a much larger force that remains invisible. Only by weaving these elements together does it become apparent, and that's the first step toward reading someone's combat style..."

They continued their journey across the black desert, Auren's words rolling over the dunes like distant thunder. His voice carried on the dry air, filling the empty spaces between them.

For a moment, Jasper started to blame himself, but watching Auren ramble with such unbridled enthusiasm somehow reminded him how young Auren truly was.

It was a sweet realization, a precious glimpse behind the warrior's mask—something Jasper wanted to savor while it lasted.