Two Paths Converge

The woman slowly raised her hands and said "My name is Violet, I come from a small village named Zin, and I was thrown out of my village after getting Cursed by the moon..." I squinted my eyes and gripped Onimaru tighter as I asked "How can one be Cursed by the moon?" in a skeptical voice. Violet gulped audibly and said "It's an old superstition in my village, but it seems that it was actually true...they say that if you wander alone at night, then you will be Cursed by the moon..."

I raised a brow and said "So let me guess, you were wandering around at night and got 'Cursed by the moon?" in a sarcastic tone. A vein popped out of her forehead as she said "Yes, I was wandering around at night and was cursed with a power that I could not control...!" through clenched teeth. I inched Onimaru's blade closer to her neck and said "Don't get an attitude with me. I won't hesitate to kill you if you prove dangerous."

I let a small amount of bloodlust slip out from my stare and I saw her shiver before saying "I'm telling the truth! I don't know how I got like this! I was outside and then I remember waking up in the forest in the morning!" I was scanning her body the whole time to try and find the slightest trace of the Curse trying to influence her words, but there was nothing. She seemed to be in control for now.

I let Onimaru transform back into his base form as I said "Alright, I'll believe you for now. But if you do anything that endangers my life...you're dead, you understand?" Violet nodded her head furiously as she sighed and sat down. She looked no older than seventeen, two years younger than me. I'm guessing it hasn't been long since she was Cursed. That means she was cast out of her village not too long ago either. Poor girl.

"Do you want to learn how to control your powers? If not, then I can find a way to get rid of the Curse for you." I sighed and decided to be nice as an apology for being so rough. She looked up at me and said "I'd rather get rid of this thing so I can return to my village, but I know they wouldn't accept me even if I was back to normal...I was worthless, so they have a good reason..."

I could somewhat sympathize with her. I was an outcast in my hometown and was always looked down on, but I was able to prove them wrong and show them that I was more than just a commoner. I rose through the ranks and became the King's right hand man. I befriended the kind man as well as his ambitious son, but they were assassinated shortly afterwards.

I remember how I was blamed for their deaths, everyone thought I was the one who killed them. I was thrown out of my home and forced to live on the roads with my bestfriend, Koraz, until we reached a rural city and met Shino. I had my fare share of pain, and at the young age of nineteen nonetheless, but my will to live and get revenge had kept me alive.

"Don't say that. No one is truly worthless. Everyone has something to offer and it's their fault if they didn't see your worth, so don't go beating yourself up for their mistakes." I felt like I had to say something since she was like me in a way. I felt like I had to help her, even though I knew she could easily kill me at any time.

"T-They didn't make any mistakes! I was the one making it hard for them to go about their daily lives! I was a plague to my village, and now they're finally free..." I glanced over at her and asked "Do you want to live?" She looked at me with conflicted eyes and said "I don't know...maybe it's better if I'm dead..."

I scoffed and said "Sure didn't like like you wanted to be dead when I had my blade to your throat." Violet's face had gone slightly red as she said "T-That's becau-" I looked her dead in the eyes and said "Your heart tells me that you want to live. If you really want to die that badly, however, I can fulfill your wish. I know you might think that you're a plague or whatever, but I can see the pure heart that you have, as well as the talent hidden deep inside of you. I wouldn't want that to go to waste."

Her face turned red from anger as she stood up and said "Don't go spouting bullshit just because you found a woman alone in a forest! People like you, who think they know everything, make me sick to my core!" I looked at her with a raised brow and asked "Done yet?" in a bored tone. Her eyes twitched as she stepped forward and said "You-" A loud growl cut her words short as she whipped over to the brush and adopted a low stance.

A large, boar-like creature with sword-like tusk jumped out and began to charge toward Violet, but then it dropped dead. Violet looked curious as blood began to pool out from under the boar. Suddenly, a kunai flew out from the boar's neck and into my hand. I wiped Onimaru's blade against the grass, to rid it of blood, before putting him back into my belt.

