Memories of Past:
In the hils of Jamgard lZoh and Amanda given the task to investigate a group of sudden portals appearing on the borders of SGN-PSP portal location.
Suddenly quake occured
The ground split beneath Zoh's feet, a jagged crack racing forward like something alive. He didn't step back—he stepped into it, planting his staff down as blue sigils burst outward in a circular wave. The fracture halted inches from him, trembling, as if resisting an invisible force.
"Still showing off, I see," Amanda's voice cut through the chaos from behind.
Zoh didn't turn. "Still late."
"I was saving your life from a different angle."
A shadow lunged at her from the side—twisted, human-shaped but stretched unnaturally, its limbs bending in ways that made no sense. Amanda reacted instantly, spinning low and driving her blade through its core. Instead of blood, it burst into black smoke that screamed as it dissolved.
"Angle saved," she added.
Zoh allowed himself the faintest smirk before lifting his staff again. The air in front of him warped as dark tendrils surged forward, tearing through the remains of a ruined street. Buildings leaned inward, as if pulled by the curse itself, their walls cracking under pressure.
"They're not random," Zoh said. "Everything is converging."
"Yeah," Amanda replied, stepping beside him, wiping shadow residue off her blade. "Toward something big and ugly. I figured that much."
A pulse hit.
The world distorted.
For a split second, everything froze—then snapped back with violent force. Zoh staggered half a step, his barrier flickering.
Amanda grabbed his arm. "You felt that?"
"Yes."
"What was it?"
Zoh's eyes narrowed, scanning the shifting horizon. In the distance, something massive moved—barely visible, like a silhouette behind a veil.
"The core," he said.
"Good," Amanda replied. "Let's go break it."
They moved fast.
The streets twisted as they ran, the environment reshaping itself under the influence of the curse. Paths folded into each other, buildings stretched higher than they should, and shadows moved independently of light.
Another wave of creatures emerged—dozens this time.
Zoh didn't slow down.
He raised his staff and slammed it into the ground. A surge of energy erupted forward, forming sharp, crystalline spikes of light that tore through the oncoming swarm. The creatures shrieked as they were pinned, their forms destabilizing.
Amanda leapt past him, using the spikes as stepping stones. She moved with precision, cutting through anything that survived Zoh's attack.
"Left!" she shouted.
Zoh reacted instantly, pivoting as a massive limb crashed toward him. He raised a barrier just in time—the impact sent a shockwave through the air, shattering nearby windows.
The attacker was larger than the others. Its body was layered, as if multiple figures were fused together, faces half-formed and shifting.
"Ugly confirmed," Amanda muttered.
Zoh extended his hand, runes spiraling outward. "Hold it."
"On it."
Amanda darted forward, drawing its attention. The creature roared, swinging wildly, but she stayed just out of reach, baiting it, controlling its movement.
"Now!" she yelled.
Zoh clenched his fist.
The runes snapped shut around the creature, compressing inward like a collapsing cage. It struggled, its form distorting violently—
Then exploded into fragments of darkness.
Amanda exhaled. "You could warn me before doing that."
"You weren't in range."
"I was close."
"Not close enough."
She rolled her eyes. "One day I'm going to let something hit you just to prove a point."
"You won't."
A pause.
"…Yeah," she admitted. "I won't."
Another pulse hit—stronger this time.
The ground lifted slightly, then slammed back down. The air grew heavier, harder to breathe.
"We're close," Zoh said.
"No kidding."
They reached an open area—a plaza that had been completely overtaken.
At its center stood the core.
It wasn't a creature.
It wasn't even fully solid.
It was a mass of shifting darkness, suspended above the ground, with tendrils anchoring it to everything around it—buildings, streets, even the air itself. It pulsed rhythmically, each beat sending waves of distortion outward.
Amanda stared at it. "That's… unpleasant."
Zoh stepped forward slightly, his expression focused. "It's stabilizing the entire field. Destroy it, and everything else collapses."
"Simple enough."
"No," he said. "It's protected."
As if on cue, the ground around the core split open.
Four towering figures emerged—guardians, larger and more stable than anything they'd faced so far. Their forms were less chaotic, more defined, as if the curse had refined them into something stronger.
Amanda cracked her neck. "Alright. This is more like it."
Zoh raised his staff. "We don't have time for all of them."
"Then we don't fight all of them," she said. "We fight through them."
Before he could respond, she charged.
" Amanda—"
Too late.
She engaged the nearest guardian, her blade flashing as she struck fast and precise. The creature retaliated immediately, its attacks heavier, faster.
Zoh clicked his tongue but followed.
He lifted his staff, channeling energy into the ground beneath the guardians. Sigils spread outward, destabilizing their footing, slowing them down just enough.
"Amanda, three seconds!" he called.
"I'll take two!"
She ducked under a sweeping strike, slid forward, and drove her blade into the guardian's leg—not to destroy, but to disrupt. The creature staggered.
Zoh used the opening.
A concentrated beam of energy shot forward, piercing through the guardian's core. It froze, then shattered.
"Two seconds," Amanda said, already moving.
"Show-off."
"Learn from me."
The remaining guardians adapted quickly.
One lunged at Zoh directly, forcing him to raise multiple barriers in rapid succession. Each hit cracked them faster than the last.
"Amanda," he said sharply.
"I see it!"
She broke away from her fight, sprinting toward him. As the guardian prepared another strike, she jumped—using Zoh's barrier as a platform—and came down with full force, driving her blade through its head.
"Got you," she said.
The creature collapsed.
"Focus," Zoh reminded her, already turning toward the core.
The last two guardians moved to block them.
Amanda exhaled slowly. "Zoh."
"Yes."
"We end this together."
A brief silence.
Then—
"Of course."
They moved in sync.
Zoh unleashed a wide-area surge, forcing the guardians back, while Amanda slipped through the gap he created. She ran straight toward the core, ignoring everything else.
The core reacted violently.
Tendrils shot toward her from all directions.
"Zoh!"
"I'm here."
The tendrils froze mid-air—held in place by layers of glowing sigils. Zoh strained, his entire body tense as he held them back.
"Now!"
Amanda didn't hesitate.
She leapt, channeling everything she had into a single strike. Her blade cut through the outer layer of the core—
But stopped.
"Zoh!" she shouted. "It's resisting!"
"I know!"
The remaining guardians broke free, charging toward them.
Zoh made a choice.
He dropped the tendrils.
Instead, he redirected everything into Amanda.
Energy surged around her, amplifying her strike.
"Finish it!" he yelled.
Amanda gritted her teeth and pushed forward.
The blade pierced through.
The core cracked.
Then shattered.
—
For a moment, everything stopped.
Then the entire area began to collapse.
The sky cleared. The distortions vanished. The remaining creatures dissolved into nothing.
Amanda landed hard, catching her breath.
Zoh walked up beside her, lowering his staff.
"…You almost got yourself killed," he said.
She glanced at him, smirking faintly. "You almost didn't save me."
"I always save you."
"Yeah," she said softly. "I know."
The silence that followed wasn't heavy this time.
It was earned.
And for now—
The world was still standing.