The Elders walked into a dark grove with Alice and friends following suit. The lights of the town above them disappeared as they headed to the Heart Tree. The sound of leaves crunching under everyone's shoes filled the scene, and the rich, earthy scent of wet soil blew between the trees.
“Are you sure we're going the right way?” Zalgo asked.
“Indeed,” Magnus replied. “We must be careful, as we are near the border of the Provinces.”
“Wait, really?!” Rachel exclaimed.
“Yes. The Heart Tree may belong to our Forest, but it lies within the border of the Gletscher Province.”
“Huh? How does that work if you can't go from one country to the other? Legally, of course.”
Noelle cleared her throat and replied, “Well, this may come as a surprise to you, but people born here are granted dual citizenship from birth, enabling free travel between the States and the Provinces.”
“Damn, really?! Then why the hell don't the other States bordering the Provinces have the same privilege?”
“Because of history,” Magnus began. “Long ago, these lands were ravaged by a war between the northern and southern inhabitants of the forest. A war fought between the witches and the humans who disagreed with the border set by the Excelsior Empire three hundred and thirty years ago.”
“I think I see where this is going,” Alice chimed. “So the Excelsior Empire wanted the border of the States to have the Tree within it, but the witches wanted it to be within their borders for their benefit?”
“You're actually spot-on, Alice,” Noelle confirmed with a brightened smile. “So in the end, the verdict was that people born in the Forest are automatically dual citizens of both countries.”
“Huh… I expect these Elders to know these things, but you, Noelle…you sure know a lot of stuff.”
Noelle gave Alice a cheeky grin. “Of course I do, Alice! I am your guide, after all!”
She kinda knows…TOO much, Alice thought, scratching her head.
The Elders led them deeper into the grove to the Heart Tree, its immense trunk soaring into the canopy and its branches towering far above. The verdant foliage of the grove was thick and dense, and it felt as if they were in another world as the atmosphere shifted around them. The soft, calming sounds of nature filled their ears, and their footsteps on the leaf-woven floor made little noise as they walked further in.
As they ventured further, they passed by an ancient statue of a witch. Its features were worn down by the elements and covered in vines and moss, signifying that it was built a long time ago.
"Hey, do you think she used to live here?" Sharline asked, looking at the statue.
"Yes, I believe so," Magnus answered. "According to legend, she was one of the first witches to live in the forest and was a kind, compassionate figure who cared for all of her people.”
"Huh...that's incredible. What happened to her?"
“Well, as the legends go, she went on a powerful journey where she found a source of limitless power, one that would make her practically invincible and immortal. However, upon finding this source, she was corrupted by it, becoming a twisted, evil witch who sought power above all else. She was so consumed by her own ambition that she would do anything to obtain power, no matter the cost."
“So, power like…” Rachel joined.
Before Rachel could continue, she stepped on a hard object that released a loud crack underfoot. Everyone stopped and turned their heads to the sudden sound. Lifting her foot, Rachel looked down to see a shattered emblem that looked beat down and ancient.
Before anyone could react, a dark aura ejected from the emblem and coalesced into a ghostly figure. The figure, dressed in a white and gold dress, gave the perpetrators a menacing glare.
“How dare thy desecrate my land?! Thou shalt dieeee!! DIEEEEE!!!!”
"Woah!" Noelle and the others jumped in surprise.
The figure then let out a murderous roar, demanding that they die for their crimes. Everyone was shocked and paralyzed in fear, not knowing what to do. Alice was the first to speak up, asking…
"Um, miss?" Alice said tentatively. "What exactly did we do to desecrate your lands?"
The figure's eyes turned to Alice with a fierce glare, its form shimmering and its aura intensifying. Alice shrunk back in fear, wondering if she had made a mistake by speaking up.
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"You...you dare question me?!" the figure yelled. "Your very presence is a desecration upon my land!”
