Cursed Odyssey

My eyes burst open with a heavy gasp. Immediately, hands shot to my chest, expecting the beast's claws to have ripped my heart out, but all I felt was the wetness—sweat, lake water, and my hammering heartbeat.

Slowly, my senses returned. The crackle of a nearby fire, the distant hisses of the night, and the smells of mud, moss, and wet grass mixed with a burning tinge filled my surroundings.

My eyes adjusted to the light, darting left to right until I saw him…

Zephyr.

He was sitting against a tree, his eyes fixed on the sky through the thick canopy of leaves. The firelight highlighted his sharp features, and there was a calmness about him that I couldn't quite place.

"Finally awake, huh?" he remarked, grinning at me. His voice was calm, steady, as if nothing had happened.

I blinked, still dazed, my mind scrambling to catch up. I wasn't dead. Not yet. I was still alive… And he probably saved me.

Saved? He was the reason I was in trouble! Who am I kidding!? I knew this would happen! Like he would ever abandon me! I mocked my pathetic previous self, and the possibility.

"You… be quiet… I'll have you punished for this… I swear it…" I coughed uncontrollably.

"You should have seen yourself as you begged for me to save you… 'Zephyr! Save me!'" He chuckled subtly.

"D—damned dreg…"

How low had I sunk to have to depend on this…

"But I hope you realize that if you want to punish me… It'll have to be when we're safe. What's the point of anything if we're dead? I'm only resting here. Not even I have unlimited stamina. Once you've recovered enough to walk, it will be faster."

"Ah—"

I wanted to speak—but then… there was a loud throbbing in my head… and visions… I could almost feel it again…

"You're right…" I gulped, not even believing my own words. "Let's just survive…"

I looked up, and he finally turned to face me. There was that smile of his… I felt, and still feel, that he is now a completely different person. But that smile—that definitely belongs to Zephyr. So… what changed him so much?

"None of this would have been necessary if you'd just waited… The Vandymions would have come to save me and turned that entire prison to rubble within days… Why even bother escaping? Now they're just going to find nothing…" I curled up beside the fire, my hands pushing my legs to my face.

"Are you certain they'd have come?"

"Are you doubting me? And my household… you worm…"

"Yes… I am. There was no guarantee, and there was no better opportunity for escape like we just had."

"Y—you…"

"Answer me this—" The pig interrupted me as I coughed. "Why were we captured in the first place!?"

"Did you hit your head!? Or is it true you're actually possessed by some spirit now?"

"A spirit would have long abandoned you. I stayed because I truly cared."

Huh!? What kind of nonsense is he spewing!? Maybe he is still him after all…

"Well… You know Father sent me to the ancient city of Glaciarael to test my worthiness in the eyes of the 'high priestess'… All I was allowed to bring were my weapon, some armor, two guards, and you, my useless dreg slave… As we trudged through the desert, we got ambushed and ended up in that prison… This was supposed to be secret… but some traitorous swine must have leaked my holy departure from the city and captured me for ransom… A mistake the Warden will never forget…"

"I see…" Zephyr simply nodded. "I remember now… but you have no guarantee that they would come… You just assumed? Also, what of that beast? If we didn't escape today, we'd have just been swallowed up,"

"Naturally! I'm the next head of the esteemed house of Vandymion! They'd turn all of Sanctum upside down to find me!"

"Well, Arthur seemed to disagree."

"Who even is Arthur to speak on this!? He's nothing but a jealous fallen noble!"

"I wouldn't be so sure… He was the other brain behind the escape… Those masked figures that allowed it all to happen? It seemed like they were with him."

"I—I knew that!" I clicked my tongue. "As if that changes anything!"

"I suppose you're right…" Zephyr chuckled. "I just couldn't sit idly by and let such an opportunity pass. If they never came, I'd rather not rot in there until we got executed at 16… But think about it this way: you escaped without needing your household. Once you find them, I'm sure they'll be that much prouder of you. I don't mind giving you all the credit."

"Naturally! The work of the slave is also the work of the master! Now that I'm stuck doing this, that is the plan. But first, we need to figure out where we are… and how to get back to Gallica."

"We're on the Island of the King currently, I know that much… Our first objective is to get out of here."

