Chapter 2:

  "The Curse Killer"

  Arc 1: Chapter 2

  POV: "???"

  The night of the Infernal Zone sang its silent song—the whistle of wind through ruins, the distant creak of structures still shifting, the smell of death that permeated every particle of air. The dirty place, the debris, the dust that never fully settled. And there, before Luna, the creature.

  She was feeling better now. The power she had consumed was taking effect—not enough to stand and run, but enough to crawl. Her arms responded. Her legs, too.

  But her eyes didn't leave Empty's silhouette.

  She watched for minutes. Then for hours. Her body begged for rest, her mind screamed for sleep, but something kept her alert—an urgent, growing need that throbbed inside her like a second heart.

  I need to see.

  The decision came before she could think. She moved like a shadow, crawling across the dusty floor with the slowness of one who knows any sound could mean death. Her heart beat so loudly in her ears that it seemed to fill the entire space of the house.

  The air grew cold as she approached.

  On her knees now, inches from the motionless figure, Luna hesitated. Her hands trembled in the air, hovering over the cold outline of the mask.

  This is madness.

  I know.

  He could kill me.

  I know.

  Then why am I doing this?

  The question went unanswered. With a held breath, her fingers closed around the mask.

  She pulled.

  The metal separated from the face with a soft sound, almost delicate.

  Luna didn't scream.

  The horror was silent. Absolute.

  Her pupils contracted to pinpricks. What she saw beneath the armor sent her entire body into shock—cold sweat broke instantly on her forehead, and her lungs seized, refusing to inhale the air that now touched her.

  Empty woke in an instant.

  The movement was so fast, Luna didn't see it—only felt the air displace. The sword materialized in the dark with a sharp metallic sound, and the mask was torn from her hands in a violent yank. The blade pointed at her face before she could blink.

  The sword's tip stopped an inch from her neck.

  Luna trembled. Her entire body vibrated with the fear that took over every fiber, every muscle, every thought. But her eyes—those green eyes that had seen so much in the Infernal Zone—remained fixed on Empty's face.

  She didn't look away.

  "NO..."

  Raphadun's voice cut through the silence. He had stood, desperate, his eyes wide with terror at the scene.

  "Don't do anything..."

  He approached slowly, hands extended in a gesture of supplication, each step a silent prayer.

  Empty began to look at him.

  Raphadun acted on instinct. His bluish energy enveloped Luna in the blink of an eye, pulling her away from the blade, bringing her to his side in a teleport leap that left him breathless.

  Raphadun pulled his sister by the arm after teleporting her.

  "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"

  Luna swallowed hard.

  "I saw..." She stopped. Breathed. "He is a curse."

  "WE HAVE TO FIGHT!" Luna shouted, still trembling, but already with fists clenched.

  "But Luna!" Raphadun gasped, trying to catch his breath. "We should flee! He's strong! He leaped to face the Persuer! We can't!"

  "YES WE CAN!" she pointed at Empty. "Did you see yesterday that my punch hit him! He felt it!"

  Empty didn't move.

  The sword, which moments before had been pointed at Luna's neck, now slowly returned to its sheath. The metal scraped against leather in a long, soft sound.

  He just stood there.

  His eyes—those empty eyes Luna had just seen—were fixed on the two siblings. But there was no fury in them. No intention to attack. There was only...

  He watched them.

  The reality he saw was different from any curse he had encountered before. Those two weren't like the creatures he killed. They didn't emanate the same darkness, the same dull pain, the same meaningless hunger.

  They had light. They had fear. They had courage.

  And they stared back at him.

  The curiosity—that strange thing growing inside him since he'd seen them—transmitted something he couldn't name. Something beautiful in it. Something that I wanted to see more, understand more, and observe more.

  So, he did nothing.

  He just stood there.

  The confirmation was immediate. An imminent danger, just like Persuer, just like "The Everything," "The Chaos," or any other elite curse. It was a being without speech that, regardless of anything, was a threat.

