Two Curses 3

Two Curses

*Author's Note: Iku rarely speaks, but Ares can understand the messenger of death. His words will be enclosed in brackets.*

Whenever a human summoned a curse or received a blessing from a god, the imprint of that blessing or curse lingered deep within their souls, allowing occasional communication with divines or demons when needed.

Deep within Thia and Gor's souls, something was happening—something visible but inaudible. Ares observed Iku standing on a cluster of bodies, feeling an amusement he hadn't experienced in a long time. The dark being held his sword hilt and spoke.

"Well, If it isn't death itself," Ares said with a smile. "Wanna fight?" Ares asked emitting nothing but Malice in it's ominous voice

["I'm not here to fight, Ares."]

"Oh, are you scared? Don't worry, I'm sure death can't die. So I won't kill you. Maybe," Ares teased.

["I'm not here to fight you, vile beast."]

"Ohh, someone has a sharp tongue. Wanna see if it's sharper than my sword?" Ares challenged.

Iku stood in its position, not moving.

"If you didn't want to fight, why all this charade?" Ares asked.

["I have a proposal for you,"] Iku said.

"Ohh, and what proposal does the great Iku want to make to a vile beast like me?" Ares asked.

["I want you to take over your vessel for a few seconds and stop them from clashing,"] Iku said.

"And why should I intervene in their business?"

["Just a safety precaution,"] Iku said.

"What do you mean?" Ares asked.

[Lady Tonia told me to keep an eye out for irregularities around my vessel. I've noticed three. One embedded deep within her soul, the second is that the Veil separating the three realms has grown weak due to our presence, and the third, I felt something ominous a month ago before my vessel arrived in this city. Although I'm not sure yet, I suspect a demon is here in the mortal realm.] Iku explained.

"O great beacon of death, as usual, you bring nothing but insidious news."

"Oh well, I also saw some irregularities in my vessel's soul, but I don't really care about that. Second, the veil growing weak is no surprise; it's been there for three million years. And finally, a demon can never slip through. Even if the veil was cracked. It's too strong for any demon or divine to pass through. And even if they have, that's still not my problem."

"And finally, we don't serve the same master! So, it doesn't matter if all this were happening, I couldn't care less," Ares asserted.

[Are you not curious as to why we were summoned? It had never happened before, and even when it did, it happened at the same time, same day, at the same hour. Something is up, and it's worth looking into.]

"I know we've never been summoned before, but does it matter?" Ares questioned.

["How about this, if you decide to cooperate now, I'll give you that spar you've always wanted. I'll even—"]

"Shut up, you creep. Let me think about your proposal..." Ares interrupted, his tone quickly changing.

While the two Maledictions were conversing, Thia and Gor were in a state of confusion and fear, trying to understand what was going on. Unaware that their curses were at play, they couldn't hear the dialogue within their souls.

After pondering for a while, Ares finally agreed. "I'll take over for a few seconds and make sure they don't clash, but you owe me a spar, Death, and I'll definitely collect," Ares said.

["I always pay my debt."]

"Now let's leave before they both lose their minds," Ares said, concerned that the kids would not be able to handle the fear in their hearts any longer.

Ija looked at Thia and Gor, who were both staring at each other suspiciously.

"Do you two know each other?" Ija asked.

"No," Gor replied immediately with a cold and harsh tone.

Ija tried to protest, but one look from Gor changed her mind immediately. "It's like he's an entirely different person," Ija thought.

Thia walked away from her position and quietly left the Princesses' room.

"Hey, wait Thia," Ija followed in a slight hurry.

After they both left Princess Lena asked Gor

"So, would you like some tea, cousin?"

Gor didn't reply for a while and was looking frantically around the room. "Where did she go?" he thought. He only remembered seeing Thia a while ago before he encountered the most horrible nightmare in his life. And now that he was awake, he couldn't find Thia again.

"Was seeing her also part of the nightmare?" Gor thought. If so, then how long have I been daydreaming...?"

Lost in his thoughts, the Princess touched him on his shoulder.

"What?" Gor replied angrily, causing Ares' aura to linger around him even more than usual.

"I- I asked if you wanted some tea?" Princess Lena asked, fear written all over her face.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Princess," Gor immediately apologized.

"Yes," Gor said; this time, he was back to his usual self.