"But, miss," Alice stammered, “We were just walking through the forest and then we accidentally stepped on something that broke it. We didn't know that it was a sacred emblem, and we didn't mean to desecrate your land! Please…”
The figure remained unmoved, its gaze still fierce and its aura still intense. It continued to glare at Alice, not listening to her explanations and refusing to forgive her.
"I don't care if you meant it or not," the figure snarled. "Your action is considered blasphemy towards my land, and punishment must be dealt accordingly."
"Miss, this is crazy! We didn't even know that the emblem was sacred to you, how was we supposed to know that?" Sharline exclaimed, her voice filled with fear and frustration.
The figure's glare turned towards Sharline with a glare of disdain, seeing her as the second one to challenge its authority.
"Silence!" the figure yelled, the intensity in its gaze and its aura increasing even more. "All of you must suffer the consequences of your transgressions! I shall not tolerate such blasphemy any longer! Prepare to dieeeee!!"
"This isn't good..." Zalgo muttered, her fear visible on her face.
"What the hell do we do?" Rachel exclaimed, her voice filled with fright as she looked around for any way to escape.
"I don't know!" Sharline said, her voice trembling with fear.
The figure continued to roar and emit its murderous aura, its intense gaze leaving the group frozen in place. Before any of them knew it, a sudden blast of Darkness enshrouded the Elders and bound them to the ground, helpless to resist as they looked like they were frozen in time.
In a panic, Noelle summoned her staff and pointed it at the Elders, shooting a sphere of Light at them. The purification attempt failed as the Elders remained drenched in the Darkness.
“O-oh no, that can only mean one thing…” Noelle said under her breath, her body quivering as she tightened her grip on her staff.
“What's going on?” Alice asked in a hesitant voice.
“It's…a Void Curse,” Noelle replied.
“A what?!” Rachel added.
“No time to explain! Let's just defeat this spirit once and for all!”
Before anyone could do anything, the spirit launched a huge wave of dark energy at them, knocking the girls off their feet. Then the spirit began to advance toward them, its aura growing ever stronger.
Noelle got back on her feet and held her staff in one of her hands, preparing to take on the spirit. Meanwhile, Blair and Sharline each tensed up in defense, prepared for combat.
Sharline jumped up and came down with a kick, but her body phased through the spirit and she landed back on the ground. The spirit then attacked her with a ball of Darkness that sent her flying.
“Sharline!” Zalgo shouted in panic, turning her attention away from the spirit to make sure that her friend was okay. Upon taking a step closer, the Twilight Fragment appeared in her hand, the sword glowing as if reacting to the spirit's energy.
“Huh, this again,” Zalgo thought.
Noelle launched a beam of Light at the spirit, but the spirit dodged it in the nick of time and retaliated with a Darkness-infused kick to her stomach, sending her sprawling on the ground. The spirit continued to advance, and it looked like it was about to deliver the finishing blow to Noelle.
Zalgo managed to deflect the incoming blast of Darkness heading Noelle's way using the Twilight Fragment, but it caught Noelle off guard and knocked her back to the ground. The spirit then charged towards Sharline, taking advantage of her vulnerable state. The spirit raised its arm and unleashed a huge wave of dark energy straight towards her. She was left with no choice but to take the attack head-on.
Sharline managed to survive the blast. However, she trembled and failed to get up, unable to stand on her own two feet.
But right before the spirit could attack again, Alice braced herself and reached out her hand at the spirit. There was a surge of Aura emanating from her, and the spirit was unable to move or act despite its efforts. Taking advantage of this, Zalgo rushed up and slashed at the spirit with her Twilight Fragment, cleaving it clean in half as it vanished in a puff of smoke.
“Whew, that was narrow…” Zalgo exclaimed, looking worried for a moment as she checked up on Sharline.
“Are you okay?” Alice asked, her voice full of concern as she tried to help Sharline stand.
“Ah…” Sharline responded, still trembling from the impact of the Darkness wave. “I think I'm fine… I think…” Sharline said, her words still tainted by fear.
“Are you sure?” Noelle asked, trying to comfort her friend.
“I… I think I'll be fine…” Sharline stuttered as she slowly got up.