  And so, with Empty before her, Luna wrapped her fists in light magic and looked at Raphadun.

  "This is an order from your future queen, brother..."

  And then, Raphadun, looking at her: "Shit!" — he said.

  And he prepared himself.

  And then, Luna lunged forward, trying to hit Empty, who dodged swiftly. When she tried to throw a punch, she was teleported by Raphadun. And then, teleported again from behind, striking Empty's stomach. Empty, it seemed, didn't want to fight. But he glanced down and saw part of his armor had fallen and evaporated. Raphadun joined Luna. "Are we really doing this? Shit, what if he shows up?"

  "If he shows up, we die, just like in any situation here! But with a curse... I don't..." And before she could finish, she lunged forward again.

  "I HAVE NO PITY!" She lunged. But suddenly, a murderous feeling began to bloom. And with a look of hatred, Empty lunged at Luna with his sword, moving much faster than her. And then, just as the attack was about to land, Raphadun teleported her away. The attack destroyed a mountain ahead.

  "WHAT THE—?" Raphadun shouted. Luna's body didn't move. But Raphadun, in his desperation, hadn't teleported her far enough. Empty looked back and, about to strike again, advanced toward Luna. But with a quick teleport, Raphadun brought himself, along with the book, directly in front of Empty.

  And then he stopped.

  "STOP! PLEASE!" Raphadun shouted, trembling.

  Empty paused. He stared for a while, then took the book from Raphadun's hand and began to read and sniff it, as he always did.

  "Luna, dammit!" Raphadun knelt to help his sister.

  "Are you hurt?..."

  Luna sat up, trembling, unable even to speak, for she had felt the scent of death.

  "Shit..."

  Then, Empty crouched down. Raphadun leaned back. But Empty put his finger to his nose and began to pull.

  "What the hell are you doing?!" he shouted, pulling his sister away and removing Empty's hands from her nose.

  Luna began to regain a little consciousness, crying on Raphadun's shoulder as he carried her away from there.

  He threw stones on the ground at Empty, who tried to follow them—ironic, since moments ago he had tried to kill them—while carrying his sister. Suddenly, unintentionally, he heard his sister:

  "Father... Please..."

  Raphadun, upon hearing that, stopped.

  The memory of that promise came flooding back. He looked at Luna and called out: "Wake up!" She remained in shock. "WAKE UP! LUNA!" He shook her, and she finally regained a little consciousness. "LISTEN TO ME!"

  "THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO BREAK!"

  He grabbed Luna by the shoulders. Eyes fixed on hers. Desperation, yes. But also something hard: stubbornness. Refusal.

  Luna took a deep breath. Forced her shoulders back.

  "We MUST CONTINUE AND IGNORE HIM!" Her voice still loud, still firm. "We have to activate the next mechanism! And we shouldn't care about this creature anymore. If it's not going to try to hurt us, we can just... ignore it."

  "He can follow us," he continued.

  "And whatever happens, we'll use his stupidity as bait!" Understood? He finished.

  "But..."

  The words didn't come out.

  Raphadun waited. She didn't finish. He nodded.

  Luna took a deep breath. The cold air filled her lungs. She wasn't healed. Wasn't strong. But she was standing.

  They both began to walk.

  Empty watched from afar.

  Humans moving. Humans talking. Humans feel things they don't understand.

  But he followed.

  He kept his distance. Never too close, never too far. Just behind. Just watching.

  The walk was enormous. Hours passed. Different ruins, different roads, the same death everywhere.

  Empty always at a distance behind them.

  They tried to lose him. Narrow alleys. Hiding spots. Every trick. Minutes later, there he was.

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  Walking.

  Sometimes he disappeared. For a moment, they thought they had succeeded. Further ahead, the dark silhouette would emerge again among the ruins.

  "He doesn't stop!"

  On a day of horrendous winds and rain.

  Storms came from nowhere. Winds howled. Rains that didn't wet like water—something heavier, dirtier, more wrong.

