Where does the Moon reside?

Drunk, I ask the sky.

I wonder how the time passes,

Up in the heavenly palaces?

I wanted to return, riding on monsoon.

But up there, cold and alone.

Afraid I’d crash into the Moon.

Dance. Gracefully alongside my shadows,

With moves from other worlds!

Shiny red attics,

Well-decorated windows.

I’m wide awake.

Don’t blame the Moon,

It changes itself, following its plan.

The Moon waxes, and it wanes.

Just like people, separating and reuniting.

All things seem so preordained.

Alas, beneath the same Moon,

I’ll see you again soon.

Ancient Sapien Poet Su Dongpo, 1076 A.C.

Dolus was searching for warmth and love in Dalang’s mind, hoping to boost up his psionic power to fight off the curse. Something vague, yet memorable, someone insignificant, yet unforgettable.

“Dalang? Who’s that veiled girl in white? And, where and when are we now?” The pair stood in a simulated darkroom, staring at Dalang’s past as films hanging on the wall.

“That is Héng’é, she..’”Dalang frowned and paused. “...was a friend of mine and also Yi’s betrothed.”

“Um-hm, I smell drama. Keep it going.” Dolus raised his eyebrows. Intentionally, he had lowered Dalang’s emotional responsiveness to prevent sudden mood swing and anger issues that may push him into the curse. He had tried it on mortals before, and it surely work like a charm, literally, on Dalang.

“I liked her, too--Can’t complain; he was the better-looking son of a baba yaga. I quickly moved on and went to our trial. Emotions and attachments only slow down a Berserkr, or in my case, a Jöfurr.” Dalang looked at Dolus with a soulless smile. “She cheated on Yi with his apprentice while we were in the Americas. When we returned, and the rumors were proven facts, Yi punched her to death in a rage----Dramatic, I know.”

“O, damn.” Dolus materialized a cigarette in Dalang’s mouth and lit it up for him. He could not simulate the calmness tobacco brings to an immortal mind; the least he could do was simulating some smell and smoke to satisfy Dalang’s behavioral needs.

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“Yeah, good thing he was gifted one of those herbs that grant immortality. She got revived, and started flying away; the gods pitied her and sent her to be an immortal working in the Moon Palace.” Dalang explained.

“That’s why you saw Artemis that day at the welcoming party and charged in and hugged her. You felt the moon’s divinity signature and thought it was her? ”

“The two shared some common features. And I’d rather not talk about that...” Dalang looked down in shame.

“Okay, back to Then you were assigned to serve the Norse gods.”

“Yep.” Dalang nodded.

“Any words to get out of your chest and say it to her?” Dolus knew Dalang needed a conclusion.

“Nah, nothing to say. To me, I lost two best friends that day. They betrayed each other for being unfaithful lovers, taken by envy, lust, and wrath. I don’t plan on forgiving those two or myself for being a failed friend.”

Dalang was there on his knees, his pants soaked in Héng’é’s blood. Yi went to grab the herbs without any facial expressions.

“What kind of monster have you become, Yi? What the fuck?She was going to be your wife!”

“Yo! That bitch got what she deserved. Here, I found it. It was meant for me, you know?” Yi’s voice pierced Dalang’s heart.

“Say that again!? I’ll put you in the fucking ground.” In the memory projection, Dalang’s started to cover his fist in clay and sand as he prepared to punch Yi in the face.

“Take me away from this part, please.” Dalang closed his eyes and requested to leave. “I don’t wanna see me getting my turd beaten out by my former brother, while the girl I cared for watched in fear and shock.”

“Sure thing. I apologize for making you revisit this part.” The rage and disappointment almost gave the curse the chance to take it all from Dalang. The realms outlawed mind manipulation for a reason.

“Don’t you have any loving memories? Perhaps an old flame? A drunk night in a mortal village? Boars aren’t known for being ascetic. Maybe that special girl may give you the power to fight off the curse.”

“I fell for a Valkyrie, only to figure out she was betrothed to one of my shield brothers. It seems I am always falling for what was already taken. She was ordered to execute me after Freyr ran away with a damn Jötunn. I wanted my ending to be mine, so I jumped off the Bifrost and went out like a rebel rather than a burden on her conscience. Weird, that part of memory was blurry for a long time. Whatever this sorcery is, it is therapeutic, and it is helping. ”

“Well, damn.” Dolus raised his brows. He lit up the darkroom with light and exposed all the films that were hanging around them. Just as synapses transmitting electric nerve impulses among nerve cells, events and words realigned themselves into fluent memories.

“I saved a god’s wife. I thought she liked me. We got drunk; I told her everything about myself. I freed her from the underworld and lent her most of my power. Guess what, though? I went from her liberator to her kidnapper. Yeah, I should’ve left others’ family problems alone. Now, there is always a special place in Tartarus waiting for me. And of course, Hades is always looking forward to stabbing my rear end with a pitchfork.”

“At least Demeter showed you some gratitude and gifted you some power..” Dalang waved his hand and made the room into an empty saloon from the ancient Americas.

“You are right. The thing is: I was trained in the ways of the boar, t; I used to wear a set of armor that transforms into a charging boar, and now I am physically a boar-man. Poetic, isn’t it?”

“Damn. You sad and broken son of a baba yoga. ”

“Most takes love for granted and as commodities to trade and exchange.” Dalang continued. “For me, it is salvation; love to me is a sign of the world finally forgiving me for my transgressions and awarding me for my ordeal. Love is the last attachment to end all attachments; the final addiction to cure all addictions; a duty after all duties fulfilled.”

“That, my friend, is a very bleak view on such a beautiful thing. I get it; love is not going to save you from the curse. But still, let yourself go. If you are stuck in the past, depression, and guilt will eat you alive; similarly, paranoia and anxiety would follow if you are obsessed with creating a future. The latter is my problem, and I only wish we know how to embrace tranquility like E05.”

“E05! The team! How are they doing out there?” Dalang tapped himself on the forehead and asked. Though Dolus failed to aid Dalang in defeating the curse, he had successfully cleared Dalang’s mind and realigned achronological memory.

“They are stuck in the well, not knowing what creatures they are up against,” Dolus explained calmly. “E05 wanted a living bestiary down there with the team. Needless to say, that’s you.”

“Why don’t you begin with that?” Dalang asked; his appearance started to age and slowly grew back his porcine features. “This is a construct of our minds, and you caged the curse here with us. Call it out. Help me contain it! ”

“You sure? You either gave up, or you ran away in the previous two encounters.”

“Nah, the fucker trying to exploit my regrets and my guilts. Well, now that duty calls and the boys need me, it is not an option to win the fight, but a necessity, a duty. And also, thanks for the memory trips. Now let’s go save our guild’s future.”

“Wow, it actually worked. I have solved the puzzle that is your mind like one of those colored cubes sapiens carry around.”

“Rubik’s Cubes. Now can we get this done? I have a bold idea.”