Now, if you think the Curse Warding Box is just wrong to exist, well buddy you gonna love the Zoaholic.
It is Lovecraftian Soul Splitting Device that is definitely NOT some death demon lying dormant and waiting for resurrection, capable of transferring your consciousness between multiple hosts and make yourselves essentially an immortal.
Hocruxes got nothing on this bad boy…
"So this is the secret of your immortality huh?" I asked him while staring at the device in front of me. It strangely resembles a brain and a buttocks at the same time. "Neat, but uhh… Nope!"
The Science Guy said nothing. He just gazed upon the Zoaholic before looking back at us. Then he turned around and motioned us to follow him on his nightmare tour.
"Marulk, why are you so calm?" I whispered towards the only human being in this layer. "Because I am seriously spooked."
Marulk gave me a little smile. "I don't know, maybe I'm used to dealing with White Whistles…"
That somehow makes me even more spooked. I always thought that Marulk is the sane one, but geez. I'm starting to think that losing it is unavoidable when descending down this hell hole.
I was interrupted from my musings when Bondrewd brought me towards a large room. Right at the end of it are two glass tubes the size of a fully grown man.
"Let me guess, Murder Chamber Deluxe 9000?" I commented sarcastically while slipping my hand into my knife holster and tightening my grip on Marulk's hand on the other.
Bondrewd shook his head. "I do not needlessly kill anyone Haios, this room is part of my researching equipment in hopes to study more about the curse of the Abyss," he explained.
I thought back about the curse in this area. "It's uhh, complete sensory deprivation and self-harm right?" I asked him while silently wondering what that has anything to do with all these fancy devices.
"No, I am researching about the sixth layer's curse. The complete loss of humanity or death," Bondrewd walked towards a computer of some sort near the giant tube. "Let me show you…"
We walked towards the computer and watched as Bondrewd plays an extremely disturbing record from years ago. A children were trapped in each tube, crying and begging for Bondrewd to let them go.
"Mitty and Nanachi…" Bondrewd spoke their name like a proud father introducing us to his children. "Their love for one another led us to the discovery of the Blessing of the Abyss."
I looked back at the recording and saw both tubes descending down into the depths. It didn't show us where the tubes went, but I'm assuming it's a place where hopes and dreams are buried in the dark corners of the pits of agony and suffering.
About five minutes later, the tube ascended back and I felt like bleaching my eyes out of sheer disgust. Both children were transformed. One of them into a bunny creature, no nightmare fuel there.
But the other though, reduced into a shapeless pink blob lying down on a pool of its own blood. Its bright red eyes and overall miserable existence are just screaming 'Sweet Mercy Somebody Please KILL ME' or something along that lines.
I looked beside me and saw Marulk trying real hard to keep his composure. His hand clenched my left hand so hard that it's starting to feel good. "S-so..." Marulk said, able to keep his cool. "I'm guessing Nanachi got the blessing then?"
I can somehow see Bondrewd smiling proudly at Marulk. "That's right, by putting all of the burden into one of them and making sure of their love with one another, Nanachi received the blessing of the Abyss."
I looked back at the bunny person. Though he/she doesn't look any less miserable than Mitty is. They still pretty freaking traumatized by the whole ordeal.
"I'm guessing Mitty didn't receive a normal curse either…" Marulk pointed out, already regaining his bearings.
This time, Bondrewd clapped his hands. "Wonderful, an acute observation, you are correct. Mitty has been gifted with true immortality. No matter what I did to her, she will always heal and regenerate. Only the Sparagmos is capable of putting a permanent scar on her body.
"Fate Worse than Death…" I heard Ozen's voice echoing in the back of my mind.
Then I can feel Bondrewd putting a hand on our shoulders. "I can see that you two cares about each other, how do you like it if…"
"NOPE, NOPE, NOPE, OH HELL NO!" I slapped his hand, grabbed Marulk, and start backing the fuck away from him. "NO, NO, FUCK NO! I WANT NONE OF THIS! NO! NO! NO!"
Then, Marulk bowed politely towards him. "With all due respect, Lord Bondrewd… I do not think that sacrificing one of us is worth getting the blessing of the Abyss."
Lord Bondrewd nodded before turning around. "Follow me, I will show you something quite interesting."
Oh god there's more…
This time, Lord Bondrewd led us towards your typical nightmare operation chamber. Complete with torture device, death beds, and echoes of the dead reverberating throughout the chamber.
