The Hero blinked several times at Pandora's statement. "In your memories? Pandora, how is this possible?"

"I sealed my memories in the void after my death," Pandora answered quietly, still staring off into the distance. "I couldn't deal with them."

Tomix stroked his chin. "Just like Pellow Village was sealed in the void?"

Pandora nodded, turning to face them. "I believe so."

The Hero's eyebrow rose. "Why does everyone keep sealing things in here? This isn't a trash site..."

"It is, in a way."

"Oh," the Hero surveyed their surroundings before their eyes widened. "Pandora, if you've sealed off your memories in here, does that mean you..."

Pandora nodded again. "Yes, sadly. When you set your foot on this very ground, Hero, these memories came back to me." She paused, taking a deep breath before turning to the Soulweaver. "And Tomix?"

"Yes?"

"I have something very important to tell you about Aspar."

Tomix flinched slightly and looked down, the Hero giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "I know what it is Pandora. It's pretty common knowledge. You were the one who released the seven corrupted elemental spirits and I don't blame you for that."

Pandora shook her head. "No, it's something else, although I am grateful for your kindness Tomix. Can you see a big tree around here somewhere?"

Tomix raised his head, examining the treeline until he saw the leaves of one standing above the rest. "That one?"

"Precisely," Pandora replied, looking up at it. "That is where everything started. I had a house under that tree, a small hut where I unleashed woes upon Lore." Her expression fell and she lowered her head, closing her eyes and hunching her shoulders. "…And the place where I died, knowing that my selfishness will bring sadness to the world."

The Hero looked down, doing their best to send comfort through their bond with their SoulAlly. "I'm... sorry these memories came back to you."

Pandora inhaled, raising her head again. "It's alright, I'm stronger now. Pure. You should head to the big tree, to my house, and learn the truth."

The Hero nodded. "Before we go, I have a question. Who were those 'people' that attacked us? They had your mark."

Pandora glanced over her shoulder. "I know, now, who they are. Chaosweavers who worship me because of what I did. They think I released the seven spirits to cleanse the world..."

The Hero cocked their head to one side. "But why are they here? This place is from your memories before you died..."

"I don't know, Hero. Perhaps Chaosweavers from the Pellow Village found their way here?"

Tomix cleared his throat. "Okay guys, time is not on our side, let's go to that tree as fast as possible."

The Hero and Pandora both nodded, with Pandora disappearing back into the cube by the Hero's side. "Lead the way, Tomix."

Making their way to the hut Pandora mentioned wasn't too difficult, despite having to fight several more Chaosweavers, but what was a surprise was finding a Shockwisp with a human face, crowing that his 'Master' was right and that he was meant to delay them. The fight that followed was rather annoying, what with the Shockwisp's tendency to dodge their attacks, but eventually the two of them got the better of him.

The Hero stared down at the puddle of yellow goo on the floor. "He...dissolved…"

Tomix's brows furrowed. "He must have been one of Envy's creations."

Pandora, who had emerged from the cube again at the Shockwisp's defeat, nodded. "This makes sense. Just like he created the other six corrupted elemental spirits."

Tomix's eyes widened. "He what?!"

"I promised that you would learn the truth here, in this house," Pandora turned to indicate one of the walls. "Look."

Tomix and the Hero leaned forwards to see a picture hanging on the wall over the desk. It was of a woman and a child on a green field with a house to one side. The woman had long blonde hair and the child was…purple and black?

Tomix squinted as he read the writing at the top of the drawing. "Mommy and...me? Is that–?

"Aspar," Pandora said quietly.

The Hero's jaw dropped as Tomix turned his head incredulously. "Envy is your son?!"

"I didn't give birth to him, yet I've made him... so yes, he is my son," Pandora replied before inhaling deeply and bowing her head. "A long time ago I was a different person. Selfish, narrow minded and hungry for power. Out of the three of us, I was the worst of my siblings. After our father disappeared, I remember I had an argument with Baltael and left. I founded the Chaosweavers, we were moving from place to place...pillaging villages and destroying towns we stumbled upon on our way. And then I met my future husband. He was the only one who wasn't afraid of me. He was the only one who found good in me..." Her voice broke and her shoulders hunched.

"Pandora?" the Hero asked softly, reaching out towards their SoulAlly as if to try and hug her.

Pandora collected herself and looked up. "I'm fine. You probably don't want to hear about that, let me get to the point. I could not bear a child. My husband went to fight in a war and never came back. The rest of the Chaosweavers had moved on, I had no one else left. And so, I created Aspar by splitting my soul. I loved him very... very much. But he wasn't a human, he was a spirit. We moved to my home town, to Mortem. Over the years, I noticed the look he was giving other children. I knew he was jealous of them. They were laughing, playing with others, eating, smelling... feeling. Once I discovered he killed a few of them, I had to run with him, back to this cabin. His envy only grew. I..." Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. "I... still loved him, even when he was ripping my soul apart and creating his own family of spirits... I believe it is my fault that he is the way he is. I've created him when I was still angry at life for taking my husband and everything away from me. Everything that has happened until now, every monstrosity he has done so far, is because I've wanted a child."

The Hero's expression fell at the devastation on Pandora's face and the sadness that thrummed through their bond. "Pandora…"

Tomix looked down, mind whirling. "W-we should get back to the ship…"

"Yes…we should," the Hero answered quietly as Pandora vanished back into her cube with a sniffle, sending all the love and comfort they possibly could through their bond. The two of them turned and made their way out of Pandora's house, carrying the wood they had collected, back to the ship in silence.

Disclaimer: DragonFable is owned by Artix Entertainment. Dialogue taken from the quest 'Origins of Aspar'.