Eternal Malediction (RE)

Roy, who was completely bored, rounded the back of the cabin as he heard some noise and thought it was strange, stretching his arms as he walked, only to freeze instantly.

And saw the most gruesome sight known to mankind.

People making out.

Graham and Aarti were pressed together behind the cabin wall, clearly not discussing anything related to celestial watch business. Graham’s hand was in her hair, Aarti’s fingers hooked in his shirt, and both of them were far too occupied to notice Roy standing there like a stunned scarecrow.

Roy blinked once. Then twice.

Then he turned around so fast he nearly tripped.

He muttered under his breath, ”Nope. Nope. Didn’t see that. Didn’t see anything. At this point, well played, bro.” He shook his head hard, trying to scrub the image out of his brain.

Just as he stepped back toward the main path, Mira popped out of the cabin doorway, holding a wooden spoon like a wand. ”Roy! Have you seen Aarti? I need her to taste the soup.”

Roy opened his mouth, closed it, sighed, and then forced a casual shrug. ”She’s... pretty busy right now. Probably best not to get involved with whatever she’s doing.”

Mira frowned. ”Busy? With what?”

Roy stared at her for a moment, then said flatly, ”Trust me, little one.”

Mira blinked, confused, then slowly nodded. ”Alright... I guess.” She wandered back inside, spoon still in hand.

Roy exhaled sharply. ”Good. I helped another loner individual like him out. I have saved the world once again.”

He turned and immediately spotted Lily and Ethan walking out from the other side of the cabin. Lily was clinging to Ethan’s arm, her head tucked against his shoulder. Ethan held her close, steady, and protective.

They made eye contact with Roy.

Lily instantly looked away, gripping Ethan tighter, and Ethan gave Roy a stiff nod, the kind that said don’t ask, and kept walking.

Roy raised an eyebrow. ”Weird,” he muttered.

He stepped further around the cabin near where there was seating around a fire and saw Marcus leaning against a tree, trying to flirt with Sophia, who looked half amused and half confused.

Something snapped in Roy.

He felt irritation flare in his chest. ”Why is everyone getting together right in front of me today?” he muttered. ”I swear, if one more person is being all lovey-dovey, I will destroy this world—”

He spotted Kieran stepping out from the same side Lily and Ethan had come from. Perfect timing.

”Oi, Kieran!” Roy called.

Kieran looked up. ”Yeah?”

”You wanna go camping later today? Just to go for some sightseeing, I am bored.”

Kieran shrugged. ”Sure.” He turned and yelled toward the cabin to where Tanaka was standing by the door, ”Tanaka! You wanna come camping?”

Tanaka poked his head out, chewing something. ”Camping? Yeah, alright.”

Roy then saw Lys Malen walking across the grass with Rin and Mella trailing behind her like ducklings. He waved. ”Oi! You lot want to go camping?”

The kids lit up instantly.

”Yes!”

”Camping!”

”Can we roast marshmallows?”

”Can we bring the very long sticks?”

Lys smiled softly and nodded.

As Mira walked past Kieran, she overheard him inviting Tanaka and the children. She spun around. ”Camping? Can I come?”

Kieran looked at Roy.

Roy nodded once.

”Sure,” Kieran said.

Mira practically bounced. ”Yes!”

Time passed by; the long wooden table was set up under the shade of a large oak tree. Where most of the members sat, they chattered, laughed, passed food around, and argued.

Even though they were tight on money, the 3 heads decided that they should splurge a little bit on the feast today so as to get everyone calm and settled at the cabins, since they don’t have any idea as to what the future is like for them.

Meanwhile, a smaller group sat around the fire pit right in front of the female cabin, just a few metres away from the rest of the group eating. In front of the fire, even though it was around 4pm.

Roy, Kieran, Tanaka, Graham, Liam, Aster and Sophia all sat with their bowls rested on their laps as they sat on logs and stones arranged in a circle around the fire. The flames crackled softly, warming the air.

Even though it was cold out on this October afternoon, the sun was out and was warm enough to eat outside without complaining.

Tanaka, who had just finished his second plate, sighed in relief. ”Gosh, I was starving.”

