35 Taking advantage of his innocence

The kiss is barely a peck, but I feel jittery. I have realized that Kyo is going too far. If this keeps going in this direction my younger brother might never be able to find a real wife. That's not acceptable. I have to help him become a good man.

"Master, forgive me." Mogrok goes back to his mini-form.

"Mogrok, don't worry. I will raise him to become a good man. We will laugh it off together when he grows up."

Mogrok looks more depressed after hearing my words. I wonder what's wrong.

This wedding is just a child play. But, I feel strange. I shake off this feeling. I pinch Kyo's cheek. This boy is becoming naughty and willful.

"It hurts, sister," Kyo complains to me.

Deia laughs and tells him in a teasing voice, "You should call her 'wife' from now on. She can't be your sister if she is your wife."

Don't give him ideas. I glower at her. She shuts her mouth

Kyo utters without any hesitation. "Wife."

"Don't say that." I pinch his fluffy cheek harder. "Call me sister."

"But, you are my wife now," Kyo sounds annoyed. "I can love you more now. We can be together forever."

"If you call me that, I will never talk to you again." I turn my head away, pretending to be angry.

"Sister," Kyo wraps his arms around my neck. "I won't call you that. I am sorry."

Phew! "Okay, I am not angry anymore."

"Everyone is happy." Iver frowns at me. "Can we leave now?"

"Yes, we can." This guy is grumpy and impatient. "Kyo, let's go. You have to stay beside me, okay?"

"I will always stay beside you, Sister," Kyo announces jovially.

"Eat this," Iver yells impatiently. He gives me two small green round seeds. "These seeds will block your channels for a day. You have to eat this every day. It is not a 100% reliable solution. If you forget to eat for one day, there is a high chance of you being corrupted by the corrupted dark Ehr. Give one to your brother too."

I glance at Mogrok. He shakes his head. I decide to pretend to eat it. I am the Harbinger. Kyo is the Dark God. The corrupted Dark Ehr can't affect me or Kyo.

"Kyo, open your mouth."

He opens his mouth obediently. I pretend to throw the seed inside his mouth. "Close your mouth."

Iver looks satisfied while Kyo looks at me with confusion. I smile and give him a kiss on his forehead before he asks anything. It works. His mood turns brighter.

"Another one."

"Later."

"Why not now?"

"You are husband and wife," Iver interjects sarcastically. "Do it when nobody is watching you."

Deia snickers. I crack my knuckles. "Iver, don't say strange things. It is not like that between us."

"I don't care how it is." Iver seems like he is losing his patience. "Remember, even if he is mentally 'pure', he is growing up physically. He can still feel things that his mind can't understand. It is you who is taking advantage of his innocence."

What? What? What? My brain is having a hard time digesting the meaning behind his words. Taking advantage of Kyo? But, he is the Dark God. Who can take advantage of him? It is me who is at loss here. If I refuse things and make him angry, that evil God might come out and kill me instantly.

I can't explain that to Iver.

Does Kyo really feel stuff for me that a man feels for a woman? I take a thorough glance at Kyo. With each passing day, he is getting beautiful. He is God. So, it is expected that he will be heavenly looking in the future. Physically, he looks like a 16 or 17 years old.

But, the emotions in his eyes are not what an adult man should have. I smile at him. Kyo is Kyo. He is not like me or Iver. He is like the colour white. It's easily affected by other colours.

"Sister," Kyo cocks his head. "Are you upset?"

I have to protect him. If he gets easily affected, he will become a strange person. I can't let him do that.

"No." I take his arm. "I am just happy. From now on, don't believe anyone's words before asking me if it is true. If anyone says or does a strange thing to you, slap that person."

Iver grumbles something that I don't understand. Mogrok looks at me with guilt.

"I will do as you say, Sister."

Kyo's fingers entangle with mine. I realize that his hand is no longer small and soft. It has become bigger than mine. I sigh. Kids grow up so fast. It was only a year ago when he was a scrawny kid with small hands and big eyes.

"If we are all done and contented, follow me." Iver ambles ahead of us. "This is your last chance to change your mind."

Deia meets my gaze, saying nothing and secretly hoping for me to change my mind. I shrug my shoulders and walk ahead with Kyo beside me. Mogrok also follows me without a word. She takes long strides to meet my pace.

"We won't enter the Cursed Sea from there." We follow Iver through the ruins, silently listening to his words. "The beasts will attack us the moment we cross the barrier. There is another entrance."

The ruins speak a disturbing tale of a flourishing city. It is doomed to remain inhibited. The fading designs of flowers, people, and runes on the walls tell a story that is disappearing with time. I am not a fan of historical places. It makes me sad. But, I wonder what could have happened. I don't believe in history books. Everyone's truth is different. Then, what is the real story? What could have corrupted the Dark Ehr?

The Dark God was imprisoned by the other gods because he went insane and wanted to destroy the world. They took his heart away from him. But, the heart disappeared on its own. Before every night of union, the harbinger was born with the heart of the Dark God. The Renasir killed the harbinger before the harbinger could free the dark God from his prison and the heart could be reunited with its true owner.

But, this is an incomplete story. I want to know more about Kyo, the Dark God and his past. Whether I like it or not, the Dark God and Kyo are two sides of one coin.

***

Iver pushes the stone cover from the hole.

"That..." Deia bends a bit to look at the dark hole. "It's too dark."

"Did you expect rainbows?" Iver scowls at her. "Of course, it is dark. There is no sun or moon in the Cursed Sea."

"Kresi, can't we go back and find another way?" Deia regrets telling her about the Cursed Sea. "We won't have the three sisters' protection or the Eshyal's warmth."

"That's cool." Kresi looks at the hole with excitement. "I thought that only the heart of Belan had no moon or sun."

"No, there are many places. The Cursed Sea is one." Iver looks at them solemnly. "Dema continent is ruled by the twelfth Dragon God. Though the laws of eleven Gods also hold there, it's not a place where humans can survive. It's solely for the Dema and spirits."

Kresi's eyes shine brilliantly. Deia is also captivated. A land of spirits and Dema. If she goes to that place, she can find any spirit that is compatible with her.

"I wonder what they are teaching in the schools of the Lower Realm." Iver pities the kids who make it to the higher realm through the competition. The gap is too much if they don't even know about the twelfth God. People don't casually talk about the twelfth and thirteenth Gods in the higher and the middle realms because these are taboo topics. It is still something that everyone knows.

"I want to go to the Dema continent." Deia presses her palms together and imagines going around the world with her spirit. "My spirit would definitely be there."

Iver snorts after hearing her words. "You are more likely to find a Dema in the lower realm than find a way to the Dema continent."

"Hmm." Kresi rubs her chin thoughtfully. "Isn't the cursed Sea lingering between the realms? There must be a way to the Dema continent through the Cursed Sea."

"You thought right." Iver walks behind Deia. "The Cursed Sea connects all the realms."

With a push, Deia falls into the hole while screaming her lungs out.

"Making it through the Cursed Sea is no feat," Iver adds. "If you make it there, I heard that the Dragon God is intolerable of humans. The dragon god commanded all the spirits to eat any human who appears without his permission on the Dema Continent."

"He is not that bad." Mogrok sighs. "Master, I will go in first and check if there is any danger."

"Go, Deia is already there. She must be freaking out," Kresi tells him calmly.

"I don't care about the Seer." Mogrok Jumps into the pit.

"See you there." Iver follows Mogrok without any hesitation.

"Kyo, are you ready?" She holds his hand tightly. "Don't be afraid. Just close your eyes."

"I am not afraid when I am with you, Sister," He tells her firmly.

They jump together into the Cursed Sea.