Ancient Curse

A loud knock can be heard at the door of my house. It's the middle of the night. After the burial, Amelia and I went home, and when we arrived, Riley also left. I was fast asleep in one of my chairs when I was rudely awoken by the loud knocking.

I desperately wanted to ignore it, as I was enjoying my dream, but it could be important. I pick myself up and out of the chair and walk over to the door. I open it to find nothing, at least, I think it's nothing.

"Hello?"

I don't know why, but my senses are going berserk, screaming at me to run away. Despite how on edge I feel, I also feel perfectly safe, almost as if under a loving embrace. What is happening?

"Hello my child. We meet again."

It felt like the voice was behind me, causing me to turn around almost as if on a swivel, but behind me wasn't my house. Instead, I was in a void. I could see, but not with my eyes. Instead, it felt like I just knew what was around me.

I've been here before.

"Yes my child, you have."

The voice, or thought, or whatever I should call it, rang through my head. It was immensely deep, just as I remember it being when I first heard it. It also spoke slowly and clearly, making it easy to understand everything that was said. What's going on? Why am I here?

"I told you before that we would meet again. That time has come."

Oh yeah, I do remember that. So then, why am I here?

"I have come to you with a request. You see, you're world is in danger. Only you have the power to stop it. I know that only you have it, as I gave it to you."

My world is in danger? What's wrong?

"An ancient curse from your world is about to be lifted. You see, curses used to exist in your world, but I took away the ability to cast them long ago, but I couldn't remove curses that were already in place, as that is beyond my ability."

Okay, I follow so far, but what am I supposed to do?

"I told you that since you lived a good life in the past that I would give you a few added bonuses, did I not? Among those bonuses is the ability to dispel curses and dark magic through the use of light magic."

What? Is that what light magic does? I've never used it before, so I wouldn't know.

"Yes, light magic can dispel curses from ancient times and stop black magic from being used, but that is not the only thing it can do. It can also improve the abilities of others if placed upon them. For example, if you used it on someone with weak fire magic, there power would increase."

I see. So what is this ancient curse?

"It is a curse placed many millennia ago, back when curses could still be used. This curse was one placed by demons from the underworld of this universe."

Demons? I thought they were only a myth in this world.

"They are no myth. You see, long ago, all of the different races of your world lived in harmony, but it was shattered in only one day. A war of immense magnitude broke out between the many races. The war was caused by the demon race, and so they were sealed away. After that, the many races split apart into the many different continents of this world. Before the demons were sealed however, their leader placed a curse upon the world. Ten thousand years and he would be back with his armies."

Wow, that seems... Intense. Isn't that a bit much for me?

"Of course not. I granted you with my blessings. You have immeasurable power, even when compared to the demons. That doesn't mean you won't struggle, however, as they are immensely stronger than humans."

I understand the situation, but what about everything else that's happening? I can't just drop my duties in Trosting.

"You must. The world will be brought to an end if you don't. You must find a way."

Okay, but how am I supposed to find this ancient curse?

"Follow the cross as north as you possibly can, and you will arrive at your destination."

With that, I blinked my eyes open. I was back in my house, facing the living room.

So much responsibility. How am I supposed to do this on my own anyways? Was I brought here just to deal with this mess in the first place?

I can't just let the world die though. I made that mistake during the gang war, and I'm not going to make it again.

I walk over to the my bedroom door and open it. Amelia is wide awake, just looking out the window. I would be surprised by this, but I've seen how much energy this girl has.

When I came in, she turned to look at me.

"What's is it?"

"I need to go somewhere for a while, and I don't know how long it will take. Because of this, I'm going to take you to someone I trust in Trosting. She will take care of you while I am gone. Understand?"

"What? I don't want to leave you! You're the one who saved me and protected me when I was scared! I don't want to be with anyone else!"

"You have to."

"Why?"

"Because I need to help more people."

This brought an end to Amelia's tantrum.

"You're helping others?"

"Yes. I help everyone that I can."

"Oh... Okay then. I will do as you say."

"Thank you. Now then, gather everything you will need. We are leaving at once."