"So, do you still want to try and attack me? I've cleared the energy causing you pain and forcing you to go into a frenzy, I saved you from dying in the forest and even made a little tent for you, and I even offered to teach you how to control your Curse. Do you still want to try me?" My anger was slowly reaching its boiling point because of this woman's ungrateful attitude.

She flinched and cast her gaze to the ground with her fists clenched tightly. I could see her aura turning from a dull purple to a dark black, so I sighed and said "Alright. Sit down like this." I sat down in a lotus position with my hands on my knees. Violet looked at me with an indiscernible gaze before sitting down and following my instructions.

"Now, close your eyes and take a deep breath, make sure to hold it until I tell you to release it." She drew in a deep breath and held it for a few seconds until I said "Release." She let her breath out slowly and I said "Again." She drew in a deep breath and released it when I told her to before repeating the action one more time.

Her body went stiff as her breathing stopped. Tears began to slowly cascade down her face as her body twitched slightly, almost like it was trying to escape something. I knew what I did was rather dirty, but she needed to face the Demon in her soul and come to terms with it.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and stared out at the trees with a lonely and pained expression on her face. I nodded my head and said "Don't worry, the Demon can't hurt you. I too was scared when I first met my Demon. You have the willpower to overcome this obstacle."

She looked at me with her hollow gaze and said "It wasn't a Demon..." in a flat voice. I cocked a brow and asked "Hoh? Then what was it then?" She turned her gaze up to me once more and said something that I didn't expect to hear.

"It was the man I was supposed to marry...he's haunting me in my dreams, and now seeks to ruin my life for my folly..."

I shook my head and said "No, the Demon is just disguising itself as him to get a better hold over your conscious. That thing is not the man you think it is." Her eyes bore through me as her ears drooped pitifully and fresh tears streamed down her cheeks. "What am I supposed to do...? I don't want to lose him again..."

I felt rather awkward in this situation, but my face was straight as I said "You won't lose him, not if you keep his memory alive in your heart. Believe me, I too carry a burden similar to yours. It's all I can do to honor their lives." I let out a deep breath before continuing "Now, repeat the process I just showed you, and face the Demon in your soul. Do not come back out until you have shown it that YOU are on top, and that you're the one who it will obey."

She closed her eyes once more and fell back into the trance-like state. Violet stayed like this for hours on end, not moving or breathing in the slightest. I was roasting some of the boar I had killed over the fire when she suddenly opened her eyes and fell to the ground with an exhausted sigh. I stood up and walked over before offering her a slice of food while asking "How did it go?"

She smiled slightly and murmured "Exhausting...I don't know if I can stand, ahaha..." I shrugged my shoulders and walked back to the fire before setting the meat down and walking back over to Violet's prone form. I bent down and threw her over my shoulder before walking over to the tent as she cursed and told me to put her down. "I thought you couldn't walk." I said with an amused smile.

"Y-You can't just pick someone up without their consent! Put me down!" I ignored her and set her down in the tent before bringing her a share of the boar and closing the tent flap. I sat down on my favorite log and put my hands on my knees as I closed my eyes. I opened my eyes and found myself inside of a large temple with a massive elevated platform at the very back.

The temple itself was large enough that I couldn't see the roof, and I could barely see the back of the room even with my enhanced eyesight. I focused on the elevated platform in the distance and I appeared at its edge. I walked forward toward a large curtain with an outline of a figure laying down behind it.

I walked up to the curtain and pulled it to the side as quietly as possible. I saw a large creature with the upper body of a white lion with two, large horns curving over its fluffy ears, the lower body of a goat, and a long, scaled tail with the head of a snake at the end. Well, it was supposed to be large, anyways.

The Chimera was no bigger than a house cat and was sleeping peacefully on top of a cushion. I laughed slightly and shook my head as I looked down at my beloved companion, Onimaru. He continued to sleep without a care in the world as his aura was out on full display. He did this so he could sleep while also keeping his power ready for me to use.

I closed my eyes and returned back to the campfire and took a bite out of the boar meat.

"Bitter..."