Arganthes: The Capital of Dungeons 14 Chapter 11: Curse of The Oni

Sitting straight up at the edge of my bed I swear it felt like something tried to go through my skull. Had to much to drink maybe? No, that couldn't be it...

As I sat there on the edge of the bed, worried about my headache the pressure slowly ebbed away as I fell on my bed with a sigh of relieve stretching my entire body.

For some reason Christine was nowhere to be found so I exited The Sleeping Mistress, thinking that going our seperate ways was for the best. I had to make my way through the forest and back to Sharoo. Thinking Amaris could help me with my exhaustion I had to make my way to the guildhall.

Entering the forest it felt like entering another world. Nothing like I was used to at home.

It was the same with the night before, everything had a magical glow to it. The trees were tall enough to block out most sunlight. Yet the moss on the barl had a dimly greenish glow to it. On my way through I noticed some area's where the light was able to slip through.

Plants and animals alike enjoyed the warm rays as they lay there peacefully.

Birds chilped in the distance as the wind gently weaved the trees, bushes and plants weaved left and right creating a pleasant shadow.

This revealed their luminescent nature giving of an other worldly glow. As I had to pass by them I made sure not to startle or alarm them.

The ponds and river in the area were thriving with life as the wombats, cats and other creature I had never seen before relaxed near the water. Thinking this was a good place to catch my breath I sat down against one of the trees with a view towards one of the ponds.

Sitting there a fox closed in on me, maybe it found me a curious sight to behold?

Or maybe it just wanted to play? Not knowing why I welcomed the company of the little creature. It happily turned its head and jumped towards my hand as if it wanted to try and catch it. Lifting my hand the little fox looked up trying to reach my hand with it's small paws it was now standing on two legs and crying out to my hand.

"Okay... okay, here... you wanted my hand right?"

I lowered my hand gently as not to startly the little creature. It sniffed my hand gently bumping its head against it. I petted it for a bit, seeing as it twirled it's two tails it must have liked the scratching behind the ears.

Just then I felt a breeze and I heard a sharp and lasting tone that I couldn't really place being carried by the wind.

Startled the fox ran away. "It must have heard something alarming in its presence."

As I enjoyed the cool breeze that rustled through the forest, unaware of the dangers this world brought with it I was totally unguarded.

Something without a physical form closed in on the tree I was resting against, approaching me, hiding in the shadows. All the creatures felt its presence being alarmed like the fox they all ran away.

Feeling as the air around the area became colder I had no idea why all of them ran away and decided it was my que to continue towards Sharoo. 

Before standing up I felt a piercing pain in my lower back as if something pierced right through my spine, but seeing as the pain quickly ebbed away I shrugged it of and went on my way.

I didn't have to venture far before finding the entrance towards Sharoo. Walking through town something felt off... But I couldn't put my finger on it. As if for some reason my body felt just the slightest bit heavier.

Arriving at the Guildhall I saw a few familiar faces. Aqua was talking to Ivy, I went to greet them seeing they had something to discuss together.

"Hey Aqua, how did your evaluation go?"

Aqua turned hearing a familiar voice and greeted me with a smile.

"Hey Michael, that's just the thing Ivy and I were discussing. You see...

It appears they want to give me special training at the Fighters and Magic Guild.

In my results it appeared that I was wel suited for combat with a blade as well as having high mental strength. I hope I say this right... According to Ivy here I have potential becoming a Magic Swordsman.

I couldn't hold back my excitement as I was really happy for Aqua.

"That's so cool! For me they don't know what would suit me best yet.

But it appears they are testing all of us to see if we can acchieve something in this world?"

I wonder what it might be.

Aqua twirled around happily showing off her new equipment.

"How do I look? I found this gear for a cheap price at the market. We could take a look together later on if you want. Maybe there's something for you too.

Aqua smiled at me grabbing my hands.

As she grabbed my hands a sheer pain shot through my head, making my headache worse it now felt like I had an splitting headache.

Holding my head not knowing what to do I noticed two small bumps.

The slightest touch made the pain shoot straight through my body intensifying it even more...,

as everything slowly turned dark I could have sworn I heard someone yelling my name. Right at that moment my legs gave in and I crashed to the floor completely collapsing. Not knowing where I was I couldn't see a thing. I was swallowed by complete darkness.

"Anybody there?"

Nothing but silence filled the dark void I found myself in. I walked around hoping to find something, something that could tell me where I was.

But to no affail as it was just me and the pitch black emptiness around me. Sitting down trying to figure out what had happend as I tried to collect my thoughts.

As I finally calmed down a bit I decided to look around trying to make sence of where I was again. This time noticing a dim light in the distance. I stood up and went to investigate. As I slowly made my way there step by step my mind flooded me with questions. Where was I? What was the light? Could I get home?

