"Good morning, Alora!"

  ...???

  Shockingly, the first thing I saw upon waking up was the familiar snow-white hair and golden eyes: Esme, my sister.

  I immediately reached for my face;

  And-

  Phew...

  -the mask was somehow there, alongside my bck-ce gloves.

  Using this brief moment to take a look around the room-

  It's clean.

  Did the maid clean it up? Or did mother do it for me?

  Confused but appreciative of whoever was thoughtful enough to fix the mess, I gnced up at my smiling sister.

  "Good morning?"

  Sitting up, squeeze~, Esme rested her hands over mine, csping them warmly.

  Ba-dump.

  Attempting to ignore the palpitations in my wildly beating heart, "So... Why are you here, Esme?"

  Forget shocked; I'm confused.

  Why's she here?

  No-!

  Screw that.

  This is bad.

  She'll find out.

  She'll know.

  She'll see.

  Me talking.

  Me bleeding.

  The Curses.

  "I'm not delusional." I spat at the one speaking.

  ...And I immediately fucked up.

  Fuck off.

  Yet.

  Seemingly unbothered, Esme pced her knee on the bed and pushed herself onto it. She sat before me, and with her arms spread wide;

  She tempted me with:

  "Come here."

  Esme was dressed in a carefree, frilly white dress that cut off at the upper end of her thighs. With white stockings reaching up beyond the cut-off point, I-

  Pretty.

  I crawled forward and plunged my head into her shoulder; the feeling of the smooth, ticklish white fabric emanating with her warmth cooled my head. She wrapped her arms around my shoulders and neck, holding me close.

  "I know." I spoke.

  "I already know." I continued speaking.

  "But I can't resist it."

  Not to Esme, but to them.

  "Greeting you in the morning, in this manner, has been a dream I've held dear to me for as long as I can remember." Esme pushed her mouth close to my ear as she spoke;

  Ba-dump.

  "Thank you, Alora."

  Ba-dump.

  "For giving me this chance."

  Ba-dump.

  I...

  "Y, you won't ask...?"

  I dared ask.

  In response, she squeezed me tighter, amplifying the warmth exchanged between our entangled bodies; "No, I promised you, did I not?"

  With warmth I believed I'd never get to experience in this lifetime, "I'll be waiting for you."

  "Until you're ready to speak, I shall wait. For as long as you require, dear sister."

  As I began to sink into the quagmire of unholy warmth and thoughts, of what should be irregur emotion, I decided to rapidly shift the direction of our conversation.

  "But why are you here, sister?"

  "Why? To be with you, obviously." She stated as a matter of factly.

  ...What the hell is happening right now?

  As much as I'm getting the answers, it doesn't change anything. I'm lost. I'm confused.

  Just yesterday, I had met her for the first time; just yesterday, I had been completed.

  And now my sister is waking me in the mornings?

  Hugging me?

  She's waiting for me?

  How?

  What does she know?

  How much does she know?

  What has she been going through these few years, considering her affluence and what I've seen of her yesterday alone?

  ...Not to mention, that was my first time seeing her since that day 4 years ago.

  Simply put.

  Everything's moving too fast.

  ...

  Or have I been the slow one all along?

  Dazed, I mumbled out something else to keep the conversation going while I tried to process my bewildered state.

  "Esme, did you miss me too?"

  And I went and asked that instead.

  It's like my mouth had grown a mouth of its own; it's acting like it's incapable of holding a normal human conversation-

  ...Oh.

  Speaking of.

  When was the st time I had one?

  "Of course!"

  Squeezing my neck, Esme abruptly pulled me over to the side and rolled over the bed with me, across the sheets and into the centre like a pair of rolled burritos.

  "You cannot comprehend how long I've been waiting for this moment, dear sister!"

  ...I see; she's also been waiting.

  Warmth.

  The warmth from losing that panging of worry—the worry that I'd been the only one thinking of her all day—comforted me.

  It wasn't just me.

  Crunch!

  I bit my gums to give myself some sense of crity before I ascended any further. While Esme was still occupied, I started to piece the puzzle together.

  First, I woke up with my mask and gloves on, but I remembered to take them off before I slept. Someone put them on for me before I awoke, most likely before Esme entered the room, otherwise, there would have been a reaction.

  Second, my room has been thoroughly cleaned and repaired.

  Third, our mother must have allowed her to come here, there'd be no possibility of this second reunion if not for her approval.

  And anything approved by our mother must have a meaning behind it—a reason for it.

  Let's go along with it for now.

  "Wait, wait, Esme, let me clean up first." Promptly pushing away Esme, who had turned us into a sandwich, I rushed up to hop off the bed. I didn't want to—well, I did want to—stay in her embrace any longer.

  Dashing away, I rushed into the bathroom and shut the door behind me with a-

  Thud!

  -powerful sm.

  Heaving air, the abrupt surge of adrenaline began to relent, allowing me access to the full range of sensations spreading across my body, mainly-

  67,843,234...Fuckoff...Notme.you.notus,eyes,haveyouseenmyleftpinky?

  A barrage of all the noise.

  And the ever-present unstoppable wave of Curses rushing through my body.

  While it kept me together, barely allowing me to function with my vocal cords, bones, flesh and muscles still torn-

  It doesn't mean my body is in a good state—illkillmillfillhehehaveyouseenit?myeye?haveyouseenit?

