Defying The Curse

Chapter 3... Another View...

Xander's POV

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I woke up and looked around. It was the same... Again. It had been 250 years since I last saw them, 250 years since I last saw anybody I was close with. I got up and got ready. I went to the mirror and saw my missing arm, touching the scar. What have Ryuuji and Formori been getting themselves into? I brushed my hair, changed my clothes, ate breakfast, and stepped outside to feel the fresh air. Which world was this again? I forgot, but it doesn't matter, they aren't here. Nobody's here anymore. No one I love is here. I was an idiot. I could've prevented everything. I didn't make it in time to prevent Ryuuji from getting cursed. And now all three of us are cursed. But... Why am I the only one who has been... revived?

Flashback to 250 years ago

Formori and I ran as fast as we could to get to Ryuuji. We sensed him in danger. The demons are attacking. Nina had sided with them, that idiotic woman, doesn't she know her own life is in danger if she makes a contract with them?! As we got there, I already saw Ryuuji with a curse symbol on his chest. I widened my eyes. Formori ran ahead and I tried to stop him otherwise he'd get cursed as well.

I was such an idiot, I could've killed them but I didn't... I was too scared to lose people I loved again. Formori had gotten cursed as well. Ryuuji had the Curse of Forever Grief and Formori had the Curse of Lasting Pain. I ran towards them, but I got cursed as well. I was an idiot blinded by my cowardness. It was all my fault I let them get cursed. And now they suffer. Before they sent Formori away, I begged them to release them. They didn't agree, because it was their other person's contract. I then asked them to give me their pain. That way, they weren't alone, feeling the pain. I was cursed...with the Curse of Betrayal.

End of Flashback

It has already been 250 years... I want to see them. I'm so lonely here, all alone. I decided to go into another world and hope to find better clues. I walked back into my house and grabbed stuff, my bow, and pictures. I noticed a picture fall and I picked it up and looked at it. It showed me and my family, our first and last family picture. I closed my eyes, thinking about them. If only I had been fast enough, I could've saved them.

I looked at the picture again and looked at Goren. I brushed his face, trying to remember. It's been 210 years since that incident. I saw them... I saw both Goren and Void. Would that mean they are still alive? No, they died. They can't be alive again... I saw them die. And it was my fault for being an idiot.

Flashback 210 Years Ago

I walk into a run-down temple. I look around for any clues of finding any way to go back or at least contact Formori or Ryuuji, but I can't find any. I looked at the mural and realized this place was dedicated to Agaar, the Archangel of Pride and Flames. I frowned, remembering what had happened with the incident years ago. I walked around a bit more and saw an open passage to a basement. A basement in a temple? Strange. I looked around a bit more. This place wasn't abandoned, just run down. People must have still prayed to him. I walked over to the altar, but the bowls seemed like they hadn't been touched within a few centuries. Moss had completely covered everything.

I still see everyone else praying to the other gods and goddesses, so why does no one pray to him? I hate this man but I'm surprised that if this is a temple made for him, why are there no people praying for him? He was quite famous back then... Is this a temple? Or was it another building dedicated to him? I looked back at the stairs going to a basement and decided to go and check it out. I walked down the stairs and saw a big stage in the middle... with a light shining down.

There was something off about this... but it could maybe help me find a way to Ryuuji and Formori. They need my help. I walked around the podium and examined the surrounding area around it. Seats, weapons, and what seemed to be mannequins? Was someone trying to put on a show? No, why would they get weapons? I looked closer and realized, it wasn't weapons... but people. That's why there are weapons, they came here in pursuit of something. But what? I looked closer and saw burn scars, burnt organs, and... heat. I could feel the heat from them. They were recently killed.