Chapter 4 : Cursed Spirits
His eyelids fluttered open - the ceiling above him was wooden, lined with tiny cracks.
“Where… am I?” he whispered, voice raspy.
His forehead was wrapped with a bandage. A faint smell of herbs lingered around him.
he thought.
As he tried to sit, sharp pain shot through his arm.
“Aspen! You’re awake!!”
Ryl burst in, worry written all over his face.
“Do you know how scared I was?!! You just fainted out of nowhere!!”
“Sorry to worry you, Ryl.” he mumbled, still dazed.
“But… what about that thing?”
“Oh!! That thing? I've defeated it.” Ryl said, proudly.
Aspen blinked.
“What? Don't you believe me!? I've really defeated it!”
He didn't buy it. “Ryl... I'm serious.”
“Aspen, you to believe me. With just a stare - it feared me. It begged me to let it go.”
He crossed his arms trying to look heroic.
“You know I am a person with mercy. So I forgave it and warned it not to bother anyone again.”
Aspen just stared at him.
“You sure are good at making bluffs.”
A voice came from the doorway.
“Un-Uncle…” Ryl’s voice cracked.
“You were scared as a cat and climbed up a tree.”
“No!! I-I was just… checking my tree climbing skills!! Yes, that’s it!!”
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Odin sighed.
“Uncle… I’m sorry,” Aspen apologised, guilt in his tone.
“We shouldn't have gone into the forest. We should've listened to you…”
“It's good that you know your mistake.” Odin placed a hand on his shoulder.
“I'm just glad you're safe.”
Aspen smiled faintly.
“Alright. You’re still weak. Get some rest - we’ll talk later.”
He nodded.
“Where’re my things? Did I leave them in the forest?!” Aspen panicked, glancing around.
“Don't worry, I took your bag - It's right here!!”
Ryl handed it to him.
“You saved me!” Aspen said, taking the bag and rummaging through it.
“The dagger… orb… potions… wait- where’s the money pouch?”
“It must be here, look carefully.” Ryl said, also searching around.
Then suddenly his face froze.
“What happened?” Aspen asked.
“I think… I know where it is!!”
“That's a good thing right?” Aspen said warily.
“Do you remember when we fell on the ground?”
“When it blocked our way?”
“Yes!! When we fell, your things scattered - and I accidentally threw something at it! I just grabbed whatever was beside me…”
“And then?”
“Now I remember - it was your money pouch!!”
Ryl exclaimed, grinning sheepishly.
Aspen froze.
“My… my money…” he muttered.
“I’m sorry, Aspen… I was too scared to realize what I was doing...”
“My money…” he groaned, falling back on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
“Aspen!! NO!! Please dont die!!”
All voices around him faded.
Exhaustion won.
He drifted into sleep again.
_ _ _
Aspen slowly opened his eyes.
It was quiet; only the sound of the crickets filled the air.
He looked out the window - the sky was dark, the full moon glowing faintly.
“It's already night?” He mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
"I should head home before father finds out I'm missing.”
He sat up wincing as his arm throbbed.
He swung his legs off the bed and grabbed his bag.
He tiptoed towards the table.
Odin was asleep, head resting on a pile of papers, a candle half-melted beside him.
He thought, smiling softly.
Then covered him with a thin blanket and blew out the candle.
By the time he reached home, it was silent.
He quietly slipped into his room and sat on his bed feeling heavy.
He thought, pressing his hand against his chest, feeling his heart race.
“I was injured because of that same thing a year ago… who knew I’d meet one again.” he glanced at his worn cloth bandaged wrist.
“It was very scary…”
He laid on his bed, thoughts still lingering.
He clenched his fist.
“No matter what… I to become strong. And definitely I will.”
_ _ _
The next morning.
Aspen headed straight to his uncle's house.
“You sure are a curious one...” Odin said, sipping the soup. “Come. Have a seat.”
Aspen sat down and took his first bite,
“Uncle I've a lot of questions to ask.”
“I know. You want to know about cursed spirits.”
Aspen looked up. “Cursed… spirits?”
“Yes. And they were once humans.”
“Huh? Humans?!”
“You’re right. They were humans who wielded normal spirits."
“You mean like - they control spirits?”
Odin nodded, setting his bowl aside.
“But why?” Aspen asked.
“Why would they harm others?”
“Because they are cursed…” he paused, glancing at Aspen's reaction.
“...they are no longer humans.”
Odin leaned back on his chair and glanced out the window.
“There are hunters who hunt beasts.
And hunting low rank beasts - it's simple. You can kill them if you are trained enough.”
He listened to him very carefully, trying to catch his every word.
“But when it comes to the high ranking ones… they can use magic. We can't fight them bare handed.”
He brought his gaze back to him.
“So we humans borrow the spirits' power by creating contract bonds with them. But… if the contract breaks they become cursed ones like you saw yesterday.”
Aspen's eyes widened.
“But uncle, you’re not a wielder then how…?”
“It was because of this powder.”
He placed a small jar, half filled with whitish powder.
“This is made from the peel of a poisonous fruit, which is very rare.”
“So I fainted because of this?!”
Odin nodded.
“You’ve always been physically very weak. The Enhancer potions you drink help only work for a short time.”
Sighing low, he continued.
“Even though you always hurt yourself…”
“I’ve always tried my best, Uncle!” He muttered, embarrassed.
“And uncle, where did you get this powder?”
Odins’s face flickered with something unreadable.
“Uncle…?”
“It was made by your mother.”
Aspen froze. “My… mother?”
“Yes.” his voice softened.
“And the world doesn't know about it yet…”
Odin looked down, his tone weighed something heavy - buried long ago.
*****
Chapter 5 : Past
