Chapter 2:
The Story of the curse
Now we look into the origin of the horned curse. For those who own Shadow of the Colossus, this is a playback of what you know and the curse's origin can be seen in the end of the game, you just need to pay close attention. I also forgot to mention, Dema has horns that curve upward, Cujak had horns that curve forward, and Yopu has ram like horns. And I'm mentioning this so you have an idea of what the horns look like. Oh, and they wear blackish gray clothing and boots like that guys in the Nico trailer if you've seen it.
The boys sat there, shocked at what they heard. Cujak suddenly asked, "What do you mean origin of the horned curse?" "Exactly what I said, now please, pay attention," Roras said to Cujak, beginning the story.
"Now, our story begins long ago, before you three and I were even born. There was a young man, who was about your age. He had a love whose name was Mono. They loved each other very much, but unfortunately, due to a cruel twist of fate, Mono died by sacrifice. The young man didn't take it to well and was heart broken. And it occurred to him, he remembered the legend of a temple were dwells a being that can control the souls of the dead. But," "But what sir," Yopu asked and Roras, continuing said, "he was warned that the temple was cursed territory and should never be trespassed upon. However, he cared not if was cursed, for love had driven him to go to this place. And love had also driven him to take the one sword that can use the power of light. He, with his mighty steed Agro, traveled to the cursed temple and took Mono with them. After much travel, they finally arrived and when they entered, they came to a grand hallway filled with 16 statues of 16 different creatures. Then, the boy approached the altar and placed Mono on it. It was then he met Dormin, the being who controlled the souls of the dead. The young man pleaded Dormin to bring back the soul of Mono, and he agreed to do so. That was when they struck a bargain." Then Dema asked, "What was the bargain?"
"The bargain was that he was to destroy the 16 statues in the hall." "But how was he gonna do that? He's human, and last time I checked, humans can't destroy statues on their own." "I was just about to say that he was to destroy the incarnations of the statues, which are 16 colossi. And in return, Dormin would bring Mono back from the dead. But, the price for this was heavy and the young man didn't care. With that, he set out to destroy the 16 colossi; Valus the Minotaur, Quadratus the bull, Gaius the knight, Phaedra the horse, Avion the bird, Barba the bearded giant, Hydrus the sea serpent, Kuromori the wall shadowed lizard, Basaran the tortoise, Dirge the sand worm, Celosia the tiger, Pelagia the Sea Monster, Phalanx the Flying Serpent, Cenobia the Lion and brother of Celosia, Argus the warrior, and finally Malus the sorcerer."
With each colossus defeated, he grew more powerful and at the same time, he began to look more demon like." "What do you mean," Cujak asked. Roras explained how the essence of the colossus that absorbed into him made him look more like a corpse, his flesh paler and he clothes little ways torn. After the death of Malus, he truly became possessed. But, what he wasn't aware of, was that the shaman before my master, Lord Emon, was tracking him. And what Emon saw was a cursed boy, doomed to destroy everything. So, he ordered his followers to slay him. When they did, the demon Dormin became resurrected. Then, Emon ordered them to place a seal on the whole temple and took the Ancient sword with them." "What happened to the sword?" "Emon took the sword and threw it from the highest point of the stairway into the pool below. When he did, Dormin became sealed up, at least, that's what he thought." "What do you mean?" Cujak asked. "Well, Mono found a horned, infant child in the empty pool." The three of them had a surprised look on their faces and Dema asked, "So, what happened to them?" "Well, she cared for the child, and when Emon found out about him, he then declared that all horned children were dark omens of destruction and that any child, who bears horns, must be sacrificed." That was what got their attention. They looked shocked and Yopu said, "But, that's just wrong. They couldn't do that to an innocent kid." Roras then continued explaining how he to felt it unnecessary, and called this tradition a curse. Then Dema said, "So, the curse is that all those who follow in the bloodline of that guy grow horns?" "Almost, those who are touched by the spirit of that boy grow horns." Roras corrected.
He then began to explain, "When you three were born however, I foresaw a future for you three, not as evil beings, but saviours." They had no idea what he was talking about, so he then told them how he saw three horned boys walk up to and praying at a stone altar, and their horns vanished. They looked relieved and Dema said, "So, you're saying theirs a way to break the curse?" "There maybe, but the altar is on cursed ground, and no one can go to it anymore, for the bridge that takes you to one of the entrances was destroyed." Then, they looked depressed. "However, he forgot to look at the back of the temple," he said trying to give them a ray of hope, and Cujak asked, "What's at the back of the temple?" "Another entrance," he said. This made them happy and realize that there may yet be hope for ending this curse.
Roras then warned them that it could be dangerous and stood up and walked to an old chest. He opened it and he first took out what looked like a sword and said, "These swords, forged from the finest steel, and blessed by the shamans of old, will prove useful to you. For the sword will yield to the three forms of Dormin." He then handed the swords to Dema, Cujak, and Yopu. Dema unsheathed his first, and saw a regular looking, two handed sword that hadinward curves in the middle. Next, Cujak unsheathed his sword and saw a much thicker blade.Finally, Yopu saw a narrower, longer,hand-and-a-half sword.Roras then began to explain how these weapons will serve them in their task ahead and also informed them the true nature of their task, "You are to return the essence of the 16 colossi to their bodies, but to do this, you must first stab it's vulnerable point, then pray in front of the colossus, granting it life." They looked worried and Dema mentioned that it sounded hard, but Roras gave them confidence and told them he would give them the night to think about this.
Meanwhile, outside the door, and younger girl of 15, Miru, was standing outside. She gasped and placed her hand on her sternum and panted a bit. She looked back at the door and thought, What if they do go? I may never see them again.
Back in the room, Roras then stated, "Be warned, for the colossi have taken new, more deadly forms than before and are filled with more rage than they once were. Should you find them and return their essences, their normal state will return and their rage shall subside." The boys looked at each other for a second and Roras broke the brief and said. "The choice is now yours. Will you three restore peace to this world, or leave it in darkness forever?"
Hard decisions and rough times lie ahead. More to come in chapter 3.