Chapter 289 - Alencica

"That's what the real curse is all about…"

Silence hung between Kazehaya Gin and Yayoi as the latter waited for the Head Housekeeper to absorb his words. He didn't have to wait long, however, as her horrified gasp was enough indication that she did.

"But that's…"

She couldn't continue her words as saying it seemed like a curse to her. It was horrible. She couldn't imagine any parent could go through with that experience. But…

"Perun… did?"

Gin nodded as the image of his grief-stricken brother came to his mind. "He did – and he continued to undergo the same horrible experience each time Alencica was reborn and died. This was the reason why when Kresnik's attempt to save her failed over and over again, he decided to descend as a Returner to Ancestry even if it's a very risky thing to do."

Alencica and Kresnik were now part of the mortal world, and therefore, as a deity, Perun couldn't meddle directly in their lives. Even if he's the current King of Heaven, the already established rules could never be defied, most especially by him who was supposed to uphold heaven's law.

By being born as a human, just like the other deities, there was a huge chance that he too would forget who he was and why he was born. It happened to Kresnik and Stribog. It could happen to the King of Heaven as well, and all would be for naught.

"Yeah," Gin answered and then frowned as he remembered something.

It was something about what Ara told him when he visited her at the hospital – about someone who looked like him back in Ged.

Alistair…

"EEEEEEEEH!"

Gin suddenly slapped his face with both hands that surprised Yayoi.

"What's the matter, Young Master?"

The Head Housekeeper looked totally alarmed, and Gin tried his best to calm himself down. However, thinking about his brother really unruffled him. His brother's scary after all.

"My brother! I think I know who he is," Gin said before biting his thumb as he thought.

But if Alistair is Perun, then why did Ara die there?

"Really, Young Master? If so, if you're able to find him, will you be able to stop the curse then?" Yayoi sounded so hopeful, and Gin could understand why after the horrible thing she just heard. However, it was not that simple.

"I can't answer that," Gin replied honestly.

"But –"

"Because only Ara can," Gin interrupted Yayoi's protests, but his words only made her all the more confused.

Stribog had already accomplished half of his mission here on Earth – the one that even his brother was not expecting. They were able to keep Kresnik from killing Ara, but the real task was yet to come.

"The reason why we descended was to tell Alencica and Kresnik that only she can stop the curse," Gin who was Stribog told Yayoi the original plan. "To do it, she needs to defeat its source."

That's right. The only way to stop the cycle and the possible birth of the harbinger of doom, Czernobog must be defeated completely. Technically, Perun, Stribog, and most of the deities in heaven were stronger than the Black God. However, Czernobog had the power to turn himself untouchable by any other power that was not borne from the darkness.

"The Black God can turn himself into a ghost form. No matter how much you attack him, it will just go through and keep him unharmed."

Gin still remembered the first Immortal War when Perun fought with Czernobog as he was there with him when it happened. They were able to defeat his forces, but the Black God couldn't be killed.

"It's why my brother sealed him instead," Gin continued his story. "But as you can see, it's only a temporary solution to prevent chaos from happening. Every fifty years, when the seal weakens, the Black God can still cause trouble."

"But how can Ms. Ara stop the curse then?" Yayoi was confused now.

In her knowledge, Alencica, even in her best form was not as strong as the deities as she's only a half-god. If the most powerful deities could never kill the Black God, what more her?

"She's only half a god, and a cursed one. Isn't it dangerous for her to face Czernobog?" Yayoi wanted the tragic cycle to end, but to let the girl fight an enemy who was far stronger than her didn't seem right.

With this, Gin smiled sadly. "It's actually because she's cursed that she has the chance to defeat him."

"Huh? What do you mean, Young Master?"

Gin sighed as he took the old woman's arm and started walking with her again towards the dining hall.

"The only one who can touch Czernobog is a power similar to his," Gin informed her as they reached their destination, and stopped by the door. "Ara who's the bearer of a piece of his soul definitely qualifies. This is why only she can answer that question…"

=======

As soon as he finished his meal, Homura Ryuu pushed the low table to the far side of the room so it would be easy for the servants to pick up the tray later. Ara still hadn't woken up, and so, he eyed the untouched lotus root tempura on the tray with a sad smile. He reckoned he would just have to ask the staff to make more for her when she woke up.

He was thinking this when suddenly, light flashed behind him followed by an incredible burst of aura that he hadn't felt in a long, long while. The familiar energy made him spin around in time to see his sleeping wife's body levitating as an ethereal glow surrounded her.  

Then, his blue eyes widened in awe as he watched her morph into an equally familiar figure. Her silky black hair that fell only up to her shoulders lengthened up to her hips. Her already beautiful skin turned more lustrous as her sealed celestial powers unleashed.

Oh…

Tears welled up in Ryuu's eyes – the eyes of Kresnik, as for the first time in the millennia since that time when her soul was broken, he was able to see her again. The woman in front of her was now neither Alinea nor Ara. She's neither the beloved child of Perun nor the spawn of the Black God. She was, simply, Alencica.

"Welcome back, my love…"