03/09/2007 - 17 days left
That day she lost everything she owned and, on the same day, she sold her soul. In exchange for having her life spared, she had to accept the contract with that fallen goddess, but being possessed by a R.P.S. would mean receiving a curse. Not only that, but to think that her childhood friend would be the one to completely destroy her life? As if that wasn't enough, of all people, she had to be the Goddess of Curses? Frankly, she was very unlucky. Her sisters were still alive, but her curse was too cruel, she couldn't be close to her family. Some time later, she was forced to fake her death, it was painful to have to use such a dirty trick, but it was the only way. While her sisters were distracted by the huge demon, she could flee through the forest. Without any direction, she ended up in the Mythical Forest, perhaps she had been attracted to this place, after all she was the Goddess of Fauna and Flora, perhaps this place could welcome her.
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This... this couldn't be happening, I just can't conceive of it. I saw it, I saw you, I saw it clearly with my own eyes, you died. In front of me, I stood there, I watched you being torn apart. Haha, maybe I'm going crazy, maybe my nightmares are affecting my mind, I think I've gone mad for good. Shiroh's body fell to the ground, stiff, Chizuro barely had time to react, she couldn't take her eyes off the girl in front of her. But before she could react, she found herself in Nakano's office.
- You should thank her for doing all your work - Nakano grumbled, as usual
- I don't... I don't understand - Chizuro muttered to herself, in a state of complete shock
Meanwhile, Lullaby was putting Shiroh on the sofa. She and Ouhi didn't react at all to the "stranger" in Nakano's office, but that didn't last long.
- I think you owe us some explanations, Nakano - Lullaby stared at the witch - You've been hiding a lot from us, haven't you?
- Oh, I've put a few pieces together here and there... what? Not so happy about the dramatic reunion I set up? - Nakano seemed to be holding in her laughter
- Years ago, Shiroh and Chizuro went through a traumatic episode, which is why Shi still has nightmares. And you're telling me that all of this, all of this, was just a hoax? YOU MEAN JULY KNEW ABOUT IT TOO? - Lullaby stood up, looked in the direction of the little girl, who until now had been quiet - answer me, Urash - Lullaby stared at the girl
- Yes. That day I faked my death - Urash answered firmly
- HOW COULD YOU? DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH SHIT YOU'VE PUT SHIROH THROUGH? SHE'S LIKE THIS NOW BECAUSE OF YOU! - Lullaby had both hands on Urash's shoulders
- Lullaby, she's only twelve - Ouhi put one of her hands on Lullaby's arm, smiled at Urash - It's good to see you again, glad you're okay.
- It's a pleasure to see you again too - Urash smiled slightly
- Ouhi... - Lullaby mumbled, sounding confused, very confused.
- And July? - Ouhi asked
- DID I HEAR MY NAME???!
A girl about 1.55m tall, with black skin, suddenly appeared, with purple hair and eyes, hidden by a nun's cloak, making up her entire "uniform", wearing an inverted cross necklace.
- Ah, Ouhi... Lullaby... - She looked with watery eyes at the two in front of her.
Ouhi and Lullaby quickly hugged the little girl, the three of them began to cry a lot, it was possible to see the longing and sorrow filling those tears, wiping away all the suffering they had stored up. Urash looked at that scene with a smile, a slightly distant smile, she looked away, looking at Chizuro, who until now had been static. When she realized that someone was staring at her, she snapped back to reality, raising her face and looking back at Urash.
- Chizuro - Urash smiled sweetly, slowly approaching - I...
She couldn't finish her sentence, choking on her own words. Her eyes filled with tears, which soon flowed when Chizuro hugged her tightly.
- I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I couldn't protect you, I've been a bad sister, I'm sorry - Chizuro kept saying, in tears
- No! No, it was my fault, I'm sorry, I was very cruel to you, I'm sorry, please - Urash replied, also in tears
- But if I had been better...
- No Chizuro, you're a great sister - Urash hugged Chizuro back
The atmosphere, which was somewhat heavy but also relieving, filled the room. Nakano and Fuan spent some time watching this warm reunion, and it was almost impossible not to smile at the sight. The crying continued for a while, but gradually calmed down, with the sisters smiling at the end, a smile mixed with relief, forgiveness, happiness, but also because the longing had finally been killed. A few minutes after the crying stopped, the silence was completely broken.
- I'm going mad, I'm going mad! HAHAHAHAHAHAH! I saw Urash, right in front of me! SHE'S DEAD! SHE DIED! AND I SAW HER! I WENT CRAZY! CRAZY! CRAZY! - Shiroh had her hands on her face
- Sister... - Chizuro looked in her sister's direction, she was scared
- Shiroh - Urash took a few steps closer to her sister, she looked at Shiroh.
