All good stories start at the beginning, so I guess that's where I should begin mine.
I believe that I first obtained this curse on top of the Mars Lighthouse. We had just slain the Doom Dragon only to find out who it really was. I knew who they were before we started, but I couldn't stop myself. Piers and Mia were trying their best to heal Jenna's parents and my father, but they couldn't do it. Felix then decided to light the beacon before we forgot. There was a violent explosion following the lighting of the beacon. We had to get out of there quickly. I decided to be last and made sure everyone else got out safely. I shouldn't have, but I did. Felix and I were the only ones remaining on the aerie. Everyone else took the elevator. I had the teleport lapis, and we were going to meet them at the bottom. However, a small, red sphere caught my attention. The Mars Star somehow was on the floor next to me. It called to me, somehow, and I picked it up. Felix ran up to me and told me to cast the spell. I looked down; the star was gone.
Needless to say we made it out in time. All four lights converged over Mt. Aleph, and the golden sun was formed. Mt. Aleph disappeared into the ground, and the village of Vale went with it. Everyone was safe, which is what mattered.
We started immediately on the rebuilding of our town. We started far to the south of our old town. We thought the area around Mt. Aleph shouldn't be built upon for it was sacred. Instead, we built it at the foot of the mountains halfway between Vault and Loho, near the beginning of a river. Sheba, Ivan, Mia and Piers stayed a little while to help us, but soon left. Mia went back to Imil: Ivan to Kalay, Sheba to Lalivero, and Piers to Lemuria.
The village didn't take that long to complete, with many skilled psynergists on our side, it only took about two months before the village was finished. It was finally over. No more rushing to stop the bad guy, no more rushing before the world froze over, I could finally rest. I had peace, tranquility, and my best friends. You would think that I was happy. But I wasn't.
Some unknown force inside me made me restless. I guess you could call it wanderlust. Even before the adventure, I always felt myself caged in the walls of Vale. Even though the journey was very rushed and full of anxiety, I never felt more alive. I wanted to go back and revisit everywhere and see the places that Felix traveled through as well. I didn't want to stay. But I never voiced this to anyone. The feeling kept growing stronger and stronger and the urge to leave kept growing stronger and stronger.
The pent up feelings made me sick. I felt weak and debilitated; I had little energy. My friends tried to help me recover, but to no avail. They had no idea what was wrong, but I did. It was the fourth day of my illness that I decided to act upon it. In the middle of the night I took my Sol Blade and the teleport lapis that still resided with me and left. No note or warning, I left. At first, I didn't know where to go, so I decided to go to the Venus Lighthouse, my favorite place.
Maybe it had something to do with my being a Venus adept, but I liked it here. I felt some sort of peace here that I felt nowhere else, not even at my home in Vale. The moment my feet touched the aerie, I was cured. I was free to go wherever I wanted to, and nothing was stopping me from doing just that. Except sleep. It was still nighttime, and even though I was back to my old self I was still tired.
There was an entrance back into the lighthouse from the aerie. It was tucked away, behind the stairs that lead to the beacon. I had wanted to explore it after we stopped Saturos and Menardi, but circumstances being as they were, we didn't have time. I figured now was the perfect opportunity. Passing through the hallways of familiar architecture made me remember when we passed through here for the first time. Of how Garet was deathly frightened of the sand waterfalls; I always thought they were very cool. Ivan always felt on edge in the lighthouse, like he was being forced downwards.
The architecture was similar in this wing to the rest of the lighthouse, but it felt very different. There weren't bloodthirsty monsters at every turn, nor were there puzzles to solve. But, it was very straightforward. One hallway lead to another, with no deviation until I came to a certain hallway with strange markings on the wall. I hadn't seen anything like it before, but it was translated for me inside my head. It was the power of the Golden Sun that was translating it for me, but I didn't know yet that I had it.
"Only the greatest of the earth wielders may pass, with the wisdom of men in his possession."
I had heard something like it in the Mars Lighthouse, about how men using wisdom ruled the earth. Please. Most of the men I've met weren't exactly as wise as these ancient scriptures make them out to be. Only the adepts, really, seemed to be on the right track, and not easily corrupted by petty things such as life, money, and power. There were exceptions of course. Alex and Maha being two.
It was at that moment that my fatigue got the best of me, and I inadvertently leaned against where the scripture was. Only, I didn't hit the wall, I kept on going. It figures that the scripture meant me.
I was on the floor, only in a different room. A VERY different room. It was a bedroom with dark brown carpeting, sand colored walls, and green chairs and a bed. Behind me was a door with a knob, not the wall that I fell through. There was also a closet and night table. I looked into the closet and was amazed. It was a walk-in closet with just about any outfit imaginable in it. The magic of the Venus Lighthouse never ceased to amaze me.
I just wanted to crash at that moment. So, I set my Sol Blade against the wall (I didn't bring armor with me, foolish, foolish Isaac), put the lapis on the night table, stripped to my boxers and went to sleep. The bed was very comfortable. I figured whoever lived here wouldn't mind my sleeping in here for just one night.