Chapter 74: The Curse of Kaishata
Azriel
A blinding flash of white light erupted from his palm, immediately condensing into a massive, jagged spike of ice that shot across the table directly at my chest.
I anticipated that was what Sariel was aiming for and tilted my body to the side as the spikes whistled past my ear.
The ice spike slammed into the far obsidian wall, shattering into a thousand glittering shards.
"I will personally—" Sariel raised his hand again, his palm glowing as he prepared to summon an even deadlier cluster of frost, but before the magic could form, a thick network of vibrant green vines erupted from the floorboards.
The vines wrapped violently around Sariel’s arms and chest, putting out the light in his hand and slamming him heavily back down into his seat.
"What the hell do you think you are doing, Luceriel?" Sariel spat through gritted teeth, struggling against the vines.
Luceriel merely twirled his finger through the air, causing the thick, wooden twigs to tighten their grip around Sariel’s body. "I am maintaining basic order in my presence," he stated flatly. "This is hardly the time to fight like undisciplined children—particularly you, Azriel, since the fault of this entire mess rests squarely on your shoulders."
I let out a tight groan but chose to hold my tongue. Arguing with Pride when he held the absolute truth was a waste of breath.
"I am the one who embodies the Sin of Wrath," Lumiel grunted from the corner, his hand resting on the hilt of his broadsword, "and yet even I am not acting like an absolute fool today. Sariel’s temper seems far less controlled than my own."
"Oh, really?" Sariel scoffed, his voice muffled by the wood trapping him. "Did you not blow up an entire mortal realm when your precious mate died years ago? You ruined the very caves we were forced to stay in during the Red Moon, leaving us to suffer for months under the elements. You killed an entire imperial scribe simply because he said your name wrongly. You have no right to—"
"Enough!" Anomas roared, his voice cutting right through the bickering with absolute authority. He pointed a finger toward Uriel, then scanned the rest of the Sins assembled around the table.
"Now is not the time to start listing your past issues! We are facing a critical threat regarding Seraphel’s life. Before you all dissolved into this pathetic display, Uriel forgot to mention a crucial detail about what will happen to the omega if he remains inside that realm."
"And what exactly happens to the human?" Raziel asked, his golden eyes narrowing with sudden curiosity.
"He will die on the seventh day," Anomas revealed, the words dropping like lead. "Everyone who remains trapped within the Odomos dimension past the seventh dawn suffers total brain death. His soul will be permanently severed."
I stood up again, the sheer weight of the declaration making it impossible to stay seated. There was no way in hell I would allow Seraphel to die. I would tear the fabric of reality apart before I let Elysium take him.
"Then what do we do?" Taizel asked, bumping his fists together. "How do we get the human out of this trap?"
Every eye turned toward Anomas for answers, but the Prophet simply pointed straight at the sleepy form of Uriel. "He is the only one here who can cross into dream-like dimensions. He is our best option to enter into Odomos."
"What?" Uriel’s head snapped up, his laziness disappearing behind a look of pure shock. "Are you all insane? There is no way in hell I am entering into that place! It is a pure nightmare dimension. I would have to search blindly for his mind, and if he is stuck in a time loop, that makes it even worse! It will drain my power, and if I fail, we will both be permanently stuck inside that dimension."
"But that won’t happen if we can locate the physical curse in the waking world, right?" Anomas reasoned, his sharp eyes fixed on the Sloth.
"Elaborate on what you actually mean, Anomas," Luceriel demanded, leaning forward. "Is the human cursed with an object?"
Anomas nodded firmly. "Centuries ago, my mother told Thamiel and me about a forbidden Kaishata bundle—a curse grown from the Tree of Eternal Sleep. It forces the victim’s mind into a violent dream loop while slowly killing them over seven days. I should have figured out what it was the first time, but now that Uriel mentioned Odomos, I know exactly what kind of curse it is."
Raziel’s eyes lit up with a brilliant, greedy gold, his fingers twitching over his heavy rings. "A Kaishata relic? A piece of pure divine plant? Who knows... I might be interested in getting my hands on something like that for my vault."
"No, Raziel," Anomas cut him down instantly. "Even your endless greed could never contain something so powerful. It would consume you from the inside out."
"Then drop the mysteries and tell me how to destroy it," I demanded, completely done with the explanations. "Where is it?"
"The Curse of Kaishata is a powerful weapon often used by the War Gods in elysium to put their enemies to sleep," Anomas explained, his tone darkening with every word. "Once it is activated, it creates a psychological torture so deep that not even you can feel its specific nature, Azriel, even though your mate bond is perfectly intact. You can feel that he exists, but you can’t see what he’s suffering."
A heavy, suffocating silence filled the room. Everyone at this table understood the legendary cruelty of the Kaishata curse.
"How?" I hissed, the air in the room turning dangerously hot. "That is a weapon strictly monitored by the High Heavens. How did an item like that make its way inside the walls of Katula?"
Luceriel cleared his throat, a small smirk playing on his lips as he flicked his wrist, causing the green twigs binding Sariel to instantly wither into dust. "This means there is a spy under your roof. Someone living here has made a deal with Elysium. And as you all know, finding and punishing spies is what I am good at."
"Count me in. We will find whoever brought that filth in and get rid of them," Lumiel growled, his aura flaring with a violent red light. "But first we need to figure out where the curse is. Even though an activated Kaishata curse hides itself, I am sure Sariel can find it with his vision that goes beyond dimensions."
Every gaze shifted toward the Sin of Envy.
Sariel remained silent, frowning at everyone as usual.
"What do you say, Sariel?" Raziel asked, leaning over. "I am good at collecting hidden items. If we work together, we can find this out in minutes."
"Your stupid greed irks me, Raziel," Sariel began, and a brief silence settled over us because we all expected him to reject it.
But instead, Sariel’s jaw tightened as he looked toward the window. "However... Elysium declared war on us first, and I am willing to do anything to crush them."
Raziel clapped his hands together with an excited laugh. "That is my brother!"
Sariel just rolled his eyes, turning his attention back to the table.
I let out a long breath, my gaze locking onto Uriel once more. He was our last card. "Uriel... please."
Uriel let out a miserable groan, yawning deeply as he finally dropped his head flat against the polished wood of the table. "This is going to completely drain my powers."
"Which is why I will be coming with you and Azriel," Taizel announced cheerfully. "I will keep your energy up with my wonderful cooking."
Uriel rolled his eyes without lifting his head. "The last time we went on a trip, Taizel, you tried to force-feed me until I was sick. I hated it."
Taizel chuckled loudly, waving off the complaint. "But the trip was successful, wasn’t it? And you weren’t the only one who tasted my cooking. The rest of you did, and that was over a century ago. A century since we last saw each other in person." He paused, a genuine smile breaking across his massive face as he looked around at each of us. "Now, we are back together as brothers for one purpose and that is to protect the vessel."
I looked around the table, a sudden surge of absolute certainty filling my chest. Taizel was right. We, the Seven Deadly Sins, had finally reunited after so many years.
And we never lose a fight.
"Great," Anomas broke in, nodding at the display of unity. "Thamiel and I will protect the human’s body as much as we can. But everyone, please remember—for this to work, the curse has to be broken permanently. No matter what, we have to find that curse."
"And we will," I stated, my voice dropping into a dangerous promise. "I will make sure Seraphel survives this, no matter what."
"No, brother," Luceriel corrected, standing up from his seat with absolute authority. "We will make sure the human vessel survives. Right, brothers?"
"Right!" the rest of the Sins roared in unison, their voices shaking the very foundations of the palace.