Shiroh slowly looked in Urash's direction, her eyes were completely wide, tears were streaming down her face, but after meeting Urash's gaze she was completely expressionless.
- Haha, she's talking to me, she's talking to me - Shiroh looked in Chizuro's direction - See? See Chizuro? Do you see her? NO? I KNOW, IT'S JUST SOMETHING IN MY HEAD! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! - As she spoke, she stretched out her hand towards Urash, trying to touch other
- Shiroh - Urash gently took her sister's hand, still looking at her
Shiroh's frightening smile diminished as she turned her face towards Urash. When she crossed eyes with her younger sister again, she had no reaction at all.
- I'm real, Shiroh. I never died, I faked my death - Urash put Shiroh's hand on her cheek - You're not to blame for my "death". I love you Shiroh, I always have. I'm sorry for everything I did to you - Urash smiled slightly
- What kind of new magic is this? - She looked in the direction of the others - Tell me, Nakano, it was you, wasn't it? - Nakano didn't react - Lullaby, Ouhi? - No answer - Chizuro...? - No answer - No, I... - Shiroh looked at Urash, her eyes were shaking, she couldn't believe it - No... no...
Urash hugged Shiroh, who didn't react
- No, no, no... - She just kept repeating it, mumbling
Urash was still hugging Shiroh, but this time she hugged her tighter. Gradually, tears began to run down Shiroh's face, and she slowly returned Urash's embrace. The two stayed like that for a long time, until the older girl stopped shaking and crying, and was calmed down by the younger one.
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A good few hours passed, the atmosphere of reunion eased, and they were all having dinner. The table was full of animated conversations, after all, they all had a lot to talk about and catch up on.
- Nakano, so you already knew each other? - Shiroh asked
- Yes, Urash is the caretaker of the Mythical Forest, I had to ask her permission when I built my house here...
- And she hid it from us - Lullaby commented
- Not actually. Of course I noticed that you at least had a relationship, but I didn't know that from the start - Nakano replied - Ah, but are you going to complain about the favor I did for you? - She smiled
- Yeah, regardless of whether Nakano kept it from you... what matters is that we met - Urash looked at them with a sweet smile
- You've grown up well, Urash - Shiroh smiled slightly - AH! There's someone I need to introduce you to, LIKE, RIGHT NOW!
- Oh no, Urash, don't listen to her! SHE'LL GO ON FOR TWO HOURS ABOUT THAT MORTAL! - Lullaby, as always, made a fuss
- Is it someone you love, sister? - Urash looked interestedly at Shiroh
- YES! HE'S THE LOVE OF MY LIFE! - It seemed that Urash had added fuel to the fire
- In that case I'll even ask you to stay for two hours to talk about him - Urash smiled - I'd love to hear more about this person!
- Wait a minute. Urash. In the time you've been gone, you haven't... met... anyone, have you... - Shiroh was serious.
- Hahahahaha, no sister, I'm still too young - Urash smiled - Besides, I have July - Urash had a sweet look on her face
- hM? - July, who until now had been busy eating, almost choked on her food.
- Right, Ju? I have you, don't I? - Urash took her hand
- AaaaAAaah Urash! I told you, I'm in love with someone else! - July pulled away from Urash
- No, you silly, I'm not talking about that!
- I know... - July went back to eating, suspicious
- AH Yeah! I didn't even tell you! - Urash seemed excited about something - JULY LIKES A - Her speech was cut off as July shoved a fork full of food into Urash's mouth.
- N-NO! DON'T SAY ANYTHING! - July's looked embarrassed
- Oh God, so silly... - Urash took the fork out of his mouth and chewed the food
- July, you're too young for this. - Lullaby grumbled
- I didn't aprove it - Ouhi looked seriously at July
- WHAT THE HELL! I HAVEN'T EVEN TOLD YOU WHO IS IT, LEAVE ME ALONE! - July looked back at Ouhi
- But I can already imagine who it might be - Ouhi crossed her arms
- What do you mean, Ouhi??????? - Lullaby was totally lost
- So what, are you going to stop me or something, Ouhi? - July looked angry
- That vampire is a complete idiot, they doesn't deserve you - Ouhi replied coldly
- What a pain in the ass, leave me alone! - July grumbled
- Wait... THAT CRAZY GUY FROM YEARS AGO? - Lullaby snapped
- Yeah, yeah, that's them... - July rolled her eyes
- July..... they're horrible - Lullaby looked disgusted
- And she fell in love with them for nothing. Get over it, July - said Ouhi
- No. I've tried everything, no matter what. Man, woman, whatever, it doesn't work - July looked down.
