As I approached Clovis' laboratory, I double checked on all the necessary ingredients on every step of the way. I was keen to get through this once. I made sure I had plenty, as the travel around the Prairie is as tiring as it is breathtaking, both literally and figuratively. With one last check, everything was now in place. Not a single ingredient was missing.

"Clovis! I'm here!" As soon as I announced my return, the sound of crashing bottles echoed from within the laboratory, followed by almost inaudible grunts of frustration. Shortly, the cloaked woman greeted me outside. "Come in..." she said glumly as she promptly went back inside.

The same stench of the laboratory immediately took over my senses the moment I stepped foot inside. Though the smell was tolerable, it wasn't sort of welcoming either. The lab took quite a make over. Albeit, this one's for the worse. Bottles were shattered left and right, whatever remained could've been a bottle from the other room. Papers were splayed all around, as well as mysterious liquid that sometimes glows whenever something touches it.

I found myself once again at the far end of the laboratory, right where we conducted my blood experiment. This time, it was an even bigger mess than the previous room. The table on the left side was lined up with materials and resources. Though, these too, they were incredibly disorganized it was hard to tell which ingredient was which.

Clovis faced me with an emotionless smile. "Did you manage to bring everything?" "Yes..." I replied with the faintest glint of confidence. I wasn't too proud of the process. All I can say is that I'm waiting that the end would justify my efforts. "Good..." he said in a cold voice, one that brought chills down my spine.

Oddly enough, a part of me was telling me that this wasn't going to end well. However, I am already one too deep into this mess. I've got to see it through, no matter what.

Besides, I've already spent my resources attending this task. I don't want to do something I might regret.

I handed all the ingredients I had on me, and he proceeded to do his work. He moved to the big cauldron situated at a table. Clovis smiled before throwing in the Rune Stone fragment into the water, after which it glowed an intense blue before thickening into a muddy solution. He took the Blue Wolf fur and began grinding it into dust before sprinkling it into the cauldron. He then chopped the Longtail Beast fang in half, extracted the liquid from it and poured the extraction into the cauldron.

He fed fuel to the fire as it burned brighter by the second. As if it were being stirred by an invisible ladle, the solution swirled in the cauldron as it glowed a bright green before becoming a clear liquid. He took a vial from the table, one that held what I think is my blood, and poured it over the mound of dirt. He gently placed the blood dirt unto the clear liquid.

The cauldron rumbled as the dirt melted into the solution. The fire under it was slowly dying as echoes escaped the liquid in the cauldron. Screams of what was possibly hundreds or thousands of people filled my ears.

It rang and it hurt, my hands found themselves covering my ears before I knew what was happening. Soon, I was on my knees, gripping my head as my hands closed my ears. I was sweating hard, and my breathing was incredibly uneven. The darkness that were closing in on my consciousness was gone.

And I didn't even realize that I was blacking out only seconds ago.

I did not know what happened, but the faint smug on Clovis' face meant that things went well. "Hmph. Get up, the potion is done." he muttered once again in a cold voice.

I picked myself up. It wasn't a pretty sight to be seeing a man on his knees.

He held a small vial, adorned with metal thorns. I wonder if he has any designed vials in store for any potion. Do people even have the resources necessary to make intricate patterns for bottles only to be thrown away after use? It seems quite unnecessary to be honest, and a waste of precious resources.

Clovis walked up to me and gave me the vial. With an emotionless glare, he said,"Here, the fruits of your labor." "What is it...?" I asked whilst staring into the contents. I could almost see my reflection on the blood red fluid. "I cannot guarantee, but it is the answer to your curse." "Wait, so it's not the cure...?" Clovis raised an eyebrow at me. "Was that what you've asked? I could've sworn you said you wanted control, not cure..."

I wanted to remember what I've said, but the memory just couldn't surface. Was it control? Was it truly what I've wanted?

Staring into the reflection that was now clearly visible on the blood red vial, it seemed that was truly the case.

