As I looked into the Blessing of the Creator, I saw something that shocked me to my very core.
Several threads were entangled around a sphere inside of it. While a line of magic passing through it from top to bottom was frozen in place and shattered in the middle.
And over the inside of the sphere...
Was the emblem of Difar. The curse mark.
My curse...is inside the blessing skill...!? Not my soul!? All this time...I've been looking in the wrong place. Fine then. I don't need this shitty skill.
I used the Eye of Destruction to shatter the blessing skill. And once it was unbound from me...
"Command...delete!!!" I said aloud.
Kronos' eyes went wide as the binding on me disappeared.
I breathed a sigh of relief as I felt a tremendous weight lifted from my shoulders.
I smiled wide. A genuine happy smile. And I felt no pain.
"Glorious! I feel amazing!! Hey, I gotta thank you, Kronos! I never would have figured that out on my own! Man, I could hug you right now! I wish we weren't enemies!" I said gleefully.
"What is this...? He's smiling? And...moving around? Without pain...?" He said in disbelief.
"Yep! I feel amazing! You have no idea what it's like to be bound in a curse for most of your life...AND THEN WOOSH!!! IT'S GONE!! HAHAHA!!!"
"No matter! Mori!!! Execute him!"
He kicked Nasumi to the ground at my feet and charged forward with his sword pointed out.
Several blasts of energy were fired at me from every direction.
And with a big smile...I spoke a command.
"Command move!"
Nasumi had been touching my feet...we were both immediately sent to a new location.
I took us to a place deep underground. The Water Dragon's Sanctum.
After we appeared next to her altar, Nasumi shrieked aas soon as she saw Kelvastiol.
She was in her normal dragon form...but also flickering in place. It looked like she had been giving a sermon to the monks living here.
I quickly managed to conceal our presence from the rest of the world.
I made double sure that they couldn't detect us.
Even going as at as to sever the link Nasumi had with the others using my magic.
By the time the signal even got halfway, it would have already dispersed. We were finally safe...for now.
I collapsed to my knees in exhaustion and dispersed the armor on my arms and hands.
"By the gods...it's been so long... It's finally gone! That wretched curse!!!" I said aloud.
Tears began flowing down my cheeks as I wept out of joy.
I wanted so badly to share this moment with Isabella and Cassandra... I hated being trapped here. I wanted them to hold me so that I could cry on them.
Instead, Nasumi gave me a hug. She held me against her chest.
"It's okay... I'm...not a replacement for them. But I know how much you must have suffered. It's alright now. Here, let me heal you! Command: Heal!" She said.
I felt a calming aura wash over me. I was covered in healing magic and I smiled as the pain went away.
"Thank you, Nasumi... I'll make sure you won't have to fight anymore. When this is all over, I want to build a world where we can all be happy," I said.
"I think I would like that very much."
Nasumi hugged me and leaned her head on mine.
"Technically speaking...aren't you like an older sister to me?" I asked as Nasumi finally pulled away.
Her face turned red as she considered it.
"Uwah!!! Y-you might be right about that.... S-sorry... I-"
"Don't be. I mean, you really shouldn't have a reason to be sorry. So why are you apologizing?"
"I...uh...well... N-no reason! I'm happy to be your big sister! Hehe!"
Nasumi seemed really jumpy all of a sudden, but I decided not to let it bother me.
After all, I had other more pressing matters...
Like dealing with Kronos and getting the hell out of here... As well as my sword...
I was so angry about losing it... The betrayal of losing my trusted partner was enough to make me see red.
But I would have to press on...using the power this Eris person supposedly gave me. For now, I needed to rest.
I laid down on the hard floor and pulled a spare shirt from my inventory.
"Ah...Mizik? What are you doing?"
"I haven't slept in a while, so it might do me some good to relax for a bit. Care to join me? Our presence should be well-hidden enough to where they can't find us."
I'd made sure to scramble our presence using commands. If they found us, it would truly be by accident.
"S-sure...I don't mind doing that! I feel exhausted..." Nasumi said.
She pulled a small pillow from her inventory and sat down next to me. She laid her pillow close and laid down. Within minutes, she fell asleep.
And soon after, I passed out as well.
* * *
"Scan again!" Kronos said angrily.
"I'm trying...sorry big bro..." Mori said sadly.
A holographic image of the containment sphere's subsystems hovered in her hands. She repeatedly pressed the scan button...to no avail.
[Entities not found.]
That was the message she saw over and over.
"Progenitor OS: Command Locate!" Kronos said in rage.
And moments later, he stomped his foot on rage.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?!? THEY DIDN'T JUST DISAPPEAR!!! WHERE DID THEY GO!?!?"
"Sir, maybe you should try to relax? They can't leave without the Progenitor OS. Maybe they're just hiding?" Mako said.
Kronos glared at Mako.
"Geez, Krow. You need to be careful or you'll become a villain. Don't forget that we're your friends and allies. Actually wait... If you go rogue, maybe you'll get reprogrammed. Then I can be the leader! Ha!" Kesia said.
Kronos let out an exaggerated sigh and tried to call himself.
"Right right...I'll be rational. They can't escape, so obviously Mizik just found a way to erase their presence. Inevitably...they'll come to us. We just have to be patient."
