Long ago, the Diamond Oyster was divided into three fragments that caused the rise of the three nations: Earthron, Seapoiea, and Skyrban.
Due to their yearning for power, these nations wanted to colonize one another, and that led to a fathomless war.
But one day, a mysterious boy emerged from another world, and the supreme monk claimed that this boy, a descendant of the Oshiki Temple founder, Oshirin, would bring peace once again to Meadowglaze.
My grandfather, Kaeron, who, at fifteen years old, defied the odds and helped found and restore the Diamond Oyster.
When Grandpa collected all three fragments of the gemstone, he used its power to revive the tranquility that was once lost in this world.
Before he went back to Earth, he hid the Diamond Oyster in a sacred location that the gemstone itself had picked. Alarmingly, the gemstone was found by a mischievous ghoul named Floette.
"Ghouls like Floette want to take the Diamond Oyster as a key to rectification. Their objective is to turn Meadowglaze into an abode of pain, fear, and dishevelment," Helcus, the supreme monk, added as we faced a bonfire, and picturing the scene gave me terror. "Floette satisfactorily found it, but surprisingly, she was born naive. She let a Vulturaptor devour the gemstone."
Her lover, Kiosk, a warlock, was devoted to her. When she left him by his side, Kiosk decided to follow Floette's tracks. His undying love didn't waver in his pursuit, and he was determined to stop Floette when he found out about her true plan.
He had wanted to stop Floette, and when a random Vulturaptor took away the gemstone, he hit it with his mystical arrow.
Dreadfully, the arrow hit the heart of the gemstone, causing it to break into pieces of unaccountable fragments.
We arrived at this breathtaking waterfall where water flowed over a steep drop, and from the rugged rock where I was standing, I almost plunged into a pool below because the water was inviting, but we didn't come here to have fun.
We came here to see Floette in her prison.
Helcus tapped the base of his staff on the rock, and then suddenly, the flowing water parted like a window curtain.
Amazement hit me directly as I realized that there's a whole new sanctuary inside this cave.
"For a criminal ghoul like Floette, she's lucky that she's locked up in a place like this: green and enchanted," I said, sharing my thoughts.
"This place is where Kiosk captured Floette, and because of his implausible magic, we can't contain her in a more self-internalizing and self-reproaching cell," Helcus explained.
"You mean you want to lock her up in a haunted dungeon, but you can't undo Kiosk's spell, so you have no choice but to let her rot here. I didn't know sugarcoating was a thing in this era."
"Because a dungeon is where you put the most dangerous criminals, Kintsugi," Helcus pointed out with conviction.
My whole body pulsated the moment I saw a dozing girl tied up in a big willow tree. I felt a seismic activity that almost made me fall to my knees.
Although we came here quietly, Floette awakened.
She's strikingly beautiful, yet she's getting on my nerves. When she saw me, she tried not to drop her jaw, as if I looked very familiar, and when I gave her a cold-blooded stare, she looked away from me.
Kooki had said earlier that if I noticed Floette staring at me in a peculiar way, it could be that she saw Kiosk in me.
Kiosk had put her in this place.
By the use of his sorcery, Floette was wrapped up by thorny vines with hanging scroll seals, and the spell cast on it made escape impossible.
Due to the fatal wound he had obtained from their fight, Kiosk died.
"What brings you here? You no longer have business to deal with me," she said bluntly, referring to Helcus.
"The Diamond Oyster chose its rightful place where it stays unharmed, but you came along and disturbed its slumber. Your action resulted in the advent of disarray that would wipe out all lifeforms on Meadowglaze," Helcus explained.
The council of Oshiki Temple came to a verdict that what Floette committed was an immortal sin.
As a punishment, she'll be executed through a ritual that can cause unimaginable mental and emotional torment.
It's inhumane, but Floette's a ghoul.
She's a monster.
She stole the Diamond Oyster.
She ghosted Kiosk and killed him.
I can't think of any better punishment aside from torture.
That's what she deserves.
•••
Something's not right.
There's a voice in me telling me that I must liberate Floette.
Hours before her execution, I traversed the path that led to her, and again, the moment I saw her, my whole body oscillated, and I woke her up.
The last time we met, she was aloof and tight-lipped, but tonight she's starting to show me her menacing side. Her maniacal laugh is like a broken record grating on my ears.
"I told you you'll take nothing from me, so go away before I have a chance to slip out and eat you." She's trying to scare the shit out of me. She talks aggressively. She's starving.
