Chapter 142 - Nox's Curse

"What's that?" the voice slow – Dead eyes stared through the window. "You wanted Staxius Haggard, well better get prepared, our leader is here," Avon replied and headed into the back room.

"We're back," the door to the car opened. First, a portal was taken back to Dorchester's noble district. From there on, teleportation was used to return – mana capacity was about a third gone. "I should not try that again," the first step taken, Staxius stumbled. "Watch it," out of character, the girl grabbed his hand. "Thanks for the help," he smiled and headed inside; the posture regained its usual firmness.

"Avon," he called out, an unfamiliar face stood inside. "How rude, I apologize for shouting in thy ears," the tone now polite – he nonchalantly walked back behind the counter and waited. "Welcome back, master," Avon returned. "Thanks, have you asked what this gentleman here wants?" the leader inquired to Dead eyes' presence.

"Not a customer, he says he wants to join up with Kniq," the reason laid bare n.a.k.e.d. "Yes," the boy bowed, "-I'd like to join up with your adventuring crew and help in whatever way I can," the voice now felt as if begging. "Raise your head," the voice serious, Staxius spoke, "-there's no need to grovel," the sight was unbecoming of anyone. "Time is rather late, can you please come back tomorrow?" a request to which the man could not refuse.

Thus, the day ended – it came as a shock to see the fox-eared girl, the one who still hadn't told her name to anyone. Whilst chatting, it was decided that Staxius would make the shop his permanent bedroom – the girl was free to take the room back at the hotel. "Avon, I know I brought her here," she stood in the main room whilst they spoke in the back. "However, I'd like you to take charge. Another girl would just be troublesome – Achilles and Undrar are already catastrophes on their own," he spoke in jest. Avon knew the underlying reasoning and accepted, it also helped that said girl trusted him.

*Click,* having given away the pocket watch, knowing what time it grew to be impossible. A mild and fairly inaccurate guess would have done him no good. 'Well,' he sat with the worktable in front, the small bed rested behind. On the left side, a shelf with numerous glass apparatuses, and in the top right corner, piles and piles of books and scrolls. Next to it, carton with empty flasks and experimental scrolls. 'If I don't know the time, then there's only one option,' the left eye closed. A mild pulse ran from the right eye towards the right arms and legs. 'Headache, what a joke,' he chuckled. At this stage, the skill was at its infancy, Staxius could not control who's eyes he saw through, it was random though changing from animal to person could be manageable. For a few minutes, the sight cycled from every living creature in the vicinity, from the bars to the shady hotels – all laid before him. In the end, time was revealed to be nine-thirty.

'Might take a few more hours to get the hang of the curse of Nox.' He sighed; the hand held a pen. 'God's ale,' a bottle stood right beside, the one the old man had sent over. With that, the process of studying how the substance worked began, alchemy grew to be integral – from composition to how much magic was involved; an overall description was made clear. The process was long and tedious for it lasted a whole six hours, Staxius got no sleep. Midnight came by, the trance for the quest for knowledge – the path led further and further inside.

Another six hours went by, from a small investigation to a full-on examination – the man pulled an all-nighter. Mana ran low, the effects only now manifested. "I'm beat," he exclaimed, the task had been accomplished – the ingredients used were revealed. "So simple yet effective, it's the mana that changes everything." With that said, the chair toppled over backward, said momentum was used to jump in bed. The noise echoed, it rested on the floor whilst Staxius sunk into the world of dreams.

"It was nice of master to give such a nice room to me," the girl spoke, the window opened, Avon stood right beside. "Well, I'm sure the shop feels more at home than this hotel. To always be on guard and ready for any attack – must be hard to remain in that mindset even in sleep," the spirit spoke fondly.

"We're back," the door to said room swung open. "Welcome back," he turned to see a tired Undrar carrying Achilles. "Where have you been?" he dashed seeking answers. "Who knew that trying to kill goblins and looking for a runaway cat could be so hard. We really should not have taken quests after drinking so much," the situation was explained quickly.

"A guy name Dead eyes came seeking for a place in Kniq, ring any bells?" the spirit stared intently. "Yeah, I told him to come seak out master, but now, I just want to sleep," without fail, both companions slept. The girls had grown fond of one another, something that would eventually translate into battle.

Inside the central guild, Melisa and Diane organized paper and quest logs. The day had just begun, the guild opened already but quests weren't ready to be put on the board. "Over here, these are the quest that needs to be put up today," Melisa screamed with pieces of papers in hand. "Calm down, the world isn't ending anytime soon," the radio played – Aceline's angelic voice soothed the soul. "Who would have known that a radio host would turn out to become a girl admired by the whole kingdom," Diane added. The duo now compiled the necessary paperwork. "The pride of Hidros, that title sure is an understatement," Melisa added in jest. "That's the power of evolution for you," eventually, returning adventurers entered.

Amidst the cacophony of boasting warriors, the sound of a phone ringing broke Diane's stern posture. "Central Guild, how may I be of help?" she answered. Far in the south-east, a snobbish voice spoke, "I'd like to put in a request," it asked. "Go ahead, I'll see what is possible," she stood and waited for details.

