Kallum.

I never met this man, and yet, I did. The memories of how my other self confronted him stream back into my mind. Her actions, no, my actions, as they were born from my rage, caused this. How I went to his quarters and... did something. Yes, I confronted that man, attacked him, and delivered righteous punishment upon him.

...Right.

As it should've been clear that what this man did, what he represented, couldn't go unpunished. Therefore, I placed a curse upon his entire existence.

Cursed, what!?

Ten lifetimes being born as frail, beautiful women. The only chance to not be on the receiving end of what he imposed before, being the kindness of others.

Okay, that sounds extremely karmic, but seeing the result, I'm not exactly sure how well punishing a soul goes. Would I not have made it so that she remembers, Mela wouldn't even know that anything happened. It's like beating up an amnesiac person. They don't know what they're punished for, they're not even able to regret their decisions. Thus, you're basically only doing it for yourself. Quite the moral dilemma, as I don't see much of a purpose in this.

"Is something wrong? You suddenly started looking at me so weirdly." (M)

"Ehm, just as a thought, if you happened to have done something really bad, like murder, assault, or pissing off an unimaginable god, if that were to be the case, and you were cursed for it, even in your next life, despite you being now someone completely different, would you call that still fair?" (I)

"Huh, that was a lot at once. Well, it would probably suck to be on the receiving end in this situation. On the other hand, pissing off a god? Who would be that stupid? I mean, they are gods. Can't really blame them for staying pissed. Would be nice though if they could get over it." (M)

Seriously? I'm considering calling this mess of a soul curse off with her.

That won't happen, as I gave my word on this. I would lose every bit of credibility if I were to retract a verdict.

I know that other me speaks for both of us here, but I'm conflicted. I totally feel like some evil, wrathful god here, so by all means, this is gonna happen!

"Iori? You still look weird. Is there something up with your eyes? They seem to flicker strangely." (M)

Oh damn, I thought I got that down by now.

Do I have any idea what kind of vile creature he was? He wanted not only to rape Mum, but us as well!

At this, I suddenly recollect how my dark self manifested back then and went to him. Everything that happened as if it were me. I remember how I stood there and... Urgh...

Wh-why did I let him touch me there? WHY TOUCH HIM THERE?! EWH!!!

I feel the sudden urge to wash my hands. Or rather, completely skin it and regrow everything. Though I control my body not to react to my state of mind. Something I got far more proficient at during recent events.

It's not my fault that I buried those memories!

Squishing that thing was buried for good reason!

He got a chance! I'd probably have left him off with a beating if he hadn't been so utterly vile!

"Iori, you're acting strange. Are you..." (M)

"Not now, Kallum!" (I2)

Oh shit! I realize too late what I just did.

"Uhm, wh-wh-what did you just say?" (M)

She started shivering. I think I triggered something. Soul trauma?

"N-nothing. You don't look very well." (I)

"Huh? Oh, yes. Ehm, right." (M)

She seems to be a little off balance here.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. I'm kinda concerned now if I messed something up.

"I, I kinda feel like I forgot and remembered something. That's embarrassing, but I don't quite know what it was. Ahaha..." (M)

Okay, now I'm feeling uncomfortable. My soulsight, which I involuntarily activated, tells me her very same is in turmoil.

Then suddenly, a cyan hand lays onto her shoulder, and a calm voice is heard.

"Shh. It's alright. Sometimes our thoughts can overwhelm us. At these times, we need to focus on the present until we're ready to face the truth of our visions." (A)

"Lady... Alyssa." (M)

"It's all good. Now find peace." (A)

For a moment, I believe there was an exchange. Mela's soul calms down, and the girl starts to look a little drowsy. Can she do soul magic? Uh, that could be bad. Haruna warned me back then about the implications if that kind of knowledge were to spread.

"It happens sometimes. Sudden bouts of strong memories that were ingrained deep within us. Mela is a special case in that regard." (A)

"What did you do?" (I)

"I merely calmed her inner self. It yearns for peace, so I happily give it." (A)

I'm not only slightly concerned about this cult leader. Okay, she handled this better than I would have, but still, soul magic is soul magic.

"If it isn't too impertinent of a request, would you mind accompanying me for a moment, Iori?" (A)

Sure, what could possibly go wrong by following the cult leader? Well, honestly speaking, I doubt there's a risk for me even if it's a trap. I mean, I literally am this world.

"What about Mela?" (I)

She clearly looks out of it.

