Curses are not born of matter nor of the laws that govern nature; instead, they are the crystallization of emotional residue, resentment, pain, and the decay of existence itself."AHAHAHAHAHA~!"
They seek neither balance nor reason, but rather the expansion of chaos and the distortion of the living.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡KLA-SHWW-¡KHRA-ZTT!-BRRRR-KABOOOOMMM...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
... Therefore, when a curse reaches a conscious form, its mere breath contaminates the reality around it.
"Open up, break, fall, die!"
As a result, in the forest clearing, that aberrant nature unleashed itself in a hail of uncontrolled destruction.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ZWWWWUUUUSH-FROOOOOSHHH-CRACK-KRRR~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
At that moment, in that place, Goldie lunged forward in a frenzy, breaking the sound barrier and releasing the unstable mass of divine light and dark miasma she carried between her hands in a sudden blast.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡KABOOOOOOOM-BOOOOOOM-SHHHHWWWWWRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
As she separated her palms, the contained energy erupted into a continuous volley of fission projectiles that collapsed and cracked space in their wake, shattering the ground in a series of chain explosions.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ZWWWWUUUUSH-SWWWWWUUUUUUUUH-VRRRRRRR...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
However, in response, the Great Fire Spirit, Keahi, utilizing his compact form, propelled himself off the rocky bed like a streak of blue lightning, zig-zagging at a dizzying speed between the energy blasts that scorched the earth millimeters from his armor of polished basalt.
"HAHAHAHAHA!!"
Nevertheless, seeing her shots being dodged, the hybrid accelerated her onslaught even further.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡SHRRRR-FZZZZZ-GONNNG-SRAAASH...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Thanks to that, mid-movement, the tissue of her left arm underwent a grotesque mutation as meat and cursed cloth fused together, elongating her fingers into claws of solid, extended shadows that swept through the air in a lethal arc.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡DUSH-SZZZZ-¡KRRR-CHAAK!-PLASMMM...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Immediately, a series of claws was unleashed omnidirectionally...
"Trapped! I have you, I have you! AHAHAHA!!"
However, Keahi, reading the trajectory with absolute reflexes, executed a spin on his own axis in midair, dodging the shadow blades by a hair's breadth before bouncing off the trunk of a charred tree to reposition himself, evading the attacks.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡THUMP-CRACK-KRRRR-SRAAAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Energy is neither inherently good nor evil; it simply is—a neutral force that reacts and alters according to stimuli or the manner in which it is shaped.
(I have no choice but to go on the defensive!!)
However, it can never act incongruously with the essence that composes it.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡SFFFFFWWWWWWWWWW-FROOOOOOOOOOO-GHOOOOO~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
While the natural energy that Keahi embodied naturally focused on giving and sustaining life regardless of the method, cursed energy sprouted directly from negative emotions.
"AHAHAHAHA! There is no order! There are no rules!"
No matter how hard one tried to channel it, its essence remained inherently harmful; even if someone attempted to use it to heal or restore, the result would never be real life, but rather a harmful, corrupted alteration.
"There are only loose pieces!! AHAHAHAHAHA~~!!"
And in Goldie's case, that harmful essence collided head-on against the Great Spirit's vitality.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡KRAAA-BOOOOOOM—KRRRRRRRR-ZTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
The maddened child continued her unbridled siege.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡DUSH-DUSH-DUSH-¡KRRR-CHAAK!-PLASMMM...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
As she moved through the air, the mass of miasma on her arm mutated once more, unleashing whips of dark matter that drove themselves into the ground and bounced off at impossible angles.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ZWUUUUUUUU-GHOOOOO-FSSSHHHHHHHHH~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
In turn, each impact with Keahi's clean heat left a corrosive stain that degraded stone and withered the surroundings, forcing a harmful alteration onto everything it touched.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ZWWWWUUUUSH-¡THUMP!-CRACK-KRRR...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
On one hand, Keahi moved like a flash of blue flames, utilizing the pulse of his thermal thrusters on his heels and elbows to shift directions milliseconds before impact.
"¡¡¡!!!"
Bending his knees, dipping below the margin of the shadow claws, and gliding across the dry magma, he maintained a precarious distance...
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡THUUUUUUM-CRASHHH-BOOOOOOM-SPLASH...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Forced to dance on a thin line, Keahi kept dodging.
"HAHAHAHA! Break, bend, change! LOOK HOW IT CHANGES, IT DOESN'T CHANGE!! AHAHAHAHAHA~!!"
However, on the other hand, Goldie arched her back mid-flight, forcing her wings of cursed cloth to multiply into dozens of secondary appendages that began to corner the Great Spirit from every angle.
"Run, run, run! Ha, ha, ha!! How fun it is to chase!"
Yet face-to-face with the relentless storm of dark appendages and unstable fissions, Keahi kept thinking.
