Eternal Malediction (RE)

The evening air carried a strange kind of cold; grass and tree branches swayed with leaves falling one by one. Not the sharp winter cold that bit into skin immediately but the slow-creeping kind that settled quietly into clothes and bones while the sun disappeared behind the countryside hills.

The cabin lights glowed warmly behind the curtains. Unfortunately for the boys outside, they weren’t allowed inside right now because every woman in the group had collectively decided they needed privacy to change clothes after spending an entire day covered in dirt, blood, and dust from the Trial Chambers and the mountains.

So now the men were exiled while Rin was enjoying himself inside.

Roy sat on an old wooden bench outside the cabin with his arms crossed while staring blankly toward the dirt road ahead. Beside him, Kieran leaned back silently. Tanaka sat on the armrest portion of the bench itself because apparently sitting normally was too difficult for him. The rest of the men were scattered nearby.

Some stood around talking quietly while others rested against fences or walls. Further ahead, Kaelen, Orion, and Graham were currently negotiating with the owner of another nearby cabin.

Apparently, the Celestial Watch members decided that splitting everyone into two cabins would make things easier. Especially after several awkward incidents involving people trying to change clothes while others accidentally walked in.

Money was already becoming a problem.

Earlier that afternoon, they had sold most of their valuables to a man in London who owned a cluttered pawn shop tucked between two old brick buildings. He was constantly rubbing his hands together like a rat discovering treasure. He had inspected every item they owned with exaggerated suspicion.

”This ring’s fake.”

”It’s literally gold.”

”Ugly gold.”

Roy already hated him. Tanaka hated him too. Everyone in that shop hated him mostly because the man spent twenty straight minutes explaining why Graham’s expensive modern watch was supposedly ”cheap foreign rubbish.”

Meanwhile, Roy was ninety percent sure the man knew exactly how valuable everything actually was. But none of them had leverage because they needed money, and the old man knew it, so now they were rationing carefully.

Food, shelter and even transportation. Everything that cost mattered now.

The cabin door suddenly opened slightly before immediately slamming shut again. ”DON’T COME IN YET!” Sophia’s voice shouted from inside.

Marcus looked tired already. ”We weren’t even trying.”

”Yes, you were!”

”We literally weren’t!”

Daniel rubbed his forehead. ”Can everyone stop yelling for five minutes?”

Nobody listened all while Roy looked toward the sky instead. The colours of the sunset stretched softly across the horizon; it was made of light orange, with hints of purple and fading blue. The countryside around them felt unnaturally peaceful compared to everything they had survived recently.

Then Tanaka suddenly spoke. ”...Shit.”

Roy already knew the sentence was going to be absolute bullshit. ”Why were women back in the old days so beautiful?”

Silence. Even Kieran slowly turned toward him. ”...What?”

”I’m serious.” Tanaka looked genuinely thoughtful now. ”Like actually. Everyone here looks majestic for no reason.”

Roy stared at him blankly, speechless as to what to say. Tanaka leaned back dramatically against the bench. ”There’s just something different about eighties women.”

Kieran looked tired already. ”You’ve been here less than one day.”

”And I’ve already developed historical appreciation.”

Roy sighed quietly. ”Historical appreciation isn’t staring at random women’s figures while they walk by, and I swear you have already devoted your life to a woman already?”

Tanaka pointed at him immediately. ”True, but you understand what I mean, though. I am a man of flavour and can appreciate each different one.”

Roy thought about it briefly. ”...Unfortunately, yes.”

The fashion itself felt different and also the way people carried themselves. The way they spoke. Even ordinary strangers somehow felt more expressive compared to modern people, as they were less guarded and their heads were not stuck to a phone screen.

Kieran rested his elbow against his knee. ”Maybe people just looked more alive back then.”

That sentence lingered briefly, and Roy glanced toward him. Interesting answer, and in response, Tanaka nodded thoughtfully. ”...Modern people do look exhausted all the time.”

”That includes you,” Roy added.

”I’m spiritually exhausted.”

”You’re lazy.”

”Okay, that too.”

A few people walked past the cabin while glancing toward the group curiously, but most didn’t pay them much attention. A few whispered quietly to each other while passing. Their clothing alone made them stand out slightly.

Eventually the cabin door opened again, and Lily peeked outside carefully. ”You can come in now.”

”No thanks,” Roy answered immediately.

Lily blinked. ”...Why?”

”Too many people.”

The cabin was already crowded enough to feel suffocating, with few of the men staying outside anyway while Kaelen and the others continued negotiating down the road.

Time passed quietly after that, and the sun lowered further. The evening deepened, and streetlamps flickered faintly in the distance near the countryside road.

