This chapter is going to be a lot shorter than the others. Next chapter will be longer.
Maya laughed first.
It wasn't a kind laugh. It came out sharp and mocking, like she had heard the dumbest thing in her entire life. She shook her head, still gripping the short blade in her hand. "What is this boy saying? Speaking nonsense. Hey, do you even know what type of curse Tresta has? Where it comes from? What it does to someone over the years?"
She waved the blade toward him, not quite threatening but clearly telling him to back off. "Leave while I'm still asking nicely, kid. You're wasting our time."
Lys didn't answer her. He didn't even look at her for long. His eyes stayed fixed on the strange bow hanging on the wall behind Tresta.
Then, without saying anything to Tresta or Maya, he stepped forward into the room.
Seeing him step forward, both women tensed at the same time.
Maya moved fast, stepping directly in front of Tresta, her body blocking the way. Her grip on the blade tightened again. Tresta's hand shot out, trying to grab Maya's arm.
"Lys, don't…." Tresta started, her voice urgent. "Don't touch it, it's…"
Even though she was telling him not to, Lys reached past Maya and touched the bow hanging on the wall anyway. His fingers closed around the bow.
The moment his skin touched the wood, two white screens flashed in front of his eyes, visible only to him.
[Cursed Object Detected]
[Note: If the Host reaches the threshold of understanding and forms a bond with this object, the active curse affecting others through this bow can be broken]
Then the second message appeared right after.
[Host has not yet reached the threshold of understanding for this object]
Lys lifted the bow off the wall. It felt surprisingly normal in his hands. It had smooth wood, decent weight, nothing special. No pain shot through his body. No dark energy tried to tear into him. It just sat in his hand like any ordinary weapon.
Seeing the scene, the small hut went completely silent.
Tresta stared at the bow in his hands. Her face stayed mostly still, but something in her eyes had cracked open. Disbelief mixed with something older, something that looked a lot like fragile hope she didn't want to feel. Her fingers, which had been gripping the edge of the bed, loosened slowly.
Maya had gone completely still, too. The blade in her hand pointed downward now, forgotten. She looked from the bow to Lys's face, then back to the bow, like she couldn't believe what she was seeing.
Lys held the weapon steadily. He turned it slightly in his hands, examining it more closely. The wood felt warm under his fingers, almost alive, but it didn't hurt him. Then he looked up at Tresta.
"So, this is what made you like this, isn't it?" he asked quietly, but nobody answered him. Both women were just staring at him blankly.
Lys spoke again, "What if I told you I can break you from it? Free you from it completely?" He paused, meeting Tresta's eyes directly. "Would that be enough of a reason to come with me?"
The silence stretched once again, thick and heavy inside the hut.