"What are you doing?" Yuma asked. He perched on his hammock as Yuri seemed to be dialing something on his cell.
"Calling some friends," he replied from his place on the floor. Somehow, Yuma convinced Akari and Haru to let him stay for the night and for as long as he needed. "Different versions of your Astral and Black Mist. They're spellcasters in our world. Astral specializes in light magic, and Dark Mist, which is what he goes by, specializes in black magic. They're more than likely going to find a cure to this."
"To what?"
"They'll tell you when they get here." Yuri finished dialing and held the cell up to his ear and spoke into the microphone. The voice on the other side wasn't clear, but by the tone, it was probably the spellcaster version of Astral. Soon, he hung up. "They'll be here soon."
Only ten minutes passed before another portal opened. Familiar figures emerged, but the aura they emitted was different. Black Mist, or Dark Mist, seemed more docile, and Astral a little more expressive. "You called?" Dark Mist asked.
"Yeah," Yuri replied. "Something's wrong with Shing, and I have a suspicion of what it is."
"Tell us the symptoms," Astral said. He clapped his hands together and opened them again, making a book that appeared in front of Dark Mist. Immediately, the book turned black.
Yuri was the one who told them the symptoms since he was more attentive of them. While he was doing so, Dark Mist flipped through the pages. Yuma saw different names that held a sense of doom to them. They seemed to be illnesses, but not normal kinds. In fact, they were more like curses.
When Yuri was done, the both of them looked over the page they landed on. Upon reading the words, their expressions became comically surprised. Yuma would have laughed if he didn't know it was something terrible.
Both spellcasters started whispering among themselves, trying to confirm that this was the result. Then, Dark Mist turned to them. "It's a curse. Heart Broken is what it's called."
"Heart Broken?" Yuma asked. "That sounds kinda weird."
"It's both weird and rare. Only someone who was deep in their heartbreak and sorrow would be a candidate for the curse."
Astral closed the book. It turned a default gray color. "Fortunately, there is a cure, but it involves..."
"A sacrifice," Dark Mist finished darkly. "By her own hand, she must kill the one she loves most."
"Who would that be?"
Both beings shared a glance. "We don't know yet. There are people she loved dearly in our world, but we also have to consider some of the people here," Dark Mist said. "Astral can go and sense out who it is."
Astral nodded. "It should be easy to find her hidden desires and such without getting too close." He made the book disappear and started out the window. "I should be back by midnight at the earliest and in four days at the latest." With that, he flew out the window.
Dark Mist conjured up a window to watch the spellcaster so that they could keep track of his progress. Dark Mist, Yuri, and Yuma gathered around it to watch until the two boys were called to lunch. After eating, they went right back to watching.
~.~.~
Astral flew around the city, looking for the queen of his world. She shouldn't have been so hard to locate, but she was. It's probably because of the curse, he reasoned. Logically, she's dead, but she still walks the earth, bound to curse and cause heartbreak among the people of the city she "died" in. It makes sense that I can't find her very easily.
So he relied on visual contact instead of energy contact. He searched high in the city and enhanced his vision to find Shing.
It didn't take very long to find her, but she was emitting a strange aura. It was hard just to go near her, but Astral managed to perch on a tree in the park she was in. For the moment, she was resting in the darkness of the trees since the curse essentially rendered her nocturnal. He didn't stay too close to her in case she woke up and decided to attack.
He closed his eyes and tried to ease his way into Shing's mind to see her hidden feelings, but he couldn't seem to break in. It's probably the curse, he once again reasoned. She was still technically dead, and reading the feelings of the dead was nearly impossible. It was still possible, though, so he settled himself for days of work.
~.~.~
As promised, the spellcaster returned on the fourth day. He seemed a bit deflated, though.
"Did you find anything?" Dark Mist asked hopefully.
Astral shook his head. "I couldn't read her."
"Is there anyone who read her when she was still 'alive'?" The black magic user asked.
Yuma's answer was immediate. "Astral learned he could read others! Maybe he picked up on her or something."