"This is where Nanachi and I creates the cartridges," Bondrewd said proudly.
Okay, a cartridge, what is the worst possible thing you can think of that has something to do with a cartridge?
"A forgive me Lord Bondrewd, but can you excuse us for a moment?" Marulk asked suddenly.
"Of course, take your time, it's all right if you feel overwhelmed by the whole situation."
Marulk smiled at him before taking me out of the murder chamber. He still has an iron grip on my hand and who knows what's going on behind that calm look of his.
When we're outside, Marulk let go of my hand and looked at me. "Haios, I need you to listen closely," he spoke in a barely audible whisper. "Whatever happens, I need you to stay calm. Okay?"
"So you know wha…" Marulk grabbed the back of my head and pull my face to his. Our lips met and I felt like my brain just short circuited. "Wh-wha? Huh?"
Marulk gave me a mischievous smile. "Just focus on that okay? Let me do all the thinking."
Did we just kissed?
"… thus leaving the user unaffected by the curse. However to…"
Did we just kissed?
"… to achieve the blessing?"
Did we just kissed?
"… but a mutual form of love was needed…"
Did we just kissed?
"… necessary sacrifice for..."
Did we just kissed?
"… 2000 years cycle…"
Did Marulk just kissed me?
"Haios, let's go," Marulk pulled my hand, snapping me out of it. "We're going to see the main part of the FOB."
I blinked a little and slapped my cheek a couple of times. "What just happened?"
"Sorry, I had to make sure you didn't overreact after hearing about the cartridge," Marulk said. "Do you want me to explain it to you?"
"Sure," oh how I regretted saying that.
Basically from what Marulk told me, those cartridges are literally children. Children that were stripped away from all their organs, turned into nothing more but some liquid nightmare stored inside those cartridges.
You know what the best part is? Those children are alive and they are suffering. They're kept alive, conscious, and stimulated with countless of drugs, designed so that they are efficient in absorbing the burden of each layer.
If the Science Guy himself told me about this, I dunno, I might go berserk and Marulk will be forced to kill me.
[LINE BREAK]
Soon enough, the three of us made it to the inner part of the facility. A big dome was suspended on top of the ocean.
"So this is what we'll use to get to the six layer?" I commented while walking looking at the giant dome. "Gotta admit, this thing look awesome."
Bondrewd stepped forward. "There is a problem however, this lift can only be activated from the inside with a white whistle," he explained. "Without it, your journey must end here."
Well that's a bummer. "How do you get one anyway?"
"A White Whistle is made out of Life Reverberating Stone," Bondrewd replied. "A life must be sacrificed to the abyss in order to get one."
Sacrificing life to the Abyss? "Marulk?" I looked at him, hoping to find another way out of this. But he said nothing, he just looked at me in regret while nodding solemnly. "There's gotta be another way right?" I asked the White Whistle.
"There is a way," he put a hand over his White Whistle. "I did not sacrifice someone else when creating my White Whistle."
Oh hell yeah! Science rules! "Then? How did you do it?"
"I split my consciousness with the Zoaholic and sacrificed myself instead," Bondrewd replied.
I looked at Marulk and found him standing there in deep thought. Then he seems to have an idea. "Won't you go down there with us?"
Bondrewd shook his head. "Once I'm gone, I won't be able to return. I have too many unfinished business here in the surface," then he looked back at Idofront. "And the strain of using the Zoaholic has reached its limit. I cannot split my consciousness anymore or the Zoaholic itself will devour the last remnants of my thought."
Marulk rubbed his chin in deep thought, it seems that he's not giving up just yet. "If we can help you finish your unfinished business, then you will help us go to the sixth layer. How does that sound?"
This time, I bopped Marulk on his head and looked at him closely. "Uhh, Marulk, the heck are you saying? You wanna help this mad scientist?"
Marulk sighed and shook his head. "I don't want to, but it can't be helped," then he held my hand and gave me a soft smile. "Though, I don't mind sacrificing myse…"
"NO! Do not finish that sentence!" I exclaimed, then I looked back at Bondrewd. "And you, Science Guy," I took a deep breath to regain my consciousness. "We'll help you, okay? Just promise you won't hurt anyone ever again. I'll be your test subject if you really need one."
Marulk gasped after hearing that. "No, no, what are you saying!? You can't!"
I ignored him, put a hand over Bondrewd's body, and took out my knife. "Mr. Science Guy, what you're about to witness will absolutely blow your fucking mind."
I stabbed my throat and pushed it all the way up.