Spirit Game

"Will this really work?" Rain thought to himself as the Ebizo soldiers led him to the throne room to meet Lord Izumi.

Rain held the 'thing' Lord Izumi wanted most, granting him an audience with him. They couldn't kill him because he possessed the item that could literally save their lives.

Everything happened so fast, and before Rain knew it, he had found himself on his knees inside the throne room, with Lord Izumi's overpowering presence bearing down on him.

"My soldiers said you have what we wanted the most," Lord Izumi's voice boomed.

Rain swallowed hard, his throat dry. "T-that's right."

"And how exactly do you know what we want, boy? Choose your words wisely, for depending on your answer, you might not live to see the next moment."

Rain was actually grateful to be on his knees; his legs felt too weak to support him, and he might have embarrassed himself by collapsing. "I . . . I know why you left the ocean and came here. All of you .

. . you're under a curse, and you're searching for the creature that cursed your clan."

Silence filled the room as the Ebizo soldiers exchanged uneasy glances. Lord Izumi rose from his throne and approached Rain, his gaze piercing.

Rain's spirit wavered under Izumi's penetrating eyes, but he stood his ground, though he couldn't move due to fear.

"Leave us," Lord Izumi commanded.

The Ebizo guards quickly exited, leaving Rain and Izumi alone.

"Now . . . who told you about the curse, boy?"

"I-I . . . I don't think that's important right now. The fact that I have what you want should be your immediate concern."

"You came here preaching about what we wanted, but you haven't shown me anything yet."

Rain pulled out a small vial from his inventory, and bravely met Izumi's gaze. "This is what you've been searching for."

Izumi's eyes locked onto the vial in Rain's hand. Inside was a dark liquid. One look and he knew it was what he had sought for years. The strange curse consuming him reacted to it.

"It's not a sickness but a curse that can only be lifted by the one who cast it. This vial contains part of the one who cursed you. One drop can heal you and one vial can heal thousands of your clan," Rain explained.

Izumi smirked, but beneath he was shaking to get his hands at the vial. "Many have come to me presenting things they claimed would cure me and my clan. They all left without their heads."

Rain gulped.

Though Izumi felt this was indeed what he had been searching for, he wanted to be sure. He wasn't impulsive and always level-headed. But right now, it took everything he had not to leap for the vial.

Izumi rose and revealed his body beneath his robe. "Do you see this, boy?"

Rain's eyes widened in shock at the numerous barnacles covering Izumi's skin. Some parts of his body were turning into stone.

"This is the curse my entire clan has suffered for almost a century. Children, the elderly, no one is spared. It's a slow-acting curse that turns you into stone over time. No one can tell when the curse will strike or when the symptoms will first appear.

"This curse has ravaged my entire clan. My wives, sons, and daughters have all been turned to stone. We face not only the slow annihilation of the curse but also the looming threat of neighboring kingdoms.

"Gathering able soldiers, I ventured into these wastelands to find the one who placed this curse. With little time left and my clan facing doom, our entire existence hangs by a thread as we speak . . . So that's why . .

. you must understand that I would be greatly angered if what you're saying isn't true."

Rain didn't say anything. He just tossed the vial to Lord Izumi. "Test it, then."

Izumi grabbed the vial quickly. He couldn't believe the boy would just give it to him just like that. The vial in his hand pulsed, and blood spurted from his mouth. He quickly wiped it away as Rain spoke.

"Don't worry. It's not poison. You could have one of your guards try it first . . ."

Rain didn't finish his sentence since Lord Izumi already opened the vial and dropped the liquid into his mouth.

. . .

. . .

The room held its breath.

Izumi tilted the vial, letting a single drop fall onto his tongue. The drop shimmered with an eerie black glow as it made contact with his mouth.

Immediately, Izumi's entire body began to glow black, the dark luminescence spreading outwards from his mouth and cascading over his form like a wave.

The barnacles that had clung stubbornly to his skin, slowly turning him into stone, began to disappear. The grotesque growths shrank and dissolved, revealing healthy skin beneath.

Izumi's haggard face, once lined with the marks of suffering and age, smoothed out. His eyes, previously sunken and lifeless, now sparkled with vitality. He appeared younger, his form straightening, his posture regaining the strength of a warrior in his prime.

Izumi couldn't believe it. Tears welled up in his eyes, glistening in the dark glow that still surrounded him. He looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers, marveling at the absence of pain and the presence of life coursing through his veins.

"For so many years . . ." His voice cracked with emotion, the words trembling on his lips. "I thought I would die, and my clan would perish with me. I thought that there's no longer any hope . .

. and yet . . ."

He turned his gaze to Rain, his expression a mixture of profound gratitude and disbelief. Slowly, with a dignity that spoke of his deep respect and appreciation, Izumi bowed deeply to Rain.

"Thank you," he said, his voice choked with emotion. "I owe you my life. And the lives of my clan."

Rain knelt there, feeling the overwhelming relief that their plan had succeeded. His heart swelled, then it crushed. He couldn't afford to think about what might have happened if Eve had deceived him.

The consequences were too dire to contemplate!

"You don't owe me anything, Lord Izumi," Rain finally spoke, his voice steady despite the turmoil of emotions swirling inside him. "For I have my own agenda."

Lord Izumi straightened, his eyes fixed intently on Rain. "Agenda?"