Cursed Odyssey

Heads snapped up. Eyes widened.

The low murmur of prayers died beneath a rising tide of confusion and cries.

I burst through the doors, chest heaving. Every gaze that had been fixed on Joseph now turned to me—Baro—and the world tilted like a ship in a storm.

Confused faces swirled around me, voices rising to shouts.

But only half the congregation watched me. The other half remained locked on the stage where the lords sat.

Adrian's mind recoiled. A Cold fist around his heart, his blood flowing backward, stomach dropping into nothing.

It wasn't just their words. The weight of his people's stares pressed down like a mountain demanding answers.

He swallowed hard and activated his spirit vision.

His eyes bulged, and he nearly gagged.

Nausea crashed over him as he saw them—five glowing orbs nestled deep in the zott's stomach.

The two guards. The three boys…

Bile rose in his throat, but he forced it down. Say something. Anything.

"A—absurd! I don't see anything in—"

*SNAP*

"LIAR!" Joseph's voice exploded, drowning every sound in the hall. "USE THAT DAMN LIE DETECTOR OF YOURS!"

The detector sat within arm's reach. What had once symbolized truth and order now looked like a guillotine. The crowd's demands grew vicious, unrelenting. FUCK!! If I ignore this, they'll lose faith in the orb's authority. They'll assume I'm lying, cheating them. They'll kill me.

There was no way out.

He swallowed the lump choking his throat and reached out with trembling fingers to touch the holy sphere.

"There are five orbs in that zott's stomach. The three boys—Lee, Kalo, and Poro. The guards Grati and Javi."

The orb flickered with sickly white light.

What's happening? Me, eat them? How could that happen? What is Joseph saying? I couldn't form coherent thoughts, couldn't understand.

I looked ahead. The humans stared at me with death in their eyes.

Their roars grew deafening, sharp enough to hurt.

Then Joseph's voice rang out again, somehow louder than everything else.

*SNAP*

"ALSO! THAT SPHERE IS NO HOLY ARTIFACT! EVEN IF IT WORKS, IT WAS GIVEN TO THEM BY OUTSIDERS! NOT YOUR ANCESTORS! THEY'VE BEEN COLLUDING WITH OUTSIDE FORCES AND LYING TO YOU!"

His words struck like daggers, piercing the villagers' already fragile faith.

It was the cursed outsider's voice, yet somehow they believe him more than their own leaders.

"SAY IT ISN'T TRUE, MY LORD!" a desperate voice cried.

"PLACE YOUR HAND ON THE ORB AND PROVE IT, YOU FRAUDS!"

Lord Yrell turned to his fellow lord for comfort, but the face he saw might as well have been horror itself.

As if controlled by unseen forces, Adrian's hands moved toward the lie detector. The cold, smooth surface offered no comfort.

His voice cracked.

"The—the boy speaks the truth. This sphere was given to us by outsiders." Green light. "BUT I WAS FORCED TO TAKE IT! IF I DIDN'T COMPLY, THE VILLAGE WOULD BE IN DANGER! WITH EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING, I DID IT ALL FOR THE VILLAGE!"

The sphere… turned red…

Even a slight lie renders the entire statement false. Adrian had forgotten in his haste—or perhaps he'd lied to himself so often he'd started believing it. Deep down, he knew the truth.

That was the final straw.

The invisible spark was long lit…

And the volcano had finally erupted…

"YOU DAMNED ZOTTS! YOU'RE THE REASON OUR CHILDREN HAVE BEEN DISAPPEARING! YOU'VE BEEN EATING OUR CHILDREN! TIMES NEVER CHANGE!"

"YOU OVERGROWN MONKEYS! WHAT IS THIS SETUP? THIS IS ALL FALSE!"

"THE SPHERE SPOKE TRUE!"

"THE SPHERE IS A LIE!"

Yrell and Adrian watched everything crumble. The peace they'd fought so hard to maintain—gone in seconds.

Though things were never as peaceful as they appeared on the surface.

A congregation meant to unite had destroyed everything.

Only then did Adrian realize—he'd seen six orbs with his spirit vision go up the mountain. That zott at the gates wasn't one of them.

