Chapter 188 – Journal Entry 38: Pandora’s Ballad 8

“What have you done?”

“I need to stop you for the sake of Grom.”

“You!”

Pandora waved her hands at me. I rolled away and stood up. I stared at Miss Pandora, I felt my eyes cold.

“You are fast. How did you enter when I filled the entire ruins with magical sigils?”

“I just can.”

“So you are not saying. Not only that, you easily dispelled the ritual...damn it.”

“Stop this Miss Pandora...you are hurting Grom.”

“It would have all stopped!”

“What do you mean?”

“I was close to achieving my goal yet you ruin it! I was steps away from summoning Azel’s soul and I would have seen him again. But you just have to interfere!”

“I could not stop myself. Seeing Grom like that made my body move on my own.”

“Damn it!”

Pandora didn’t wave her hands. At the moment her eyes were leaking tears. She didn’t attack me or do anything. She merely stood with her eyes vacant and blank.

“I was so close to seeing Azel again, I was so close...to seeing his face...yet you just have to interfere and ruin it all for me—HA HA HA HA HA HA-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH”

Pandora broke down to tears. She sat on the ground crying like a child who lost her toy. I didn’t expect her to do this. I expected her to deny things. I expected her to attack me and have everything silent. Yet here she is, crying her heart out.”

“What did you really want?”

“I just, want to see Azel again...”

“Who is this ‘Azel’ you speak of?”

“He was the one who freed me. He was the only human that accepted me, told me to never become what my father told me.”

Then Pandora told me the story of hers. Before she was turned to stone by a mage, she was powerful arch-sorcerer that possesses demonic blood. Her father was that of a demonic being while her mother was a normal mage that was fond of summoning. Her father fell in love with her mother, causing Pandora’s birth. The three lived happily for five years, but one day the kingdom that once lived in the ashen land suspected her father to be that of a demon and hunted him. Her father was killed by the old heroes, prompting her mother go on a rampage using her own blood to slaughter thousands. Pandora escaped all alone and made her living on an isolated island. In the island, she learned all of her craft and summoned familiars to teach her the ways of magic. She spent her life honing her skills only for the Sanctus curse to blight the world, making her island sink to the bottom of the ocean while at the same time turning her into stone. Once in stone form, she wasn’t able to die. Her consciousness stayed and she wasn’t able to sleep. For four hundred years Pandora spent her days in loneliness. She was able to free her soul but with the stone form acting as a chain, she wasn’t able to go far. The days for Pandora was lonely and only until one day that the earthen mate named Azel lifted the island she lived that she was able to seek help.

Azel was a kind man. He helped Pandora turn back to normal. Due to this, Pandora was able to live on Fernery Island. While living on Fernery Island she eventually fell for Azel badly. She did everything she could to win his heart but sadly Azel only saw her as a friend. He married a girl from the island and even though Pandora was heartbroken she accepted it. She lived with the fact that she failed but even so she stayed on the island, watching Azel’s family. Time passed, and at the end of his days, Pandora watched Azel die. She promised to take care of island and his family. So when Azel died, she watched over his wife, who was already old. Pandora was fond of Azel’s wife; she was kind and was Pandora’s best friend. Although they would argue, the two liked each other. So when Azel’s wife died, Pandora took care of their children. Making sure that they live happy lives, but even their children pass away, leaving Pandora alone. In despair, Pandora went to travel back to her former homeland that was already in ashes. In there she met Grom, who was suffering from thousands of malediction. She was able to remove some of his curses but it wasn’t enough.

In pity, Pandora took Grom with her back to Fernery Island where the Mefinami life slowly cured Grom. It took about fifty years of basking in the light that Grom was able to speak. She didn’t know ‘Grom’s ‘original name so she named him ‘Grom’. She learns his true name, they got along fine but one day Pandora saw a tome containing the spell to talk to the dead. Pandora was tempted by this tome and asked Grom for help. Grom naturally helped her in favor. But as the ritual started, and how unbearably painful it was. Grom, who was quite cowardly started to refuse to partake in the ritual, Pandora at first allowed him to do so, but seeing that there was no other way, Pandora forced Grom, while at the same time keeping him silent as she does her ritual.

“I know that I am forcing him but yet it was for the sake of one favor! Compared to how I save him from that ashen land, suffering from those curses for how many years, then this temporary pain should be nothing to him! So please let me continue this!”

“No...I can’t let you do that.”

“Why! just why you won’t let me do so!”

“Because it isn’t right at all, Grom should be free to refuse and for you to force him that way is just sick. Please let him go, Mistress.”

“No, I can’t do that!”

Pandora suddenly stood up and blasted me away. I was planted in a wall. I wasn’t hurt at all, so seeing me nonchalantly stood up widened her eyes. Pandora tried to attack but I grab her hand. Tears poured, out of her eyes.

“I just want to see him again...”

“Then how about I help you?”

A creeping voice of a woman sounded of nowhere. The voice was very familiar and before I can disperse that presence, I was blown away again.

“Ah, things people do for love...isn’t it quite lovely my dear?”

“You...”

Pandora’s voice was long gone. What stood before me was someone else entirely as if Pandora was possessed.

“You bastard...let her go.”

“I can’t do that...she needs my help and with me helping then summoning up a soul should be easy!”

“Damn it...”

I clicked my tongue in frustration. Pandora was being possessed by none other than the bluish haired woman. And because of it, Pandora, whose hair was white, turned blue. And the lonely expression, of hers, turned that of cruel.

“Now, shall we start?”