- You're twelve years old - Lullaby said a little nonplussed
- Oh fuck off! Gods' years are different from humans, I've lived too long to try anything!
- Anyway, you can sort it out later, I don't want to hear any family issues - Nakano sighed - I'll spoil the mood, okay? - She smiled - Shiroh - She looked at her seriously - Do I need to ask you?
- I'll keep trying, Nakano - Shiroh answered seriously
- Well, you've probably noticed that whoever is carrying out these attacks has noticed our presence. It was a great time for Urash to show up. - She smiled as she looked at Urash. - Instead of trying to predict the next attack, I'm going to ask the three of you to be on the lookout for any possible attack and go there immediately.
- Explain better - Shiroh stared at Nakano, looking confused
- Since the people carrying out the attacks can be unpredictable, instead of me wasting time predicting future attacks, you'll basically be on duty watching the city. If shit goes wrong, you can get there quickly and sort it out - Pause - There are three of you now, apart from the idiot trio over there, so it's easier...
- And you just sit there with your little ass on the chair doing nothing, is that it? - Shiroh grumbled
- Yes - Nakano replied immediately - Fuan and I are going to stay here, as usual, but we're also going to monitor the city. You only have one job: to stand by at all times. Since you're all goddesses, that should be easy for you...
- That's great! I'll lose a whole week without doing anything, or worse, even more than that. I have a life too, you know????? - Shiroh said
- Well, Hisui, if you want to be the Commander of Olympus, you'll have to work hard for it... - Nakano smiled
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A few days had passed since then, Urash had moved in with Shiroh, and they were alternating shifts to monitor the city, so it took a long time before any movement began to occur in the city. Luckily, Shiroh was alert:
- Nakano, tell me exactly where the explosion happened - Shiroh said as she jumped between the buildings and constructions
- You're relatively close, just keep going and you'll be there in a few seconds - Pause - Can you see the fire?
- Yes, it's not that bad - Silence - But it's going to be hard just for me to deal with all this...
- No, go there alone. There's a good chance that that son of a bitch will make more than one attempt at the same time.
- Understood - Shiroh said as she jumped from one of the buildings, falling into the fire
The place was full of flames, but luckily there was no one in the area.
- Strange... - Shiroh looked around - Well, I'll deal with it once and for all.
In a single movement, as if Shiroh were cutting through the flames, a very strong wind quickly extinguished all the fire.
- Nakano, have you seen any motherfuckers around here?
- Careful - Nakano replied
From behind Shiroh, a creature of umbrakinesis appeared; she managed to block the attack with some ease
- You could have warned sooner, y'know?
- But you managed to react... - Nakano's ironic voice echoed in Shiroh's mind.
Shiroh tried to pull out her sword, but in one fell swoop the creature broke it.
- UHM... NAKANO? ISN'T THIS THING STRONGER AND SMARTER THAN BEFORE?
Shiroh had no answer.
- Common, fuck off - She muttered
She deftly dodged the attacks, but she couldn't stay on the defensive forever, her stamina would soon run out. After a few minutes of Nakano's silence, Shiroh tried her best to dodge the attacks, but she was getting tired.
- Shiroh - A voice echoed in her mind
- Nakano? - Shiroh landed on the ground, preparing to attack the creature
- Tell me something... - Nakano said
Shiroh snapped her fingers, leaned in a little, waiting for the right moment to attack the creature.
- Did you ever stop to realize that - Nakano continued her sentence, slowly
Seeing a gap in the creature's defense, Shiroh ran towards it, piercing the creature's body with her bare hands.
- How many times have you had nightmares this week? - In Nakano's words, it sounded like she was smiling
Taking advantage of the fact that the creature had received a strong attack, Shiroh cast a spell, totally destroying the being.
- And how many times had there been attacks? - It was obvious, Nakano had a huge smile on her face
- What are you trying to say? You know your chatter bothered me in battle, right?
- Shiroh, haven't you noticed any similarities in the form the creatures take?
Just as Nakano finished speaking, a creature began to emerge from the slime on the ground. It was an extremely familiar shape to Shiroh.
- What the fuck is that? - Shiroh impulsively jumped back
- I thought it was funny the first time, but the second time it was pretty obvious - Nakano commented
- Just say it already - Shiroh was losing patience
- When you dreamt seven times, there were seven attacks. When you dreamt five times, there were five attacks...
- So what?
- And now that the attacks have coincidentally decreased, so have your nightmares...
Slowly the shape of the creature became clearer.
- The shape these creatures form... when it's others attacking they don't transform, but with you... - She laughed
- Nakano. Speak at once, dammit! - Shiroh went all out on the being, in one blow she tore it completely apart
- Shiroh... have you ever thought that maybe you're to blame for all this?