  Luna and Raphadun found an abandoned house. The roof still held in some places, and the walls still protected from the wind. They entered quickly.

  In the movement of the window, Luna saw.

  A figure passing by. Empty.

  She embraced her brother.

  "We have to kill him!"

  "That wouldn't help. You know that."

  Luna turned her face away.

  Silence. Only the rain.

  "Why did he jump at the Persuer that day?"

  "I don't know. Territory dispute?"

  Raphadun didn't answer.

  "Be prepared," Luna continued. "If he attacks, teleport us. I know we can't waste our magic, but..."

  She didn't finish. She didn't need to.

  After a while, the door burst open.

  Empty stood before them. Dark silhouette against the storm. Rain was dripping from his armor. Invisible eyes fixed on them.

  Empty brought his hand to his sword.

  Raphadun acted. Blue energy enveloped Luna—she disappeared.

  "I TOLD YOU!" the scream came from outside.

  Empty looked back. At Raphadun. At Luna's direction.

  He quickened his pace.

  Raphadun teleported—further away. Empty moved too fast. Every time they reappeared, the silhouette was already closer.

  Luna stopped.

  Raphadun shouted her name. She didn't respond.

  She saw Empty approaching.

  She closed her eyes.

  "One day... There will be four great curses..."

  The feminine voice echoed. Calm.

  "They will try to destroy the world... For that... The first definitive light must emerge."

  Luna thrust her arm forward.

  "LIGHT BLAST!"

  A beam of golden light shot from her hand—different from the light that nourished. Purer. Stronger.

  It hit Empty square on.

  "LUNA!"

  She fell into her brother's chest, exhausted. Body trembling.

  "If that... didn't work... If he gets up..."

  From the smoke, Empty emerged.

  Standing. Watching.

  No rage. No attack. Only the gaze.

  He began to move.

  Raphadun was prepared to teleport. He didn't know if he had the strength. He would try.

  Empty's arm began to vanish. Dark particles detaching, floating, disappearing.

  Empty fell to his knees.

  Looked at them.

  Through the mask—a smile.

  He fell.

  Luna and Raphadun just stared, not knowing what to do.

  "He..."

  Then, without warning, they were teleported.

  Both fell onto the dead lands.

  "Ah!"

  They stood slowly.

  "Shit... This stupid power of mine..."

  Luna got to her feet. Eyes wide. Breathing rapid.

  "I DID IT!" The scream came from the depths. "I DID IT, BROTHER! I DEFEATED THAT CURSE!"

  She hugged Raphadun tightly. Tears streaming, carving paths through the dust.

  "You used it... He deteriorated, did you see?"

  "I..." Luna looked at her own hands. "With this power, I can hurt the Persuer."

  They looked at each other.

  "We have to go to the second mechanism!"

  Raphadun pulled from his pocket a piece of yellowed paper, folded so many times the creases seemed part of the original texture.

  "How far have we strayed?" he murmured, eyes tracing the faded lines. "We need to get here."

  "Using Haimbridger's calculation?" Luna leaned in to see.

  "Yes, it's here..." he pointed his finger on the map. "The calculation is right."

  Luna looked back.

  She walked a little further, and at the top of the hill.

  Luna called to Raphadun, who also looked down.

  "It seems we've arrived..." Luna said.

  "This is Fuhbar, then..." Raphadun said.

  On the dead mountain where they stood, ahead, a city stretched out. The location of the last mechanism.

  The city was circular—dead and destroyed houses from a lost time. And at the center, as in all the cities that guarded the mechanisms to open the domes, there was a structure. Different from the others, this one was rectangular.

  They began descending the mountain.

  They reached the city.

  They walked through the ruins of empty houses. Heavy, oppressive silence.

  "This lived centuries ago... When the world was still alive."

  "Yeah... Strange to be back."

  "Don't think about that now. Be prepared. The Persuer might be waiting for us."

  They stopped. The enormous door stood open.

  "Son... Protect your sister."

