[quote][b][color=#38b000]"When you stumble, lost and at your last gasp, a help can make a world's difference."[/color][/b] 
[b][color=#38b000]"But you will need to be wary of whose hand should be grasped, yes? Salvation and ruin are sometimes hard to distinguish."[/color][/b] 
[b][color=#38b000]"Do you trust Theriadore's legacy?"[/color][/b][/quote]

Jazdia exhaled a breath, trusting was an irrelevant thing to ask right now. They had chosen to enter Theriadore's vault, planning to extract information from his books. Arcan offered a shortcut, perhaps what she needed. Just like what Verdant said, she was stumbling in pain that was crippling her slowly; she was lost, and nearly on her last gasp.

[quote][color=6ecff6]"No need to hurry, Jazdia. Just let us know if you are ready." [/color]

[color=6ecff6]"Should we hope to really fight this curse, any information we might get about it will help, no matter how small it might be. Hope is the last to die, after all, isn't it?"[/color][/quote] 

Miwa said, and her smile was assuring, comforting, erasing all doubts, and somehow making her question why doubt was there in the first place. She looked at the curator's indifferent look, but did not fail to see the flicker of impatience. 

Jazdia held his hand and let whatever secret she had about this condition lie bare; she had nothing to lose, only to gain. 

When Arcan's gloved hand touched Jazdia's, the Curator's brow furrowed, and he stared at her for a few moments, tightening the grasp on her hand until discomfort set in. The curator himself looked as if he was having a seizure, but all hid under that controlled posture. Then, he took a slow, menacing step forward, straightened himself, and fixed his gaze on her with a livid stare.

[i][b]"What...have you done?"[/b][/i] He said, his jaw clenched. 

Jazdia had done many things in her 75 years of living in this world, and she could immediately point out which event in her life this question pointed toward. But she was unable to explain it, the betrayal, her beloved's death, the contract she vaguely remembered; all was irrelevant in search of a cure. 

But for the ancient being in front of her, it was not just 'irrelevant' details. Her silence and reluctance seemed to escalate something in him, an expression of restrained rage that roused Jazdia's vigilance. 

[i][b]"You... do you have any idea what kind of evil you were playing with?" [/b][/i]

[color=ec008c]"Playing?"[/color] Instead of answering, she questioned back, defiantly. No, it was not a game! It was survival, and and the power she exchanged was a salvation to avenge the fallen. Her soft expression grew more stern as she looked back at the ancient curator. [color=ec008c]"Curator Arcan, I'd appreciate it if we just focus on finding the cure---"[/color]

The curator suddenly yanked her hand up and slammed her against the wall behind her, phasing through the desk and the toppled chair in the process. His semi-ethereal forearm pinned her by the neck. 

[i][b]"You!"[/b][/i] he snarled. [b][i]"Pitiful, stupid elf! You meddled with powers the wise of old wouldn’t even speak of! What did [color=#DC143C]she[/color] promise you? Power? Life? Did you know the price of it all?!"[/i][/b]

Jazdia's first instinct as a ranger was to yank a blade from her quiver and stab the assailant, but the force that held her pressed with irresistible strength; it was like a densely concentrated air that pushed with a great force, and at that moment, she gazed into Arcan's blue eyes, both simmering with rage burning above fear belonged to a distant memories. 

[color=ec008c]"C-curator..."[/color] she managed, trying to wheeze her words out. [color=ec008c]"I am not--- your enemy!" [/color]

[i][b]"You will!"[/b][/i] he snapped spitefully.[i][b]"There is no cure for you! You will die, and [color=#DC143C]she[/color] will take you! Your body, your memories! Not even a soul will be left! There will be no more you!"  
[/b][/i]

His hateful speech vibrated the very walls and structure of this vault. The shelves tremble, the decor swayed, and the lamp flickered. It faintly echoed to many corners, filling the air with fury almost tangible.

[@13org][@Valkon][@A5G]