Sophie rolled her eyes, already regretting agreeing to this ridiculous deal. If she hadn't made the promise for her parents, she wouldn't have tolerated this childish and arrogant god for even a second.
"Okay… So what do I need to do?"
Axeden huffed before answering.
"In your past life, you cursed all the sons of the prominent gods. In a few years, I'll die if you don't destroy that curse. Two of my brothers are already at death's door, and another one is starting to feel its effects too. I'm still young, so I have more time. That's why I'm trying to save the world."
Sophie frowned, confusion clear on her face.
"Wait, what? I cursed you guys? For what?"
Axeden clicked his tongue.
"It's a long story. I'll tell you another time. Right now, listen carefully. No one in the universe can break this curse except you, because it was created by the Bound-Evil-Heart spell. To break it, you need to enter the immortal realm. And to do that, you have to go through the seven hardships of mortal life - birth, illness, love, soul bond, hate, forgiveness, and detachment from materialism."
Sophie took a deep breath, trying her best to focus and understand.
"Your first step is to complete a mortal life. Until now, you've already gone through four hardships-
1. Birth
2. Illness - your parents sold their souls to cure your illness.
3. Hate - you hated and blamed yourself for every misfortune.
4. Forgiveness - yesterday, you were able to escape the River of Life because you let go of the guilt that was eating you for years. You finally accepted your fate and forgave yourself.
That leaves-
5. Love,
6. Soul bond,
7. Detachment from materialism.
Do you understand so far?"
Sophie nodded seriously.
"Okay, so we'll start with soul bond, then love, then letting go of hatred completely, and lastly, detachment from materialism."
Kausphore clenched his fists, growling under his breath.
"Axeden, don't cross your limits. You're taking advantage of her just because she doesn't remember her past life. And who said she can only love her husband? Even if you've taken a blood oath for marriage, that doesn't mean she must love you. That's not a requirement. That means I still have a chance. She can love me too."
Sophie rolled her eyes in frustration.
"What is soul bond?" she asked.
"Ahem… it's… the marriage of two souls and bodies," Axeden replied, avoiding eye contact as Sophie stared at him with innocent curiosity.
Her face turned bright red as she realized the true meaning of soul bond and the marriage rituals of the immortals. She cleared her throat before asking again.
"So… I can have an affair even if I'm married? There's no law against it?"
"As long as your heart accepts it, and your love is pure and true—even if it's someone other than your husband—your love contemplation will be successful."
"Alright then, if it's my choice, I'll love whoever I want. None of you need to worry about it. And… how do I break the curse?"
Axeden turned his head to face her again.
"Good question. In your past life, you destroyed your sword for some unknown reason. You broke it into nine pieces. Three are here on Ireas, and the other six are in the immortal realm. We need to find all the pieces of your, no, I mean Craysophy's sword. Only that sword can break the curse."
Aurora asked curiously,
"What's so special about the broken sword? Can't we use a new one to break the curse?"
Axeden shook his head.
"Nothing will work except Craysophy's sword because it was gifted by the Goddess of War. She was a pure force of both disaster and healing. Everyone says every curse and every remedy belongs to her. Craysophy's curse, the Bound-Evil-Heart spell was created by her. No one can break it unless she wills it."
He took a breath and continued.
"When the Devil God turned the three realms upside down, causing disaster and chaos everywhere, the Goddess of War sacrificed herself to save the world. She's no longer here to break the curse. But the sword she gifted to Craysophy can still do it."
Aurora and Sophie were left completely confused and exhausted. It was all too much to take in. Both girls simply sighed and decided to stop here.
"Okay, let's stop for now. I'm tired. We can talk more later. Axeden doesn't look good and he needs to rest,"
Sophie said out of concern, seeing his pale face.
Kausphore's heart clenched in pain, seeing her eyes filled with worry for another man.
"I'm fine. It's not a big de--"
He stopped mid-sentence as a jolt of energy surged through his body, making him lose his balance. Sophie immediately grabbed him to stop him from falling. Kausphore's blood was fuming with jealousy and anger, but he accepted his fate silently.
"Let me help him. I'll help him meditate,"
Kausphore offered, keeping his voice calm.
Sophie nodded and stepped aside, letting him handle Axeden.
To be continued