"Where… am I?" The Hyking creature, Frido, mumbled as he reached for his head and looked around. "What… happened?"

"..."

The human and the dwarf stood in place, weapons drawn. They waited with tensed up muscles, their narrow eyes carefully watching every movement.

"Who are-!" Just as he saw them, Frido's eyes opened wide. And with them, his third eye glowed a bright pink. "Tsk! I let my guard down!"

The last thing he remembered was attempting to take control of the dwarf before some kind of attack hit him and knocked him unconscious. Now, he was far away from Sweet Scylla with no recollection of what had happened.

His control of the tritons was broken now, his plans for the Undine clan likely already ruined…

He needed to ensure his safety quickly and to do that…

His second Sign immediately targeted the one he had been eyeing for a while, ever since they were both imprisoned together on the Aliarda Ship. He had been too weak then to pry into his mind, but now...

It only took a moment for him to enter Lawkey's mind.

**👑**

"Wow… This is his subconscious?!"

Finding himself falling through an empty void of darkness, Frido tried to go deeper.

"I've never come across an inner world that was this dark before." He commented as he kept falling, looking for any spark to guide him. "I can barely see in here."

Despite his surroundings, Frido pushed on, confident he would eventually cross whatever inner barriers were blocking his way.

After all, he was a Hyking with the Mind-Eye Sign, or the one also known as the Mental Manipulation Sign.

No mere human would be able to keep his mind hidden for long against it, let alone when used by a Hyking. Previously, Frido had managed to implant vague memories and scenes into Lawkey's subconscious, but that is something he could easily do without prying someone's mind open.

As for now…

"?"

Suddenly, the Hyking creature found a spark. Turning towards this bright new light, he found himself surrounded by stars, falling like snow around him.

Each star contained a memory, a scene, an emotion.

Some even… a promise.

"Are those scenes from his past… or his future?"

He floated through them, reliving the host's past, witnessing his present, overstepping on his future.

From the events of six years ago, to everything that had gone down on Sweet Scylla, Frido watched it transpire in the falling stars.

"So, that's what happened on Sweet Scylla in the end…" The Hyking creature commented, pursing his lips slightly. "Despite everything I tried to change things… To reach a better outcome…" He sighed briefly as he paused. "At least the merfolk finally stood up for themselves."

Suddenly, the scenes went back to the past, showing the host's time in the Kage clan.

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"These memories… these images, they're all so out of order. Who is this guy?" Frido looked around, studying each scene. "I could use a strong swordsman."

The deeper he went, the more was revealed to him.

The Leviathan, even the things that transpired before it.

"What a messed-up past he has… Almost as bad as my own, or perhaps even worse." The Hyking creature paused for a moment, realizing something. "That's difficult to believe. Is he really not a Hyking?"

Just as he was about to seek an answer to his question, a bright star, slightly bigger than the rest, appeared in front of him.

Its contents glowed with an unusual brightness.

"What's a pancake? It can't be that good…" The ghost raised an eyebrow, questioning his eyes. "So obsessed…"

Continuing his journey, he kept discovering more scenes and memories.

Until…

"Wait! He met that deity too?! He has our curse?! How is that even possible?!" Frido blurted out, his intangible and translucent body shivering at the sight.

Seeing that same jester-like deity, with his multicolored wings and ominous mask… Seeing the events that transpired, the deity's face, receiving a playing card…

It made Frido remember his own encounter with that deity. That awful day where he had lost everything dear to him and became what he is today…

He remembered the card he had received, and discarded on multiple occasions too.

The Ghost King card.

Even so, finding out about this swordsman, this human, being afflicted by the same curse as Hykings…

"I guess it would explain a lot, but still… this future is-?!"

Just before he could dive deeper, a strong current pulled him down in an instant. Looking down, he immediately noticed the cause.

A dark sphere pulling and absorbing everything around it, even the darkness itself.

