Angelica's blue eyes shimmered, falling into the haunting ocean of memories. The gaze she bore was filled with reluctance and a sense of melancholy, stirring the core of Orion.
It was the same gaze he had worn in his previous life whenever he found himself adrift against mighty nature, a look of reluctance, a sense of powerless struggle and futile desperate attempt to save Isla.
"One evening, when everything was going well, you fell ill without any cause. Your father, Nisan did his best to cure you, but it failed,"
Orion attentively focused on Angelica's voice.
"Seeing your condition becoming worse, he sought out help from a cultivator but even he shook his head declaring your disease strange and incurable,"
"The cultivator was a kind man so he assisted your father by contacting his senior master, and you were thoroughly checked up by the senior master. He suspected it to be some sort of curse or frightening disease gradually consuming your soul as time passed by,"
The noises of crickets chirped in the midnight contrasting the lonely atmosphere of the house.
"After giving some words to your father, the senior master delved into searching for the origin of your disease. Along with that, he tried his best to keep your condition stable. But one day, when your father visited the senior master, he was injured by him and bumped onto us in the market when we were shopping with your mother and my parents,"
The chaos which ensued in the past appeared like a mirage before Angelica, while she recalled the incident. Before her, Orion's father fell to the ground with his head detached from the body.
Orion's mother screamed for help, but the utter disregard by the people for them while walking beside them was terrifying because the chaser was a cultivator.
"I stood there looking at the senior master who had fear in his eyes after he gazed at you, he addressed you as a demon and slaughtered our families,"
The tears dripped while Angelica recalled her parents, their last struggle and their smiles for her. She was just a normal girl, desiring little things in her life but seemed like it was not possible.
Shuck!
Two warm hands embraced Angelica into gentle darkness where she felt peace, a rare kind of tranquillity. She did utter any word for minutes, and let her tears fall ceaselessly.
Orion gently wiped off her tears and both of them sat together on the old futon. Angelica's delicate eyes were staring at Orion whose mind was calculating all these incidents at a rapid rate.
"The senior cultivator fell on the ground while I saw you having a blank look on your face, my mother ordered me to run and you followed me,"
Once again she fell into his embrace unable to hold her tears back, her mother's last call as she ordered her to run, while blood gushed out of her mouth due to the injuries inflicted by the senior cultivator.
Orion put his right hand on her head and stroked it, he did not care if her tears would wet the shabby Angarkha he was wearing.
After some time, Angelica was exhausted from crying and closed her eyes into his embrace.
She had been too robust and repressed her emotion, but after feeling the comfort and security in his embrace, she let out all her emotions which she hid for so long.
Orion gave a quiet, amused chuckle as her soft breathing tingled his chest. He took a deep breath and caressed her white cheeks which were slightly red due to tears, and gently put her on the bed.
He slept beside her still savouring the sight of her sleeping face, and uttered some words.
"I lost you in my previous life and saw your tears again after that nightmare disease took over on you, but darling in this life, I promise you, I would never let your precious tears fall again,"
There was craziness in his eyes while staring at her face, it seemed to be of a beast as it did not blink for some time.
After some time, he crawled out of his obsession with love and sorted out all the data Angelica gave to him earlier through the incident she narrated.
"So the previous owner of this body fell ill due to some kind of curse or disease. The father of this body consulted the ordinary lower-stage cultivator but he couldn't do anything, hmm..."
Orion realised the disease was not ordinary since the cultivator, this body's father sought help had some background in medicine and kinds of stuff.
"Then there comes this senior master, he can be of higher-stage cultivator since he was called senior master which may be one step higher post, or he was just an experienced cultivator. But whatever the case, he was injured gravely by this curse and it destructed the soul of the previous body owner,"
Orion's heart was still, but his brain was storming with the different kinds of outcomes. He understood that the death of the previous owner was related to this curse and can be fatal for him too in future.
This disease or curse weakened the mind of the victim and slowly drained the soul. In this process, the victim would become weaker and weaker day by day physically and mentally.
"When Isla no, Angelica mentioned this curse for some time, I sensed a presence. I felt that my soul was warning me frantically as if this presence was approaching for it."
His head became fuzzy due to analysing and making many plans, so he simply stopped thinking about these things and got closer to Angelica.
Both of their breathing mingled as the sense of drowsiness took over him, he could not help but take her in his embrace like he did with Isla and lost in darkness.
Perhaps, if there existed an observer of their lives, it would undoubtedly affirm that they were mutually indispensable. They relied on one another equally, with no other familiar presence in the world except for each other. Perhaps, their survival would be in jeopardy if either of them were to be absent.
Hello everyone! I hope you're enjoying the story so far. I understand that there are multiple events happening simultaneously, such as the village incident and the introduction of a new curse. However, rest assured that these elements will not create any confusion or disrupt the overall flow of the story. I am committed to delivering a satisfying experience, so I won't let you down in that regard.
By the way, the protagonist's melodramatic dialogue is purposeful and rooted in their psychology. As the story progresses, you will find that their words become more realistic and relevant to the plot. So, there's no need to worry about that either.
I wanted to let you know that starting from June 13th, updates will be more frequent. I am currently dedicating time to reading books and honing my writing skills to ensure that I deliver a compelling story. Your satisfaction is my ultimate goal.
Hare Krishna!