Crack.
Kreyn's legs dropped onto the warden's desk as he settled comfortably into the soft chair.
In the corner of the room, leaning against the wall, stood Daren, smoking a cigarette. Like Kreyn, he loved to win, but he always lost to his main addiction.
Groza stood on the left. She still looked dissatisfied and gloomy, but she forced herself to calm down to be here.
"So... Where should we start?" Kreyn interlocked his thumbs, looking at Laura and Borko, who were sitting in front of him.
They were both nervous. Despite Laura's status, now everything was different. She was not just a hostage, but had confessed to everyone that she didn't care about her family's influence in the region. She wanted to move on, but she didn't know how or if she would ever be able to leave this room, at least as a free woman.
"You." Kreyn glanced at Borko. "How did you even become the warden of this prison? I feel sorry for you. You're just a mess. And you..."
He turned his gaze to Laura. "Let's say I believe you, and even though you look like a noblewoman on the outside, on the inside, you're a traveler, and unlike that bastard with the cane, you don't really like this life. Do you understand that you have to earn your place here?"
Laura gulped.
Earn her place?
Since childhood, she had everything anyone could wish for. She has access to any goods and services at her beck and call.
"I understand… But! Don't forget that I am first and foremost an Origin! I am capable of more than a simple prisoner!"
"Sure. That's why, after our conversation, you'll go there." He pointed to the blocked passage to the mine. "You'll help the prisoners, no complaints. Then, you'll take a pickaxe in your delicate hands and go to the mine with Daren's squad."
Laura's lips trembled as Kreyn leaned forward.
"Can you do it, or are all your words just bullshit and I should treat you as a hostage rather than an ally?"
"I..." Her voice trembled as she glanced at the prisoners clearing the debris. "I'll do it! I'll do whatever it takes to get out of this hole!"
Kreyn spread his arms wide and sat back down in his chair. "Good."
Silence.
No one said anything until Laura made up her mind and raised her hand like a schoolgirl.
"I have one question."
"Sure, go ahead."
Laura looked at Groza, at the battlefield, and then at Kreyn.
"The four of you... You, Groza, and the girl with crimson hair and the handsome guy... What was that? Were you all cursed or blessed at that moment?"
"Hmm? A curse?" Kreyn raised an eyebrow. "Tell me more about that."
Laura blinked several times. "So you don't know about it? Although... It's not surprising since you're in prison. Sure, I'll tell you everything I know!"
...
Curses and Blessings.
People connected to the Origins and even most of the common folk knew well what these two words meant.
Not all Origins received their powers by creating an Epos. Some received these powers in their youth or even in childhood. This often happened to the offspring of important people. It was believed that those who received the Highest Blessing were chosen by the will of the world itself to be the Origins who would change the course of events.
The more the Origins or simply significant ordinary people there were in a person's bloodline, the greater the chance that the person would receive the High Blessing, basically becoming an Origin without creating their own Epos. Sometimes, although quite rarely, this happened to ordinary people, which was considered great luck and their chance to escape poverty.
In fact, this was partly a defense mechanism of the Great Lands against people from other worlds. It should not be forgotten that someone like Kreyn took the place of a person who had just died, while someone else took the place of a newborn baby.
Some of the people who received the High Blessing were people from lesser worlds, while others were truly talented/lucky people who became an Origin by chance.
Curses were a completely different case.
There were Artificial Curses and Natural Curses.
Artificial Curses were quite a common thing. One person or a group, usually much stronger than their target, would place a seal on a person, blocking that person's powers. In essence, while the seal was in effect, an Origin would lose their abilities and become a mere human.
Technically, Kreyn, Groza, Azura, and Liam were under the effect of an Artificial Curse placed on them by the world.
Thus, a transmigrated person like Kreyn was under the influence of an Artificial Curse that is removed when a person creates an Epos, while at the same time, other transmigrated people who took the places of infants had to grow up and wait for their High Blessing that would unlock their powers.
But the Natural Curses were a different matter altogether.
As the name suggests, no one imposed this type of curse on a person. It was something special that happened quite often and could go unnoticed for years or even until death.
The Natural Curse was a state in which a person created an Epos but was unaware of it. There could be several reasons for this, but the main one was that a person did not consider themselves worthy of this power, did not consider themselves worthy of standing alongside other Origins.
Well, if a person thought this way, then the world and Epos could not recognize them, waiting for their opinion to change.
So, in most cases, the Natural Curse occurred due to a deep lack of confidence and an insufficient sense of self-importance. It was a moral trauma suffered by many people surrounded every day of their lives by terrifying monsters, rich people, and powerful Origins.
Since a person unconsciously placed this curse on himself, only he could remove it. Usually, this happened in a critical situation between life and death, when everything depended on victory.
...
Did Kreyn understand all this just from a long conversation with Laura?
Not quite.
He asked her questions, trying to reveal as little as possible and learn as much as possible. But, in the middle of the conversation, an electric discharge ran through his eyes when the information simply appeared in his head. The same thing happened to Groza and Liam with Azura, who were not even here but somewhere in the prison.
"Hah, curse or blessing, now, we have seven Origins and a hundred workers with fiery hearts in our ranks." Kreyn waved his hand, ending their discourse on a high note.
Daren exhaled a cloud of smoke. "What do we do next, boss? What's your plan?"
"Yes." Groza nodded as she pointed at Laura. "Even if that bitch is with us, I doubt the Wurhen Family will leave us alone. They'll come to rescue her or take revenge."
Kreyn touched his chin. "We don't have much time, that's for sure. That's why we need resources." He glanced at the mine. "And... allies."
His gaze turned toward the swamps. It was the dividing line between the prison and the rest of the region.
But first, he needed a map.