Revenge is a dish best served cold.

- Probably some vengeful asshole

After surviving the hole, Seph looked around the dark, big place he was in. He still saw nothing at all, except an enormous book glowing with light faraway from him.

He walked close to the book, only to realize that this book is 'Scars of Fate and Other Catastrophes' by Zhi Zixin, but it was a giant version of it.

He looked at the open page and read the following chapter.

Sometimes it seems like our struggles are never ending.

I opted to dedicate an entire chapter in my book on catastrophes to be about the Oblivion Malady.

I sadly couldn’t prove that this malady really exists, even though we still see signs of it every day.

The Emperor though -Karma blesses his soul and all his family tree- believes me, his advisor on all things alchemy, the best to occupy this job since time immemorial.

I try to be humble, but it’s impossible when you are as accomplished as me. It’s better to just own it.

But enough about me. Months after the empire won the war, this malady spread.

First, we started hearing in inns, how some people forgot fifteen minutes or more of their day.

They didn’t know what led to these mysterious accidents, just that they forgot fifteen minutes, and then came back to some place they didn’t remember going to in the city.

The cases were few enough, and hearing about them in inns, we all assumed it was just a case of heavy drinking, especially since the victims were not high-profile people.

The issue was when we started hearing about how it was happening to high-profile empire employees and noblemen and a few cases of women shortly after.

It seemed to happen more during official businesses, and during gatherings of the imperial court.

This was when I started taking notice.

I was present during those gatherings, and while I saw the victims in those meetings paying attention to everything being said, they seemed to not know anything at all about anything that happened during the meeting.

I started compiling a document about all these accidents, and I noticed something most alarming. These cases were, in fact, always separate. It never happened to two people in the same gathering.

Which could mean this was intentional, someone using magic, intending foul play, but the issue is, I didn’t find any concrete evidence that we were being harmed by anything said in the gatherings.

With no motive or harm, there is no crime.

But it also raised an important question: how was the malady spreading?

If it’s one person only per gathering, that should mean that it’s not spreading by air. I doubt it spreads by touch, either. The noble men really do love greeting each other with hugs, and the noble women kiss each other lightly on the lips. But if its men greeting women, they kiss them on the cheek.

Which should mean it’s not spreading by bodily fluid either.

Also, why does the malady keep disappearing and then appearing again?

It’s rarely the same person, but there were a few cases where the same person contracted it again.

Which destroys my theory more, since there should be an immunity period like most other maladies. I still stand by my theory, though.

In the few cases I’ll discuss with you now, you will learn why, dear reader.

A while ago, a high-ranking officer of the empire was standing trial for a crime, most heinous. We had nothing so sinister and sick happen in the capital before.

The officer had for weeks tortured his mistress, daily.

He would strip her naked and whip her flesh.

It seemed at first she was convinced it was just a new kink her lover picked up.

Because according to the upper-class women who meet with her, she went out with them various times, with the tips of whip marks on her body appearing from under her garments.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

When asked, she would smile playfully and tell them she was enjoying some rough bedroom action, which caused her lady friends to not worry about her.

But then she stopped making public appearances altogether for two weeks. The officer started torturing her and raping her daily.

She was left tied to the bedposts. The guards posted outside of her house were informed to not let her leave the house.

They didn’t see her, and she didn’t try leaving.

But everyday they would hear her screams of pain when the officer arrived.

They thought nothing of it, because a pattern was already established before that. Where she would scream and she would leave the house in a great mood with her lover.

But then the officer suddenly stopped visiting, and they started smelling rot coming from the house.

They couldn’t help but go in, and that’s when they found the dead body tied to the bedposts.

They reported it immediately, and the officer was caught.

Here is where this ties into the oblivion malady. Under oath, the officer swore over and over that he did nothing to her.

That he didn’t do any rough play in the bedroom with her.

Unluckily for him, the two guards testified against him, and her lady friends too.

The officer couldn’t stand it though, before the verdict, within one day, they found him dead in his cell. He had tortured his own body with a sharp blade until he bled out.

Investigation started on how he even got that blade, but eventually the case was closed after they got no further leads.

I attended the trial, and I have to say, I have never seen a man so vehemently sure that he had done nothing in my life.