Or what I've decided it to be.

I don't know how well my father handled this curse that I now want to get rid of, nor do I know what even my grandfather was thinking.

Again, again and again, I say to myself that I am now alone. In the dark for that matter, with no one to hold my hand and be my guiding light. But this time, I had a choice and my choice is to not back down.

"Well...? Von Zayne?" I couldn't reply. I neither had the guts nor the memory to prove otherwise. "Will this be the answer I seek...?" I whispered.

Clovis merely grunted at what I said. "It seems there is only one way to find out..."

With one last trace of hesitation in my blood, I drank all the liquid in one fell swoop. The taste was unexpectedly sweet, but it had a bitter aftertaste. The potion made me want to throw up as soon as it reached my belly. But I had to endure.

My senses were tingling from that, and I could've sworn I heard Clovis snicker a little bit. I felt a bit dizzy, the same feeling you get from starving yourself under the heat of the Sun. Shaking my head didn't help one bit. It just made the dizziness worse.

Before I even knew, I was slowly fading to black. This time, of all times, I wasn't able to fight back. No matter how much strength I pour into my arms, the darkness just keeps pressing on. Soon, I felt my face hit the warm, moist dirt of Clovis' laboratory.

Σ-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"It's been a while, Von Zayne..." a shrill but familiar voice came echoing from the darkness. I could feel my body move, but again, all I can see is pitch black darkness. Flailing my arms don't work either. "You don't feel at home? Wait, do you even recognize me?"

Yeah, I do...

"Well, isn't that a comforting thought. Let me make it a bit clearer for you and I..." After a moment, a bright light came shining down from above. What was under the light was what intrigued me. A black creature covered with a crystallized exterior, fuming with black mist from the neck that essentially covers it's entire head. On top of what seems to be his physical head is a symbol, a symbol where it appears to be a blackened Sun.

"Hello..." "Hi..." "Oh, don't be so coy now. Come, come, have a seat..." a small wooden chair slowly rose from the darkness below us.

Where are we...?

"In your mind, of course..."

What...?

"Hmm? Oh, you still don't understand? Well I don't blame you. Not everyone can enter their own consciousness, you know."

Why am I here...?

"The same reason you took that potion that Clovis fellow made for you. Now, we can have a talk. Face to face."

I sat down on the fairly comfortable wooden chair. I wasn't certain about what would happen next. Anything can go if this is truly my own mind.

"If this is my mind, how come it's empty...?" "That is because you are lost, Von Zayne..." every time he says my last name, my insides squirm with anger, but I decided to stay quiet for now. I somehow wanted to show whatever this thing was some level of respect. "Lost in what you're supposed to do..." "I am...?" "That's why I've given you glimpses of the future. But alas, the future isn't always set in stone..."

"Just what are you...?"

"I remember telling you this a year ago, but I was unsure if you ever got the point..." it said as a chunk of it's body was cut off and fell unto the darkness below. It fell, deeper and deeper into the abyss.

"Are you... okay?"

"I'm flattered you're concerned, but... This is just how it is... The cycle has come full circle." it droned on as another piece of it's body fell. The creature's body was on the verge of shattering. Piece after piece, all of them fell into nothingness. "But if you must know, I'm part of something bigger... I'm what remained of the dragon... I don't know how I managed to attain a consciousness, though that's what every living creature experiences..."

"The dragon...? You mean, the dragon Sdorica!? I thought that's was just a legend!"

"Sdorica is real, Von Zayne. Just like how the curse you bear is as real as the sky above you..."

"Wait, you mentioned something about a cycle. Tell me what it is!"

"I'd ask you to slow down, Von Zayne, but it seems I'm not one for long..." the creature prepped up to me as it's black smoke began to falter. "Listen, the curse your family bears has finally come full circle. I am going to be complete, the curse will finally be one again. The passing of your father had made it so, the fragment he held is now becoming one in your body..."

