Kath watched the scene unfold, her view focused on Dmitriy as if she were inhabiting his very soul. Dmitriy sat on a bench and in front of him a handsome man in an elegant black suit. He seemed oddly familiar, though she couldn't quite place him.

“Where have I seen him before?” His olive eyes held a sadness that mirrored her own.

“My name is Dmitriy. Who are you?” the taller young man responded, stuttering.

The world around them seemed to fade briefly, voices dimming as if time itself paused. Then, the stranger's voice broke through the silence. “I can see you're tired and your face is sad. What happened to you?”

Dmitriy's response was curt, "There is no need for a gentile to know."

The newcomer's gaze dropped, as his own memories surfaced. "I know what it is to lose a parent. The same thing happened to me... long ago."

Kath leaned in, intrigued by the conversation. "What did you say?" Dmitriy asked, his tone softening.

“It’s the truth," the stranger continued. "I know you want revenge for what they did to your father. I can help you, because I want to destroy them, too.”

Kath sensed a shift in the air as their pact was forged. Dmitriy then glanced at the newspaper in his hands, its pages revealing a painful truth of what happened to his father. The date etched in her mind, February 3rd, 1853, marked a grim reminder of their shared pain.

“But... what can I do? We are facing very dangerous people. It is impossible.”

“You're wrong. Someone I know is the head of one of the security departments, he can get us information on the Oprichnik who sent your father to that hell... but you must give something in return.”

Kath glanced at the newspaper in Dmitriy’s hand. “Rebel extermination,” she read.

“It had been two weeks since I escaped with some now-dead colleagues. As much as she did, Dmitriy also stared at the photo of that Russian Jewish banker, the leader of the so-called rebel group, and his father.

“Okay, I'll do what I can. Don’t forget your part of the bargain,” Dmitriy agreed, leaving the newspaper on the bench before going on his feet.

"Perfect!" The stranger's enthusiasm smiled.

As Kath observed these memories, questions swirled in her mind. "Where am I and what is this place?" she mused. "Dmitriy’s memories?"

Then, her attention shifted to the stranger. "Who is the guy alongside Dmitriy?"

The scene morphed, plunging her deeper into Dmitriy’s past. It was now nighttime, and she found herself in a warehouse. Dmitriy stood next to her on the second level, looking at a gruesome scene below. A massive bull, the size of a small elephant, rampaged on the lower level, impaling everyone with its horns and destroying everything in its path.

Amid the carnage, a solitary corpse lay near a cage. Dmitriy aimed his Prussian rifle, and after a tense wait, fired a shot that struck the beast's back, making it fall, lifeless.

Kath's heart raced as Dmitriy descended the stairs and she sprinted after him, only to be blocked by five armed men. "He's fine, take him out when the area is clear," Dmitriy commanded, and the men did as told. He hurried toward a hangar where a small Alban aircraft parked.

Fear gripped Kath, her voice trembling as she spoke. "I'm afraid. I don't like this." She shivered beside Dmitriy, unable to touch him. Whenever she strayed too far from him, the world around her distorted, emitting an unsettling noise, like the sound of static of badly-tuned radio.

In a desperate attempt to call his attention, Kath tried to reach for Dmitriy's face. But as a spectral presence, her touch passed through him, leaving her feeling more distant than ever.

Dmitriy's hurried steps echoed through the hangar as Kath tried to keep up with his sprint. Her eyes were drawn to the Zhukovsky 01, a Russian Alban single-pilot fighter, gleaming in the dim light. The airship seemed like a machine of dreams, and her heart quickened at the thought of the adventures it might hold.

As Dmitriy checked the fighter aircraft, Kath couldn't help but steal a moment to gaze at the night sky. The stars shone brightly, untouched by clouds. A beautiful sight, yet she couldn't shake the feeling that it was a bad omen, some kind of ominous sign of what lay ahead.

Turning her attention back to the Alban, she approached, eager to join Dmitriy. However, as she attempted to board, the world around her distorted once more, leaving her feeling disconnected and immersed in darkness for a few seconds.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Dmitriy's sudden sprint drew her focus. He dashed toward the exit of a museum, pursued by three security guards. She followed him and noticed that in his hands he carried a metal pendant adorned with a fiery red gem. The gem seemed to pulse with an eerie energy, and Kath couldn't tear her eyes away from its mesmerizing glow.

Dmitriy reached the gardens outside the museum, and he panted after he reached the gates and the fence around the museum. Kath, to her surprise, never got tired. She was able to keep up with him without breaking a sweat.

The gem Dmitriy carried absorbed the blood oozing from his wounds. A magic circle appeared on the pavement beneath him. The approaching guards hesitated, fear on their faces. Within that circle, a drawing of a tree appeared.

Dmitriy vanished, and Kath was submerged in darkness once more.

After a few seconds, she appeared in an unfamiliar room.

“Sir Völundr,” Dmitriy addressed an old man.

"Eat this apple!" Völundr ordered, handing over a fruit to Dmitriy.

As Dmitriy took a bite, Kath marveled at how the wounds that had once injured his body began to heal before her eyes.