"Where is he?"
"In the Key for some reason. I think he felt like spending time with Dark."
"I'll go talk to him, then. Do you mind if I go in?"
"Yeah, go ahead!"
Dark Mist nodded and entered the Key. Inside, he looked around the bare land until his eyes fell on a rather obvious landmark. The golden ship floated proudly amid the empty white sand, announcing its presence through color alone. The spellcaster zipped to the ship as fast as possible to see if this Astral knew anything about Shing's hidden feelings.
"Astral!" he called as loudly as possible as he zoomed through the ship. "Are you in here!?"
Astral was by the Number Wall with Dark's sleeping head in his lap when he heard the call. He turned toward the voice and yelled out, "Who's there!?"
Dark Mist followed the direction of the voice and arrived at the Number Wall. "There you are."
"Number 96?" Astral's eyes narrowed. "What do you want, and how did you get out?"
"I'm not your 96," Dark Mist assured. "I'm from a different world. I'll explain later, but right now, I need your input."
"Very well. Come here. I need to keep an eye on you."
The spellcaster complied and knelt beside the Astral Being. "Yuma says you've regained knowledge on sensing people's desires," he began, cutting right to the chase. "I need to know if you've felt Shing's desires or feelings."
Astral thought for a moment, thinking on those times when he felt Shing's love and desire for Yuma practically shine through during their chases and encounters. To the spellcaster, he looked deep in thought, as if trying to remember. For some reason, he debated with himself on whether to give the honest answer or not. "Why do you need to know?"
"Right now, Shing is cursed. She'll keep killing people and causing them emotional pain that matches hers when she was cursed. The only way is a sacrifice of the one she loves."
"Does it have to be a sacrifice?"
"Yes."
"Why do you need her back?"
"First off, she may end up killing all or most of Heartland City if she isn't cured. Second, she is the queen of my world, and we've been searching endlessly to try and find her. Our scientist may have a better chance of getting her emotional imbalance back to normal if we return her."
With this new information rose a spiteful side of Astral that he didn't know existed. That same side told him that no one, absolutely no one, would take Yuma. The side of him that still needed to complete his mission agreed, saying that without Yuma, he wouldn't be able to do whatever he needed to do. In addition, he would either have to return home or find a new Key Owner, and that might take a long time. No, he couldn't have that.
Still, a third part of him, the one caused by the boy in question, told him that the right thing to do was to tell them the information they needed to break the curse, even at the expense of his own emotional hurt or at the cost of his mission, whatever it was. After all, what was one loss when the city would be safe? What was the cost of one person compared to the restoration of a monarchy of another world?
But were they just here to get her back because they were under her control? Astral looked at Dark Mist and eased his way into the other's mind. No, there was no control there. It was safe to say that this being was here of the kingdom's genuine concern for Shing or for their genuine need for their monarch back.
This thought process took less than ten seconds to occur. To the spellcaster, he still looked like he was trying to remember. After all, Dark Mist remembered the first time he learned how to feel others. It was overwhelming and hard to remember who felt what on command. He understood the wait, no matter how long it would take.
Astral finally opened his mouth, ready to give his answer. "No. I don't remember how she felt about who. I'm sorry."
Dark Mist sighed through his nose, missing the way Astral's eyes were averted. "Well, it was worth a shot. Don't worry about it, we'll figure it out."
He left the Key. Astral could feel the accusing eyes of the people outside for his lie, but that was irrational. They didn't know he was lying. Besides, he still needed Yuma. He still had use for him. He convinced himself that it was for the greater good of the world; he at least remembered that his mission had more than one world at stake. What was the fall of one city or one kingdom when an entire world could be saved?
Then why did he feel so guilty?
I'm lying to myself, he thought bitterly. I don't even remember the specifics of my mission; why use it as an excuse? I don't even know why I'm collecting the Numbers aside from regaining my memory. Admit it, I lied because...
Because he loved Yuma too much to let him go.