He didn’t remember falling asleep at all but now he couldn’t wake up no matter how hard he tried. Something weighed him down, held his eyes closed, something with sharp claws and a body covered in rough scales. When Jamil tried to move it crushed him down more, its breath hot on his face.

His Curse. Of course. He was used to Curse dreams, he had them almost every time he slept, but this one felt different, wrong somehow. It felt as if the Beast was actively trying to prevent him from waking up, and Jamil could sense its desire for control. Why did it seem so angry? Struggling only enraged it more, and he thought for sure it meant to kill him.

‘My, my, such fight in this one.’ Seeming to echo from all around him was the sleaziest voice Jamil had ever heard. Trapped beneath the weight of his Curse, he could not move to see.

‘Who…?’ He managed to choke out, struggling to catch his breath. The voice coughed out a very fake-sounding offended gasp.

‘I know we only met the one time, but I’d hoped I’d left at least enough of an impression that you’d remember me. I’m hurt.’ The weight of the Beast suddenly vanished and Jamil was lifted by his throat to meet the oozing black eyes of Vendic.

No longer wearing the visage of Master Jesper, Vendic appeared now in his true form. Perhaps handsome once, the wicked deity was repulsive now, his skin a dead grey, his face emaciated and gaunt. The armor covering his thin frame seemed to be composed of his slime, or the source of it, Jamil couldn’t tell. As he watched, strings of goo dripped off of him to slither away into the darkness. Even Vendic’s hair looked like slime, slicked back into a greasy black ponytail. That odor was back, too, the same stench of decay that had surrounded Master Jesper. Revulsion boiled up in Jamil’s stomach and he gagged.

‘Wh-what do you want?’ He hissed through clenched teeth, and Vendic smiled deviously. All of his teeth were sharp, like fangs.

‘I want that lovely monster of yours, boy. Imagine the havoc I could wreak with it…’ He chuckled while Jamil struggled against his vice-like grip.

‘You can’t take it, no one can! Not even Master Jesper could rid me of it!’

‘Your Master Jesper is rotting in that tower where you left him, idiot boy! I dismantled his mind like a child’s plaything!’ Vendic snarled in Jamil’s face, black flecks of slime flying from his lips. Jamil felt like all the air had been forced from his lungs.

‘Y-you’re lying…you’re lying!’ He struggled harder but to no avail. Vendic’s hand was like an iron collar around his neck, his words echoing like thunder in his ears. It wasn’t true, it couldn’t possibly be true! Laughing uproariously, the Deity raised his free hand and snapped his fingers, producing a swirling window of light that he then held for Jamil to see.

‘Does this look like I’m lying, boy?’ He said softly, his voice as dark and dangerous as the poison that seeped from his eyes.

A choked scream tore from Jamil when his eyes fell on the image of Master Jesper’s partially decomposed corpse. The mage lay in a crumpled heap in the ruins of the tower, pinned beneath the rubble, his eyes frozen open. Remnants of blood and Vendic’s slime streaked what was left of his face and stained his clothes. Anguish filled Jamil’s heart and he screamed again, and this time his despair was powerful enough to force Vendic to let him go. The Deity staggered back as the force hit him and Jamil dropped to the ground…

…only to be swallowed up by a sea of black slime.

Right away it burned his skin but he could not cry out, the slime filling his mouth when he tried. Despondence overcame him as he sank, his mind spiraling. Master Jesper was dead, had been dead this whole time, had maybe even been dead before Jamil ever left Mutehall. Saving him was never a possibility. There was no point in continuing now, not without the mage. Jamil had put so much into hoping his Master was still alive, could still be saved, and now it felt as if he had nothing left to hope for. Only Master Jesper knew what to do, only he held the knowledge they needed. What could Jamil even do now, on his own? He still needed his Master’s help! How was he supposed to protect Kit now? How was he supposed to protect anyone? Maybe he should just give in, let Vendic corrupt him and take his Curse, destroy the world. They wouldn’t be able to defeat him now, anyway. Not without Master Jesper.

He began to feel the slime wrapping itself around his body, squeezing him so tightly he thought it meant to crush him completely. It stung and burned everywhere it touched him until the only thing he experienced was pain. Was this what Master Jesper had felt when Vendic overtook him? He could feel the slime inside him now, scorching through his veins like molten metal, driving him nearly insane from the agony.

The glowing blue eyes of the Curse appeared in Jamil’s field of vision and he felt its claws enclose him, pulling his curled-up body against its chest. The tendrils of slime felt like they were being yanked out of him, ripping from his body as stars danced in his eyes. Delirious, Jamil was vaguely aware of the Curse growling in his ear; he realized it was trying to speak to him.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

‘Protect…’ A single word rumbled through Jamil’s body over and over again until he felt his very bones vibrating. Was the Curse trying to protect him from the slime?