Dmitriy then presented the red gem she saw him carrying while in the museum "I got it,” he panted. “It wasn’t easy."

Völundr nodded.

“What do you want to do with it?"

"Do you remember the story I told you about a cursed jewel I created?"

"Yes, what about it?" Dmitriy asked.

The old man held the jewel by extending his arm in front of him, its fiery core casting an eerie glow. "This is the cursed gem from that story," he revealed. "This is what he seeks. He is interested in the power of this gem. Tell him that you've found what he wanted and that you know where it is. You will say someone stole it from you."

“Impossible, no one will believe that story.”

“I’m sure that he will! He trusts you,” Völundr cleared his throat. “Remember what I told you that time. This jewel has great power and can give eternal life to anyone. You will be cursed, however.”

“What kind of curse?”

“If you get rid of it, all the people around you die and your descendants will be cursed. He wants it because this jewel is a never-ending supply of Aether.”

“I see,” Dmitriy frowned.

"When I created this jewel, my mind was engulfed by hatred and revenge," Völundr confessed. Even Kath who approached the man to take a look at the jewel frowned at his comment.

"How did it happen?"

Völundr's voice trembled with emotion as he recounted a tale of love, loss, and fury. "My wife was a Swam Maiden, one of the fiercest warriors. She and the wives of my two brothers left for war. I waited in the Valley of the Wolves, where I lived. While waiting, I created seven magical rings and a hundred other pieces of jewelry. And I had become someone famous after forging Balmung."

"Balmung?" Dmitriy asked.

“Isn’t that Odin’s sword?” Kath asked herself.

“Yes! The mythical sword", Völundr replied.

The old man sat on a wooden chair and continued. “I was captured by King Nídudr. I was locked in on a small island completely isolated for years. They cut the tendons of my legs so I wouldn’t escape. The King enslaved me so I would craft precious jewelry for the royal family, and coerced me with the threat of the death of my wife.

With bated breath, Kath and Dmitriy hung on every word, drawn into the depths of Völundr's tragic story. “I was consumed by humiliation. In my suffering, nothing infuriated me more than to see the princess wearing my wife’s wedding ring. I managed to escape, and I reached the king’s castle. Then I heard my beloved wife had fallen at the hands of the Huns two years ago. My anger exploded. I destroyed everything killed everyone I found, and then escaped to the mountains.”

Tears started to roll down Völundr's cheeks.

“My wife's ring was broken by the princess. I smelted it with other gems that belonged to her I crafted this curse jewel, a jewel full of hatred and resentment. I did many horrible things.”

Dmitriy started brewing some tea and offered a mug to Völundr. Instinctively, Kath extended her hand waiting for hers. “Idiot,” she punched herself in the head. “This is just a memory.”

Völundr sighed and continued after sipping some tea. “Odin was eventually killed. And with that, I had lost my best friend and wife, I was completely alone.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Dmitriy said.

“I spent years locked up in a cabin in the forest; all I did was polish this cursed jewel, it was driving me crazy. I finally decided to leave, and I went across the world trying to forget. I traveled to the Far East and even met with the Great Khan. There, I joined a group of alchemists, who sought desperately to create the elixir of life. One day, one of the alchemists purchased a bird of red plumage from a Persian merchant. It had a strange but beautiful appearance. However, the bird was old and tired.

The bird spent days in agonized suffering until it died in a fire and was reborn again. It was a phoenix, my first time seeing one. I realized the secret to eternal life at that moment. So we burned the bird alive and killed it, and used its ashes to make this jewel.”

Kath tried to grab a chair and sit, but she fell hitting herself against the floor.

“There were some remaining ashes. Somehow, the phoenix was reborn from it but without any feathers. The jewel glowed and absorbed the inner Aether of my companions until they turned into corpses. The phoenix’s feathers grew again. The phoenix then cursed me before breaking the jewel into three parts and flying away with two of them. I didn’t know what else to do, so I sought out the other two fragments in an attempt to complete the jewel.”

“How did you know you were cursed by the phoenix?” Dmitriy asked.

“The phoenix told me I was a fool and that the jewel would take everything from me. Every time I met someone on my journey back to Europe. Whenever I bid farewell to anybody, my fragment absorbed their life Aether, and I would rejuvenate.”

“That’s very disturbing.”

“I got rid of the jewel, but never lost track of all the people who owned it. They lived many years of glory. But when they lost the jewel, they died and their offspring paid the consequences.” Völundr stopped and cleared his throat.

Dmitriy went on his feet to pour more tea.

“Only three people know this secret,” Völundr said. “You are one of them and you're the one I trust the most. You’ve decided to help me find a way to destroy this jewel.”

“Thank you for the compliment, but I think it's time to leave,” Dmitriy said.

“One thing before you go,” Völundr handed him another apple. “Eat another piece.”

“Thanks,” Dmitriy said. Kath then noticed that Dmitriy was staring in her direction.

“Be safe Dmitriy.”

“Be safe Völundr… be safe kid.”

“What?” Kath asked, and then she fainted.