As the dim light piqued my curiosity I made my way to the light. Closing in a warm feeling filled my chest getting warmer the closer I got.

The light gave of more warmth as its the dim glow appeared to be a green flame. A flame that danced in this space of eternal darkness.

I sat down observing the flame, a few moments passed as the flame gave me a familiar feeling... a feeling I knew from long ago... a feeling like home... a feeling like me. As I sat there I heard a silent wishper calling out to me.

"Michael... We finally meet... Come... Take me in..."

I recognized that voice anywhere... That one voice... as it was my own. Facinated I asked a question to the voice as I realized what the flame could resemble.

"You... are you my conciousness?"

"Yes" The voice answered.

"Come... Touch the flame... As we... Will... Become one... But beware... The Darkness...

Is... Always... Watching..."

I felt I was not alone in this space anymore as the warmth suddenly fanished and the air around me became cold. Almost chilling even.

The feeling of warmth, peace and home fanished with the cold as I saw a silhouette forming like a shadow behind the flame. The flame spiked up as it creeped closer ever so slightly. Formless gliding towards the flame a feeling of dread creeped in slowly filling my body with terror. Frozen in fear I stared at the silhouette, the silhouette tried to take form as the shadow rose from the ground. Playfully sweeping left and right, the shade was even darker than the space itself.

Silent as the night it kept coming closer and closer as a piercing bone white mask slowly formed on eye height of the shade as if it,

it looked sharp with holes in it.

The mask slowly began cracking.

*crrr* *crack* *crrr*

As the mask kept cracking the shade began making unnatural movements twitching the mask ninty degrees. While the shade creeped closer to me ever so slightly I noticed Black ink like slime dropping down and slowly spreading from its seemingly formless body.

As the shade was now next to the flame in front of me it manifested dark violet glowing eyes, the unpure evil shadowy eyes stared right at me.

Just then the mask broke in two as it leaked ink black flames through the middle. The creature fell flat to the ground. Frozen in fear I stared at it unable to do anything.

The Inklike formless shadow began spasming on the ground, growing arms, legs, horns... even claws. The shade lifted it's head locking our sight together.

As it tried to lift up it's lifeless form it sumbled and creeped closer and closer. When finally uttering words of unkown tongue in my head.

"Gagash Varishna... Gragnu Dorim... Kerishu..."

The shade was now in front of me readying its claw to strike.

Unable to do anything about it the shade layed its claw on top of my head,

the moment it touched me my head got struck by an immense pain, unable to move I screeched in agony as it felt like it was trying to take over my mind.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!"

I jumped up in fear as I awoke in a room with an unkown white ceiling drenced in sweat.

At the corner of my bed Aqua sat there together with Amaris, Christine and Ivy all having a worried look on their face.

"It's okay Michael, Christine will get the priest, they will look into what was wrong.

You collapsed at the guildhall out of nowhere... are you okay?

Amaris asked as she put her hand on top of my head trying to check my temperature.

"W-Where... am I? Aahh!!" As I tried to get up my head hurt intensly.

Amaris gently brushed the hair out of my face wanting to put a cold towel on it putting down the fever as she noticed two small knobs just above the edges of my forehead.

Brushing past them the pain only got stronger as I fell on my back unable to bear this pain. Unkown of what was happening to me my minded got flooded with the terrors of my imagination. Thankfully Christine just came back with a nurse?

A man stood next to Amaris observing my fever as Amaris told him of her findings.

Shocked the man asked everyone to leave the room telling everyone this was serious and needed to be dealt with as soon as possible.

The man explained I had been a victim to an almighty and powerful curse as he prepared some spells to counter this. Knowing he wouldn't be enough to deal with it he informed the church we were staying in and assambeled a few extra priests.

Combining their spells an intense light was formed and four priests were ordered to hold me down no matter what happened. As it drew closer I felt hesitant. What had happened to me? What were they going to do to me? A dreadful feeling seeped into me as the light touched my body. An unphantomable pain spread througout my body as I tried to get away. With all my might I tried to break free, but couldn't as I was held down by the priests. Screaming in agony the ubearable pain almost broke my mind as I layed there with curled up eyes and a spasming body.

An inkblack shadow slowly creeped out of my poors... my eyes... mouth... nose and ears.

The knobs retracted and as I felt the heavy shadow vanish from within I lost conciousness again as the pain had proven to be to much to handle.

The priests had fulfulled their task bowing to the group and appologizing for the events that went on in the room as they had performed their magic. With a professional atitude and mature tone they said.

"The patient is cured, you can go see him now."

Allowing for Amaris and Aqua to enter, she went and sat next to me on the bed.

"What have you gone and done now, you idiot... I was worried about you..."

Aqua said with tears in her eyes.

As I turned to see who was waiting for me I noticed Christine, Amaris and Ivy standing outside the room. "It's okay now Aqua, I don't know what happened but I'm fine now."

