"Reality hits hard, especially when it comes with unresolved questions and a dose of unwelcome honesty."
Seilorah blinked as her surroundings solidified, the haze of time travel giving way to the familiarity of their temporary camp. The smell of charred wood lingered in the air, and Yelle’s cheerful humming came from somewhere nearby. For a moment, Seilorah stood still, trying to steady her racing heart. The memories of Zeyro’s past lingered like an unwanted guest, making her chest tighten.
“Well?” Yelle’s voice cut through her thoughts as she poked her head out of a makeshift tent. “Did you bring back a souvenir from the Time Travel Gift Shop?”
“Just emotional baggage,” Seilorah muttered, dropping onto a log by the fire.
“Emotional baggage?” Zeyro’s voice carried from behind her, smooth and infuriatingly calm.
Seilorah spun to face him, her frustration bubbling over. “We need to talk.”
“Don’t we always?” he replied, leaning casually against a tree.
“No,” she said, her voice sharp. “Not like this. I have seen things, Zeyro. Your things. And I need answers.”
Yelle froze mid-step, sensing the tension. “Ooh, I’ll just... be over there,” she said, retreating to the tent with a not-so-subtle grin.
“Not helpful,” Seilorah called after her before turning back to Zeyro.
He raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been snooping through my past? And you’re upset with me?”
“Don’t twist this,” she snapped. “I didn’t choose to see it, okay? The curse, or the spell, or whatever, threw me into your memories.”
Zeyro’s smirk faltered, replaced by something harder to read. “What did you see?”
“I have seen you,” she said, her voice softer now. “Before the curse. Before all of this.”
“And?” he asked, his tone guarded.
Seilorah hesitated. “You weren’t... this.” She gestured vaguely at him, struggling to find the words. “You were different. Softer, maybe. You cared about people. You sacrificed yourself for them.”
He crossed his arms, his expression unreadable. “And you think that version of me still exists?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “But I think you’ve spent so much time fighting the curse that you’ve forgotten who you were before it.”
Zeyro’s jaw tightened. “That version of me died the day the curse began.”
“No, it didn’t,” Seilorah argued, stepping closer. “You’re still him. You’re just buried under all this... shadow and bitterness. Sometimes, their desire for colossal power could be a disaster.”
Her words hung in the air, and for a moment, she thought he might actually respond. But instead, he laughed—a sharp, humorless sound.
“That’s poetic, Seilorah,” he said, his tone laced with sarcasm. “But the curse doesn’t care about poetry. It consumes, it controls, and it destroys.”
“And you let it,” she shot back, her frustration bubbling over.
Zeyro’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want from me? An apology? A promise to change? Breaking this curse isn’t as simple as wishing for it.”
“I want honesty,” she said firmly. “I want to know why you’ve been keeping things from me.”
“Because the truth doesn’t make this any easier,” he admitted, his voice dropping. “Every step we take toward breaking this curse comes with a cost. And I don’t think you’re ready to face that yet.”
Seilorah’s chest tightened at his words, but she refused to back down. “You don’t get to decide what I’m ready for. This curse affects me just as much as it affects you.”
Zeyro studied her, his gaze piercing. “Do you think I’m protecting you? I’m not. I’m protecting myself.”
The admission caught her off guard, and for a moment, she saw a flicker of vulnerability in his eyes. The silence stretched between them, heavy and uncomfortable. Finally, Zeyro sighed, his shoulders sagging.
“The curse shapes everything I do, Seilorah,” he said quietly. “It’s not just about controlling us—it’s about breaking us. Piece by piece. And if we fail to stop it, it won’t just take our lives. It will take everything.”
His words sent a chill down her spine, but she forced herself to stand tall. “Then we don’t fail. We find a way to stop it, no matter what it takes.”
“Spoken like someone who doesn’t know the cost,” Zeyro muttered.
Seilorah glared at him. “I’m willing to pay it. Are you?”
He didn’t answer, and that silence spoke volumes.
Yelle chose that moment to reappear, carrying an armful of supplies. “So, how’s the intense soul-baring going? Any dramatic confessions? A tear or two, maybe?”
“Yelle,” Seilorah said through gritted teeth, “now is not the time.”
“It’s always the time,” Yelle said, plopping down on the log beside her. “You two are like the leads in a tragic romance novel. All angst, no resolution. Spice it up a bit!”
Zeyro rolled his eyes. “If you’re done adding commentary, we have preparations to make.”
“For what?” Yelle asked, raising an eyebrow.
“The final leg of this journey,” Zeyro said, his tone turning serious. “The ritual site. The answers we need are there, but so are the dangers.”
“Fantastic,” Yelle said, clapping her hands together. “A high-stakes finale. Love that for us.”
Seilorah couldn’t help but laugh, despite the tension still lingering in the air. “You have the strangest way of coping, Yelle.”
“It’s a gift,” Yelle replied with a grin. The group fell into a tense but focused rhythm as they began preparing for the next part of their journey. Seilorah packed supplies with methodical precision, her mind racing with questions she couldn’t yet answer. Zeyro, meanwhile, sharpened his blade in silence, his expression unreadable.
At one point, Yelle leaned over and whispered, “You know, he’s not as bad as he pretends to be.”
Seilorah raised an eyebrow. “Do you think?”
Yelle nodded. “He’s got layers like an onion or a very delicious cake.”
“An onion cake,” Seilorah said, cracking a smile. “Delicious.”
Despite the humor, Seilorah couldn’t shake the weight of what Zeyro had said. The cost of breaking the curse loomed over them like a storm cloud, its shadow growing darker with every step. But for the first time, she felt a flicker of something else—hope.
“Ready?” Zeyro asked, his voice breaking through her thoughts.
Seilorah met his gaze, her determination solidifying. “Let’s finish this.”
"The path ahead was uncertain, but one thing was clear: they would face it together, no matter what the cost."