The morning sun bathed the village of Simpang in golden light, a welcome change from the dark, stormy clouds that had loomed just the day before. Children laughed and ran through the terraced rice fields, and villagers bustled about, rebuilding and tending to the shrine that Azazel had saved. But the relief was not complete. There was still a heaviness in the air, a lingering sense of something unresolved.
Azazel rubbed his tired eyes, sitting on a wooden bench near the village square. Shadow lay at his feet, snoring loudly with his paws twitching in a dream. Azazel smiled at the wolf's carefree expression, but his own heart felt far from at ease.
"Hey," he muttered to Shadow, nudging the wolf gently with his boot. "Wake up, lazybones. We have work to do."
Shadow opened one eye and gave Azazel a look that clearly said, *Can't a hero get some rest around here?*
Before Azazel could respond, the ground nearby shimmered with a strange, silvery light. He jumped to his feet, his hand instinctively reaching for the pendant he wore. Shadow leapt up too, hackles raised, ready for trouble.
From the light, a figure emerged—a young woman, with wild curls the color of fire and eyes like twin emeralds. She wore a flowing blue cloak, stitched with runes that seemed to shift and dance. In her hands, she held a staff carved from dark wood, the top of which glowed faintly.
Azazel and Shadow tensed. "Who are you?" Azazel called, lightning crackling faintly around his fingertips. He was exhausted, but he would fight if he had to.
The woman raised a hand in a gesture of peace. "Whoa, whoa, easy there, thunder boy," she said, a smirk pulling at her lips. "I'm not here to zap anyone. At least, not unless they deserve it."
Azazel blinked, caught off guard. "Thunder boy?" he echoed, and then realized how ridiculous he sounded. "Uh, I mean... seriously, who are you?"
The woman laughed, a bright sound that seemed to lighten the air around them. "Name's Kaela," she said, lowering her staff. "And I'm here to help with your little curse problem. Or should I say... *big* curse problem?"
Shadow, who had been growling softly, tilted his head and let out a sneeze, as if to say, *Really?*
---
Kaela plopped herself down on a nearby stone wall, looking completely at ease, like she had just arrived at a friendly picnic rather than a cursed village. "You see," she began, "I'm a wandering mage. Been chasing the remnants of Mizan's dark magic for years now."
Azazel exchanged a glance with Shadow. "Mizan?" he repeated, feeling a prickle of unease. "You mean the same Mizan who's... well, currently making life miserable for everyone in this world?"
Kaela's grin faded, and her eyes darkened. "The one and only. His magic left scars all over this land. Curses, twisted spells, places corrupted by his touch." She glanced at the villagers, her expression softening. "Simpang isn't the only village that's suffered. But... it's definitely one of the worst cases I've seen."
Azazel rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a pang of sympathy for the people around him. "So you've been... tracking these curses?" he asked.
Kaela nodded, twirling a strand of her fiery hair around one finger. "Yup. And it's not just for fun, either. Mizan's magic can't be left unchecked. If it's not dealt with properly, it festers like a wound."
Shadow, who had been listening intently, walked up to Kaela and sniffed her cloak. Then he sneezed again, loudly and dramatically.
Kaela burst out laughing. "Well, hello to you too, fuzzy guardian! Is that your way of saying I smell weird?"
Azazel snorted, trying not to laugh. "Don't mind him. He's... got a personality."
Shadow gave Azazel a look that clearly said, *At least I'm not the one getting called 'thunder boy.'*
---
The villagers had started to gather, curious about the newcomer. Harun, the blacksmith, approached cautiously, wiping his hands on his apron. "Who's this, Azazel?" he asked, eyeing Kaela with suspicion.
Azazel introduced Kaela, and she gave a small wave. "Pleasure to meet you all!" she said cheerfully. "Don't worry, I'm here to help. No curses, I promise."
Harun raised an eyebrow. "We've had enough strangers with promises," he grumbled. "How do we know you're not going to make things worse?"
