The Unbroken Curse

The waters swirled about the cavern, forming a towering whirlpool with a calm space in the center. I shook my head, flinging droplets out of my eyes as I searched for Syaoran. There he was; standing on the same root as I was though closer to the sphere that held Sakura. His head was titled back, magic flowing out of his eye. A symbol appeared above his right eye, one I didn't know, but instantly recognized.

That soul is yours! I thought, taking a half-pace forward as the magic continued to leak out of Syaoran's eye. It's something that you, and Sakura-chan, and all the people who love you made together!

And so...

I raised my left hand, holding two fingers out. Magic crackled from the tip of my fingers, surrounding me in a maelstrom of power. I had made a promise the day I arrived in Yûko's shop. I would not use magic, not even when I was on the verge of death. But for someone else...As Kurogane said, that was a different question entirely.

You mustn't lose it!

I snapped my arm out, releasing a stream of magic. The power reformed into millions of symbols, reaching out to surround the symbol leaking from Syaoran's eye. The two magics collided, crackling and resisting each other like a summer storm. My hand began to tremble, threatening to break apart from the strain. I grasped it with my other hand, trying to hold the magic steady. All the while, I could sense the new symbol that was forming at the bottom of the whirlpool. I didn't have to look to know that it was the same symbol that appeared beneath Mokona every time we crossed dimensions.

My hand shook violently, and suddenly the symbol above Syaoran's eye burst apart. I snapped my wrist, severing the connection just in time. The symbols formed of my magic exploded; I threw my hands up in front of my face and shut my eyes. The wave of power passed, and I dared to open my eyes.

A small sphere was floating where the splintered symbol had been, emblazoned with a design which I recognized as the Ying Yang. Syaoran reached out and grabbed the sphere. Slowly, he lowered his hand, turned it over, and opened it. The sphere floated just above his palm, surrounded by rising ribbons of magic. Syaoran lowered his arm, and the sphere dropped to the ground. It rolled along the root towards me, trailing sparks of magic after it. Just before it would have dropped off the root and tumbled into the rushing waters of the whirlpool, I stooped and grasped it. I closed my hand around the sphere, holding his soul close.

Syaoran paused in front of me, and I rose to face him. His eye was blank and emotionless; I suppressed a shudder as I forced myself to meet his gaze, trying to ignore the gap where his right eye had been.

"Syaoran...kun?" I asked tentatively.

The blow came so fast I didn't even have time to think about dodging. Syaoran's kick struck me on the cheek, literally throwing me off my feet. I landed hard on the root, skidding backwards several feet before coming to a stop. I lay there, winded, as he spoke.

"Was that the only feather in this world?" Syaoran asked softly. His voice carried no emotion whatsoever, just a calm certainty that he would do whatever necessary to achieve his goal. It was a tone that sent icy chills down my spine.

Footsteps came towards me, barely audible over the roar of the waters. They stopped next to me, and fingers tightened around my throat, hauling me upwards until I was gazing into Syaoran's cold blank stare.

"Don't try to use magic," he threatened, tightening his grip on my throat to show that he meant his threat. "Your eyes. They're the source of your magic right?"

He laid his right hand next to my eye, and in that moment my heart stopped. In that moment, I knew exactly what his intentions were. I knew what he was about to do. And I knew that it would spell the end of everything.

"I will need them to get the feathers back."

I didn't stop to think. I slammed my hand against his chest, trying to force the half a soul back within him. Maybe there was time to reseal the spell, to make him Syaoran once more. Part of me knew that it was hopeless, but I still had to try...

Pain exploded in my left eye, and I screamed. Blood gushed forth as Syaoran drew his hand away, suddenly releasing the grip he had on my throat. I fell back against the root; a fleeting though passed through my mind to try and run, but I knew that wasn't possible. I was in too much pain and shock to even try to react.

Syaoran grabbed the front of my shirt, dragging me along the root like a rag doll. I couldn't be sure through the pounding of the blood in my ears, but it sounded like the water had stopped. I let out a small whimper of pain, unable to make a move as I struggled to remain conscious. Half of my magic, gone just like that...

All of a sudden it hit me. The words came, floating back to me through the centuries as if the curse was being laid on me now...

But one day, you will, for a particular reason, travel to many and varied places. And when one who bears great magical powers appears before you...

You will put that one to death!

Half of my magic! It wouldn't be enough! All those hundreds of years I had spent, building my power to surpass the one I would meet, all of that, wasted in a single instant. The curse! Maybe I really couldn't break it...

Syaoran lifted his arm, dragging me upwards. I couldn't see, but I could sense his arm reaching out to take my other eye. For a single instant, hope flared in my chest. There was still a way to escape the curse.

"Don't!"

I felt the violent jerk through his arm, wrenching his hand back away from my face. Kurogane.

No! He couldn't stop him now! Not when the curse was so close to being broken. Damn him, why?!

For a moment, I truly blacked out. Then I felt Syaoran drag me up again, felt his teeth closing on my right eye. Maybe he would succeed after all...

Without warning he was yanked away from me, and I crumpled like a puppet whose strings had been cut. Someone caught me before I hit the ground, lifting me up again. No! Again, Kurogane had stopped him. Again, my chance had been wrenched away from me. Only a small light remained; if I could be let long enough to die from blood loss, or perhaps the shock.

Knowing him, that won't happen, I thought as my world swirled into blackness.