Curse Of The Abyss III

- Exhausted after the intense battle, Elisa and Mitsuki met mysterious beings emerging from the shadows. Kuroi and Kureru, two enigmatic warriors with supernatural abilities, reveal information about the stele that keeps those who possess one alive. As time runs out and lives are at stake, the siblings face an even greater dilemma coming soon -

The atmosphere was still thick and full of uncertainty. Elisa, her body almost exhausted, kept her gaze fixed on the scene, still surprised by the unexpected turn. The creature seemed equally disconcerted, looking at some shadows looming over him. The surprise had paralyzed him.

Suddenly, a male voice rang out in the air, breaking the silence and tension:

— Diti... What a surprise!

The creature turned quickly, its horns twitching nervously. A sense of immediate danger filled the air. From the shadows emerged two figures, figures that even he recognized.

The first was a man with medium-length black hair, red eyes that glowed in the darkness, dressed in a white robe adorned with red symbols. He seemed to be someone with a palpable, almost ethereal power.

The other man, who had spoken, was a soldier. His face was completely covered by a mask, but the black marks around his eyes, where there were no pupils, stood out in the dim light. Kuroi, the soldier, walked with an eerie calmness, an intimidating presence that made the air feel heavier. Both of them had pale, almost sickly skin, as if they did not belong in this world.

Elisa, who had remained silent until now, frowned at the apparition. Despite not fully understanding what was happening, she crouched down a little and, with effort, continued to crawl towards the core. She wanted to end it all, free Mitsuki and get out of this dark place.

The creature, Diti, stared desperately at the newcomers, her body vibrating with a mixture of fear and fury.

— Kuroi... Kureru... no, please... let me go! — she pleaded, her voice cracking with terror.

Kuroi, the soldier, took a step towards him, the echo of his words resonating in the room.

— Not so fast, Diti. — His voice was cold, almost indifferent. — If you move any further, we'll smash you to pieces.

Kureru, the robed man, gave a crooked smile as he unsheathed a white sword, which reflected a ghostly light in the darkness. Elisa's eyes widened at the sight of the sword, knowing that the confrontation was about to begin.

Diti tremblingly began to plead, but the calmness in Kuroi's words was almost terrifying.

— Come on, Diti. We knew you would end up here. Now, all you have to do is do what you're told... — Kuroi's tone was that of someone who had already decided everything.

Elisa, though still confused, approached the core. She felt a growing pressure on her chest as she fought exhaustion. Mitsuki was there, one step away from succumbing to the curse. She couldn't allow that.

With his arm still in pain, he touched the core, feeling a strange energy passing through his skin. He looked back for just a moment, and saw the two men preparing to face Diti.

Elisa knew that time was running out.

He touched the core with force, feeling the dark energy coursing through his body. The room trembled slightly, and a cracking sound echoed in the air. All eyes turned to Mitsuki's coffin, which was next to the core.

Suddenly, the coffin lid began to rise with a loud sound, as if it resisted being opened. A dark shadow emerged from within, and the tentacles surrounding the coffin twisted violently. The darkness seemed to take shape, and Mitsuki's figure appeared, weakened, with a pale face and empty eyes, as if he were very ill.

Elisa, seeing his state, couldn't help but make a gesture of despair. Mitsuki staggered out of the coffin, his body weak, almost unable to stand. The tentacles that had previously wrapped around him crawled across his body, but didn't attack him, as if the curse was slowly consuming him from within.

Diti, seeing Mitsuki's figure rising, smiled with satisfaction, but Elisa paid no attention to her. She was focused on her brother's figure.

— Mitsuki... — Elisa whispered, but before she could get closer, Kuroi's voice broke the silence.

Kuroi stepped forward calmly, looking at Diti, his face impassive.

— Diti, if you don't want to die, you'd better get out of here right now. — The threat in his words was clear, and the tone of his voice left no room for doubt.

Diti was silent for a moment, surprised by Kuroi's intervention. The tension in the air was palpable.

Elisa, still looking at Mitsuki, gritted her teeth. She knew that he was saved by a miracle. However, her concern for her brother did not let her move.

Kureru, who had been watching from the shadows, slowly approached Diti. His white sword gleamed in the dim light, but his eyes showed no emotion.

— They shouldn't be here... — Kureru said, in a voice that brooked no argument.

