The static sound slowly became so low that a whisper was louder. The glitch pendant was muting the system's obnoxious voice which, I admit, is pretty great. No more cosmic taunting voice in my head.
The downside? Now I could actually hear myself think without any interruptions. And my thoughts were currently just wandering.
Kaelen walked ahead, his shadow flickering around him like a moody smoke. He was too quiet, too contained. The memory of his childhood pain that I saw through the telepathic bond, still gave me shivers.
It made him feel… less like a cardboard villain and more like a traumatized one. Which, of course, was even more annoying.
"So," I said, kicking a pebble at his armored back, making a satisfying clink.
"About your cure. Let's unpack that, shall we? You need my scars? My magic? My soul? Spit it out, Prince Charming. Because the last time someone told me about a 'cure' involving me, it usually meant I was about to become an ingredient in a very bad potion."
He didn't turn stop. His silence was even more annoying than his usual snappy comebacks. The telepathy was gone, thank the gods (or whatever cosmic entity hated me less than the System), so I couldn't just scream into his brain. I had to use my actual voice.
"The Temple believes," he finally said, his voice flat, emotionless, "that your curse-breaking abilities can permanently purge my shadow form."
"And you believed them?" I snorted, the sound obviously sarcastic.
"The same Temple that conveniently forgot to mention your stepmother was a magical sadist? The same Temple that basically turned you into a living weapon? That same Temple that just tried to capture me for 'high treason'? Bold strategy, Prince. Very bold. They tell you to jump, do you ask 'how high?'"
"I had no choice," he snapped, turning around. His eyes glowed red faintly at the edges, a familiar warning sign—emo hour was officially back.
"The curse is eating me alive, Chainbreaker! Every transformation… it's harder to come back! It demands more! It's like a hunger that never ends, and I am constantly fighting not to be consumed by it! I can't live like this, knowing I could lose myself, become a monster without any warning!"
His voice was raw with a desperation I hadn't heard before. It was a crack in the perfect princely facade.
I came closer, my own scars pulsing with a sympathetic ache. My anger flared, but it was mixed with a grudging understanding. I knew what it felt like to have your body betray you, to be marked by magic, to feel like your very existence was a ticking time bomb.
"And you thought hunting me was the answer?" I countered, my voice was low but intense.
"Newsflash: breaking curses isn't a spa treatment, Kaelen. It's messy. It's painful. It costs." I gestured at my scars. "It costs. A lot."
His eyes were burning with a quiet resolve as he met my gaze. "I'm aware," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "But I'll pay anything. Any price just to be free."
"Even mine?" My challenge of a question hung in the air like a weak thread connecting us in the shadowed forest.
Even the forest held its breath. The only sound was the faint rustle of leaves in a breeze that wasn't there. For a moment, I thought he might actually say it. Admit that my life was a fair price for his freedom.
With a sudden shimmer of light, Eris materialized. Perched on a low-hanging tree branch like a crazy owl. She looked very bored.
"You too are so dramatic!" she drawled, in a melodious sigh. "But honestly, the tension is so thick I could cut it with a dull butter knife." She tossed perfect red apple at my head. "Eat something. You're HANGRY . Always with the hangry."
I easily caught the apple reflexively. It felt solid, then suddenly turned to fine gray ash, crumbling through my fingers. "Really, Eris?" I deadpanned, glaring at her as I dust my palm.
"Oopsies. Forgot I'm dead. Still working out the kinks in this whole 'spectral' thing." She grinned, her ethereal form shimmering.
"So! How's the pendant working? Cute, right? Totally stole it from the god's nightstand while he was napping. He's such a heavy sleeper, bless his soul."
Kaelen's sword was out in a heartbeat, its tip at her translucent throat. "You serve the god of chains," he growled dangerous. "Why help us? Why interfere?"
"Serve is such a needy word, darling." Eris flicked the blade away with a dismissive wave of her hand. It passed through her like mist, doing absolutely nothing. "I'm more of a… freelancer. A neutral enthusiast. And you—"
She floated towards me, her gaze piercing, seeming to look right through me, into the core of my being. "—are the gods' favorite mistake. Their very best screw-up."
I scoffed, crossing my arms. "Flattering won't get you anywhere today, Eris. Now, explain yourself. What are you talking about?"