Kaela's smile didn't falter. "Fair question, iron man," she said. "But I think you'll find I'm pretty good at dealing with the messy leftovers of evil sorcerers."
Azazel hid a grin at Harun's confused expression. "Look," he said, stepping forward, "Kaela's right. The curse isn't fully gone. Malik's spirit may be banished, but there's more to this magic than we realized."
Rin, the village herbalist, nodded slowly. "The air still feels... heavy," she murmured. "Like a storm waiting to break."
Kaela's expression turned serious. "That's because the relic you found," she said, pointing to the pendant around Azazel's neck, "is only part of the puzzle. To lift the curse completely, we'll need to find the source of the magic. It's buried deep in these hills."
Azazel's heart sank. He had barely recovered from the last battle. "Great," he said, forcing a smile. "More cursed hills. Just what I needed."
Kaela winked at him. "Don't worry, thunder boy. I've got your back."
---
Later that day, Azazel, Shadow, and Kaela sat under a tree at the edge of the village. Kaela was munching on an apple she had pulled from her satchel, and she offered one to Azazel. "Hungry?"
Azazel took it, his stomach growling. "Thanks," he said, biting into the fruit. He watched her for a moment, curiosity gnawing at him. "So... why do you do this?" he asked. "Chasing dark magic, I mean. It doesn't exactly sound like a fun hobby."
Kaela's eyes grew distant. "It's not," she admitted. "But someone has to do it. Mizan's magic ruined a lot of lives. Including mine."
Azazel frowned. "What happened?" he asked, his voice gentle.
Kaela tossed the apple core into the grass. "My family," she said softly. "We were scholars, studying magic to understand it better. But Mizan's followers came to our village, twisting everything we loved into weapons." She shook her head. "I was the only one who got away. Ever since then, I've been hunting his curses, trying to make things right."
Azazel felt a pang of empathy. "I'm sorry," he said. "I know what it's like to lose everything."
Kaela looked at him, her green eyes searching his face. "Yeah," she said quietly. "I can tell."
For a moment, there was a heavy silence between them, broken only by the rustle of leaves. Then, suddenly, Kaela's serious expression broke, and she grinned. "But hey, enough with the doom and gloom! Did I tell you about the time I accidentally turned a thief's beard into a nest of glowworms?"
Azazel blinked. "Wait, *what*?"
Kaela launched into a story about a particularly annoying thief she had run into in a small town, complete with exaggerated voices and hand gestures. By the end of it, Azazel was doubled over laughing, tears streaming down his face.
Shadow, not wanting to be left out, barked in what sounded suspiciously like laughter, and Kaela clapped her hands. "See? Even the wolf approves!"
Azazel wiped his eyes. "Okay, okay, you win," he said, grinning. "You're officially the weirdest ally I've ever had."
Kaela put a hand over her heart, pretending to be wounded. "Weirdest? I'll take that as a compliment."
---
The sun had begun to set, painting the sky in hues of orange and pink. Azazel, Kaela, and Shadow sat with Rin and the village elders, discussing their plan.
Kaela spread out a map on the table, pointing to a section of the hills. "The source of the curse is somewhere in this valley," she explained. "I can feel the magic pulsing there. It won't be easy to get to, but if we can break the source, the curse will be gone for good."
Azazel rubbed his temples, feeling the weight of the task ahead. "Sounds... dangerous," he said.
Kaela leaned back in her chair. "Dangerous is my middle name. Well, actually, it's 'Flora,' but 'dangerous' sounds cooler."
Azazel snorted. "Kaela Flora. Yeah, I can see why you'd want to change that."
Kaela threw a crumpled piece of parchment at him. "Hey, don't make fun of my perfectly normal name, thunder boy!"
Shadow barked, as if encouraging the
teasing, and Azazel laughed, feeling a sense of hope bloom in his chest. For the first time, he felt like he wasn't facing this darkness alone.
The path ahead was still uncertain, but with Kaela by his side, maybe—just maybe—they had a chance.
And with that, their journey together truly began.