"I— suppose—" My coughing returned, more uncontrollable than ever. I could feel my throat burn with each cough, and my lungs ached as if they were collapsing inward.

"I told you to take off your wet clothes… Now you're sick."

"You… absolute creep… I'd actually rather die than reveal myself in front of you… Considering how dead set you are on your mission… I'm surprised you didn't undress me by force…"

"I'd like you to know that I have dignity."

"Since when!?"

"Since now, I guess. So make sure to dry yourself well. If you come down with something serious, I'm not sure what else can be done."

"F—fine…" I sniffled, my body shivering.

"Take this." Suddenly, he stood and walked up to me, handing me his clothes. "They dried a while ago. Wear them, or use them as a blanket. I swear on the Arcana Gods I won't look."

He looked away as he handed me those rags, and I couldn't even tell the look on my own face. How far had I sunk for me to receive such a gift and feel somewhat grateful?

I yanked them from his hands.

"You look, and I will tear your eyes out. I swear it."

Though his clothes fit slightly small, they fit well enough. I could feel the heat from the fire like a warm embrace across my whole body.

"You can come out now."

Zephyr then walked back to the campsite from behind a tree. He looked somewhat flustered and embarrassed wearing my wet rags. Faces like these truly remind me that the man ahead may truly be Zephyr… Yet I still had my doubts.

"You still haven't explained to me how you orchestrated everything… What made you change so much?"

"I'll be glad to explain, but we should start moving. A beacon like this in the woods is sure to attract trouble… We still have a long way ahead."

"Fine…" I found myself nodding to his proposal.

But when I took my first step—

"Ah—"

It felt as though the whole world was crashing down. A sudden nausea hit me all at once, and my body stopped responding, like a crumbling building. My vision blurred, and the ground rushed up to meet me.

But before I fell—

"It's fine, I'll carry you."

Once again, I found myself hung on his back like a towel, but this time felt calmer.

He just kept going forward—to where? I had no idea… but he seemed to know where he was going, what he was doing.

"So… will you finally explain it to me? I know I keep calling you a dreg, but you're no longer a dreg, are you?"

"Indeed, I'm not."

I looked down at his right hand, and then I gulped. It was shattered, I could barely make out its form through the dried blood and shards of jutting bone. All this time, he had held me with that? And I hadn't heard a single complaint.

But something was missing.

"Where is your arcane mark then?"

"It's on my left." My eyes shifted.

And there I saw it, a subtle purple on his left wooden arm.

To my knowledge, a mark would only appear on one's right. Never on the left… and it's not even etched on his flesh, but his wooden arm? No wonder he could keep it secret from the guards.

"You must be wondering how, right? To tell you the truth, not even I know. I can actually change the location of my arcane mark at will. I could even put it on my butt if I wanted to…" He let out a small chuckle.

"That's… odd."

"I guess so, yeah. But it helped a lot… It came to me in that prison. Not even I know how or what unlocked it for me… Temporal Echo."

"Temporal Echo? So that's the source of the voice, huh?"

"Yeah," Zephyr nodded. "It came to me in a dream, and the next thing I knew, I woke up with that mark on my left… Is that not normal?"

"No… It's not… at least for me. But the information being suddenly imbued in your head is natural… though it shouldn't amount to much more than the basics."

"Yeah, I needed to figure out most of it on my own… But that dream maybe gave me some enlightenment… I don't even remember what I saw, all I remember is I felt completely different afterwards. I'm guessing that's why I'm so different now. After receiving my arcane awakening, I began planning. Samsara fell directly into my plans, and finding out about Arthur's secret was just a coincidence. All of this until now must have been fated."

"What about Gwynn?"

"A clown. He's useless to me. I saw him as nothing more than a tool, to be completely honest."

I couldn't help but shudder. That response was unlike anything I would have ever expected to be uttered from the timid filth I once knew as Zephyr. But it only piqued my curiosity.

"And Skylar?"

For a moment, he paused. Something was different, so I pushed further.

"Did you not love her? She sacrificed herself for you, did she not?"

"So you saw all of that, huh… No… I never did love her. She played her part perfectly but paid the ultimate price."

I didn't know exactly why, but my lips curled into a smile. Perhaps it was me reliving the moment, the fact that a mere slum rat was so powerful made me feel sick.