That...

That explains why I haven't heard of this... this thing for so long. That explains why my body had been acting strange, why my body is acting like my father's...

"And you're going to have to go through what your father and grandfather had experienced..."

"You don't mean... I'd have to turn into... them...?"

"I have watched you from the darkness of your mind, Von Zayne. As much as I want to spare you the pain, it seems I'm just as powerless as you..."

"Then, what will become of me...? What of my future...?"

"But the answer to that is up there, somewhere, Von Zayne... I don't know what it might be, though I want to think it's because of what you drank back there, what that Clovis fellow made for you.

It made me stronger..."

Somehow, in the confusion of everything, maybe my choices weren't in vain at all. I've felt this feeling before, and I know where I felt it. The very same emotion when I was with Nolva. Or, what I thought it was. Though, the crevasses of my heart say otherwise. The creature's words, the curse's words, they filled me with hope.

A feeling I never thought I would feel in my lifetime...

"Listen, Von Zayne. If you want a future, seize it. Nobody, not the people around you, not the circumstances you are in, not even the world, can stop you from claiming what is rightfully yours. Not even this curse..."

"I don't know why, but I feel better..."

The creature let out a small laugh. "It's hilarious... your fathers did not take this too well. I wonder, if after all this time, you were different from the first lot?"

"I did not know my father, or my grandfather. I did not know what kind of sin they have committed to make them deserving of this fate life has given them. However, I have decided that I won't let my past consume me. Whatever they had failed to do, I shall be the one to do it.

I am not like them..."

"Is that so...? Do not fail your own words, Von Zayne. Though, it seems that is what your heart had decided..."

The creature began floating as the light enveloped it.

"Many people would want to be like their father... You truly are different, Roxas..."

And with that, the creature's black fumes turned into a bright blue flame. It engulfed the creature in it's fire, but it did not scream in pain. Instead, it had accepted it's fate, and it vanished unto the light above me, it's remnants trickling in the darkness, like stars in the night sky, like embers fading into nothingness...

Σ-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Two distinct, but distant voices echoed throughout the darkness. Slowly, an orange light came into view as my eyes opened once again. It was where I left off., Clovis' Laboratory. Or, what's left of it anyway...

I tried sitting up, but something was preventing me to do so. Sweat trickled from my forehead as I realized what my current situation was. I could feel it, magic was doing something to my body. I was bound to a wooden table. I tried not to panic, but my head was spinning. I couldn't mutter anything, no matter how much I tried.

Then, I saw Clovis muttering to himself as he tended to a familiar figure. It was a machine of some sorts, made from what appears to be monster carapaces.

Then, it hit me like a sharp blow to the head. That machine was the same abomination that walked around that night somewhere in Paradise Prairie. It moved like a person, but it's mind was not in the right place. Though I have zero knowledge about these types of things and maybe that I myself am not in the right place to say it, but I do doubt it has a mind of it's own.

It was, after all, an object created by the hands of men. I'm sure it had no plea to exist in this world.

However, mankind is of no exception...

"Clovis!" I barked at him. He did not flinch at all, he merely turned an eye towards me before looking back it his 'work'. For what it was, what I was seeing at that moment was absurd. For some odd reason that I couldn't understand, the abomination seemed to be screaming. It wasn't entirely a scream, but neither was it pleasant to hear.

It, somehow, brought me to tears.

"ENOUGH!"my emotions got the best of me as I cried as I tried to break free from the bindings. There was only so much I could give that my body begged for me to give up. Soon, my right arm flared with pain I never knew. It was different. It wasn't as painful as it normally would, but it just got numb as I struggled. Then, soon enough, there was no more pain, nor any bindings...

There was only the curse, laid bare for the world to see.

I stood up from the table as I took a quick look at my arm. It was ghastly similar to Roger's arm when he went berserk a year ago. Though similar, I was thankful to the heavens that I kept my mind through all of this. The madness of the monster's virus and this curse are two completely different cases.

