Chapter 4: Chapter : Curse And Nightmares

3rd POV

[2:05 am]

CARLETON ISLAND VILLA, NEW YORK.

"Are you getting any sleep?" posed a sincere question by a black-haired boy. Taller than the female next to him and he is a few years older than her and has electric blue eyes.

The female gave him a tired smile and replied, "Don't worry about it, Alas."

Alastair did not seem convinced, and he continued to express his concern. "■□■, please go easy on yourself. How about you let me take care of tonight's mission?"

Despite her assurances that she was fine, Alastair remained resolute in his determination to help out. "Come on now, I know you are worried but I am okay," she reasoned.

"If you say so but I am still doing most of the work, ok?"

Eventually, ■□■ relented, and agreed to let Alastair take on more of the work for that night's mission. "Okay," she nodded

☯︎

A bit further ahead, a black inky portal appeared. growing as ice bears stepped out of it.

The two Reapers stood side by side, their hoods up, and their hands in their pockets. The fearless duo surveyed the approaching horde of bears, analyzing the situation with a serious tone.

"The numbers are roughly the same, Alastair," the female Reaper stated, her voice steady, but tinged with an underlying note of apprehension. Alastair hummed in agreement, confirming the analysis.

As the bears drew closer, the Reapers' eyes began to glow dangerously, a dark energy emanating from within them. Alastair then gave his command with firm authority.

"REVEAL YOURSELVES."

In an instant, a shadowy apparition appeared behind the Reapers, and black soldiers began to form. A sudden cold breeze breezed past them, nipping at their faces, but they remained unfazed, completely focused on the task at hand.

"It's your first time seeing them right?" Alastair states to his shadows soldiers form on his right.

"I am excited, I've never seen your soldiers fight before~," The female Reaper spoke up, a playful tone in her voice as a black soldier forms on her left.

The two Reapers exchanged glances, small smirks appearing on their faces as their eyes glowed with eagerness. They then looked back at the curse spirits, in the form of ice bears, growling in a threatening manner. The army of black soldiers easily dwarfed the bears, and the male Reaper uttered a single word with full command.

"GO."

The Reapers stood back, watching as Alastair's soldiers worked together effortlessly to take down the ice bears. One of the magicians in the black army sent out a powerful fire spell toward the bears, and the flames spread throughout the area.

The female Reaper was impressed, her pleasing smile attesting to her admiration. "Damn, their strength exceeds my expectations!" she praised.

However, Alastair had a different view as he observed the bears' regeneration.

"Their regeneration is almost comparable to immortality," he trailed off, his eyes glancing to the side as he continued to watch the fight.

The female Reaper sweat drops a bit. "It does consume a lot of curse energy though..." she mumbles.

Suddenly, a low growling sound echoes through the air, signaling the arrival of a powerful curse spirit. A massive bear, scarred and battle-worn, towers over the others, baring its sharp teeth in a menacing snarl and wears a large scar on its chest forming an 'x'.

The female Reaper whistles in appreciation, admiring the creature's size and strength, and teasingly remarks that "Here comes the big boy!" Alastair chuckles, taken aback by her casually humorous approach to what is clearly a dangerous situation.

Without warning, the leader bears charges towards them, ready to attack, wiping them out in an instant. Alastair's curse energy quickly drains, his fate hanging in the balance.

The female Reaper makes a face of worry while the other keeps a calm façade. The female Reaper and Alastair exchange a look, a silent agreement passing between them. They know exactly what needs to be done.

"KAGENO!"

Alastair summons his most powerful soldier, Kageno, who appears ready for battle, drawing his sword. The black knight charges towards the curse spirit with incredible speed, dodging and weaving effortlessly.

"Oh, shit?!" The female exclaims with wide eyes, watching as the black knight works flawlessly.

Using his swords to his advantage he took down the monstrous beast. As Kageno made the final move and cut the bear's head off, his movement was so powerful that the head flung in the air and only to be caught by Kageno in a graceful, almost acrobatic move.

'It's luck that Alastair's soldiers manage to defeat the special class curse spirit then. Thank God we are not enemies if we were, I would have stood no chance.' the black-haired female Reaper thinks, staring at his soldier.

'At my current level, I think we're on equal footing?'

The black knight approaches his respective master as Kageno plops the bear's head in front of her. Blood stained the pristine white marble floor as the black knight bows on his knees.

The female furrows her eyebrows. 'no, I think he's still above me...' she solemnly concludes, looking in front of her with a sigh.

Alastair seems to sense her doubts and pats her head making her crimson ones meet his electric blue eyes. "You reached this far on your own, without anyone's help or my help. Don't think so lowly of yourself. Besides we're the same rank now," he shows her his own rank displayed on his wrist as proof.

She softly smiles at him nodding, trying not to let herself get discouraged. "Thanks, Alas, it means a lot," she replies, taking off her mask and he gives her a small grin.