“Uh, you sure?” Rachel asked as she came over, ready to offer her own help.
“Yeah…” Sharline replied in doubt as she took a step forward, starting to become more stable.
“I'll heal you up just in case,” Noelle said before outstretching a hand and covering Sharline in a healing light, reversing her injuries.
“Thank you so much.”
“Mhm! Any time.”
Zalgo watched them both, feeling relieved that the spirit had done no permanent damage to her friend.
“So…” Alice began, looking back at the Elders who were still afflicted with the dark force from earlier. “What exactly is going on with the Elders?”
Noelle cleared her throat and put her hands behind her back. “Well, judging from the emblem that Rachel stepped on, it appears that we fought a restless spirit of a fallen Excelsior Empire witch. They were extremely powerful when it came to Void Magic and were known for using Void Curses to torment their enemies.”
Rachel scratched her head. “So what exactly is a Void Curse?”
“It sounds pretty self-explanatory,” Alice chimed. “And besides, I wonder why Celeste didn't teach us about this too; it sounds quite important.”
“Yeah, she's bogus for that one,” Blair added.
“But uh, how do we get rid of this curse?” Zalgo asked.
Noelle released a quiet sigh. “We must go see a Void Exorcist, as they are the only ones who can remove a Void Curse, especially one that was created postmortem…”
“So let's find one then!” Blair demanded, throwing her fist in the air.
“I’m afraid it's not that simple… Void Curses created after death are so extremely powerful that there are only a few Void Exorcists who can remove them. It's in the single digits, that's how rare they are.”
“Yikes,” Rachel said with shock in her voice. “So do you know one?”
“Unfortunately no,” Noelle answered with a frown. “But I do know of one who lives in a distant land: the Kingdom of the Forgotten.”
“Wait, I'm sorry, the what?” Blair replied with furrowed brows .
“The Kingdom of the Forgotten. That's what the Land of the Forgotten is called nowadays. Several Void Exorcists reside there, but only the most prominent of them are capable of lifting a Void Curse implemented by a fallen witch.”
“Are you saying that we have to venture there to find a Void Exorcist?” Sharline inquired.
Noelle nodded. “That’s exactly what I'm saying. If we want to find out how to lift this curse from the Elders, then we must find the Void Exorcists residing in the Kingdom of the Forgotten.”
“But what about our mission to save the Heart Tree?”
“That comes later,” Noelle replied. “We can’t save the Heart Tree if our Elders are under a Void Curse, so that needs to be dealt with first. Now, let’s get going, please.”
“Wait, but how do we get there?” Sharline asked.
“Yeah, and that place sounds so far away!” Blair pitched in.
“Not to mention dangerous,” Zalgo chimed.
Noelle sighed and shook her head. “Yes. It’s risky, I’ll admit that much. In fact, traveling to such a place is a dangerous errand, not only because of the void curse but also because of the numerous dangers lurking in the kingdom. The Void Exorcists there can provide us the means to lift the curse, but that comes with the risk of having to deal with dark creatures and monsters that reside in the land.”
“So in short, we’re risking a lot by going there,” Sharline began. “And we have no guarantees of anything, right?”
“Correct.”
“And if we fail to lift the curse…” Zalgo trailed off.
“It could mean disaster. Imagine something happening to the Elders…or even worse: the Heart Tree getting corrupted by the curse.”
“So what exactly are we waiting for then?” Blair said, a cocky grin spreading across her face. “Let's head to this Kingdom and find a Void Exorcist, so we can get this curse removed and get back to saving the Heart Tree!”
“I wholeheartedly agree,” Sharline added. “This curse is something we cannot afford to wait on, especially if it’s threatening the Heart Tree. We must find a Void Exorcist at once, there's no time to waste.”
“Damn right, there's no time to lose!” Blair replied. “We're talking monsters and stuff now, that's how you get my attention! I can't kick a ghost's butt, but monsters and dark creatures and whatever else better run for the hills! Let's do it, y'all! Off to the Kingdom we go!!”