"You didn't just break Contracts, Sparkie," she said, her voice becoming serious for the first time. "You defied them. You defied the very essence of their power, the foundational magic of this world. The scars? They're not a side effect of your power. They're a brand. The gods marked you as their nemesis. Their own little chaos magnet. Cute, right?"
My stomach dropped like a stone. The air felt thin. "You knew," I whispered, the realization chilling me to the bone. All those years. All her lessons. "All those years training me—you knew the gods would come for me. That this was my destiny."
"Knew? Honey, I counted on it." Her eyes, ancient and weary, met mine. "But I died too soon. Got caught in a petty ambush. Left you half-baked, Sparkie. My bad. You were meant to be the master key, the ultimate game-breaker."
Kaelen looked determined as he stepped forward, his sword still in hand. "How do we break the bond?"
Eris snorted. "You don't. Not like a normal Contract. This bond is a leash. The system wants you to merge, to become its shiny new puppet, a single, powerful entity it can control for its own delightful purposes. But!"
"The pendant is a workaround. So mute the system, break the rules, screw with its grand plan, yadda yadda. Just don't… die doing it. That would be messy."
She nodded towards the pendant hanging around my neck. "It's buying you time. But the System won't like being ignored."
____
[Glitch Pendant: 45 minutes remaining.]
____
The muffled text flickered on the pendant itself, a defiant rebellion against the System.
"That's it?" I glared at her, utterly unimpressed. "No secret weapon? No grand 'here's how to kill a god and save the world' pep talk? No super-power-up from your ghost self?"
Eris winked, her smile returning, sharp and mischievous. "You're the Chainbreaker, Zahara. You don't need a pep talk. You don't need a weapon. You are the weapon. Break something." Her form shimmered, grew translucent, and then she vanished, her laughter echoing after she was gone.
Kaelen stared at the empty space where she'd been, his shoulders slumping slightly. "She's insufferable."
"Takes one to know one," I muttered, fiddling with the Glitch Pendant. Its cool metal against my skin was a constant reminder of the chaos Eris had just dumped on us.
"So. The system's a leash, we're its dogs, and the only way out is to chew through the chain before it chokes us."
"Yeah, if you put it so poetically," Kaelen conceded, an almost appreciative note in his voice.
"I'm a poet now? Well, add it to my resume. Right under 'professional disaster' and 'unwilling prince-sitter.'" I sighed, running a hand over my tired face. "So, what's the first step in this glorious 'breaking everything' plan?"
The pendant pulsed, its light flickering brighter, then dimmer. The system, muffled but persistent, managed to push through the Glitch Pendant's interference, a new quest flashing between us.
____
[New Quest: Locate the Shattered Spire.]
[Reward: Answers.]
[Penalty: Eternity as the god's chew toy.]
____
Kaelen raised an eyebrow, something that looked like actual amusement crossing his face. "Chew toy?"
"Your face would make a great squeaky toy," I shot back instantly, unable to resist. The thought of him as a chew toy was honestly, hilarious.
He sighed, running a hand through his perpetually perfect dark hair. "We need to find the Spire."
"And do what? Crash another Temple? Set another village free?"
"No." His gaze met mine, stormy and resigned, but with a new, quiet determination. "We end this."
As we stood there, the weight of the new quest, the shocking revelations, and the lurking threat of the System settling between us, my mind, for a brief, awful moment, went back to the last quest. The one the System had given before Eris muted it.
____
[New Quest: Kiss your enemy to unlock the truth.]
____
I looked at Kaelen. He looked at me. The memory of the message flashed in both our minds... impossible. The tension between us now was a silent, mutual understanding.
"No." My voice was flat, a promise.
"Never." His was equally firm, equally disgusted.
The pendant, as if sensing our defiance, glowed hotter, pulsing with what felt like intense, annoyed magic. A single, final message flickered before the mute settled back in.
[Fine. Suffer.]
And suffer, I thought, was definitely the right word for whatever came next. Lyra, my healer friend, chose that exact moment to appear, breaking the tense silence.
She raised her hands in a sign of surrender. Her face a mixture of apology and glee.
"Sorry to interrupt the… whatever this is. But the Temple's offering a lot of gold for your head, Z. Also, hi!"
Kaelen's shadow surged, just a flicker, but enough to show the fury in his eyes.
"Traitor."
Lyra just grinned, a wide, unapologetic smile. "Nah. I'm just expensive."