Then eventually footsteps approached; Kaelen returned first with Orion beside him, and Graham followed casually with both hands inside his pockets.

”Well?” Marcus asked.

Kaelen nodded once. ”We got another cabin.”

Several people visibly relaxed. ”For the same price somehow,” Orion added tiredly.

Victor blinked. ”...How?”

Orion pointed toward Graham. ”He smiled at the owner for like thirty seconds.”

Graham shrugged lightly. ”People become cooperative when approached correctly.”

Roy narrowed his eyes slightly; that sentence sounded threatening somehow.

Tanaka whispered quietly. ”...I think he psychologically manipulated an old man.”

”Probably,” Roy answered.

The second cabin sat further down the road; it was older and smaller than the ladies’ one, but in the end, it would be usable, which was the current priority. The women immediately began organising sleeping arrangements, while most of the men remained outside for a little longer, as they thought they should all eat together before they go.

Nobody really wanted the day to end yet because ending the day meant accepting this situation was real.

Roy remained seated on the bench while watching distant pedestrians pass by beneath the dim evening lights, and Kieran sat beside him silently, and Tanaka still occupied the armrest like a gargoyle.

Then several people walking past suddenly snickered quietly while looking toward them.

Roy noticed immediately. It wasn’t fear, nor was it curiosity, but something else entirely.

An older man eventually stopped directly in front of the bench with a grey coat and a wrinkled face, and he smelt like cigarettes.

His eyes settled directly on Roy, and then he frowned and spoke with a croaky voice. ”...You.”

Roy blinked once and pointed at himself. ”...Me?”

”You’re not meant to sit there.”

The atmosphere shifted instantly, and Tanaka stopped moving. Kieran’s expression flattened slightly.

The old man pointed toward the bench. ”That’s a white bench.”

Silence.

Roy stared at him blankly. ”... A what?”

”Get off it, mongrel.”

The old man’s voice carried genuine disgust now. ”Your colour isn’t meant to sit on that bench.”

For a brief second Roy genuinely thought the man was joking. Then he realised... Oh, right. The eighties. Roy slowly stood up, not out of fear but mostly because he didn’t want to create a commotion.

Tanaka immediately slid into Roy’s seat the second it became empty. ”...Damn.”

The old man looked even angrier now. ”You too!”

Tanaka’s face dropped and looked genuinely confused. ”What did I do?”

The man scowled. ”Foreigners.”

Even Tanaka got up and stood next to Roy while Kieran stayed seated in his position, more comfortable than ever, as he had more space to himself.

Roy rubbed his forehead slowly with a slight giggle as Tanaka was now getting shouted at by the old man even though he was being racist to both of them.

But for some reason he couldn’t stop giggling, which was then noticed by the old man. He muttered several more insults before leaving.

After the man left, Roy and Tanaka both sat down again. The three sat there quietly after the old man left, the evening settling around them like dust. The streetlamps flickered on one by one, casting long shadows across the countryside road. For a moment, none of them spoke.

Then Tanaka spoke first. ”...People were REALLY racist back then, huh?”

”Clearly,” Kieran answered quietly.

Roy slowly sat back down anyway, still half‑amused. Kieran exhaled quietly through his nose, as he knew he got let off because of his white skin colour, so he thought he shouldn’t say anything. Despite everything, the absurdity of the situation slowly settled over them. They really were trapped decades in the past.

A world before modern technology, before the internet and before almost everything they knew.

Tanaka leaned backward slightly while staring toward the darkening sky. ”...How do we even get back?”

Nobody answered immediately because nobody knew. The only thing that they even knew happened was they were pulled into a black hole.

Roy rested his arms against the bench. ”Probably something related to the Trail Chambers or the same way we came here.”

”Obviously,” Tanaka muttered.

”No,” Roy continued.

His eyes narrowed slightly. ”The question is why.”

Kieran looked toward him. ”You think the chambers sent us here intentionally?”

”No, remember, the man with a spider umbrella sent us here.”

Roy thought quietly. ”Or maybe they dragged us toward something already connected to us somehow.”

”That sounds ominous.”

”It probably is.”

The evening settled around them in a slow, heavy way. The streetlamps buzzed faintly as they warmed, casting soft yellow halos across the quiet road. A few moths drifted lazily around the lights. Inside the cabin, muted voices rose and fell — blankets were being argued over, beds were being claimed, and someone was complaining about the smell.

Outside, the air felt cooler. Calmer. Roy leaned back against the bench, watching a car roll past in the distance. Kieran sat beside him, elbows resting on his knees. Tanaka perched on the armrest again, unusually quiet for once.