I tried sitting upright as my energy felt replenished. I wobbled a little bit as I had just awoken from the treatment.

Still... I had to continue. This shouldn't set me back.

I gave Aqua a hug and asked her to help me stand up.

She obliged as she gave me my clothes. She quickly left the room so I could change.

One I was done I opened the door. "Here's Michael!" I said in a joking manner.

I could clearly see all of them were worried about my wellbeing. Touched by this I dried a tear that wetted my eyes.

"We should get on our way, I won't let this minor setback hold me back."

"You have been asleep for three whole days Michael, are you sure you're okay?"

Aqua said with a worrying tone.

"I'll continue with my training, there is nothing to worry about."

The priest and the three girls who assisted him walked into the room to see how I was doing, seeing as I was out and about they slacked a sigh of relieve.

*Sigh*

"It appears you are awake now, let me introduce you to your saviours.

If it wasn't for them I could have never gotten rid of the curse inside of you. But before I do I have to ask you a few things, I hope that's okay with you."

"Yes... yes ofcourse sir, anything that could help you the one who saved me."

"Then if you might follow me to my office, we can talk there in all privacy."

The head priest led the way to his office as I followed him there. We sat down as the head priest sighed in concern.

*Sigh*

"Sir Michael, in our years in the curch did we never encounter an curse like this.

I want to know as much as possible so we can inform the higher ups in Mineral.

Would you be so kind as to tell me where you were before you collapsed at the Guild hall?"

"Of course sir, let me try to recollect what happened to me."

As I started thinking I noticed I could vaguely remember my past life, yet I did remember clearly what felt like last night what happened in the forests.

"You see sir, before I collapsed a few days ago I had visited Vitalia together with Christine as we went out and she wanted to show me her home town.

As luck would have it they were having a festival that evening with a huge fire as everyone danced around it. After a while we had a heated night and went our seperate ways the next morning. As I walked through the forest there where all kinds of little creature but they were not hostile.

I rested for a bid as I was exhausted by the night before and felt something sting or bit my back, I could not find what could have inflicted this on my so I decided to go on my way.

Once I arrived at the Guildhall I began feeling dizzy and collapsed right by Aqua and Amaris their sides."

"Hmmm... I see... you did not experience anything of the ritual we performed on you, did you Michael?" "No sir, I awoke to Aqua rushing in to the room, apparently after the ritual has been performed."

"While you were unconsious did you experience anything in your mind? You seemed to be in agonizing pain while we performed the ritual to cleanse your soul."

"Now that you mention it sir... It was pitch black where I was...

A dim light could be seen, A green flame as I later found out. But I was not alone in there. A dark inklike creature manifested out of the darkness trying to take over my mind. I couldn't tell what it looked like as it seemed formless, the only thing I remembered is its Dark Sinister Violet eyes as he said that he was me...

He wanted to make me stronger, but at a great cost.

After it tried to get in my head it fanished and I woke up here."

"It feels to me like it was something not of this world trying to take over your mind Michael, I am glad you got here just in time seeing as our ritual seemingly worked to exterminate him from your soul."

I looked at my hands realising something more dreadfull. In the end before the shade left it had a striking resamblence to myself. Deciding not to share it with the priest.

"That is all I needed to know, now... let me take you to the girls.

You want to know the names of those who helped me save your life right?"

I nodded, stood up and followed the head priest as we made our way to the main hall in the church.

Once there I reunited with Amaris, Christine, Aqua and Ivy. The next morning I awoke to a slight headache. There also were a few unfamiliar faces.

"Ah, I see you all have met each other already."

The head priest called the unfamiliar girls to his side introducing one after the other.

"Well... Michael, there are the talented tree who helped me perform the ritual, savind your life. From left to right we have Celeste, Kiara and Zoe."

The girls greeted me in unison as they were happy the ritual was a success.

Celeste had long brown wavy hair, all dressed in pink her she looked not like a normal priest would look. She smiled at me as I looked at her. Her eyes were yellow and she was wearing a purple lily in her hair which looked cute on her.

Kiara had short brown hair and was dressed in white, she had a white hair pin keeping her hair out of her face and pink eyes. She was a bit shy so she hid behind the last girl.

The last girl was called Zoe, Zoe light. She had long blond hair and green eyes.

Her attire was a bit different than the others as it was in different shades of purple.

She smiled and arguably introduced herself.

"Hmm... hope you're happy. That was such a hassle...

You know what? Make sure you learn a thing or two here... It could save your life in the end you know."

As they went their seperate ways I caught wind of a request that have been made for them. It had something to do with Recruitement for an Expedition.

As nothing else really happened Amaris thought it would be better to go to the guildhall for now. on my way there I couldn't stop thinking about what happened... was that even something normal? Should I be worried?

Chapter end