I will return

6

I couldn't believe what I had just read. I was speechless, my mind caught in a tangle of dark and confused thoughts. How was this possible? The Daemon Ritus... that cursed artifact! Because of it, both my uncle Scooby and I are condemned to suffer a curse. A curse that would change our lives forever.

According to the book, when the Daemon Ritus fused with me, I unknowingly accepted a condition. A curse that would activate if my plan failed. And it did. That's why my body has remained the same size, that of a puppy. A puppy! I haven't grown an inch in all these years! And that's not all! My voice is still the same, that irritating high-pitched voice that constantly reminds me of what I was and what I will never be again.

"Damn it!" I screamed in fury, throwing the book against the cell wall. The dull sound of the impact echoed in the small space, but I didn't care. The hatred consumed me, burning inside me like an uncontrollable fire. How could I have been so stupid? How did I not see this coming?

As my rage grew, my thoughts turned to my uncle Scooby. He is also trapped in this curse, though in a different way. Because he was the sincere soul, they gave him 30 more years of life. Thirty years in which he will live with a healthy and strong body. But me! I'll be in this damned prison, the size of a puppy, for the rest of my life! How long will that be? Thirty years? More?

"This can't be happening!" I told myself, punching the wall with my tiny fists. The echo of my voice reverberated in the empty cell, but it brought me no comfort.

Suddenly, while I was still lamenting, I felt something strange in my chest. An itch... no, something deeper. It was like someone was scratching me from the inside, a disturbing sensation I couldn't ignore.

"What the hell...?" I muttered, placing a hand on my chest, trying to identify the source of that sensation. But there was nothing. However, the feeling persisted, like a shadow refusing to disappear.

I sat on my bed, trying to calm down, when suddenly, on the television in the corner of the common room, an image appeared that froze me in place. The Daemon Ritus! There it was, on display in some museum or event, I didn't care where. What I did care about was what I felt every time someone touched it. A sharp pain, as if it was connected to me, as if my body was linked to that cursed artifact.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" I screamed, unable to hold back. My fury was uncontrollable, the hatred bubbling inside me like a lethal poison.

But then, as I watched the images on the television, an idea began to form in my mind. There was something else in the book, something that mentioned a "second chance." I didn't know exactly what it meant, but something told me that not all was lost. Maybe, just maybe, I could reverse what had happened to me. But first... I needed to know more.