Chapter Twelve: A Covenant from the Gods

Ash slowly lowered the arm she had been using to shield her eyes and swam to the side of the unconscious Hughes.

She placed her fingers against his chest, and only after feeling the steady beat of his heart did she let out a sigh of relief and look upward.

The fragmented remains of her kin fell from above like rain. That momentary burst of magic had returned them to their original forms, even if only for the fleeting instant before they met their end.

"Ash, is this... worth it?" a clansman whispered.

Ash remained silent for a long time. She turned to look at her kin; the pain and numbness that had once defined them were gone, replaced by hatred and rage swirling in every pair of eyes like crashing waves.

"It is worth it. We shall eventually transcend, and besides..." Ash paused, "he is our god. Of that, there is no doubt."

A god?

The clansmen exchanged bewildered glances. The Cursed had indeed been waiting for the arrival of a new god, but...

They had not seen a god for a full millennium. Could this human truly be one? He appeared so frail, and he was even unconscious now.

The clansmen said nothing. They trusted that their companion would not lie. A complex array of gazes settled upon Hughes; they were waiting for an explanation.

Ash’s expression was firm. She knew what they were hesitating about, for she had once felt that same hesitation. But the moment the Symbiotic Contract took effect, those doubts had melted away like ice in a warm current.

"I have entered into a Symbiotic Contract with him, as you already know," Ash said to her kin. "But there is one thing... the contract was signed directly."

The clansmen looked at one another.

"Directly signed... what does that mean?" a young clansman asked curiously.

"Exactly as it sounds. I proposed the contract to him, and it was sealed instantly. There was no explanation, no communication... In the moment of sensory communion when the contract was formed, I learned that he did not even know the details of a Symbiotic Contract."

"Sensory communion cannot lie. In that instant, I was able to glimpse his heart."

"He truly did not know what a Symbiotic Contract was."

They were stunned. It took them a moment to grasp the meaning of Ash’s words, and then they all turned their eyes toward Hughes with expressions of shock.

Only the Cursed understood the gravity of this. They met each other’s eyes, and when they looked back at Hughes, their gazes were filled with profound awe.

Ash scanned the surroundings, knowing that no one would ever question Hughes’s identity again.

"A direct signing—this is a contract from a god!"

"A god... he is truly a god..."

"The legends are actually true..."

"To think that a directly established contract could really exist!"

The contract is one of absolute equality. For it to take effect without the other party understanding it means that the other party has unconditionally accepted every aspect of the contract.

In other words, no matter what the contents were, he accepted them.

Such a thing had never happened before. To accept a contract unconditionally implies that one holds no fear of any risk it might entail.

"I still don't understand. If he were just a madman with no fear of death, couldn't he have signed it directly as well?"

The clansmen’s eyes turned toward the speaker.

"Monica, you are still too young; you haven't dealt much with Symbiotic Contracts," a clansman said, moving closer and gently patting her back.

"A contract is the manifestation of reason. One who has fallen into madness cannot sign one. As for not fearing death..."

"Even the most fearless person harbors a sliver of hesitation in their subconscious. That tiny bit of doubt cannot escape the law of absolute equality inherent in the contract."

"Furthermore, in the moment the contract is signed, both parties can glimpse the other's heart."

A contract formed directly... the Cursed had only heard of such things in ancient legends. It was said that this only occurred when a god signed a contract with them before they had left their homeland.

In the lore, that had been the very first of their kind, and the first Symbiotic Contract ever forged.

Therefore, in the eyes of the Cursed, only a god could cause a Symbiotic Contract to be established directly.

The god knows all, and the god fears no cost.

Later, their race lost their homeland, their god, their true forms, and so much more. They had spent countless ages sinking into the abyss.

And now.

Ash looked back at Hughes, feeling her blood burning within her veins. This was the new god of the Cursed, and he had even revealed the truth of their origins to her.

She looked down toward the Abyss, the deep sea. Perhaps that was the Promised Land for the Cursed.

Hope, salvation, a god—this man was everything to the Cursed. They could not afford to lose their god again.

A firm and fearless resolve surged in her chest. From the moment the Symbiotic Contract took effect, Ash had known her destiny.

She would protect her god.

No matter the cost.

"Let us continue our descent. Let us complete our transformation and fulfill our mission, so as not to betray the sacrifice of our kin."

The Cursed nodded and dived together into the depths. From time to time, some would turn back to steal a glance at the still-unconscious Hughes, their eyes bright with newfound hope.

"My—my hand!"

A cry of surprise came from nearby. Ash turned to see a clansman holding up one of its limbs—now, perhaps, it could truly be called a hand.

Although the limb remained swollen, the faint lines of muscle were visible; it was indeed an arm.

The clansman stared at his arm, touching it cautiously as if it were something immensely precious.

Ash was also stunned. After she first parted ways with Hughes, she had tried to sneak into the deep sea to test the theory of water pressure, but she had never descended this deep; she had turned back the moment she felt the curse weakening.

With the Symbiotic Contract binding her, she dared not stray too far.

The clansmen watched the limb that was no longer swollen with obsession, as if witnessing a treasure. They were quiet and yearning, approaching with such care that they dared not touch it.

"Let us continue to descend. This wretched curse will soon be far behind us," Ash whispered, as if afraid to disturb the atmosphere. She then paused. "No, this is not a curse; it is the change in water pressure... Let us dive further. The Promised Land is just ahead."

The Cursed exchanged glances and plunged deeper with renewed vigor. This time, there was anticipation and hope in their eyes, and smiles began to appear on their faces.

Seeing the change in her kin, Ash felt a warmth in her heart. When they were at the surface, she had been almost entirely hopeless, yet only a few days later, she could see smiles on their faces.

The Cursed—whether this was truly a curse or not—they would finally shed the name. Though the journey had been full of twists, suffering, and sacrifice, and...

There was a slight movement beside her. Ash turned to look at Hughes; he seemed to be gradually waking up.

...and a little bit of luck.

Ash thought to herself.