I think he did all these things under the effect of the oblivion malady. He was probably the longest victim under the effect of the oblivion malady.

He got the virus and developed the weird kink, killed his mistress and, like all other victims, the malady had run its course through his body.

He killed her, but the goddess smiled on him and made him forget what he had done.

Weirdly, though, the next crime also pertained to this same case.

This time, it was the two guards that guarded the house, and they had the same symptoms.

Excuse me for the couthiness I’ll discuss this case with. You know I am not usually one to discuss carnal matters, but I think this case is also because of the oblivion malady.

One guard reported himself for murdering his guard partner and his wife.

The surviving guard testified that he returned one night to find his friend -yes, they were friends, if you were wondering- fucking his wife.

He said and I quote, “blood boiled in my veins as I saw them in the act. They didn’t notice me there. They seemed out of it, not realizing anything else around them. The horrible thing that I regret is that I froze. It wasn’t a normal freeze either that takes you a moment after an immense shock. No, it was a fifteen minute freeze. I tried to command my body to move, but I couldn’t, tried to shout, but I couldn’t. I was furious, and my anger was getting worse with every passing second. Finally, when they finished, I roared in anger at them, and it looked like they had snapped out of a trance. My wife was scared as hell covering her body, my friend looked lost. He looked between me and her. It was like he didn’t even know how he got there. I was still in my work clothes, he was unarmed pants around his ankles. It was a no contest really, I just stabbed him in anger repeatedly, and then I cut the head of my cheating bitch of a wife. Then I came and reported what happened; I was defending my honor, I expect not to be charged with anything after you see their bodies with the clear signs of sexual betrayal on both of them.”

Of course, he had to go through the legal channels and testify in court. The judge acquitted him of any crime, as it was an honor murder.

You would think that this chain of crimes would stop there, but no.

The same guard that was acquitted of any crime kidnapped the same judge that set him free.

He Tortured him for two weeks and painfully raped him anally, before the judge finally died of his wounds.

The weird thing is the guard also died of similar wounds and the evidence points to the judge inflicting those wounds on the guard. He wasn’t raped, though.

Just what the hell happened?

How can two people mutually torment each other, even though one of them is clearly the kidnapper and the other is clearly the kidnapped?

It makes no sense. It almost feels like their bodies were controlled, but the imperial court doesn’t have anybody with that ability. The imperial army doesn’t have anybody with that ability either.

Is it perhaps another trait of the oblivion malady? Does it awaken some sort of demonic desire within the victims?

And that’s why the officer didn’t know he tortured his mistress. That’s also why the guard’s friend didn’t seem to realize he slept with the wife of his dear friend.

And maybe it’s also why the guard watched his wife fuck another. Maybe the virus awakened a depravity within him that made him like watching?

And when he snapped out, he killed them?

But how did he and the judge agree to mutually torturing each other?

Maybe I am reading this all wrong, but since most of the malady victims just reported forgetfulness and missing parts of their days.

We could argue maybe it’s not an inside job, but an outside party spying on the empire, or trying to hurt the empire, but none of our campaigns were spoiled because of leaked information. Not to my knowledge.

And the officer and judge and two guards that died were, in fact, inconsequential to the empire. They just did a job. Excuse me, but they were grunts.

Why would an outside enemy go to such length just to kill these individuals?

That’s why I am leaning towards my theory, that this is what I call the oblivion malady.

New diseases appear all the time. We fight them; we come up with new potions to prevent or cure them.

And I have already made such preventative potions to ensure that neither the Emperor nor me will contract this malady, but I need to test cheaper versions on repeat oblivion malady patients until I reach the perfect cheapest formula.

And of course I am working on a less expensive formula than the one me and the emperor use, as well for the nobles, but they are famously phobic to try out new potions unless they absolutely have to, or unless they are dealing with erectile dysfunction, they will drink anything to cure that!

I hate that my evidence isn’t concrete about the malady. I hate that I still didn’t come up with a cure for it.

But at least no harm has befallen the nation except these three interlinked crimes.

May the goddess touch us with her mercy, and may the Solea Empire live forever.

Long live the empire, Long live the emperor.

-Zhi Zixin

-Scars of Fate and Other Catastrophes