Diti, finally understanding the threat, stepped back, but not before shooting a challenging glare at Kuroi and Kureru. She knew she couldn't take them both on, and with a final sigh, she vanished into the darkness, leaving the room in a tense silence.

Elisa, now completely focused on Mitsuki, slowly advanced towards him. She knew she had to act quickly, but her heart kept pounding at the sight of her brother so fragile.

Kureru, with a serious and calm expression, looked at Diti, who was still crawling on the ground, trying to get out of the confrontation.

— Diti, go now. I don't want to kill a former friend of mine... or Kuroi's. — His tone was firm, but some pity crept into his voice.

Diti, with her tiny body crawling through the darkness, glared at Kureru furiously. Reluctantly, he was forced to back away, but before he left, he couldn't help but let out a sneer.

— We will meet again one day... and it won't be the same. — Diti let out a malicious laugh as she disappeared into the shadows, fading away.

Kureru looked at the scene for a moment, but without losing his calm, he generated a small ghostly cube in the palm of his hand. He dropped it to the ground with a carefree gesture. The cube rolled until it collided with Diti's body.

Kuroi, who had remained silent until then, couldn't help but laugh, stifling a laugh. The scene of Diti being touched by the cube was almost comical. Diti, feeling humiliated, quickly stood up, but his fury was evident in his eyes.

"What is this?" Diti stammered, trying to get away from what seemed like a harmless object.

Suddenly, the cube began to glow and shake. Diti tried to get away, but an invisible power pulled him towards the cube with force. Terror flashed across his face as his small body was teleported into Kureru's hand.

Kureru looked at Diti with a cold expression and said emotionlessly:

— You should have run away, Diti... Goodbye.

With a wave of his hand, the cube glowed even brighter, and in the blink of an eye, Diti's figure disintegrated into black dust. The room fell silent, with only the echo of the creature's disappearance.

Kuroi couldn't contain himself, and openly mocked what had happened.

— He was stubborn until the end. — Kuroi laughed disdainfully, as he looked at the dust that remained in the air, as if it was the last of the annoying flies that had finally been swatted away.

Kureru didn't reply. He simply put the cube away and turned around, looking at Elisa, who was still struggling to stay conscious as she approached Mitsuki.

Kureru, looking at Elisa and Mitsuki with a serious expression, said to them:

— They shouldn't be here.

Kuroi, arms crossed and watching the scene, nodded, not saying a word, but clearly agreeing with what Kureru had said.

Kuroi's pupil-less gaze shifted to the weakened Mitsuki who was just approaching them. A look of surprise crossed her face as her eyes widened.

Quickly, he whispered something into Kureru's ear.

— That's right... They're identical to The Prodigies.

Kureru didn't answer right away, just kept his gaze fixed on Mitsuki, but a second later, the seriousness of the situation dissipated for an instant. Kuroi and Kureru looked at each other, a light smile on their faces, as if they were plotting something.

— Are you thinking about it, Kuroi? — Kureru said, as if they shared the same plan.

Kuroi didn't reply with words, but instead, in a quick movement, pulled out a strange artifact from the bag in her outfit located on her chest. She held it in one hand and began to blow around it, releasing a kind of smoke that began to undo the darkness that enveloped the place.

The atmosphere changed instantly. The darkness faded away, revealing what looked like an abandoned subway station. The rusty rails, mold-covered walls, and echoing sound of the place gave a desolate air to the scene.

Elisa, missing one arm, could barely hold herself up, but she still hugged Mitsuki tightly. Mitsuki, unable to move much, looked at her with concern. The silence between them was heavy, until he finally broke the silence.

— Elisa... you are seriously injured... how could you... — Her voice trembled, a mix of worry and pain.

Elisa, with an almost superhuman effort, smiled weakly, but could not respond, the words were stuck in her throat, overcome by fatigue.

Elisa, pale and exhausted, fell to the ground with a thud. Mitsuki, immediately worried, looked at her in anguish, while the other two, Kuroi and Kureru, did not show a hint of emotion on their faces.

Kureru slowly approached, his gaze fixed on Elisa. With a precise gesture, he pointed at the young woman's head with his index and middle fingers. The atmosphere became more tense with each second.

Mitsuki, barely able to keep her strength, shouted to Kureru:

— What the hell are you doing?

Kureru, without taking his gaze off Elisa, simply answered calmly:

— Wait.

