"So Evelyn didn't tell you about the curse?" The old man said.
"She died right after passing it on me." He answered.
The man continued to eat, so he waited for him to finish. He was starting to get impatient, but he had to show respect to the man who helped him. Thane saw him take out a knife and a mango when he was done with the fish. He started peeling as he began the story of Desideres.
"Desideres was a white witch who lived in a secluded mountain. Legend says she was the most beautiful creature in Terra, even more beautiful than Aoife. She became the envy of many women because even the Gods would come from Caelum to see her. Her parents were scared that Desideres' beauty would anger Aoife, so they took her to the mountain to hide her. They thought she was safe, but one day a man found her. He fell in love, and so was she." The man paused.
"Little did she know that the man was one of Aoife's lovers. He ran away from her and accidentally found Desideres. Although Aoife had a lot of lovers, she didn't take it lightly when she found out that the man's heart now belonged to Desideres. Aoife was more furious when she learned that Desideres was the most beautiful creature born in Terra."
Thane didn't know anything about Desideres, but he knew who Aoife was. She was a halfling. Born from the Atlantean Goddess, Oceana and her vampire lover. Aoife was a greedy, lecherous woman. She was the most beautiful woman in the Kingdom of Ocearia, and all the men she wanted became her lovers, whether they liked it or not.
"Aoife went to the mountain where Desideres lived. She tortured her parents, killed her siblings, and Desideres was sexually abused in front of the man she loved. Then Aoife ordered to kill her and her family. They were burned alive, and the mountain she lived in was also set on fire. Before Desideres took her last breath and turned into ashes, she promised to return to take revenge on Aoife." The old man continued.
"How did she return?" Thane asked.
"She was a white witch, and she never hurt anyone. But what they did to her was unforgivable. Her body was burned and then vanished. The wind blew her ashes, but her soul never left Terra. She found a way to be reborn, and to do that; she needed to collect one thousand souls every ten years. She would never have a chance to do that since she was already a ghost, so she put a curse on someone to help her. He was her first victim."
Thane frowned. "You said one thousand souls every ten years. Does it mean to kill a thousand creatures in ten years?"
"Yes. Once you have the curse, you can no longer control your desire to kill. The curse will be passed on once the one who had it collected one thousand souls, or if they found a way to end their life."
"How about the others? What did they do?" Thane asked. He wanted to know what option the others chose that could help him with his decision.
"The first one to get the curse didn't complete the task. He was a Terran who became a serial killer because of Desideres' curse. After killing around fifty, he was caught by the police and got the death penalty. He passed the curse to his wife, who had an incurable disease. She then passed it to a doctor who was a vampire. That vampire was able to complete the task. Others willingly accepted the curse; some chose not to."
He sighed. It just made everything more complicated. He couldn't believe that he had only two options.
He would never taint his hand with blood, so his only option was to kill himself. But how? Thinking of what Evelyn did, he was mad and wanted to kill the witch again. But it was already too late, he already had the curse, and all he could do now was to think of a way to get rid of it.
Thane then laughed at it, and the sound of his laughter echoed inside the cave. The old man was surprised but eventually pitied him. He wasn't like the others who had committed unforgivable sins. Who would have thought the werewolf king would fall into that curse?
"How did you know all of this?" He asked the man.
Initially, the old man was hesitant, but Thane heard him sigh before answering.
"I am Fabian. I was the one who fell in love with Desideres. I am the reason she and her family was killed." The man answered.
"I thought you were killed too." He frowned.
"Aoife didn't kill me. She ensured I was alive so I could carry the burden of Desideres' death. I have been following her curse ever since. "
Thane felt the sadness and guilt in Fabian's voice. He didn't ask why he was following the curse. Maybe he loved Desideres so much and was hoping she would be reborn soon. Or perhaps he just wanted to feel her presence, and somehow the curse was part of his lover.
"Don't you think your lover is selfish for giving a burden and misery to someone who has nothing to do with what happened to her? How long would she let someone carry on her curse?"
Fabian didn't answer when he saw anger in the werewolf king's eyes. He couldn't blame him. He was right, after all.
The curse of Desideres was one of the reasons he wanted to end his life. He could not control his craving for blood, and for years Thane would hunt and kill animals or monsters who caused harm to others, then eat them just to satisfy his hunger.
Fabian helped him by putting marks on the places he could hunt. He was also involved with his planned death.
Thane had not seen Fabian after coming back to life. He also was not sure if he remembered that he had died.
Now that he was back, he was unsure if he could still control the desire to kill. So he needed to save the woman responsible for his resurrection. and would not allow her to die before him.