  "Luna... You are everyone's hope..."

  They passed through the door.

  At the center, the mechanism.

  "Do it."

  Luna nodded.

  Her hands went around the circle. It glowed.

  Light enveloped the device. Everything trembled.

  "Is it activating?"

  Luna looked to the skies.

  In a place far from there, in the Infernal Zone.

  The being wrapped in tactical armor, a lead mask covering its face, sat on an improvised throne.

  The wolf beside it raised its head, feeling the tremor.

  The Persuer just looked up.

  At the epicenter of the mechanism.

  It descended, showing that it had been activated.

  Luna and Raphadun celebrated, embracing.

  "We did it, now it's..."

  Luna was teleported.

  She fell near another place. She saw why Raphadun had teleported her: a small curse, but with sharp claws, was about to attack her.

  Raphadun had teleported her and taken the blow in her place.

  The attack struck his chest. Blood gushed from his mouth, staining his clothes.

  "RAPHADUN!"

  She ran. Kicked the curse. The creature flew.

  She knelt. The wound wasn't deep. But it was there.

  "Shit..."

  Behind them, they emerged. Thousands.

  Various sizes. Distorted limbs. Dark. Approaching slowly.

  Luna tried to fight. Raised her hands, tried to channel her light. But a larger curse attacked her from the side, sending her flying. She fell to her knees ahead.

  "LUNA!"

  A curse covered her mouth. Claws dragged across her face.

  Luna saw.

  A curse before her, smiling. Ready to kill. Another behind her. Ready.

  She looked at Raphadun.

  Smiled.

  Go. Teleport yourself. Let me die.

  Luna lowered her head.

  "So this is it... Father... Mother... Is this how you felt..."

  "You were wrong. It was only you. No one will protect us anymore, except you."

  "Never again."

  "I'm sorry, Raphadun... For believing in someone like me."

  The creature in front raised its hands.

  The one behind struck first.

  The sword appeared.

  It pierced the one in front. Continued in a perfect arc—cut the one in front.

  Both flew, undone.

  Luna opened her eyes.

  Before her, a figure. Black armor. Helmet. Dark cape.

  The mask formed.

  The Empty Man.

  Empty began to move.

  Exterminate. Leap. Cut. Fast. Precise.

  Raphadun freed himself. Ran to Luna.

  "SISTER!"

  "Why?"

  "The same thing he did with the Persuer."

  They watched.

  Empty cut heads. Too fast for the eyes to follow. The curses fell around them.

  "But... He was disintegrated... Right in front of us..." Luna's voice was a thread.

  Empty continued.

  An arm was cut by a claw. The next instant, a new arm grew in its place, and the newly formed hand struck the curse that had mutilated him.

  *He regenerated*, Luna thought. *Just like a... Curse.*

  Raphadun and Luna ran toward the door, taking advantage of the distraction.

  *He is what I was suspecting...* Raphadun thought.

  When they reached the exit, everything began to collapse. Stones fell, the structure gave way, and Empty was still inside.

  "He is a..."

  Raphadun looked back. Saw Empty's silhouette amid the rubble, still fighting, still killing, still standing.

  "...curse killer."

  The stones collapsed, blocking the entrance.

  And Empty remained inside.

  Alone.

  As always.

  Alone in the void of the crater, Empty waited.

  The air was denser. Heavier.

  He felt no fear. Only that warm pressure he couldn't name.

  The curse emerged from the shadows.

  Two bodies fused into one. A feminine form, distorted, her face contorted in eternal pain. Another monstrous form, angular. Their hands intertwined—fingers fused in a grip that even death hadn't undone.

  Empty moved.

  The black projectiles flew—spears of darkness. He dodged each one, his body moving at impossible angles.

  One of the shots struck his sword squarely.

  The blade flew from his hands, spinning in the air before falling into the crater's void.

  Empty was unarmed.

  Above, the curse hovered. Its form was silhouetted against the gray sky, the two fused bodies slowly rotating, the hands still intertwined.