I grab the rock-hard bread out of my pocket and show it to her.
"Answer me, how did you find the Diamond Oyster?" I ask, teasing her with the bread. "This bread tastes awful, but for someone who has not eaten for days, this is a lifesaver."
"The cartographic map Kiosk had been hiding helped me locate it," she replies, and I break the bread into pieces, throw it to her, and just like a dog, she fetches it with her mouth like a pro.
"What is the main purpose of the gemstone for you?"
"Why do you have so many questions? I'm hungry, fetch me more bread!"
"You won't have any more bread unless you supply me with an answer."
"Okay, listen, first of all, I want to be the most powerful ghoul ever existed; second, I want to beat my self-absorbed older sister in a duel. Lastly, the gemstone will help me with my retaliation against my oppressors."
"So destroying this world isn't included on your bucket list?"
"There's a lot of evil ghouls already, and taking the same path as them doesn't make me any different. I want to be different. I want to kill them all. I wanna be hailed as The Last Ghoul Standing."
I give her all the bread, and based on her answers, Floette seems like a lesser evil.
I sit on a mossy rock as I watch her munching the bread. She's very uncultured and moves like a wildebeest.
The night is still young, and she's not even worried that minutes later she will face her end.
"Aren't you afraid of the impending fate that awaits you?" I ask as she licks the corners of her lips.
"The execution will give the spectators satisfaction, but I'm a Ghoul. I'm used to being tortured. Pain has been my long-time companion. It had pledged allegiance to myself."
Based on her tone, she's being truthful.
I know she committed a grave mistake, but I believe her punishment is over-the-top.
She needs a second chance in life.
She needs life-changing experiences.
I pick myself up and approach her.
"Let's make a deal. I'm going to pull away these vines wrapping around you so that you'll have your freedom again. In return, you'll come with me and help me find my Grandpa as I search for the diamond fragments, deal?"
"Can you do it?" She's challenging me. "Can you take all this magical paraphernalia away from me? You seem magicless compared to Kiosk."
"I may not have the same artifice as him, but I'm gutsy and bold."
She was stunned when I drew near her, leaving her speechless. When she nods in approval, I tear apart the pinned sealing scrolls to nullify the spell.
Even if it hurts me, even if I bleed, I pull away the vines that are cuffing her.
When I pull the vines, they turn into dust.
"What are you doing, Kintsugi?" A disappointed baritone voice echoed from the back, and hearing it made me recognize the presence of Helcus. With him are the monks from the temple.
Kooki is with them too, and his face was etched with discouragement.
When I pull the last vine, the force of Floette's maniacal laugh makes me stumble down. She floats in midair as she tries to enlarge her size.
Her silky sky-blue hair grows longer, resembling tentacles. Her nails grow and become sharper.
She's terrifying to look at with scarlet-colored eyeballs.
"You mortal fool!" Floette just insulted me like a megalomaniac after I freed her, and the thought of helping a monster change left me dumbfounded. I'm frozen in frustration.
"I thought we had an agreement!" I yelled at her as I felt betrayed.
"You weren't diplomatic enough to convince me about your motives, and I have no plans to switch sides to a spineless member of the human race."
"You, bitch!"
"How could you be so forgetful, Kintsugi? I told you she might be naive, but ghouls are mischievous," Kooki disgruntlingly squealed. "Her beauty is something else. If you fall for her victim card, then you're under her deception."
Helcus instructed the monks to surround Floette, but before they could start their ritual, they were being whipped or smashed down by her tentacle-like hairs.
The monks were maimed, while Helcus, using his staff, summoned a spell that made Floette's hair burst into flames.
"My hair! My precious silky hair!" Floette howled in pain. "Since there are no hair follicles visible on your scalp, I'm going to incinerate those under your balls!"
I bet they're hairless too.
The pain forced her to escape from the cave.
I took a bold move, standing up, and before Floette becomes invisible to my naked eyes, I want to catch her and make sure she'll never run or fly away from me again.
I only have one arrow, and I shouldn't miss a shot. In archery, I never miss a single target. Grandpa didn't raise a bad shooter after all.
As I ran through the woods, elbow-greasing and catching my breath, I saw Floette above, floating, and I believe her destination is in the mountains.
When I finally had a better angle, I aimed at my target.
When the arrow propelled, it suddenly glowed and transformed into a broadsword.
The sword pierced her spine, right into her heart, and out from her chest. It was a similar scenario to how Kiosk hit the Vulturaptor.