"If you're concerned about her, she may rest for a moment. I also made sure that some food would be saved for her. Even a bit more than what she brought. We also offer our dwellings as shelter for those without any other place to go. Mela is one of those making use of it. You can rest assured that she'll be cared for. She's one of the more eager acolytes, after all, but tends to care too little about her own well-being." (A)

"I noticed. I need to say, I'm quite concerned about her general situation." (I)

I look around this rather dark hall, the ominous light conditions, and some of the robed figures.

"...And where this will eventually lead her." (I)

Seriously, Mela sounds like quite the prime target to take advantage of.

"Mela tends to undertake rash actions. Her family abandoned her for this reason. It is as if something makes her see her life as something to get over with. This goes against our general philosophy of trying to make the greatest possible impact with each of our lives. One of the reasons why she was denied a spot in the inner ranks until now. She's... What would you call it? A piece of work." (A)

Is she trying to speedrun through her lives?

In that line of thought, maybe I should set up rules to prevent attempted suicide respawns from going through the roof? Though certainly not to enforce this punishment, which I'm not even too sure about anymore.

The cult priestess, meanwhile, leads me a bit to the back. Backstage, so to speak. There, a hallway with several doors stretches, of which she unlocks one at the far end and enters.

"I feel like you aren't quite convinced about the genuineness of our cause. So I wanted to at least put in a little effort to make this happen. These are my private quarters. I hope you don't mind, but I wanted to show you a little something." (A)

Oh, please, don't let it be one of those cults. If anyone now removes any piece of clothes, I'm out of here. And this cult will simply stop existing. Why are you pulling out a small trunk from under your bed? No, I don't want to know what you hide below there!

Yet, to my relief, she only retrieves a key and moves with it to the other end of the room. There, she removes a picture that apparently covered a small safe within the wall. Now she takes another box from in there, and I start to feel like this is supposed to be a matryoshka game.

"Sorry that it took so long, but please, take a genuine look at this." (A)

She steps a bit closer and opens the thing in a somewhat meaningful gesture. Thus, she reveals an eyeball with a red iris. For a moment, I stand confused, then I become so for different reasons. The point is that this ocular organ seems to twitch the slightest bit.

"Just as my great-grandmother told me the truth about the great devourer, I came to realize the lies that make up our world! So may Oroi return and rip this curtain of falsehoods down!" (A)

Suddenly, I remember. It's one of the alarm squishies I handed out to my friends and family when we were here on a visit back then.

Yet even more than mine, it's the high priestess' eyes that lit up.

"I knew it! That look you just had, that wasn't mere surprise, but recognition! You know what this is, don't you?!" (A)

Damn, she grew excited. And I'm left with one big question.

"Where did you get that from?" (I)

In general, it's not exactly a problematic thing to have. All this piece of eye goop does is to send me a message were it to be squished. Yet it probably grants a sense of legitimacy to the leader of this cult, as it is clearly different from what the gods would hand out. Also, I wouldn't really have liked to be summoned during some big event with this.

"It's true, you know it! You, you must be..." (A)

Seems like she made the connection. This could become an issue.

"You're one of Oroi's agents, aren't you?" (A)

WTF!?!

"How did you even get that idea?!" (I)

"I had my first suspicions after you stated your name. To name oneself so blatantly after the one who first fell to her influence! It's not widely known, and the events of that time are shrouded in mystery, but such a great coincidence would've been unlikely. And now you know about the artifact! You must be linked to Oroi in some way!" (A)

I guess this answers the question, whether I should've given my name.

"Listen, I only came here to check out this cult and see if you're up to no good. You won't get a thing from me, understand? I'm not helping you with whatever you're planning and will, in the worst case, stop you." (I)

"Such is the will of a servant of Oroi?" (A)

"Yes, it is! Why would I even want to destroy this world? What's in it for me? I have actually zero reason to want this!" (I)

"Hah, so she was right." (A)

"What was that?" (I)

"Oh, nothing. I only thought about how my dearest great-grandmother spoke about Oroi whenever her name was called. Not the slightest bit of fear, but neither reverence. She used to say that the worst that is to be expected of her would be another freak accident where that failure of a deity causes completely unimaginable events." (A)

"What!? Who is your grandmother to spread such things? Did someone tell her so? Was it Soraja? Aureas?! It has to be Aureas!" (I)

While partially true, there's no need to spread such things.

"Uh, no, none of the gods. We often feared that saying such things would get her executed. She even claimed that she knew her personally, especially once she grew older." (A)

Wait, a native. But the only one I knew was...

"...Eryna." (I)

"Y-yes. That's her name. But how would you... Oh my goddess." (A)

"My name is Iori, by the way. Not 'Oroi'." (I)

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