Chapter 257 - Dis-bonded

"That's about the funniest thing I have ever heard."

The creature Jack faced was laughing behind its soft expression. It wasn't really, but Jack could feel the condescending nature of its response. But, the thing was, Jack had meant what he said.

"You're the one who wanted me to answer. That's it. That's the reason why you should let me live."

Jack wasn't backing down or going against his word. He knew what he wanted, more so now than ever before. He knew it wasn't the best thing to say given the circumstance. But, Jack could only hope that his answer was more than enough.

"..."

It wasn't.

The dead air between the two within the sword's domain was not a good sign. While Jack could remain baselessly hopeful, he knew it wasn't going great.

"Is that really your answer?"

Casting doubt on Jack's response, the creature seemed skeptical. While some beings throughout history dedicated themselves to better society or to gain strength, the mortal didn't want any of that. He wanted answers. Pertaining to what question, though, the creature didn't know.

"You know," Jack calmly answered as if conversing with an old friend, "I have about a billion questions in my head. Some are simple, others not so much. But, yeah. That's what I want."

While Jack's overly cavalier tone cast doubt in the creature's thoughts, Jack seemed determined. He was unnaturally calm, though, especially considering his life was hanging by a thread. Even so, Jack didn't seem at all bothered by that.

"Okay," the creature responded, after giving it a few moments of thought, "I'll humor you. Even though I have no idea what you mean by what you said, it's a lot better than some power-hungry monarch would have said."

As the creature gave its response, Jack just nodded. He didn't overreact or say anything that would've jeopardized the chance the creature gave him. Then again, he wasn't sure how to proceed from here. And, at this point, was there even a chance of saving him?

"Whatever it is you end up doing," the creature added, "None of that matters unless you find a way to survive. I'll reshape the curse to match you and give you an advantage. And, I'll even seal up the wound on your Mana Core. But, these are just temporary fixes, not to mention that there's something truly terrible waiting for you out there. Good luck."

"Mind giving me a name first? Before, you know, you do your thing."

"Heh," the creature scoffed, its voice audibly weaker than before. It was then that Jack realized the creature was already doing what it said it would. "It hardly matters. Now will be the first and last time we will ever talk. There is no reason for me to answer your questions. But..., then again, I do owe you a debt of gratitude."

Jack wanted to refute it, reasoning that this was far too brief of an exchange. But, even so, there was nothing he could do. Jack could feel the creature's life force draining. And, for some reason, he felt it as though it was his own.

"You're dying?" Jack asked, curious but not at all concerned, "And what's this about gratitude?"

"Heh. You're just like I thought you'd be," the creature answered, its voice gradually getting weaker. "I'm not dying, no. I'm already dead even before you came across my vessel. There was no way for me to come into contact with anyone, not even when you bonded with the vessel. Not until this critical moment, I suppose, that we are able to meet."

"When my Mana Core's wounded and me near dying? That's the only case scenario where we'd meet? Is this some messed up god thing? Where you have to keep all sense of mystery to make us think that you're all-powerful? Hate to say it, but we don't have time for that."

"Indeed we don't," the creature agreed, its fluctuating voice growing distant by the second. "So, I'll cut right down to the chase. I am — or was — a water spirit. How I passed remains irrelevant. But, as of right now, you are in a state of limbo. The curse on you is eating away at your Mana Core and would kill you in the process. As I said before, I have intervened. Doing so, however, requires all of my life force. Unfortunately, even then, it would not remove the entirety of the curse."

Jack nodded, understanding up to that point. He didn't say anything to confirm it, though, and just stared at the creature before him. He watched as the figure faded in and out of view.

"All I can give you is a fighting chance," the spirit continued, "I will reshape the curse so that it will become docile, only activating when you use Mana. It's not the best fix, I admit, but it's much better than the alternative. I have also made it so that you will take the full brunt of the cruse when your Mana Core reaches a high enough level."

It was a trade-off. That was how the spirit phrased it and how Jack understood it. Up until a certain point, Jack had a curse. He had to live with said curse until he got strong enough to remove it.

Suffice it to say: it was not going to be fun.

"Seems simple enough," Jack mocked, using humor to make light of the situation. "But, you still haven't told me what you're supposedly grateful for."

While Jack said that, the creature's already fading figure disappeared even more. As much as Jack wanted to mention it, the time wasn't in their favor. Jack could only watch as the remaining piece of the spirit disappeared before his very eyes with absolutely nothing he could do about it.

"Ah," the creature answered with a voice faintest it's ever been, "It's nothing more than this right now. Having seen you raise my vessel to fight, to survive, you seemed unsure. In spite of that, you remained steadfast."

Jack was doubtful of the spirit's reasoning. Even so, there was no time to express his complaints. All he could do now was nod and wait for the inevitable.

"Thank you, human, for making me see something wonderful before I truly turn to my grave. And, for allowing this dead spirit to repent."

With the water spirit's voice incredibly weak, Jack couldn't hear the last few words that came out of its mouth. But, even so, he felt the sentiment all the same. Jack nodded, respectful and understanding, to the creature he had spent less than five minutes talking to but, somehow, he had known for much longer.

As the figure before his very eyes disappeared into nothing, darkness filled Jack's vision. He then woke up back in the snowfield, surrounded by nothing but plotholes.

Jack quickly looked to his chest, where the stab wound used to be. He placed his hands gently on the wound, running the icy texture on his fingertips. The spirit had done what it sought out to do, mending his wound temporarily with ice.

Will it hold? Jack wasn't quite sure. And he didn't have the luxury of finding out.

In a few moments since he had regained consciousness, the ground beneath Jack's feet trembled. It then shook violently, causing the not-so mentally prepared Jack to nearly fall to a pothole. Thankfully, he caught himself before anything bad happened, readjusting his center of gravity accordingly.

Feeling the close call, Jack focused on the task at hand. While he had overcome death by a curse, Jack wasn't in the clear just yet.

Without sparing a second thought, Jack looked back and tried to find where the [Frozen Teardrop of Mist] was. He needed the weapon to get out of this place alive. Fortunately, it didn't take very long for Jack to find it. But, the weapon's condition was something like something out of a garbage dump.

There it was, the Mana Bonded greatsword, broken beyond repair. The blade broke into pieces. The once majestic-looking weapon was now nothing but a pile of scrap.

Jack was heartbroken, but he had expected this outcome all the same. With the remnants of the water spirit now gone, the greatsword had nothing special to it anymore. And that wasn't even the worst part. The timing of this could not have been worse.

Now weaponless, Jack would have to rely on his Mana to survive the giant creature he would soon face. There was no telling what could happen. Back then, Jack couldn't get through its thick defenses. Now that his sword was gone, there was no hope for him to take it down.

'Run,' Jack thought to himself as he looked for a way out, 'I have to run.'

Alas, there was no solid ground to take. Jack couldn't leave, even if he tried. He can only wait for his impending doom. Unless, of course, he did something drastic. Jack would have to decide before something even worse happens.