Kieran nudged him. ”Maybe you should have eaten more at the cabin in the morning then.”

Tanaka leaned back, arms behind his head. ”Ay, at least I now understand the value of food.”

Kieran raised an eyebrow with a smirk and nodded in response, and there was a moment of silence between all of them until someone broke it.

Aster poked the fire with a stick. ”So, I have a question.”

Everyone looked at him and gave him the cue to carry on talking, as he had everyone’s attention.

”How would you defeat an unbeatable character?”

Everyone thought for a second, while Liam stopped eating as he stared at everyone looking at their reaction.

Tanaka, now in deep thought, asked a question, ”What makes this man unbeatable? Like does he have connections? Power?”

Aster answers. ”He was blessed by the gods to never be beaten in any sort of fight.”

Everyone now thought deeper, as they were intrigued by this random question.

Tanaka, who was trying to be comedic, leaned forward. ”Easy. You just... simply surprise him. Like, trick him into thinking you’re weak, and then BAM. Hit him with a cheeky uppercut.”

Kieran snorted. ”Tanaka, you would have been killed in an instant if that was me.”

Tanaka pointed at him with a spoon. ”Hey, I outsmarted you last week. Excuse me.”

Kieran shot back, ”No, you cheated at beer pong but using your cards.”

”Whoa, it’s called using your cards at your disposal.”

Kieran chuckled, then shrugged. ”I mean... If someone’s unbeatable, you just have to train harder at something they are not good at.”

Aster then adds on, ”What I mean by unbeatable is, you can not win against this person in any sort of one-on-one situation, like from rock paper scissors to actually fighting them one on one.”

”Ooh.” Kieran throws his head as he gives it a moment more to think.

Sophia raised her hand like she was in school. ”You could... um... ask them nicely to stop?”

Everyone stared at her.

Tanaka blinked. ”Sophia... what?”

She shrugged. ”It works on my little brother.”

Roy rubbed his face. ”They’re not your little brother, are they?”

Graham, who had been silent the whole time, stared into the fire like it was telling him secrets.

Aster nudged him. ”What about you, Graham? You’re quiet.”

Graham didn’t look up. ”Unbeatable doesn’t mean invincible. It means no one has found the right angle yet.”

Tanaka frowned. ”Angle?”

Graham finally lifted his eyes from his bowl. ”Every person has a point where they break. Even the strongest. Even the ones who look untouchable. You don’t overpower them. You find the crack... and you press.”

The fire popped loudly.

Liam shifted uncomfortably. ”That’s... dark.”

Graham shrugged. ”Truth usually is.”

Roy watched him for a moment; something in Graham’s tone felt too knowing, too experienced, too close to something real.

Aster looked between Roy and Graham, sensing something unspoken.

Kieran leaned forward. ”Alright, Roy. Your turn.”

Roy yawned, stretching lazily. ”Simple.”

Everyone turned to him.

Roy’s voice was calm, almost bored. ”To defeat an unbeatable opponent... you remove the reason they fight.”

Tanaka blinked. ”What?”

Roy continued, eyes half‑lidded. ”People don’t fight because they want to. They fight because something pushes them to like a goal. A fear. A promise. A person. A memory.”

He tapped his bowl lightly. ”Take that away... and they stop being unbeatable.”

Sophia frowned. ”So... you don’t fight them?”

Roy nodded. ”Exactly. You make the fight pointless.”

The fire crackled again.

Liam exhaled slowly while slowly showing a slight smile. ”That’s... actually smart.”

Tanaka groaned. ”Why do you always sound like you’ve already thought of everything?”

Roy shrugged with a smirk. ”Because I have. Simply put, I AM HIM.”

Graham smirked faintly as he watched Roy smile while talking to Tanaka. Aster leaned back, watching Liam again, checking if he understood the weight of Roy’s words.

Liam stared into the fire, thinking hard and still smiling.

Sophia ate her bread, completely missing what was going on, as she quite liked the food; it felt more real. The rest of the cast at the table kept chatting, unaware of the quiet storm forming around the fire pit.

Roy leaned back, closing his eyes for a moment.