  It was prepared for the final blow.

  In the wind-swept courtyard, Raphadun and Luna materialized among the rubble.

  Luna fell to her knees, gasping.

  "Let's run to the third mechanism!"

  She looked back.

  "The Pursuer will be there," Raphadun replied, in a lower voice.

  "Yes... And if he is, we'll fight. It's our best chance! We only need one more mechanism to go home!" she said, trying to pull her brother's arm.

  Raphadun was motionless. His eyes fixed on the ruined shed, on the cloud of dust.

  "Come on, Raphadun!"

  "He's fighting. I can feel the energy." Raphadun said

  "That doesn't matter!"

  "IT DOESN'T MATTER!"

  Raphadun turned to her. There was something in his eyes she didn't recognize.

  "He's in there..." his voice broke. "Fighting for us..." He said.

  He pointed at the shed.

  "We have to help him!"

  Raphadun ran.

  He crossed the courtyard in seconds. He reached the entrance—what remained of it.

  A mountain of debris. Concrete, metal, beams.

  "Help me clear this!" he shouted, pulling at pieces with his bare hands.

  "He could be our best chance if the Pursuer is really there!" He shouted.

  "Raphadun... Stop it!" Luna's voice cut through the air like a blade. "He is a curse! One day, he could go mad and kill us!"

  Raphadun's hands didn't stop. They kept removing stones, one after another, his fingers already scratched, blood mixing with the dust.

  "I KNOW THAT!"

  The scream came from the depths of his chest—a sound Luna had never heard from her brother. She froze.

  "I KNOW, DAMN IT! I KNOW HE'S A MONSTER, I'M NOT BLIND!"

  He turned to her for an instant, and Luna saw. The tears. The shame. The anger. All of it mixed on that face she had known since birth.

  "BUT... NO ONE FOUGHT FOR US, EXCEPT THEM! EXCEPT OUR PARENTS AND THEIR LOYAL SOLDIERS!"

  The mention of their parents hung in the air like a ghost. Luna felt her chest tighten.

  "Rapha... But..." she tried, but her voice failed. There were no words. There were never words for that.

  "NOT EVEN THE STRONGEST ONES IN THE SAFE ZONE CAME TO HELP US! BRUCE, ALFREDO, MARCOS..." Raphadun continued, the words gushing like blood from an open wound. "NO ONE! TO HELP THE LIGHT THEY WERE WAITING FOR CENTURIES!"

  He beat his own chest with a closed fist.

  "SO... I'LL TAKE THE RESPONSIBILITY!"

  "IF THEY WON'T GO... I WILL!" He shouted.

  Luna opened her mouth to respond, but he didn't let her.

  "HE'S IN THERE, FIGHTING FOR US!"

  The scream echoed among the rubble, among the ruins, among everything that remained of that cursed place.

  "SO IT DOESN'T MATTER IF HE'S A CURSE, IF WE'RE GOING TO DIE! I'M GOING TO MAKE HIM HELP US, BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATTER..."

  His voice broke. The tears fell freely now, carving paths through the dust covering his face.

  "I'M GOING TO SAVE YOU, SISTER!"

  He went back to removing the stones. Frantically. As if each one he removed was one second less away from Empty, one second closer to bringing him back.

  Luna stood motionless.

  Her body wouldn't respond. Her mind wouldn't respond. There were only those words echoing inside her.

  No one fought for us.

  No one came to help us.

  And then, like a punch to the stomach, came the memory.

  It wasn't just any memory. It was the exact moment, years ago, in the Council room. Her father, Andrew, was standing before the House leaders. His face red, the veins in his neck bulging, his voice thundering against the decision to abandon them in the Infernal Zone.

  "IT DOESN'T MATTER!" Her father's scream echoed in her mind with terrifying clarity. "It doesn't matter if it's the Infernal Zone, I'm going there... TO SAVE MY DAUGHTER!"

  The impact was immediate.

  Her legs moved before her brain commanded.