  Squeezing my head, my body swayed left and right as I stumbled to the centre of the bathroom. My world spun incessantly, preventing me from steadily walking.

  Upon reaching the middle...

  I saw the mirror.

  I saw myself.

  I saw it.

  Instinctively, without even so much as a pinch of hesitation, my waist spun as the force in my body channelled itself through my rotating shoulders and into my fist-

  CRASH!

  -and burst the mirror apart.

  Shards scattered beneath me, and, at me; cuts and slits spread across me, but instead of pain:

  Relief.

  I felt relief.

  Perhaps it was fortunate that I had escaped the bedroom in time, otherwise, I may have shattered the wardrobe without a care in the world.

  Releasing the built-up tension, I shook off my fist and stood there for a minute.

  I rexed.

  Calmed myself.

  "Hoo..."

  Letting out a breath of tense air, I allowed myself to redirect my attention elsewhere.

  First, I focused on my innards.

  Blessings and Curses.

  I am not entirely sure how Blessings function in the body; I was never taught the process. I do, however, know how Curses work in line with Blessings.

  For every Blessing a person receives, they, in return, receive a Curse of equal value.

  This Curse may vary, from something as subtle as being incapable of lifting a spoon for the remainder of their life. Or, even as severe as a terminal illness, debilitating them, or even, at times, even killing.

  In my case, the Curses, plural, run freely in my body.

  It's a process simir to blood; instead of exchanging carbon dioxide and oxygen between cells, it exchanges Curses.

  This extends to the molecur level.

  I must control this exchange of Curses and the direction in which Curses flow to apply wherever I want to.

  For example:

  My vocal cords.

  The voice box was shattered.

  Thus, I lead my Curses to the voice box and instruct them to bind the molecules together.

  Of course, my control isn't that refined. It's more of a vague sense of control, but it's a form of control nonetheless.

  But.

  Curses.

  Not Blessings.

  They may bind the molecules together, but this binding with Curses will simultaneously burn and apply all the Curses within me onto those molecules.

  I've said it, haven't I?

  I've already awakened.

  But...

  Gncing down at my palm.

  I have no Blessings.

  Only Curses.

  I awakened Curses, and Curses only.

  Then, I received all of Esme's Curses, of which she also had multiple.

  Not to mention...

  The number of Blessings and Curses increases with each Step taken.

  If I remember correctly, Esme awakened lightning, fire, and something the first time around. Meaning this time around, she must have awakened other Blessings to complement her initial Blessings.

  This can be anything: the ability to manipute heat better, lightning, or perhaps a physical attribute boost. Or, if unlucky, it can be something minor, like slightly softer skin.

  Thus.

  She also awakened further Curses; Curses that I have taken from her.

  Plus, I, too, received more Curses once I took that First Step alongside her.

  Sighing, I clenched my fist and stepped over the mess of gss shards; I guess I won't be changing to fresh clothes today...

  I had forgotten to bring new clothes from the wardrobe amid my rush.

  -----

  ...Is what I thought, but Esme had snuck in a fresh set of the same pair of clothing for me through the bathroom door; did she sneak a look at me...?

  An unholy feeling threatened to overwhelm me again.

  Sp!

  Thus, I briefly took off the mask, smacked my face, and wore it again.

  Momentarily leaving behind the temptations, I returned to the bedroom.

  And, this time, instead of mother waiting for me:

  "Done?"

  "Yes, mother."

  It was Esme.

  Yet.

  Even though I know that, I instinctively uttered the word 'mother'.

  It had been ingrained in me.

  "Hehe~"

  But Esme swept over my words and patted my head instead. "Let's go then, shall we?"

  Nodding, I automatically walked to the terrace; breakfast with Esme...

  I want it.

  But I shouldn't.

  It's contradictory.

  I both wanted and didn't want it.

  And, now that I think about it:

  ...What do I even want?

  Squish.

  A hand suddenly grabbed mine, it was Esme's.

  "Where are you going?" She asked.

  "...To breakfast."

  In that split second, I felt Esme flinch for a reason. The vibrations rushing from her hand into mine were subtle but noticeable nonetheless.

  "Right? So come." So she said as Esme walked towards:

  The bedroom doors.

  I almost stopped myself from moving forward, but repressed the instincts at the st second.

  Thus, I followed behind Esme.

  To the doors.

  To the dimensional gates.

  Stopping in front of it;

  Click.

  Esme turned the doorknob and opened the door.

  And-

  I-

  Sound.

  Human noise.

  Lively noise.

  Not the dreary nothingness of my room but the fullness of life.

  ...The corridor before me;

  ...The one I had been expecting;

  ...The space gates;

  They weren't there when Esme opened the door.

  Instead.

  Before us;

  Before me;

  For the first time;

  A normal corridor flushed with warm lights squeezed past vast panes of gss, carpets carefully taken care of, passing maids, occasional butlers, elegant servants and the vibrancy of a living and breathing mansion.

  It released its grasp on Esme's hand;

  It walked towards the closest window;

  And then, it looked outside.

  And then it saw.

  Not the mountains.

  Not the ke.

  But people.

  The repetition, the same view, the same days, the same nights-

  They were no longer.

  It was finally released.

  Ba-dump.

  But it.

  It could also sense it.

  The Mistress' grasp upon its strings.

  BrokenNose