I Awakened A Divine Curse

Jasper's voice splintered into terror, trembling as he struggled to piece the words together.

Auren, calm and steady, moved toward him and knelt. His gaze swept over her body—first the faint violet flames flickering in her palm before they snuffed out, then the ice beneath her, already dissolving into mist. But what clenched his gut was her plummeting temperature. His jaw tightened, and without hesitation, he scooped her into his arms.

"Follow me!"

Auren exploded into motion, tearing back along the path they'd come. Debris from shattered walls and pillars littered the way, but he vaulted over them without breaking stride, hitting the stairs to the Spire's upper levels like a storm.

Seconds blurred. They shot through a narrow passage, then veered sharply into a doorway—its frame mangled, as if something monstrous had ripped it open.

The ghostly blue flame still danced eerily, untouched by their absence. The moment Auren laid her down, Jasper was already shifting the stone shafts that controlled the nature of the flame, adjusting its temperature to what Meredith needed now.

The flame shifted—crimson now, its edges licking the air with a cantaloupe glow. It flickered dangerously within the circle of interlocking glphy stones.

Almost instantly, their skin glistened with sweat. That alone told them the mechanism was working.

They exhaled, stepping back from the flames, eyes fixed on Meredith.

Jasper studied her with a somber expression.

"It's crazy when you think about it. How special this glyph sorcery is."

"Special?" Auren muttered. "I don't know. Useful, sure."

Jasper's eyes gleamed with something like longing.

"Do you think we'll ever learn it?"

Auren stared at the strange-colored fire and shrugged.

"Don't know. Don't care. I'd rather master the sword than anything else. Give me the right sword art knowledge, and I'll cut through everything. This sorcery?"

He flicked a glance at the flames.

"It's nteresting, yeah. But what I want is a sword art that can cut down anything."

"Aha… Master Auren, you sure are obsessed with swords cutting things—"

Jasper's words died in his throat. The mention of cutting seemed to claw up some gruesome memory—his face went pale in an instant.

Auren frowned.

"What?"

"Nothing. Nothing at all."

Jasper forced a hollow chuckle and scrambled toward Meredith, putting distance between them.

Auren's gaze bored into his back.

'Something's off with him.'

A second later, Jasper's voice ripped through the silence.

"Master Auren! She's not getting any better!"

The frown on Auren's face deepened. As he moved toward Jasper, a violent tremor suddenly rocked the entire Spire, sending vibrations through the stone beneath their feet.

Auren's brow furrowed further, the tension making his temples throb. His eyes snapped upward, searching for the source of the disturbance.

Then — something dropped from above, catching itself at the window ledge.

A woman hung upside down in the frame, her black hair streaked with white flowing like a waterfall in reverse. Golden amber eyes, empty as a starless night, swept across the room before locking onto Auren. In an instant, those ancient eyes sparked with recognition and delight.

"Brat!"

Auren tilted his head slightly.

"Old hag?"

Asenya released her grip and slipped through the window like gravity meant nothing to her. She landed light as a falling leaf and rose slowly, her movements fluid.

"Oh my gods!"

Her voice carried both amusement and threat.

"You vanished after promising to help me wreck things! Was all that talk about being someone's judgment just lies?"

A dangerous grin spread across her face, her eyes glowing with barely-contained energy. Auren knew this playful menace was nothing compared to what she could truly unleash.

He said, holding up his hands.

"Listen, listen, old hag. It was the strangest thing… no deception at all. One moment I was chasing the Worm, the next we were both buried in sand! How was I supposed to know a Catastrophic Blighted would actually run from you?"

Asenya folded her arms beneath her ample bosom, shifting her weight onto one hip.

"Well, I suppose you wouldn't know. Even I didn't expect that from an ancient worm… turns out it survived by fleeing from threats and striking when they're weakest."

Auren opened his mouth to ask how she knew this, then caught himself.

'Right.'

He was talking to a woman who'd lived five centuries. The realization made his shoulders slump with a quiet sigh.

Now that he thought about it, her words rang true. The Sandworm had invaded the tentacle creature's territory, dragged it from the water, blocked its escape, and finally killed it. The strategy reeked of calculated cruelty.

'What a cowardly Tyrant!'

Asenya's golden eyes slid past Auren, coming to rest on the two young humans behind him.

Asenya's lips curled.

Immediately Auren's expression darkened.

"Don't get any twisted ideas. They're the companions I told you about."

A slight frown creased Asenya's brow as she tilted her head.

"So you're not... taking turns with this innocent girl? He seems finished. Are you next?"

Heat rushed to Auren's face. Finished? Next?

"Finished with what? No one's taking turns with anything! You vile witch! Get your filthy mind out of here!"

Asenya nodded thoughtfully.

"From 'mummy' to 'witch.' I'll take that as an upgrade."

Auren's composure unraveled at the edges. He hadn't felt this off-balance in hours — the last stretch of peace now shattered.

Before he could fire back, Jasper's strained voice crept up behind him.

"Master Auren... we need to act now. Lady Meredith might die."

Auren whirled around, dropping to his knees beside Meredith. His fingers brushed her skin — the cold bit deep, sharp enough to make him jerk back. Frost already crept across his fingertips where he'd touched her.

The magical fire roared beside them, its heat blistering the air, yet Meredith's condition showed no improvement. If anything, the cold seemed to be winning.

Asenya loomed over them, her usual amusement gone.

"That girl's suffering frostbite. Why in hell would you put her near magical fire?"

Auren's face went as pale as Meredith's.

"To help?"

His voice cracked.

"Damn it, I didn't know what else to do!"

Asenya bent down and picked up Meredith's body with one effortless motion.

"In a world like this, brat, what seems reasonable often isn't. You can't cure a soul-eating parasite by placing its host near a magical fire that's secretly feeding on her dying energy."

Auren's face twisted in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

Beside him, Jasper had gone just as pale, his brow furrowed.

Asenya's eyes darted between them, genuine surprise flashing across her features.

"Wait. Don't tell me... you've been here this whole time?"

Two heads nodded in unison.

A wicked grin spread across Asenya's face.

"Oh my. I wonder how much of your souls remain before you both fade away."