The two walk past the black knights patting their shoulders and praising them for their hard work as they approach the dead bears, and the female Reaper's eyes fixate on the leader's body. Alastair notices her interest and chuckles

"You can have it if you want," he mentions making her look at him.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

He likes the way her eyes light up and cheers. She runs over to the big bear with a giddy smile.

Alastair follows her and commands.

"Re-generation."

In an instant, the black figure materialized on top of the dead body. Its eyes, claws, and scars were a brilliant shade of blue that seemed to glow in the dimly lit space. The creature let out a deafening roar, announcing its arrival to the world.

The female Reaper stood in awe before the massive figure before her. Despite the creature's terrifying appearance, the girl was filled with excitement, clapping her hands in glee at the sight before her.

As she approached the bear to embrace it, the woman looked up at its piercing blue eyes, feeling a sense of connection with the creature. "I'm going to name you Scar!" she declared, the animal reminding her of a character from an old children's movie she watched.

Meanwhile, the male Reaper sweats a bit watching the scene in front of him as he makes the normal ice bear his shadows.

"I think she's the only person in the world to be that excited over having a bear that size as a pet..." Alastair mumbles watching the female jump excitedly around his new summon.

As he watched the woman and his soldiers interact, Alastair couldn't help but wonder what kind of adventures they would have together as she ventured forth in her role as a Reaper. For now, however, he simply observed, content to witness the bond between this unique pair evolve over time.

☯︎

[5:22 am] In the USA

Mifa finds herself in a surreal setting where she is unable to recognize or discern anything about her surroundings. The environment appears as a vague blur, shrouded in what appears to be a thick, misty, dark fog, adding to the already eerie atmosphere. As she stands motionless, she feels a warm, thick liquid dripping down her chest and arms, giving her the impression of possessing another's body.

Suddenly, Mifa's mother appears before her, trembling and chattering her teeth as if experiencing an unbearable cold. She wears a twisted smile that appears more like a sneer. The teenage girl isn't able to feel anything, except for the thick and warm liquid covering her chest and the entirety of her arms, sticking to her skin uncomfortably.

Her mother's shirt is entirely soaked, and it is clutching at her skin as she staggers to her daughter, Mifa watches the grotesque spectacle unfold as her mother approaches, her body trembling some more as she chokingly laughs.

"Good, good, my child." Filled with pride, her mother congratulates her. She looks pathetic and suffering, but her tone is soft and validating, "I knew you'd do it, you've always been good." She gives Mifa a look absolutely full of pride. The praise is something utterly foreign to her and if Mifa didn't feel so disconnected and distanced from the entire act, she would probably feel happy.

Filled with pride, her mother congratulates her, revealing to her that she had always been good and that she was counting on her to do just this. The praise is something utterly foreign to Mifa, but she struggles to feel happy despite the gloomy presence that lingers in the air.

It's when her mother's body suddenly jerks forward and she coughs up violently what appears to be blood, Mifa notices that she is now coated in it. The teenage girl only now notices thick liquid dripping down her shirt.

As the dream becomes more real, so do the emotions that surge within Mifa. She feels a cold sweat, shivering in fear and despair. The blood feels nice and warm on her skin, but she is scared and pathetic. Knowing that she is capable of fulfilling her mother's desire. Despite her mother's apparent suffering, there is nothing but happiness and satisfaction in her features.

"Now, kill me," the older woman demands and Mifa shakes her head vigorously and lets out a wet sob as she struggles against her mother's insistence. Her mother winces in pain and clutches her stomach, Mifa sees the first evidence of her suffering on her face as her mother winces.

Mifa refuses to do it. She keeps on shaking her head until herself shakes as well.

Mifa's eyes shot open as she let out a startled gasp, jolting upwards in her bed. Her body was slick with sweat as she clung to the sheets, her heart racing with a pounding intensity that made her feel dizzy. This was not the first time she had experienced this particular nightmare, but it never ceased to leave her feeling rattled and on edge. She inhaled sharply, her heart threatening to beat out of her chest.

She lay there for several moments, her gaze fixed unseeingly on the pristine white of her ceiling. Her vision was blurry, tears prickling behind her eyes, nearly spilling over her cheeks as her mind replayed the vivid images that had plagued her sleep. The teenage girl let out uneven, shuddering breaths. It was the same nightmare that had been haunting her recently, a terrifying sequence of events that felt all too real.

Mifa's chest heaved as she struggled to draw in a steady breath. She knew that she was safe in her own bed, that the nightmare was just a figment of her imagination, but that did little to calm the turbulent emotions that swirled within her. It was a feeling that had become all too familiar to her.

This particular dream had only intensified in frequency and intensity since she had been discharged from the hospital. With a heavy heart, Mifa closed her eyes again, willing herself to find some measure of peace and rest.

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