Damned Desire

Chapter 10: Reunion

A few minutes ago, in Ike's study room.

"Alright, there are three points that we need to consider in order to deal with this curse," Mysta spoke while raising a finger in front of him.

"First, why did the curse try to invite us over here when it gained control of Ike's body?" asked Mysta.

"..."

The rest of the group pondered silently for a moment before Mysta answered himself, "It's because we were the root of Ike's wish. I suspect that if that curse managed to remove us, it would significantly weaken Ike's hold on his own body, which allows him to fully control himself."

Mysta continued on, "That's why none of us are allowed to die."

"...I mean, it's not like that was part of our plan originally," Vox chimed in.

"Shush. Now, for the second one," Mysta set aside Vox's comment and continued while raising a second finger, "If the curse was so powerful, why did it use its powers to alter everyone's memories instead of just taking over the world from the start?"

"Hmm, maybe it's because it needed Ike for some reason?" Luca theorized.

Mysta snapped his fingers in response. "That's right. It either didn't have enough power to perform such a feat from the start, or it required Ike's body even if that meant spending its powers to do so.

"That's true. While a curse could attach itself to an object, its power would grow stronger on a human body. It would make sense for it to spend its powers if it could gain a human body as a host," Shu recalled.

"But taking over a body doesn't seem that hard compared to changing everyone's memories and making a clone..." pondered Vox.

Mysta raised a third finger from his hand as he added on, "Which brought us to the third point; why didn't it just use its power to take over Ike instead of fulfilling his wish to make a deal?"

"...You're right. There was no reason for it to perform such a roundabout method if it was that powerful," pondered Shu.

"That means there's only one reason why it didn't do so; it couldn't," concluded Mysta.

"It couldn't take over Ike's mind? That doesn't..." questioned Shu.

Mysta began his explanation, "It's the only probable solution we have. Despite its overwhelming power, it resorted to fulfilling Ike's wish to make a deal in order to obtain Ike's body. Then, its attempt at fooling us at the start was mediocre at best. Finally, Ike was able to somehow obtain some control over his own body when the curse was supposed to have full control over it. Every single one of these facts combined into a single truth."

Mysta concluded, "The curse needed to get Ike's body, but its ability to manipulate minds is subpar at best. That's why it used the strength it had to fulfill Ike's wish, so it could strike a deal that allowed it to begin taking over Ike's mind and body."

"That makes sense, but what are we supposed to do with this knowledge?" questioned Vox.

"Simple. Shu, do you have a curse to transfer a person into someone else's mind?" Mysta asked Shu.

"Well, I do have that. The Curse of Mind Travel allows one to infiltrate someone's mind..." Shu's explanation trailed off as he began to understand the meaning behind this question.

"That's right, I'll go into Ike's mind and rip that bastard's hold over Ike. Problem solved," Mysta concluded simply.

"T-That's too dangerous, Mysta! Let me come with you!" Luca nervously stammered.