For a while, none of them spoke, and for a moment... everything felt strangely normal.

Tanaka let out a slow breath, the kind people release after a long day. His shoulders dropped slightly. ”...Man.”

Roy glanced at him. Kieran didn’t move.

Tanaka kept his eyes on the road, on the dim lights stretching into the countryside. ”It’s weird.”

”What is?” Roy asked.

Tanaka shrugged, still staring ahead. ”Everything. Today. Us. This place.”

He rubbed the back of his nape. ”Feels like everyone else... I don’t know. Handles things better.”

Roy didn’t interrupt. Kieran stayed silent, letting him talk. Roy glanced toward him while Tanaka continued staring ahead at the setting sun.

Tanaka shifted again, his voice quieter now. ”...You know, Roy. Kieran.”

Both of them looked toward him.

He didn’t look back. He just kept watching the road like the answer might be hiding somewhere in the asphalt. ”I get jealous of you two.”

Roy blinked. Kieran’s expression didn’t change.

Tanaka gave a small, tired laugh. ”Not because I work harder. I don’t. I know that. I have no right to be jealous.”

Kieran remained silent beside him as they looked at him, but Tanaka laughed softly, and the joking tone was gone. ”...The problem is I still get jealous anyway.”

”And that’s why I cheat, always have and always will. Even in tests, fights and anything in general. I just always feel left behind, and that is why...” The evening wind brushed lightly through his hair. ”I’ll always be a cheater.”

Roy’s eyes narrowed slightly. ”Because for the day I stop cheating...”

Tanaka smiled faintly. ”I’ll fall behind everyone else.”

That sentence settled heavily between them. Roy quietly observed Tanaka’s expression. That stupid smile. Roy recognised it immediately; it was acceptance. The kind people wore out after giving up arguing against parts of themselves.

Roy looked away toward the road. ”...You think too negatively.”

Tanaka snorted quietly. ”And you don’t?”

”...Fair point.”

Kieran finally spoke. ”You work harder than most people think.”

Tanaka shrugged. ”Clearly, not enough if I have to cheat on everything.”

Then, after a pause, he curiously asked, ”...Would anyone choose you as their favourite person?”

Neither Roy nor Kieran answered immediately.

Because surprisingly... it wasn’t a joke. The question itself sounded small. But there was something painfully honest hidden beneath it.

Tanaka laughed softly afterward, like he regretted asking. ”...Damn. That sounded depressing.”

”A little,” Roy admitted.

Kieran leaned back against the bench. ”...Someone probably would.”

Tanaka looked unconvinced as he stared toward the dark road quietly, and then his thoughts drifted elsewhere. Alive. The concept itself suddenly felt strange. You could tell someone was dead by checking their pulse.

That was easy and simple. But what about the opposite? If someone had a heartbeat..., were they truly alive?

Tanaka watched people walking past beneath the fading evening lights. Some looked exhausted from their intensive day, and others looked empty. Moving forward because routine demanded it.

Breathing, talking and simply just existing, but does that mean they are alive?

He wasn’t sure. Maybe being alive meant wanting something. Maybe it meant struggling. Maybe it meant having enough emotion left inside yourself to still care.

Tanaka didn’t know. The thought lingered heavily inside him.

Then suddenly Roy and Kieran both froze, and Tanaka frowned slightly. ”...What?”

Neither answered.

Instead, both stared toward a man walking further down the road. The man casually scratched his backside through his trousers while walking.

Aggressively.

Like he was fighting for his life. The three stared silently.

The man continued walking. Still scratching, very harshly, and it looked like he was using 100% of his strength. Then Roy looked toward Tanaka. Tanaka looked toward Kieran. Kieran looked back toward Roy.

And all three immediately burst into laughter. Actual painful laughter.

The kind caused purely by exhaustion and stress finally breaking apart. Tanaka nearly fell off the bench, and Kieran buried his face into one hand while laughing quietly.

Roy physically leaned backwards against the bench, with one hand covering his face. ”...WHY was he scratching it like that?”

”I DON’T KNOW!” Tanaka wheezed.

”It looked so aggressive!”

Kieran tried speaking and failed immediately and for several minutes the three could barely breathe properly and strangely enough... It felt good. Not because the situation improved, not because they understood anything but because for one brief moment, they stopped thinking about life.

They just laughed.

The cabin lights glowed warmly behind them while the countryside night slowly settled over the world.

And for the first time since arriving in 1985... The three almost looked like ordinary teenagers again. Talking about something deep, laughing it off and going on their merry way to their cabin down the road.