Trojan horse

"No."

Amantis flat out crushed his aspirations.

"But with a blessed wand that is forged by me, you can use the surrounding mana to do basic things."

They passed by the foyer, which was where the bed that Isaac first found himself was at, and went into the living. On the other side of the bed was a sink and a lot of mechanical tools.

Hammers, metal boxes, and everything of that kind.

'Whats this?' Isaac noticed the syringe that Amantis used on him when he first woke up. 'Now that I think about it, my symptoms have lessened.' He was mentioning to the pressure of this dimension on his body.

As he was about to touch it, Amantis ran from the other room to grab his hand and drag him into the living area. There was a couch where he probably slept, as there weren't any other rooms. On the table in front of the couch were some surgical tools.

"Whats this?" Isaac asked.

"I need a sample of the cursed blood!" Amantis answered. "So sit here and take off the robe, please."

Isaac sat down and did what Amantis said. Amantis then opened up the wound- which had the curse still alive inside-and drained a bit of blood, just enough to get a tube filled, then grabbed another device from the table and,

*Click!*

"Ah!" Isaac flinched.

Amantis had used the device to close the wound shut. It resembled a stapler, but it left no metal to hold the skin together.

"I'm sorry! I should've warned you!"

"Yeah, you should have." He grazed the wound and stung, but nothing he couldn't handle.

He then jumped up and looked behind, which was where the shrine for the god was.

"So you're religious?" Isaac asked.

He didn't get into the religious side in his research, so it interested him.

"No. That's Pug's. He is really into the associate of the church of divine path and god of trickery and disguises, Mr. Trojan."

'Another alias. The Doctor.... Mr. Trojan, as in the trojan horse, I'm guessing. I bet he thought he was clever with that.'

He read the quote on the bottom.

'Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception. All hail the liar.'

There was a picture of a man with a wolf's head. He had on just the skirt that most men wore in this city.

'This can't be a solid depiction.' Isaac didn't believe what the picture showed him. 'After all, if he is the god of deceit, then I'm sure he won't make it this easy.'

"Are you interested in his religion?" Amantis asked as he came up. "Pug is a huge fan since Mr. Trojan is a patron of this city. The barrier of fog in the forest? Yeah, he is responsible."

"How so?"

"He uses lizards as his attribute, and they roam the forest, spreading this mist all across. Once in the fog, without a guide, you get lost and have your memories wiped, forever wandering the mist."

'Ah. No wonder the king hasn't overtaken this place already. The fool has no idea what's even happening here.' Isaac chuckled.

"If he does all that for you guys, why do you not worship him?"

"I've sworn of religions a long time ago. These gods act as though they are holy, but they are no better than humans, just as selfish and only do what benefits them." The older man clenched his fist.

"Where were they when my people were getting slaughtered by earthlings in the war? Where were they when the mad century occurred?"

"Hmm." Isaac hummed at his frustration.

'Is it that serious?' Isaac grabbed his chest.

'Do people really form those types of relationships? It's so important that they would defy gods for each other? Why am I not able to feel like that?'

The two then hung around the living area before they saw the water go back in the ocean as the moon got closer. It had now fully turned red and was looming over the world as if to wrap its arms around and shield it from whatever was beyond.

Lights were turning on in the street, and it was entering night. The streets were now lit with the lights of the signs and lamps.

The people of this dimension could go a long time without sleep and food, and it was fascinating. They pretty much looked like humans but just evolved.

Isaac, on the other hand, needed his rest. He had already been awake for 30+ hours, and he was a defect summon.

"I'm going to sleep." He sat on the couch and saw Amantis nod at him.

It didn't take long before he dozed off, and the older man covered him with a blanket.

------------

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST BE NORMAL!???"

An older woman beat on a kid that was in the room's corner. He wasn't ducking; he wasn't crying or trying to fight back. The kid just sat and took the beatings in silence, and that set the lady off even more.

"JUST CRY!!! WHY WON'T YOU CRY!!!??"

Older Isaac stood and watched the memory play out in his head.

His younger self had long, nappy, dirty hair that wasn't taken car off at all. It was running rampant with fleas and lice that went all the way to his forehead and neck area.