In the palm of my hand, the mark of the curse glowed brighter.

"Yamitsuki!" yelled Clovis. Yamitsuki appeared out of nowhere, then shed her robe as she revealed who she was. Discarding her mask, the scar on her face was as clear as the dimly lit lamps would show. I took to my blade and drew it from the sheathe I couldn't see. She, in turn, unsheathed the blades on her wrists.

But I couldn't comprehend what happened next.

With a searing pain on my abdomen, I was immediately thrown out of the laboratory, as precisely as one could've done it. As I was flying, everything went by in a flash. There was no unnecessary destruction, nor were there any debris from the lab. I got out clean. However, my body hit the ground harder than when Roger punched me in the gut the same day he went berserk.

I tried to bear the pain as I tried to stand up from where I landed. The only part of my body that didn't ache was my right arm. I tried to look up. My whole body writhed in pain. Yamitsuki was looking down on me, bearing the same emotionless face as Clovis. For someone whose name is intriguingly unique, I frankly do not have the ability to care as of now. As I stood up, the pain already disappeared.

Right now, I am at a loss at what I'm supposed to feel.

I feel great, better than I was before. Like I've finally broken free from the invisible chains that had been keeping me down throughout my whole life. However, at the same exact time I'm feeling this liberation, I felt doomed.

I felt like I was bringing destruction to humanity. Like I was some sort of planned harbinger that would bring damnation to everyone around me. But, as I formed my numb fingers into a tight fist, the blackened crystals encasing my arm gleamed with the Sun's radiance.

Even in the midst of the empty, endless abyss, there will always be one ray of hope that would allow us to move forward.

That was the message given to me by the curse.

The same curse that had damned my fathers up until now.

"You're not escaping so easily, Von Zayne..." Yamitsuki said with a slight shrug. It was obvious that she was not entertained, nor was she willing to draw her weapons against me. But she did. I knew from that point on, that this fight was a futile one. Though, one that cannot be avoided.

Either way, I'm not willing to submit myself for experiments.

"That's fine... I'll just fight my way out..." as I said as I took a stance. My body was on fire, but the pain was not so bad. Only the numbness kept it from getting worse. I heard her sigh in anticipation and drew her wrist blades. Then, she sprouted pitch black wings, stemming from her back. Stretching her wings, she took flight. The gale from her flight was not a prairie breeze. It was enough to make me lose my balance, but only slightly. Feeling the wind slowly dissipate, I looked up to see where she went. As expected, I didn't let my guard down. I fought Longtails before, but I doubt they're as close as this. A faint shadow enveloped me as I raised my arms, readying to block.

It was time to see what this curse had done to my body.

As if time slowed down, I could clearly see her descent. She still bore the same emotionless expression. She raised her right arm as she slowly descended towards me. I dodged to the right. Pushing my left arm forward, she dodged my jab in the spur of the moment. She balanced herself gracefully and continued flying. Her face seemed shocked.

My senses had returned to where they were.

"What's wrong?" I asked her out of the blue. It took her a moment to hear my voice, yet she shook her head and answered anyways. "How...?" For a while, I didn't know what she was talking about. Looking at myself, there was nothing peculiar except that one moment where everything was at a snail's pace.

Was that the curse? It had to be. There would be no explanation other than that.

Pain surged through my body. It wasn't as if I had expected it, but it came. Before I knew, I was grasping my own heart and cold sweat trickled down my face. I was inevitably gasping for air. However, I had to keep calm. There was no other choice.

I looked back at Yamitsuki as I wiped the sweat off of my forehead. She seemed disgusted. Like a foul taste had just landed on her mouth, she frowned at me. "You're not escaping..."she said as her frown became a cold stare.

