Eternal Malediction (RE)

Kieran slipped away from the cabin before anyone noticed that he ran away. He walked until the noise faded behind him, eventually spotting a small café tucked near the edge of town.

It looked old-fashioned even by eighties’ standards; it had fogged windows glowing with warm amber light, with faint music humming from somewhere inside. He stepped toward the door, then paused.

Someone inside looked familiar.

A girl sat near a corner table with three younger people gathered around her. Brown hair, slightly crooked posture, a face he recognised even before she turned.

Annie Toler.

Kieran blinked.

Annie felt the stare and turned. Her eyes widened for a moment—then lit up with a smile. Three little heads popped up beside her, two belonging to her siblings, approximately the same ages as Rin and Mella... and one belonging to someone Kieran recognised even faster.

Mira, his little sister, waved at him through the glass with the same frantic enthusiasm as Annie’s siblings.

Of course she’d be here.

Kieran exhaled, resigned, and stepped inside. Warm air and the smell of coffee wrapped around him immediately, the place strangely nostalgic.

Annie grinned as he approached. "Only knew you were here through your sister."

"I see. I was just at the cabin for the meeting, and oh boy was it boring," Kieran said.

Mira snorted. "Obviously. They’re talking about things to do, and many of those things require soul arts and Prana stuff. We can’t help with any of that."

Annie nodded. "Exactly. We’d just be standing there doing nothing. So... we exiled ourselves to the café."

Her younger brother chimed in proudly, "We’re the non‑Prana squad."

Kieran sat down, trying not to smile. "Fair enough."

For a moment, no one spoke. Then Annie tilted her head. "...You never actually introduced yourself properly last time."

Kieran paused. Right. She already knew who he was; tournament popularity made that unavoidable but still.

Kieran nodded his head down as a sign of greeting, "Kieran Nazaroff."

Annie smiled faintly. "I know."

"Right."

Mira leaned forward with a smirk. "He’s the guy who’s going to win the tournament, my own older brother."

Kieran flustered slightly. "Please stop telling people that I haven’t even gotten to the finals yet."

Annie laughed quietly. It suited her.

But Kieran’s expression shifted; curiosity got the better of him. "How did you survive... the fall?"

Annie’s smile faded and her siblings went quiet. Even Mira stopped fidgeting.

Annie stared down at her coffee. "We were separated from most of the others. Landed near the outskirts instead of the plains."

Kieran listened, Mira watching Annie carefully.

"At first I thought we were dead... we were falling, and I was able to grab these two." Annie looked at her two siblings, one being a girl and the other a boy, and she continued. Her fingers tightened around the cup. "We thought we were going to die. But..."

She frowned, trying to recall it properly. "...I saw someone."

Kieran leaned in. "Someone?"

"A man, or it could be a woman."

The air around the table changed.

"They wore a mask."

Kieran’s eyes narrowed.

"I couldn’t see their face," Annie said softly. "But I remember thinking they looked... terrifying."

She glanced at her siblings, then back at Kieran. "They appeared during the fall. And after that... people stopped dying."

Silence settled over the group.

"You think they saved people?" Kieran asked.

Annie nodded slowly. "I think..." Her gaze drifted toward the window. "...it might’ve been Nova."

The name Nova hung in the air like a cold draught. Mira shifted closer to him, her earlier confidence dimming.

Just hearing the name, Nova, now creates some sort of fear... Was this what Roy wanted to achieve? Did he get what he wanted, to be feared by the innocent who are not involved in schemes that shroud those in darkness?

This is what Kieran did not want Nova in Veil to be recognised as...

Annie watched his expression carefully. "I know it’s... a lot."

Kieran exhaled slowly, getting back to his senses. "Yeah. But... at least you’re alive right now."

Annie’s shoulders eased just a little. Her siblings—who had been clinging to her sleeves—relaxed too.

Mira nodded firmly. "Exactly. You’re here, and that too with your sib. That’s what matters."

Annie gave Mira a grateful smile.

Kieran cleared his throat, trying to soften the atmosphere. "Speaking of being here... you never introduced me to these two."

Annie blinked, then laughed quietly. "Right. Sorry. This is my brother, Leo." The boy straightened, trying to look older than he was. "And this is my sister, June."

June waved so enthusiastically her hair bounced. "Hi!"

Leo nodded with exaggerated seriousness. "Hello."

Kieran nodded back. "Nice to meet you both."

Mira leaned in, stage-whispering, "He’s less scary than he looks."

Kieran shot her a betrayed look. "Mira."

June giggled. Leo cracked a smile. Annie covered her mouth to hide hers.

The tension finally broke, and Mira continued, "He pretends he’s all serious, but he cried when he stepped on a snail once."

Kieran’s eyes widened. "Mira... that was when I was very little..."

Annie’s siblings burst into laughter. Annie herself nearly choked on her coffee.

"It was a proper big snail," Kieran muttered.

Mira nodded solemnly. "He gave it a funeral."

Leo giggled slightly. "A funeral?!"

"It was respectful," Kieran insisted.

June wiped tears from her eyes. "Did you... bury it?"

"Yes," Mira said proudly. "With a leaf blanket."

Kieran covered his face with one hand. "I hate all of you."

The table erupted again, even Annie laughing openly now—something Kieran realised he hadn’t seen from her before. The café’s warm lights made the moment feel strangely safe, like the world outside wasn’t falling apart.

Eventually the laughter faded into soft smiles.

Annie took a breath. "Thank you. For... making them laugh. They’ve been scared since the fall."

Kieran nodded. "It’s fine. They deserve a break."

Mira nudged June gently. "We all do."

Leo leaned forward. "So... what’s going to happen now? With the meeting and everything?"

Kieran hesitated. "They’re trying to figure out what to do next. How to keep everyone safe. How to deal with... whatever’s coming."

June frowned. "Do you think the masked person will come back?"

Kieran didn’t answer immediately. Mira watched him, waiting. Finally, he said, "I don’t know. But if he does... we’ll be ready."

Annie studied him quietly. "You really think so?"

Kieran met her eyes. "We have to be."

Mira nodded. "And even if we don’t have soul arts or Prana, we can still help. We’re not useless."

Leo puffed up proudly. "Non‑Prana squad!"

June raised her hand. "Squad!"

Annie smiled. "Squad."

Mira grinned. "Squad."

Kieran sighed. "...Sadly, I have a Soul Art, so... I can use Prana."

Too late. All four of them shouted softly in unison:

"Squad with one Prana user!"

The café owner glanced over, confused. Kieran sank lower in his seat. But despite himself... he smiled.