  She ran to the stones.

  She knelt beside her brother, her hands finding the rubble with the same fury, the same urgency, the same pain.

  "YOU IDIOT!"

  Her scream was different from his. It wasn't pure anger—it was anger mixed with love, with desperation, with something that looked very much like acceptance.

  "If he kills us, I swear I'll... KILL YOU!"

  Raphadun stopped for an instant.

  He looked at her.

  And despite everything—despite the exhaustion, despite the fear, despite the blood dripping from his fingers—he smiled.

  A small smile, trembling, wet with tears. But it was a smile.

  "Deal," he said.

  And they both went back to removing the rubble.

  Their hands moved in sync now—not just in the task, but in something deeper. Each stone removed was a declaration. Each grain of dust on their fingers is a promise.

  It doesn't matter.

  Her father's words echoed in Luna with every movement.

  It doesn't matter.

  She didn't know if Empty would survive, and if he survived, would he be their ally, would he trust them, or not?. Didn't know if he really was different. Didn't know if they were making the biggest mistake of their lives or the only right choice.

  But she knew one thing.

  Her brother was there, fighting for her.

  And that, in that moment, was what mattered.

  Inside the abandoned factory, the air was thick, heavy with dark energy.

  Empty had already defeated almost all the curses, leaving only one, stronger one.

  The curse emerged from the shadows.

  Two bodies fused into one. A feminine form, distorted, her face contorted in eternal pain. Another monstrous form, angular. Their hands intertwined—fingers fused in a grip that even death hadn't undone.

  Empty moved.

  The black projectiles flew—spears of darkness. He dodged each one, his body moving at impossible angles.

  One of the shots struck his sword squarely.

  The blade flew from his hands, spinning in the air before falling into the crater's void.

  Empty was unarmed.

  Above, the curse hovered. Its form was silhouetted against the gray sky, the two fused bodies slowly rotating, the hands still intertwined.

  It was prepared for the final blow.

  In the instant the creature dodged, Empty raised his empty hand.

  The darkness answered.

  A new blade manifested in his hand—black as pitch, cold as the void, sharp as regret.

  The movement was so fast it defied the eyes.

  The blade rose in a perfect arc. The blow was devastating.

  The curse fell.

  But it was not defeated.

  Empty moved. He concentrated darkness beneath his feet—exploded in bursts that launched him against the walls, ricocheting like a bullet.

  The curse lunged.

  Empty was no longer there.

  When it looked up, he was above it—hovering, his free hand raised.

  The darkness on the ground answered.

  A stake of shadow erupted from the earth, piercing the creature from below, skewering the two fused bodies, pinning them in the air like an insect in a collection.

  The curse screamed—a sound that was two screams, feminine and bestial, intertwined like the hands.

  Empty leaped.

  The shots came—black projectiles that pierced his armor, tore his flesh, embedded themselves in his body like nails. He didn't dodge. Didn't try. He just kept going.

  He accepted the pain—if that was even pain—and kept going.

  His blade met the creature in the air, shredding it with precise, brutal strokes. Each cut, a liberation. Each blow is an end.

  When the last piece fell, Empty fell too.

  To his knees.

  The dark energy dissipated. He remained there—motionless, exhausted, empty.

  Luna and Raphadun watched from the entrance, their fingers still bleeding. They saw Empty fall. They saw the darkness dissipate. They saw the silence.

  And then they saw the change.

  In the remains of the aberration, something was happening.

  The two hands—permanently intertwined—were still joined. Even after everything, even after death, they hadn't let go.

  The feminine part turned her diluted face toward Empty.

  A voice echoed in his mind:

  "I try to understand when the day was that I lost you..."

  The face became human. Tear-filled eyes. A sad smile.

  Then it dissolved into dust.

  "My name is Aline Lighting..."

  "And please... Set us free..."

  The curse murmured, not aloud, in Empty's brain.

  Too bad she didn't know.

  That he would never understand it.

  And yet, he would do it anyway.