"Oh wow! You even used that slum rat! Of course you realized her worth! The way you played with her emotions so thoroughly, enough to make her sacrifice herself, was so masterful! No wonder you haven't even mentioned her after all she did! You really never cared ab—"

"Enough of that—" Suddenly, there was a switch in his tone, and I bit my lip shut.

"She was a pure and innocent soul… She did not deserve death… She was my first sister."

"Sister?" I mumbled.

"Before I joined your household, my first ever memory was on the streets with Skylar. Eventually, Morganth Aracnia found us but only saw potential in Skylar and took her in… I was left alone to rot. But with enough begging, Skylar convinced her to send me somewhere safe, and thus I ended up as a servant for the Vandymions."

His emotions, his expression—I couldn't make it out. He was always an open book, but now he was a shrouded enigma.

He sounded sincere, but I couldn't be certain anymore… There is no slave mark anymore… Doubt crept into every part of my mind.

"I always knew you also had the stench of sewer rats! You would have been perfect for each other!" I coughed in laughter, but he didn't respond, so I pushed on. How come this is the first I hear of this? "Did all of that come back to you in that dream as well?"

"Yes… it did," he finally responded.

"And that dream of yours… You kept saying a name… Nina?"

This time, upon the mere mention of her name, he stood still… then continued walking.

Although that pause was less than a second, it had weight.

"Would it be okay if I asked you a question instead?"

That bastard ignored me!

"Sure, ask me anything, you dog."

"I understand you were too injured to make it home by yourself and needed someone to help you… But of all people, why me? I'm not exactly the most powerful, nor am I the most knowledgeable. With your status, you could have asked anyone and promised them a reward afterward… correct?"

This time, it was me that halted…

Why did I choose him?

In fact, I was dead set on him, and only him—any other option did not even register to me.

Was it some kind of bond like love or friendship? The mere thought made my stomach turn inside out. No, of course not.

Now that I thought of it, the answer was clear.

They were…

His ey—

"You were just there, and it was convenient," I blurted, stopping my hurting thoughts. "Besides, even if I did promise a reward, in my current state I can't be certain others wouldn't take advantage of me. At least I have some level of trust in you…"

"Even after I broke the slave mark and thought I betrayed you?" He quipped.

"I said I figured out the reason after! Of all people, of all the things that changed about you, your piggly devotion to me is a constant…" I spoke with certainty, yet there was still doubt even I could recognize.

"Well, whatever the reason may be, I'm grateful… I thought that was the end of me."

That was the sincerest thing I've heard come out of his mouth.

"Then serve me well, and repay my gratitude with your life, slave."

But he didn't respond, at least not like I thought he would—

"I will repay you, that is a promise."

He kept walking. I could barely see my hands in front of me, yet there were no hesitations in his steps.

I could hear hisses from the bushes, yet oddly, I was still calm. I didn't even question it.

Not once did we run into a single beast.

And part of me for certain knew it was not simply out of luck.

Gradually, his steps began to hasten. As I grew weaker, he only seemed to grow stronger.

My head thumped, and my stomach growled, threatening to vomit.

"We're almost there… hang on." It was as though he could sense my distress, Zephyr spoke.

"Close? Close to where?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Should we not rest? Morning will give us much easier navigation."

"And it will give the monsters more visibility on us, along with time for the Warden and her guards to catch up. If they deal with that monster, we will be next."

"And where exactly are you going?"

"In the sky, I saw smoke… Where there is fire, there is life… A village is down here."

"A village!?" I coughed. "So what if there was? How do you know they will take us in!?"

"I don't," Zephyr admitted. "I'll have to see when I get there… But that is our only chance."

"Why is that!? You defeated that Lyr that was going to kill me. Just hunt and cook some food! Then—"

"Then what? Even if I find the energy to somehow hunt, how will we find you medicine? How will we find a map to flee?"

I hated to admit it… but this Zephyr makes too much sense.

"Fine… you're right."

"Don't worry… I'm sure it'll all work out." He turned around, smiling brightly at me in the darkness, as the prison monster let out a loud cry in the distance.

It was at that moment that my body gave out, and my head slumped onto Zephyr's shoulders, slowly breathing in slumber.

But as I fell, I oddly did not worry.

Take care of him… And show him the power of change…