'I don't remember this memory?' Isaac thought. 'I was too young to even form memories here.'

*SMACK!*

*SMACK!*

*SMACK!*

Eventually, his mother got tired and sat at the dining table, breathing hard.

Another memory.

This time, Isaac was a bit older, seven or eight years old. He was now cutting his own hair. Their house didn't have running water or electricity, so he was doing it outside in the woods with a knife he carved out of wood.

"Is that why your haircut is so weird looking? You've been cutting it yourself since you're young.' The deep voice came back.

"Are you the one showing me these memories?" Isaac asked.

"Actually, no." I can only access those once I finally take over your body."

"So you have something to do with my curse, huh?" Isaac sat down with a sigh.

"I really don't know myself like I thought I did. I always knew I was different and worse than others, but it seems to be deeper than that."

"Oh, you have no idea," the voice cackled.

"Who were those men? What am I supposed to not fail? Why is this my last chance? Why won't you give me answers?"

"I thought you liked mysteries. The journey, the thrill of finding things out for yourself, is what keeps you going. You said so yourself."

"I guess so."

The memory kept going after he was done with the haircut, messing some parts up and not cutting the back enough.

He then saw a bunny. It hopped over to him to smell his leg.

Isaac looked at the knife in his hand and the bunny, then raised it to stab the animal.

*Swish!*

He missed. The bunny hopped away just as he was about to kill it.

*GASP!*

A girl who was chasing the bunny stood behind a tree, witnessing what Isaac had just done. The 6 year old couldn't believe Isaac would try to kill a helpless animal like that!

"Monster!" She yelled and ran away.

Rumors quickly spread. People were quick to judge in the small, religious town they lived in.

"Don't you know killing animals as a child is a clear sign of a serial killer?"

"The devils child! I always he and his family were weird."

"Right! His mother never leaves the house, and his dad is at that bar 24/7!"

"I kinda pity him! Lorn save the child!"

Isaac never got to go out. He was never enrolled in school and never let out for activities. His mother would, on rare occasions, let him go out when she needed alone time.

Whether that was with another man or just to do drugs.

In these rare times of escape, Isaac was now getting bullied relentlessly outside.

"My mom says you're a freak!"

"Ewww! Why do you smell like that?"

"Is it true that you are the devils child?"

The kids would talk and ask.

"What's the devil?"

Isaac asked.

"The bad guy!"

The young boy would then think to his mother... then his father.

"Yeah. I am the devils child."

"AAAHHHHHHH!!!"

The kids would then run away living Isaac to wonder what he had done wrong.

He told the truth!

Was he really that bad of a child?

Some who felt like brave heroes would attack him physically, saving the town from the devil.

*BAM!*

"Take this!"

They would kick him down, throw rocks, and even shove him in mud puddles.

"HA HA HA HA!"

"You're a bad guy!"

"Kill yourself!"

-------

"Ugh!"

He then woke up from his dream and looked around. Amantis was sleeping on the floor, and Isaac hopped over him before going over to the door. As he passed the bed at the foyer, he noticed Pug's feet sticking out the corner.

'So he came back.'

The black-haired boy then opened the door and walked out. He made it all the way over to the store, which he and Pug were researching in. It was now fully night, and there weren't many people out with most in the underground clubs or sleeping.

He opened the door, went in, and found his way over to the hidden stairs. There, he descended the stairs and turned on the mini lamp. He took it off the wall where it sat and with him to the couch.

'Now to look for books on curses...'

He looked around the place, picking up book after book with no luck. Finally, he found a book titled,

'Black magic and old Latius.'

"YES!" He jumped up to the couch and started flipping through.

"No, no, no, nO, NO NO!"

The book was, in fact, written in Old Latius.

"Ughhhhhh!" He threw his head back in defeat.

'The only books talking about forbidden potions and the mad century, red queen or any of that are always written in old Latius.' He scratched his head. 'Would I be able to find the answers to my memories in old Latius?'

Isaac snapped his head back and sat up straight.

At that moment, he made the decision to learn - no MASTER- the language of Old Latius within the next 4 days.