Mitsuki frowned, clearly confused and agitated. However, Kureru did not leave him alone and continued:

— What race are you? You are not humans.

Mitsuki, still panting, looked at the stranger suspiciously, but replied:

— We are Finalis, but I don't understand what the question is about.

Kureru, without showing any emotion, dropped a sentence that made time seem to stop:

— Ok, she has two hours to live. You have time to take her to the emergency room.

Mitsuki stood in shock, his body tense, and his heart pounding faster. Although he didn't understand how Kureru had come to that conclusion, a hint of relief washed over him. At least, he knew there was something that could be done.

But the question kept lingering in his mind... how did he know that?

Kuroi, who had begun to dust the area and secure the zone, heard Mitsuki's question. He paused for a moment, looking carefully before answering.

— We, the beings of the five worlds who carry symbolism, that is, a stele... when we are about to die, we will not die until our stele is extinguished. It is like our second heart. Do you know what a stele is?

Mitsuki, still in shock, nodded slightly, relieved by the information.

— Yes, I have known this since I was little... it is a relief to know that then.

Kureru, without wasting any time, stepped forward with a cold, calculating gaze.

— Indeed. But... what were they doing here?

Mitsuki, with his body in pain and the urgency to save Elisa, felt the weight of the question, but before he could answer, the feeling of uncertainty invaded him.

Mitsuki, still confused but trying to remain calm, answered Kureru's question.

— Well... I don't know why we ended up here, but we came to do a job.

Kuroi and Kureru's gazes became comically bright. Although physically they were still cold and unforgiving, in their minds they were beginning to celebrate. Their eyes filled with little stars shining with interest.

—So... they're prodigies? —Kuroi asked, clearly intrigued.

Mitsuki, a little confused by the sudden emotion of the two, answered him in a direct tone.

— Yes, we are.

Kuroi couldn't help but look him up and down, with a slight smile that betrayed her curiosity despite her mouth being covered.

— You look taller in person than on broadcast... how tall are you?

Mitsuki, slightly embarrassed and tired from exhaustion, sighed and replied reluctantly.

— 1.90.

Suddenly, Mitsuki, with a determined yet exhausted expression, carried Elisa onto his back. His eyes reflected exhaustion and urgency as he looked at his injured sister.

—He lost an arm... this is serious... —he murmured, while walking with difficulty.

Kureru, seeing the situation, calmly approached and said:

- Don't worry...

Mitsuki, furious and exhausted, turned to him with an incredulous expression.

— Are you stupid? Don't you see her? —His tone was firm, but his desperation was evident.

Kureru maintained his calm attitude and answered calmly:

— You are the disciples of Allivy, the goddess of Elyria and guardian of the land. Did she not tell you anything about her healing abilities?

Mitsuki was silent for a moment, completely shocked by what he had just heard. Then his face turned comical in disbelief and he angrily shouted at her:

— No! He didn't tell us anything!

Kuroi impatiently kicked at some nearby debris, finding nothing of value in the area. His frustration was evident.

— There's not a fucking thing of value here!

Kureru looked at him for a moment and said, without much interest:

- It doesn't matter...

The silence stretched for a while until Kuroi broke it with a question directed at Mitsuki.

— Hey... we saved your life and hers. How about you get us into prodigies?

Mitsuki, hearing the proposal, looked at him with a comical expression, as if she couldn't believe what she had just heard.

Kuroi, unfazed, insisted:

— What? That sounds like a good reward to me.

Kureru, hearing Kuroi's suggestion, looked at Mitsuki with slight embarrassment. He didn't say anything, but his expression made it clear that he had something in mind that he was going to reveal to her later.

Mitsuki, with some exhaustion in his voice, said to them:

— Let's get out of here first... we don't have much time either.

Kuroi and Kureru exchanged a knowing glance and, without saying another word, smiled at each other and bumped fists as if a non-verbal agreement had been sealed. Then, without wasting any time, they began to follow Mitsuki, who was carrying Elisa on his back.

They stepped out of the subway, and instantly, an unexpected panorama was revealed. Before them, a landscape that contrasted with the darkness of the previous place: beautiful trees, whose leaves shone with golden and silver hues, illuminated by the light that began to filter through the clouds. The air was fresh, and the sound of nature filled the space, as if time had stopped for a moment.

The group continued to advance there, contemplating the beauty of the landscape, a respite in the midst of the chaos that surrounded them.

End of Chapter.