"THAT ZOTT IS INNOCENT! IT'S THE OUTSIDER'S FAULT! HE MUST HAVE KILLED THEM!" His old voice was drowned in the sea of madness.

"YOU KILLED MY DAUGHTER! MY SON!"

"IT WAS YOU WHO DESTROYED MY FARMLANDS! YOU SHOW YOUR TRUE FACES!"

"DIE, YOU OVERGROWN LIZARDS!"

Fights broke out. Like a snowball rolling downhill, chaos escalated.

I watched the madness unfold. Clearly, I'm one of the main targets. People fought to reach me, eyes filled with malice. They wanted to kill me. Me, of all people.

What sin have I committed?

For the first time in my life, I was the center of attention. The main attraction for the entire village.

For some inexplicable reason, I couldn't help but smile. I crumbled to my knees.

The feeling wasn't entirely unpleasant.

A loud crash echoed through the chaos.

I looked up in a daze.

A bloody zott stood in front of me. Dark green scales, grey horns—unmistakable.

"Uncle?"

"THIS IS MY NIECE! SHE'S INNOCENT!" He fought back against the horde with everything he had. "I SAW EVERYTHING! SHE WAS NEVER WITH THEM IN THE WOODS! SHE'S MY DEAR NIECE! SHE WOULDN'T HURT A FLY! SHE'S INNOC—"

They cut him down.

His bloody, limp body fell onto my lap. The amber in his eyes faded to tears.

I had no words.

A sword rose high above me, ready to end my life.

In my final moment, I felt happy. Confused. Sad.

Today was my highest high and lowest low.

I finally got the attention I wanted. But at what cost? How did it all happen? Me? Kill them? Joseph? I looked around—he was nowhere to be found.

Was it all a dream?

SLASH

Joseph... please save me...

---

Anne's house, at the same time:

Rayah's eyelids fluttered open. The ceiling stared back—the room she'd grown somewhat accustomed to.

That morning felt unusually quiet. Only wind whipped through the open window.

Her heart beat steady. Strange calm settled over her.

I dreamt for the first time in ages. About her true home, her parents, her brothers and sisters. She couldn't help comparing them to Anne's stories.

What is family, truly?

She sighed, rubbing her eyes. Her hands moved unusually quick. Her nose was clear, and the feeling of slowly dying had lifted.

Perhaps that medicine wasn't so useless after all. A quiet chuckle escaped her lips.

Muffled sounds of commotion drifted through her closed door.

More medicine? Or has she finally decided to poison me? Rayah's amusement grew.

She probably realized there's no universe where I'd agree to be her daughter. She'd want to get rid of me. Crazy woman whose delusion has grown too far. I'm nothing but a prop to her. I wonder what look she has on her face now.

Rayah raised her hands and focused, trying to conjure ice in her palms. No matter her effort—failure.

Really is these shackles, not because I was sick. She pushed her hands apart, trying to snap the links. Nothing.

Shaking her head, she looked out the window.

Now that she'd regained some strength, for the first time since arriving in this dreary village, a strange urge stirred within her—a desire to throw off the heavy blankets and explore.

As a noble woman trapped in her mansion most of her life, I'm curious about peasant ways. Perhaps seeing how that woman works, may prevent my subsequent murder.

But without her powers, she was no better than a dreg. If the village wanted her dead, she'd have died long ago.

The prison warden was still hunting them. Much to be done, and she'd wasted enough time rotting in bed.

I'll see where that woman is first. Need to ask about Zephyr. Though she'd be lying if she said that was the only reason.

I wonder if he's actually making himself useful instead of loitering like a buffoon! Wouldn't even bother checking on his master! I'll make him suffer a thousand lifetimes if he pulled me into this just for it to be my grave! Where is that damned slave?

!!!!

And as if summoning him—

A small figure hopped through the window she'd been staring at, perched crouched on the sill. Ashen hair fluttered in the strong wind, deep-set crimson eyes glowing with serious intent as he smiled straight towards her.

From his side, he pulled out a short sword nearly half his body length. Its sharp edge glinted in the morning light.

Before I could react—

He slashed down at me.

*Crack*

"Ah— Z—Zephyr!?"