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Chapter 41 - God's Cursed

"H-Help me…"

Inside a collapsing building, a little girl's tiny voice called out through the rubble, begging for help.

The only person nearby was the bakery's owner, who had been immediately killed when a metal pillar impaled him through his chest, soaking Alice in his blood.

"P-Please… A-Anyone…"

Her cries echoed throughout the empty streets of Sea Fallen with only the occasional distant explosion responding to her plea.

Red liquid dripped from her forehead where a rock had hit her, pooling on the wooden boards she was trapped under, and combining with the baker's blood.

Both of her legs had been crushed by a boulder, preventing her from moving, with adrenaline being the only thing that kept her sane.

Earthquakes slammed against the building, shaking its very foundation and sending more and more debris falling from the ceiling.

One large stone that rested directly above her head gradually loosened under the unyielding assault.

"N-No…"

Her expression faltered, stricken with panic, as she frantically tried to dig herself out of the pile, yet to no avail.

She yelled out again and again in a last-ditch effort to summon someone, anyone, who could save her; however, it was too late.

Another quake shook the building, freeing the stone from its loft, sending it tumbling to the ground with a collision course to Alice's skull.

The girl's mind was clouded as she closed her eyes, bracing for the impact.

Please, god, don't let this be the end.

With her silent prayer, the stone collided with her instantly.

Blip.

A slimy feeling covered her body as the deafening sound of the rock shattering into pieces resounded through her ears.

Her face contorted in confusion as she slowly opened her eyes, cautiously taking in the scene ahead of her.

Turquoise light reflected in her pupils, while her legs regained their functionality, allowing her to pull herself out of the rubble.

"W-What is this glow?"

A colorful hue leaked out from her left pocket, surrounding her body like a shield protecting her from the falling stones.

She furrowed her brow as she reached into the tiny fabric slit she had carefully sewn into her worn shorts.

Only one object lay within the space.

"I-It's the coin that blonde mister gave me…"

Alice held the gold coin in her scratched hand and examined its surface, noticing an unusual engraving different from any currency she was familiar with.

"A crab?"

Far from the destruction of Sea Fallen, inside a world of memories, Eleanor trailed behind the crowd of disheartened sailors who grumbled about the day's labor.

Her mind was focused on keeping track of Aaron, who at any moment could slip into the group and out of her sight.

She knew that with her scattered memories of the boy, she might not be able to find him again.

Can't lose him.

She groaned, stepping on small pebbles that, instead of crunching below her feet, simply remained in their positions as if she were a ghost forced to walk the world.

Ahead of her, Aaron whistled to himself before suddenly stopping and bending down to look at an odd colored rock.

"It's a milky quartz."

He spoke with a tone of pure fascination that Eleanor had never heard from him before, making her raise a brow.

Does he like rocks? 

The wind blew across the land, ruffling his hair, causing him to sigh and place the stone back on the ground.

"From the East… It's unlucky to harvest when the cursed winds blow through the land."

His eyes showed a glimmer of sadness; however, it was quickly replaced with joy as he mumbled to himself.

"Ah, but the King of the Curses is docked today, so it must be fine, right?"

He turned his head around, checking the scene for any unwanted spectators, quickly realizing he was alone.

"I'll take that!"

In one fast motion, he grabbed the piece of quartz, placing it into his pocket and hurrying off without so much as another glance.

Eleanor just stared after him before muttering under her breath.

"A rock collector and superstitious on top of that… Who would have thought?"

Rolling her eyes, she pushed the information to a corner of her mind and quickly caught up with him, deciding to follow wherever he was headed.

"Hmm, Dad is still at work and Mom won't be home until at least midnight, so what should I even do now?"

Aaron mumbled to himself while sitting under a thick oak tree on the coast of the island, watching waves crash against the rocky shore.

The childlike Eleanor sat next to him, listening to his words yet unable to respond due to the strange laws of the memory world.

I wonder what family is like…

Throughout her entire life, she had never known the feeling of being loved by her kin, having no memories of her mother nor any records of her father.