"What is that?! It's sucking everything in…! At this rate-"

Coming to himself, Frido immediately turned back and flew upwards, retracing his steps out.

"I better put some distance between us quickly, before I get pulled in too!"

He flew up against the current pulling him down, barely beating it. Then, his way was suddenly blocked.

Two figures stood in his way, their glares sending shivers into his soul.

"Wha-"

Before he could even begin to process the nature of these figures, the connection to the host's mind immediately broke, and Frido found himself back in his own body, shaking and sweating like he hadn't done in years, perhaps decades.

What was that?! He thought, catching his breath. How many curses does this guy have?! It's not just the Hykings curse, even that is hard to believe…!

Frido raised his head, floated up and pointed towards Lawkey. From the looks of it, a mere instance had passed for him and Alviss.

"Y-you! You have our curse even though you're not a Hyking! How?!" The ghost shouted.

"What?!" Alviss blurted out, his eyes stretching wider.

"This again…" For his part, Lawkey sighed in total exasperation.

"How interesting! You've lived with the Hykings curse for years now! Hee hee!" Despite still sweating buckets, Frido's face contorted into a wide grin. "How does it feel living as a Hyking?!"

"Hykings this, Hykings that! What difference does it make?! I'm tired of people calling me that already!" Lawkey furrowed his brows as his voice echoed through the surroundings. "I'm a human!"

"I'm aware…" The Hykings creature muttered, then tried to float around a few times, only to be jolted to a stop with every attempt. "Ugh, this wound is so bothersome. Give me a second."

He reached for the bandages properly applied on his chest, then slowly tried activating his Ghost Transformation Sign. A moment later, he was getting the hang of flying around, even leaving an intangible trail behind him.

"So, it truly is a Hyking…!" Alviss commented, watching the creature with some weary breaths.

"I'm good to go!"

Frido proclaimed, then flew closer to Lawkey and began floating around him, turning visible and invisible on command.

The bells attached to him announced whenever he turned tangible again, the sound quickly growing constant.

"What did you say? What difference does it make? Didn't you wonder why you had to live such a miserable life till now? Why you keep losing the ones you care about?! What a joke!"

The cursed human grinded his teeth, remembering his recent thoughts on the shore. A heading began to creep in with every word he heard. He kept his sword resting on his shoulder, feeling his grip loosen on it.

"Wherever there's war, death, and chaos, there is a Hyking!" Frido reiterated the infamous saying. "That's our curse!"

Lawkey remembered it all, he could never forget it. From the time he was just a child, to joining the Phantom Rogues, to his time in the Kage Clan, to the recent events on Sweet Scylla… All of it and more.

Wherever he went, whoever he got close to… They all-

"Enough already!"

Tightening his grip on his sword again, he swung it in front of him, cutting through the Hyking creature.

"!"

However, the blade simply passed through the ghost now, a mere afterimage that immediately connected back together. The sound of bells masked the giggling coming from the jester-like creature.

That Hykin'...! Tis truly a ghost! Alviss thought, gulping unintentionally. Then turned his focus to his new friend. And what's with 'im allova sudden? Why's he gettin' so worked up over this? He was more laidback back on Sweet Scylla.

As the dwarf watched, Lawkey clicked his tongue and gritted his teeth, turning around to catch the ghost creature appearing and disappearing around him.

"Where did he go?!"

"I feel sorry for you, human!"

"!"

Suddenly, Frido appeared above the human and the dwarf, making them look up to see him. Still, he made sure to float around and show off his powers.

"It seems you have no idea at all! Ha Ha Ha Ha!" The Hyking creature snickered ominously, then paused. "Why do you think you keep hearing those voices when you close your eyes? See those nightmares at night?"

The recent episode on the boat flashed into Lawkey's mind.

The chilling voices, the vengeful arms, the horrific visions of his loved ones all chained motionless by shadows of his own making…

Were they really a simple side effect of a curse?

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