The market was suddenly too loud. Voices, laughter, merchants shouting their prices… everything blended together into a distant noise.
Jade could barely hear it anymore.
Her eyes were locked on the mysterious woman in front of her
Listen carefully," she said coldly. "You keep appearing in front of me, talking nonsense, and now you expect me to just follow you?"
The woman looked around nervously.
"We don't have time."
"Then speak here."
"I can't."
Jade scoffed.
"Then let go of my hand."
For a moment, the woman hesitated.
Then she leaned closer and whispered something that made Jade freeze.
"If you stay with Daniel… the curse will consume you."
Jade's heart skipped violently.
.
.
The woman led Jade away from the market and through a quieter path.
After several minutes of walking, they arrived at a small wooden house beside a narrow stream. The gentle sound of water flowing against the rocks created an oddly peaceful atmosphere.
Jade frowned.
The place looked simple… almost isolated from the rest of the town.
The woman pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Jade hesitated for a moment before entering as well.
She crossed her arms.
"So you're staying here?" Jade asked, scanning the modest interior. "Then why were you doing in town ? Were you following me?"
The woman remained silent.
Jade's patience snapped.
"Talk. Fast," she said sharply.
The woman gestured calmly toward a wooden chair.
"Sit, please."
Jade didn't move.
"No. I feel comfortable standing."
The woman sighed softly.
"Well…"
She walked toward the fireplace and began lighting the chimney, as if preparing herself to tell a long story.
The flames slowly came to life, casting flickering shadows across the wooden walls.
"You said I was following you," the woman said quietly. "But that's not true."
She turned to look directly at Jade.
"I was following the curse."
Jade's brows knitted together.
"The curse?" she repeated.
The woman studied her for a moment before continuing.
"As I told you before… I once loved an Ooman."
Her voice carried a strange mixture of nostalgia and bitterness.
Then she straightened slightly.
"Let me introduce myself properly."
She placed a hand over her chest.
"My name is Meridia Stargane."
A faint smile crossed her lips.
"My family is under the protection of the constellation Aurelion."
Jade felt a strange chill run down her spine.
"VESPERIS had already placed the curse on the Ooman family. At the time William and I were together…"
Jade frowned.
"William?"
"Yes," the woman nodded slowly. "He was Daniel's great-great-grandfather."
Jade felt a strange tension growing in her chest.
Meridia continued.
"William noticed something unusual. Whenever we had close contact… a kiss, or something more than a kiss…" she said calmly, "the curse weakened."
She paused, looking into the flames of the fireplace.
"At midnight… he didn't forget."
Jade froze.
Her eyes widened.
Something suddenly clicked in her mind.
The nightly kiss in the contract…
Her heart began to pound violently.
Meridia continued, unaware of Jade's growing shock.
"At that time, we didn't understand why it worked… or why I was the one who could weaken the curse."
A faint, nostalgic smile appeared on her lips.
"But we were happy. After generations of suffering, we thought we had finally found the solution to the curse of VESPERIS."
Her smile slowly disappeared.
"But we were completely wrong."
She stared into the fire again.
"We continued like that for years… William and I. We married, we built a life together… everything seemed perfect."
Her voice trembled slightly.
"But then…"
She paused, as if the next words were difficult to say.
"The curse began to transfer to me."
Jade's breath caught.
"It stopped affecting William… but it started affecting me."
Meridia's eyes darkened.
"I began losing my memory."
She looked at her own hands.
"And slowly… people started forgetting about my existence."
Jade felt chills run down her spine.
"At first, we weren't worried," Meridia continued quietly. "We thought it was temporary. But it kept getting worse."
She inhaled slowly.
"So we decided to seek help."
She turned slightly toward Jade.
"We went to see an old shaman in Benin, in Africa."
Jade listened without blinking.
"The shaman told us something shocking."
Meridia's gaze sharpened.
"He said I had been born on the exact night when VESPERIS appeared in the sky."
She shook her head slowly.
"It is extremely rare for someone to be born under that constellation… but I was."
She stood up from her chair.
"Because of that… I was able to slow down the curse."
Her expression hardened.
"But VESPERIS is not foolish."
Her voice became colder.
"She made sure the Ooman family could never escape the curse so easily."
The fire crackled loudly in the silence.
Meridia looked directly at Jade.
"And now…"
Her eyes darkened.
"It seems history is repeating itself."