"That's the spirit! Now apologize to Mori, you ass!" Kesia said angrily.
"Gah...sorry Mori. I've been a real jerk. It's just something about Mizik that makes me so angry..." Kronos said sadly.
"It's okay, big brother! Mori forgives you~! Murder Mizzy killed a looooot of people. So I know you hate him lots!" Mori said cheerfully.
Kronos gave her a weary smile.
"When this is over, we'll all go out for ice cream! How's that sound?"
Mori seemed to be the only one cheering, however...
"What about Nasumi...?" Mako said.
"After she gets reprogrammed...we should have her back. I'm not sure what he did to brainwash her, but-"
"Brainwash...? You serious? He didn't do anything like that to her. Just the promise of not forcing her to fight was enough," Mako said.
"Have I really been hard on her lately?" Kronos said.
"Well...not really. Not from what I can tell..." Mako said.
"Then I have no choice but to believe brain washing is a potential factor. Even if Mizik doesn't have his full memories back, I can't rule it out. Now then...where should we set up camp?"
Mako seemed sad. As did Garen and Kesia.
But Mori was all too happy to look for a spot to sleep.
And as most of the group began getting ready to sleep...Kesia stayed awake.
She silently sighed and spoke to herself.
"Are we really doing the right thing...? Can we win this...?"
* * *
As I slept, I felt like I was floating. Images swirled around me of familiar places, events, and people.
One by one, these images would disappear...and when they did, I would remember.
This continued for a while... Over and over again, the memories would return to me.
And eventually...I was alone in the darkness.
I heard a voice behind me as soon as it finished.
I turned to see a beautiful woman with long silver hair wearing a military uniform.
"Eris?" I said.
"Now you remember! Awesomeness!" She said.
"What's going on?" I asked.
"I gave you your memories back. That's what."
I frowned. I knew for a fact that there would be some kind of string attached.
But before I could open my mouth...
"You already know this. I want something in return."
"Called it."
"Ahem! Remember when I said that thingy about your sword not being yours?"
"Yeah...sorry about that. Looks like you were right."
"Sure was! But that ain't important. Not now, at least. You can get the sword back, but only if you replace the one inside of it. You know me well enough by now, soooo...mine! That's my spot! I get to be your weapon of mass destruction now!"
"You're speaking of things that shouldn't normally be possible. How do you expect me to-"
"Don't care! That ain't important! It's always been my dream to be used by you. To destroy and obliterate! BOOM!!! CRASH!!! EXPLOOOOOODE!!!!! BLAMO!!!"
"..."
"Are we in agreement? I'll keep you here until you say yes. And yeah, I can do that. I have partial control over your consciousness, remember? Remember remember remember!?!?"
"Guess I'm without a choice... I'll...try. Okay? That's all I can do. I'm not sure how-"
"Great! All you gotta do is use my power. Then you're golden! Eww...gold is a gaudy color. I like silver more. Yeah! Use my power and you're silver!"
"That doesn't make any-...ugh. Fine. I'll do it. Now let me go!"
"GAAAAH!!! MY HERO IS SO DAMN COOL!!!" Eris shouted as she squealed and squirmed in place.
She snapped her fingers after that and I awoke.
When I looked around, I found that at some point during our rest, Nasumi had begun laying on my chest.
"Some older sister... Well...we should get started."
I gently shook her and she opened her eyes. She seemed unaware of where she was and soon realized that she was laying on my chest.
"Ah...kyaa!!!"
She let out a shriek as she quickly sat up.
"It's alright. I'm not worried about it. We have more pressing matters," I said.
"More...pressing matters...?"
"My memories are back in full. If possible, I want to deal with this problem before Kronos has the opportunity to call for help."
"Then that means...you intend to kill him..." Nasumi said sadly.
"Sorry. I know he's family to you. But I don't have a choice. If the others can be spared, I'll see what I can do. But generally speaking, trying not to kill your enemies in a life or death situation is much harder than ending their lives and being done with it. Not to mention, leaving them alive after hurting them can sometimes put those you love in danger... They could come back and attack us later, for instance..."
"I understand... Leaving them alive might be dangerous for you while dealing with Kronos. But...I can't partake in that sort of thing. I won't fight them. They're my precious family...even if they're in the wrong, I still love them."
Her voice was defiant. As if she'd been trying to come to terms with her feelings and finally had the courage to speak.
I simply nodded.
"Your assistance, while appreciated, is not needed. I will take care of it...as the seventh exo-human and the first of the type-3's."
Nasumi gave a quiet nod and smiled.
"Well then...let's go. I'm anxious to see what kind of peaceful world the Destoryer can build!"
"Command move."
I took her hand and transported the two of us to the field in front of Albatross City.
It felt fitting. A nice, wide open area for us to do battle. In front of the city I not only once called home, but helped me grow into the man I was today.
Here, I would make my final stand against the Hero Party to escape this wretched prison.
For better or worse...I would make my point. That I was the solution to creation's problem.
The Corruption...was MY fight. Not theirs. And I'd be damned if anyone other than me would have the pleasure of killing its master.
Difar would die by my hand and mine alone.
I will have Vengeance.