With a deep sigh, she refocused herself on the task at hand: escape.

Why does his life have to be so… well… boring…

As she grumbled, she noticed Aaron's eyes fall onto something a little distance away that the waves washed up on the shore.

He thought for a moment while stroking his chin before standing up and walking towards it

Eleanor quickly followed behind him, stepping slowly down the steep stairs that descended into the valley that opened to the sea.

What did he see?

She was curious, though wary of the fact that much had already happened.

Memory world, then meeting a Sea King… Even if it's just a memory, it's still odd.

Shaking her head, she stared at Aaron, who had stopped suddenly on the last step with his mouth agape.

Did he see something or…

Her thought was cut off as she rounded the corner and finally saw what the boy was so fascinated by.

"A key?"

Eleanor felt a strange tingling in her head with feelings of Deja Vu striking her the longer she stared.

Subconsciously, she reached her hand out towards it; however, a deafening sound enveloped the area, causing her to fall backwards.

Ripples of unimaginable magnitude radiated through the heavens above, pausing the world as if time had simply stopped.

T-This isn't right… I-It can't be part of his memories…

Cracks streaked through the sky, appearing centered around a single point, which the blonde-haired boy happened to be staring at.

His body had frozen with all movements halted as the noise grew louder and louder, shattering the very fabric of time.

Eleanor's own body had begun to contract and twitch, with her gripping her head tightly, with agony and despair crushing her from within.

Memories were filling her mind; however, an almost paradoxical response had occurred.

Her past had come face to face with the present, distorting her thoughts in a muddled mess of fractured and fragmented timelines merging and disassociating at once.

They were memories of her older self, one who had experienced pain, suffering, and despair beyond anything the younger version had.

I… I had forgotten…

The visions showed her dearest friend Mia burning in utter agony.

Another showed a gruesome sight of an older version of her, beaten and bloody, lying half dead, tied to a metal post in the brig of a pirate ship.

She screamed as the new memories surfaced, blinding the girl to what transpired around her.

Each of the crevices in the illusory world had filled with a crystalline substance, with a multicolored goo dripping into the ocean.

The land itself had begun to slide and shift as if it were a living being.

Whispers of an unknown language graced Eleanor's ears, driving her closer to insanity as she opened her eyes to see something beyond what she could handle.

A cold wind blew through the beach, silencing the breaking waves in an instant, with each tiny grain of sand able to be felt under her legs.

Instead of the scene of Aaron's frozen form standing in the cracking world, she saw a man floating above the sea.

His skin was smooth without a single flaw, boasting a perfectly sculpted body that even Eleanor could admire.

The sheer presence he exuded was unlike anything the young girl had ever felt, nearly crushing her to dust from merely staring at his physique.

She could sense a clear message conveyed as if the entire world was screaming at her to listen.

"Thou shalt not witness a god's descent."

And this child, whose form only portrayed that of a six-year-old girl, obeyed that single command that wordlessly filled her mind.

Around his waist rested a brilliantly crafted sword that seemed to steal the light from the space around it.

Strong waves of force burst from the being who Eleanor could only describe as a god, causing her to instinctively bow her head into the lowest bow she could must, not daring to stare longer.

The man didn't speak, not a word, but one of his hands rose high into the sky, reflecting bright sunlight off his unusually scaled palms.

Reality itself rippled as he gradually brought two of his fingers together, tapping his index finger against his thumb in a relaxed manner.

"- - - - - - - -"

At that moment, Eleanor's short but tragic life ended without a sound. 

It was instant, painless, and wasted, almost a pity, but there wasn't anything that could be done.

She had forgotten the central rule enacted by divinity that had plagued humanity for centuries.

Her body had become nothing but a paltry red stain on the wet sand, quickly being washed away by the waves.

The godlike being frowned as the world collapsed in on itself like a box that was suddenly crushed, leaving nothing but a primal void that the man floated in.

He was alone.

Utterly alone.

A singularity throughout the entire mindscape with only a frown as his form blinked, then ceased from existing, leaving only destruction in his wake.

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