‘Protect…you…’ The Beast roared and as suddenly as it had appeared it seemed to vanish and Jamil was left alone in the darkness. Before he could even think the fiery pain of Vendic’s corruption tore back into him, the slime stabbing through his body. Confused, Jamil tried to struggle but he couldn’t move. Was this it? Was Vendic really going to steal his body like he’d stolen Master Jesper’s?

He heard something then, a voice, far away and muffled. When he tried to turn toward it, he felt the slime holding him back. Trying to focus on the sound, he could almost make out words.

‘Don’t give up, Jamil!’ There it was again! What was that?

‘I’m here!’ Wait. He knew that voice. Could it be…?

‘Let me help!’ Yes! It was Kit! Kit had found him! But how? How was Kit even here? Wasn’t this Jamil’s dream? There was no time to wonder because Kit’s arms suddenly burst through the darkness surrounding him, blinding him with bright pink light. Jamil tried desperately to reach for their hands but it was just too hard to move. The corruption held him back, its hooks too deep in him now.

‘Jamil, please…!’ Kit’s voice drifted in, pleading for him to take their hand. Oh, but he wanted to! He wanted so badly to catch their hands, to let them save him, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t move.

‘Kit…’ Their name whispered out of him and he felt a shift in the energy, in the light, and suddenly Kit grabbed his hand. As soon as they touched him everything exploded with rosy light, making him feel strong, strong enough to break free of the corruption that held him. The slime was melting away in Kit’s light and Jamil could feel himself being pulled out of this nightmare…

Except he wasn’t so lucky. Just as the corruption seemed to vanish and he thought he was freed, Jamil felt something stab him in the back. The worst pain he had ever experienced ripped into him. He couldn’t even scream. Every inch of his body was on fire.

‘I did it, Jamil! I did it!’ Kit was talking to him, crowing with excitement. They were on solid ground now, he could feel it beneath him. Without opening his eyes, he could sense the room had changed. It smelled familiar. Slowly, so slowly, Jamil pushed himself to sit up. He didn’t have much time, his body was already starting to feel not his own. Vendic was burning inside him. His eyes were on fire. Kit recoiled from him, face wrought with disgust. That look almost hurt more than the corruption, he thought bitterly.

They were speaking now but he couldn’t hear it; all he could hear was his own heart pounding in his ears. When Kit reached to touch the black oozing from his eyes, he weakly knocked their hand away.

‘D-don’t…don’t touch it…’Jamil felt intense pressure build up in his throat and he vomited scalding black bile, his heart sinking as the corrosive muck burned his lips. Time was running out. Kit screamed and he smiled wryly.

‘P-pretty gross, h-huh…?’ He blacked out for a moment then and saw flashes, horrible images of Master Jesper’s corruption-streaked face and he realized he was seeing Kit’s thoughts. They knew what was happening and he confirmed their fears with a weak nod.

‘Afraid so…I-I can’t fight him anymore…’ Coughing up more black slime, Jamil felt his body spasm and twitch as his Curse started to take over. He lost track of everything, all thought and reason, all sense of self. Kit was screaming again, trying to use their light to fight the infection. It wasn’t enough. Even as powerful as Kit’s light was, the corruption in Jamil was too deep. Barely himself anymore, he tried to wipe their tears but his claws felt bulky and unfamiliar now. Kit held his hand and sobbed, the pain escalating until he felt like he was being ripped in half.

The moment the Curse burst out of him, Jamil’s mind tumbled into a void of desolation. Between the Curse and the corruption, a battle raged. The Curse really seemed to be trying to fight it off, but it wouldn’t do any good. His fate was sealed.

Kit screamed again, somewhere very far away. Then he heard Vendic’s voice, and something that had never happened before occurred: Jamil opened his eyes in the Curse’s body, and what he saw enraged him to his very core.

Vendic had reappeared, and he had Kit by the neck. Not knowing how long he had before the corruption overtook him again, Jamil acted without thinking and struck Vendic as hard as he could with his tail. To his surprise, the Deity took the hit, splattering his slime everywhere as his body disappeared. The corruption flared to life as soon as he was gone, fighting harder than ever to consume Jamil from the inside. He had only seconds to save Kit now.

‘You saved me…’ Their words reached him now but he stopped them from coming closer.

‘Protect…’ Speaking through the Curse’s beak was no easy feat, but he said what was needed before striking Kit with his tail and batting them right out of his mind. Darkness closed in around him then and he came face to face with the Curse, watching him intently with its glowing blue eyes. The corruption had almost completely consumed it, and for the first time since the Curse’s manifestation Jamil felt something other than anger from it.

It was afraid.

‘Not…a curse…’ A voice deeper than distant thunder rolled through his mind. Slowly, Jamil extended his hand.

‘Protector…’ Its eyes glowed brighter as its claws reached for Jamil’s hand…

Vendic’s corruption began to pour down like a flash storm, drenching Jamil and the Beast both with sludge. It came down so hard and fast, it blinded him and beat him down. The Beast was bellowing in agony, Jamil screamed as his consciousness was turned inside out and everything went black—