Chapter 234: The Research and The war of the past
The thick encyclopedia lay open between Lys and Selene like a heavy slab of stone, its pages whispering as Selene turned them one by one. The lantern on the table flickered every so often, sending little shadows crawling across the yellowed paper. Lys sat close enough that their shoulders brushed whenever one of them leaned in. The library felt smaller now, cozier, the tall shelves pressing in like old friends keeping their secrets safe.
Selene’s finger traced down a column of text, her brow furrowed in that focused way she got when she was really digging into something. She didn’t rush. Every few pages she’d pause, read a line out loud in a quiet, steady voice, then glance at Lys to see if it clicked to him.
“Look, this one talks about basic mana channeling in ranged weapons,” she said, tapping a diagram of a simple bow with glowing arrows. “But nothing about curses yet. Let’s keep looking.”
Lys nodded, his eyes scanning the illustrations even if the words still swam a little for him. The air around him carried an old-paper smell, mixed now with the faint scent of Selene’s hair, something clean and herbal from her morning wash.
It grounded him. After spilling everything about the system, the bow, Tresta’s curse, and that impulsive promise he’d made in the settlement, the tension in his chest had eased a little. And on top of that getting Selene’s wholeheartedly support with his research after all of the heavy things he told her almost made his eyes fill with tears at how thoughtful she was.
But he controlled himself, not trying to embarrass himself in front of her, wanting to keep showing her his cool sides only.
Noticing something suddenly, he reached over and gently stopped her hand on the next page. “Wait, wait, wait. That symbol over there, the one that looks like a twisted vine around the bowstring. I think I’ve seen something like that on Tresta’s bow when I touched it before.”
Selene leaned closer to get a closer look at the symbol he was talking about. While leaning forward, her chest pressed against his arm a little now, though she didn’t seem that bothered by it. Which made Lys a little self conscious after all of the drama earlier.
While his mind was in the gutter, Selene kept reading the section-heading aloud. “High-tier corrupted enchantments… origins in the old conflicts.” Her voice dropped a notch as she kept going.
The words themselves painted a picture neither of them had expected. While reading the section about enchanted bows both of them got an overall picture of how these weren’t just some random cursed items. They were likely weapons deliberately twisted by something powerful during the old wars between witches and humans.
The section described how bows were specifically made for cursed soldiers back then, tools that fed on the target's life force, grew stronger the more they killed, and rejected anyone who wasn’t meant to wield them.
It also explained, breaking the bond between a cursed bow and its user wasn’t that simple, which can be done by simple purification. It required someone who could meet the weapon on its own terms, and take the ownership of the cursed bow from its previous user. There was no mention of any other way for breaking the bond.
Lys felt the pieces shift in his head. His fingers tightened on the edge of the table. ‘So, If these bows were made for soldiers… then what about CorpseSlayer?’
The thought hit him hard. That sword had synced with him almost too easily once he figured out its rhythm. There was no draining, or rejection, like with Tresta. ‘Was it made by the same kind of entity? Or someone powerful from the past? But then why the hell am I the only one who can handle cursed weapons without getting wrecked? What’s so special about this blessing that the goddess slapped on me?’
“Wait a minute. If what this book says is true, then how can Tresta use this bow all those years without getting cursed herself? That doesn’t make sense.” Lys spoke to himself.
“Huh, what are you talking about? What doesn’t make sense?” Selene asked Lys.
“Well, Tresta had said it was her own enchanted bow, and a count from the capital supposedly placed a curse on it to take his revenge. But if her bow was among these bows which are relics from the past, then how does any of this make sense? Was her bow cursed from the beginning, or the count cursed it later as Tresta thinks? It can’t be both, right?” Lys asked with confusion in his face.
“Or, it can be that her bow was simple at first, but then the count just simply swiped it with an identical bow which happened to be of the cursed bows.” Selene proposed another possibility which made it more confusing than it already was.
“Yeah, either those, or these cursed bows this book is talking about is different from the bow we are researching for. Ughhh, it is getting more confusing the more I’m thinking about it!” Lys said, shuffling his hair.
“Okay, let’s stop thinking about it, and find out what and how those bows actually work. Maybe that might trigger something with your system.” Selene said finally, while shifting another page of the book.
Lys stared at the page, as Selene kept telling him what it was about. He was staring at it without really seeing it, mind turning it all over. The system had said that he was the only one who could bond with Tresta’s bow. Same with the sword.
He knew it in his gut that it wasn’t just luck, it couldn't be. There had to be a reason. A bigger one than just “you’re the chosen guy from another world.”
Selene noticed him staring blankly. So, she set the book down carefully, the pages settling with a soft rustle, and turned to look at him. Her eyes were steady, no judgment. “Lys,” she said, voice soft but clear. “Whatever this is, don’t think too much about it, okay? Whatever the bow really needs from you… I’ll help you with it. Not just sitting here today. Going forward. We’ll figure out all of it, together. So, you don’t have to carry the rest of this alone, okay?”
The words landed warm in his chest. He met her gaze, the lantern light catching the faint flush on her cheeks from the stuffy air. He swallowed, throat a little tight. “Thanks, Selene. I really appreciate your understanding.”
She gave him a small nod, the corner of her mouth twitching like she wanted to smile but was keeping it practical. Then she pulled the book back in front of them and started reading again from where they’d left off, her shoulder staying pressed against his.
Lys scooted even closer, one arm resting along the back of her chair. The contact between them felt good, solid, real, while the rest of the world waited on the other side of the church walls.
They worked like that for a little while longer. Selene read passages about corrupted enchantments, how some of those old cursed weapons were still locked away in noble treasuries because nobody could safely use them. Lys listened, asking questions when something clicked with what the system had shown him, and shared what little he understood about his own cursed weapon, CorpseSlayer. Every so often their hands brushed when they both reached for the page. But neither of them pulled away.