I saw her wings stretch before launching herself towards me. I had no choice but to face her head on. My hands miraculously met hers, grasping her fists as her arm blades tried to scrape my own arms. She was trying to overpower me. I yielded and stepped right, she flew right past me without any notion of stopping. She didn't crash unto the rock and dirt, but instead realigned herself. She flew up once more, and I was left on the ground, bracing myself against the strong wind. The dust had almost settled as I looked up. I could only see her silhouette against the bright Sun. She made her descent in a flash. I had no time to step back. I ducked and threw my right fist into the air. I felt a sudden impact as I saw her body collide with my fist. In that same moment, I felt her blade slash my right cheek. I embraced the pain. It was time to end this.

With a swift motion, I turned my body and punched the right side of her torso. Immediately bringing my right arm around, I elbowed her to the ground.

"That... strength..." she coughed as she laid there on the grass. I placed one foot on one of her hands. She yelped in pain as I stomped my foot unto her back. "I'm taking my leave..."

"Not so fast, Von Zayne..." Clovis came out of the unscathed laboratory, wearing a somewhat victorious grin. "It seems that the severity of the curse has lessened after taking my potion." As irritated as I am, he was right. Looking at my right arm, the crystals are only encasing my arm. It's not painfully coming out of me like spikes, it's only numbing the pain. "I have but one question. Do you still feel pain...?"

To be honest, it didn't hurt like it used to. It isn't as bad to what I am used to. Reluctantly opening my mouth to speak, I answered, "No...". I'm sure being numb is different from being in pain. Clovis sighed loudly. "Would you kindly get off of Yamitsuki? Your victory is already evident and I am itching to get back to work." And I did what I was told.

She stood up, now looking quite unfazed from her bruises. A black pool suddenly manifested under her. And with it, came the black hands. The same hands that had dragged the abomination down into itself. The hands pierced themselves unto Yamitsuki, fading into the pool as her breathing became normal again. I looked at Clovis as he retrieved the black pool with a wave of his hand.

"Life Magic. Now if you'll excuse us..." Yamitsuki's wings disappeared and, in turn, she did as well. "I do not know why you are so frustrated at me, but rest assured that we will never meet again..." He withdrew his cloak with a wave and walked back inside.

I was left outside, wondering what I shall do next.

Σ-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It has been exactly three days since I went to Clovis' laboratory...

The curse isn't so bad now. Sure, I still had the occasional pain embedded within my heart, but after all these years it's finally tolerable. Though, I still had to figure out a way to fully control it. What Clovis gave me was not full control but a painkiller, more or less. The crystals that encased my right arm had vanished, but I expect them to return every once in a while. On the brighter side, I am now able to absorb soul energy by will. With this, I am able to heal myself without worry. Though, that is the only control I have on the curse. However, I still feel somewhat guilty about taking the energies of living beings just for a wound. I'm sure I'll find a way around that.

On an unrelated note, Corona is getting up to speed quite fast. David and the others were doing absolutely fine, even without me. "It's okay, Roxas. We understand your situation." David reassured me as the rest of the team gave me their warm smiles. "We're going to be fine, Roxas. Go do what you need to do." Armin added. "Are you sure, guys? I mean I can come back if you guys want and-" "No need to worry about us, brother." Jacob said with a unnatural smirk on his face. To be frank, smiling doesn't suit him very well. They all gave a thumbs up as they continued to do their 6th house.

All of Corona seemed pretty content with their lives. Even those who were completely devastated were smiling happily.

Is this what they mean?

I have contemplated over this the night in which I drank the potion Clovis gave me. After all that, I had nowhere else to go. Besides David and the others, I had no other options.

Except, of course, the military recommendation the Officer in Training gave to me the day before.

I have lived a dangerous life up to this point, and whatever I do, danger always comes up whenever I least expect it. To embrace the peaceful life mother wanted me to have, it was merely a dream. More or less.

If I was going to be thrown into battle every now and then, I might as well embrace the fight. I needed to be stronger, to protect the people that matter to me.

For the first time in my life, I felt that my decisions were now meaningful...