"My name is Scott, I'm the manager for lady Aceline. As you've probably known from all the news – she's going on tour to the main continent soon. However, the emperor has yet to give any details about security which only tells us that we are to organize it ourselves," he paused. "I'm assuming the request is for adventurers to take in said job and act as security," she guessed right. "-I've got a list of groups, if necessary – we can ask Blades End for help. However, asking the top guild will require some exhaustion when coming to the monetary prospect." It didn't show through the phone, but Diane was ecstatic – she secretly adored the idol.

"I understand," he replied, "-though the lady has personally asked for a man named Staxius Haggard." *Cough,* "Are you sure?" she asked seeking confirmation. "Yes, do notify said person; we are to arrive in the capital in a few days' time. At most, in five days, I'll send the details by mail," the phone hung.

"You look like you've seen a ghost,' Melisa pointed out the paler than normal face. "…Aceline has requested Staxius Haggard to be hired as her bodyguard." She mumbled, despite the animosity, it could not be helped. "That's good news, someone like him can definitely do some damage – not to mention all the attention the guild might get. The pride of Hidros being protected by the people of Hidros. Doesn't that have a poetic feel to it?" she smiled.

The power of the Nox clan, especially the curse. It didn't seem apparent at first, but what the elder said earlier came to reality.  *A curse, one of torment and pain. One that shall take away the restful night of sleep.* The innocent nap Staxius took was anything but that. The right eye pulsed, normally when one closed both eyes- it would turn pitch black but not here. When the eyes closed, it didn't show black, but it showed what others were seeing. Shutting the eyes activated the power and it was the only way to sleep and recover mana. A predicament of which Staxius knew not how to get out of.

The fight against sleep could not be won, but the All-seeing eye refused to give and falter. "Don't underestimate me," Staxius sighed, he stood. The right hand slowly placed onto the cursed eye, "tell me thy secrets," he mumbled. As it was magic, subconsciously the body had been taking apart the power and reconstructing it to fit the host. The various writings on the body began to light up, "I need to change the way this power activates," the tone calm – things happened beyond human comprehension. Just like any magical scroll, Staxius examined the power from within until, *bam,* he fell onto the bed. Unwillingly, the consciousness entered Clarity, the focus was too great it could not be stopped.

'Welcome back, prodigy,' whispers, murmurs, the feeling of weightlessness. "do you wish for more power?" a demonic voice spoke, it appeared as a shape of a black hand. "How pleasant, the curse that Millicent was troubled by," with a flick of the wrist, the hand grew far apart, "I need not weaklings," *Snap,* it vanished.

"How interesting, you even dispel demons as if they were children," a pentagram that overflowed with blood faced him directly. "You must be the curse of Nox," Staxius spoke. "Indeed we are," echoes of giggles overwhelmed the blank space. Without warning, *slash,* the right-hand pierced right through said symbol; blood sprayed out. "Do you think such a weak curse can suffice to harm me?" a smirk later, *crack,* it broke down. "In no way are you powerful enough to stand against me, the curse of Nox. Either you comply and reveal thy secrets or get crushed to oblivion," the voice menacing, a robed entity manifested itself behind him, it wielded a scythe. "What is the verdict?"

"We yield," *poof* the symbol shattered and took on the shape of a small human. It had batwings, "from today forth, us the curse of Nox shall forever serve Staxius as our master," it bowed. "The right eye shall be in thy control – all our powers shall become yours. However, closing thine eyes is obligatory for the spell to activate – therefore, we shall manifest ourselves in the real world to act as a conduit." Without realizing, from Clarity to now the realm of dreams – Staxius slept. This sort of thing was common, dealing with curses in such a manner was a force of habit. Each curse has its own personality, its own will and thought process. The hand that was vanquished earlier was but something weak and feeble. One which latched onto dark emotions to survive.

The reason for the refusal to be called a hero was due to this fact. Heroes were blessed by gods and goddesses; their power came from righteousness and light. Staxius stood on the opposite end of the spectrum, he drew power from curses and dark emotions – a place where no one would ever survive alone. A place he had changed and made into a home – nothing bothered the inner peace found.

Time said noon, Staxius woke fully rested. "Greetings master," a childish tone spoke, "not another one," he sighed. No attention was paid to said voice, rather, he forcefully looked away and focused on the notes about god's ale. "We are Nox's curse," it added. "Good for you," the chair got put back in place, work resumed. "We're here to act and serve as thy conduit," it proclaimed. "Congratulations," the voice monotonous, Staxius didn't care.

"Pay attention to us for one second," it sounded angry but adorable. A small figure, as big as the notebook stood with hands on its h.i.p.s. "We are Nox's curse," it yelled, "and I'm Staxius Haggard," he pinched the small figure's face. "T-this i-is d-degrading," It mumbled, he wiggled the face back and forth. "So, what are you anyways."

"We're Nox's curse," it could barely stand still, vertigo from being shaken around force the poor figure onto the table. "From what I've seen, there's only one of you." Without care, he lifted it using the head only, "so, you're a girl," he raised the body up and looked to see its hidden secrets. "STOP IT," it tried to fight back, "fine, fine, enough teasing." The tiny lady was put down. The real identity was the embodiment of the blood running in the Nox's clan of which it was female. This was because the first-ever vampire wasn't a man, it was a lady whomst gave birth to Balthazar.