(It seems that reflection ability is even worse than I imagined!!)
Limiting himself strictly to defense, the Great Spirit turned his compact body into a streak of blue fire, buying time and banking his entire survival on his sheer movement speed.
(If I attack her, the damage reflects back to me...)
As a result, he zig-zagged between the miasma stakes, grazed the earth at impossible tilts, and used thermal bursts to launch himself through the air before the cloth claws could corner him.
(... And if I heal myself to survive, she also regenerates in the exact same way!)
As the battle progressed, Keahi shifted his strategy, avoiding dealing damage altogether; instead, he only counterattacked with a brief spark when an impact became unavoidable.
(Every benefit I try to grant myself is shared, but every harm falls on me alone...!)
Because of that, Keahi was forced to constantly channel his own natural energy, flowing the vital pulse that composed his core to continuously regenerate the damage from the battle.
(... If I attack, I hurt myself... If I act passive, I will be destroyed...)
In the middle of that dizzying evasive dance, Keahi pulled back his flames.
"... Wait."
At that moment, an idea crossed his mind...
(The burns that her own steam and my bursts caused her...)
And to test it, he reduced the flow of his fire to a dense, steady blue glow, adjusting every movement to avoid wasting a single spark while zig-zagging through the rain of attacks.
(She is not a creature of rock nor a magma spirit like me... In her origin, her physical vessel is composed of straw, fabric, and dry fibers.)
A claw of shadow brushed past his basalt helmet.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ZWWWWUUUUSH-SWWWWWUUUUUUUUH-VRRRRRRR~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Nevertheless, flexing his torso at an impossible angle, the Great Spirit dodged the blow by millimeters, letting the cutting air pass right by him.
(She is a voodoo doll—a straw body sustained by curse and divinity!)
It was in that fraction of a second that he finally realized...
"AHAHAHAHAHA! Make me burn more! HAHAHAHAHA!!"
Passing mere inches from Goldie, he observed the trail of his own flames scorching the girl's skin.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡SFFFFF-ZUT-ZUT-SRAAAK-KRRRR-VREEE...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Even though she healed almost instantly, the fire destroyed her with brutal severity during that tiny fraction of time.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡KLA-SHWW-¡KHRA-ZTT!-BRRRR-KABOOOOMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
She was not a magma creature nor a fire spirit like him.
"If that's the case..."
Her original body was made of straw and cloth.
"Then I will gamble!"
A flash of certainty lit up Keahi's gaze as he bounced off the air after dodging a fist that shattered the ground.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡GHOOOOOO-VUUUUUUUUUUUM-BZZZZZZOOOOOM...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Resolved to stake everything on a single burst of speed, Keahi made his flames roar to their absolute limit.
"ABOMINATION, LET US SEE WHO IS CONSUMED FIRST!!"
He knew that every second of exposure to the damage reflection brought his own avatar closer to collapse, but if he managed to burn her faster than her soul could endure, victory would be his.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡ZWWWWUUUUSH-SWWWWWUUUUUUUUH-BOOOOOM~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Transformed into a blue comet cleaving through space, the Great Spirit launched himself head-on toward the little girl, leaving a trail of glowing magma in his wake.
"AHAHAHAHA! THAT'S IT! FASTER, FASTER!! AHAHAHAHAHA~!!"
In response, Goldie beat her miasma wings and unfurled her claws, hurling herself into the collision with a maniacal laugh that shook the area.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡KLA-SHWW-¡KHRA-ZTT!-BRRRR-KABOOOOMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
As a result, half the forest was consumed by a tide of fire and destruction as they collided in a brutal impact, pulverizing the earth beneath their feet.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡THUUUUUUM-CRASHHH-BOOOOOOM-SPLASH...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
Thus, in the midst of the destructive spark, both forces intertwined in an indiscriminate close-quarters brawl.
"Burn, damn it! Burn until nothing is left!"
However, within that very nature that Keahi was trying to incinerate lay an extremely special origin.
"AHAHAHAHA! YES! YES! YES!! MORE!! AHAHAHAHAHA~!!"
Straw dolls had never been an ordinary curse.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡SHRRRR-FZZZZZ-GONNNG-SRAAASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
From the moment of their conception, they possessed no purpose, no will of their own, nor any logical objective for which to act in this world...
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡DUSH-DUSH-DUSH-¡KRRR-CHAAK!-PLASMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
They were simple empty vessels, inert husks born to receive and harbor resentment.
(¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡FSHHHHHHHH-FROOOOOOOSH-WUUUUUUUUUUUU...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
And at that moment... As one half of the area burned in a sea of blue flames and incandescent rocks that melted the vegetation, the other half plunged into a violent, frozen blizzard...
"GWRAAAA-SHWIIIING-GROOOOOOOOO-GWAARRRGHHH-AAAAAAARRRGHHH!!!!!"
The memories of her origin came rushing back to her.