101 Cursed Ones

Mount Etna.

The tallest mountain in the southern continent, with its peak piercing the sliding clouds. It was dressed in evergreens down to its crowns of silvery white.

The mountain has guarded the souls of this land for an immeasurable time. This was the paradise for the cursed ones.

"Cursed ones," they call them, rather discriminatory and yet befitting of the race.

The cursed are the beyonders of the Chained path. The path had always been controversial all over the world, even more so than the adjacent path; The abyss.

The controversy surrounding them is so high that most of the villains in the best-selling novel are based on them. They also appear in all the scary stories that mothers use to bring up children. From all of this, one can clearly see that they are hated and loathed by everyone.

This was mainly due to their "mutant" nature, which is abhorred by everyone.

People did not care even if they were human beings before becoming beyonders of the chained path. They were persecuted and abhorred regardless. Some children born on this pathway were even burned alive due to fear and disgust.

Their discrimination and persecution reached a climax in the Third Era. Humanity has regained dominion over the planet under the banner of the Ancient Sun God. More importantly, they got their freedom from the non-human races. The dark era ended.

However, it also left undeniable scars and trauma on everyone. The memories and history of that time have always haunted mankind. This has caused humanity to develop xenophobia towards non-human races. People are united in this, regardless of the Extraordinary or the Ordinary.

All of this culminated to cause one of the bloodiest massacres in history.

The Mutant Hunts.

The entire mutant race was nearly wiped out in the hunt. Many were crucified and burned. Chaos ensued across the continent. The cursed blood dyed the lands in between. Crises of despair and hatred reverberated around the world, reaching the creator.

It was one of the darkest times in history for humans and mutants. The ugliness of humanity was shown to everyone. They have unwittingly become the same monsters they feared and loathed.

The angels and archangels knew of the events at that time. However, they didn't stop it. Some even participated discreetly, releasing the hatred they had accumulated from that dark age.

In the darkest times, fate always prefers someone to be the saviour. That saviour was Tolzana, who managed to ascend to become king of angels.

He single-handedly retaliated against humans for the suffering of his race.

His actions and existence saved his race from extinction, but made the situation worse than it already was. People were afraid. The title of "King of Angels" struck fear in everyone's heart, walking all up.

It caused mass paranoia. A war almost erupted in the middle of the third epoch.

However, the Creator intervened just at the right time to prevent this. "He" dispatched the entire army of "His" angels to quell the conflict and negotiate with Tolzana.

The result of the agreement was that Tolzana was given a sanctuary to build a paradise for his race away from human eyes. This dark period of history was erased from reality, burying the cruel and inhumane atrocities of humanity.

That sanctuary was the Etna Mountain. It was a haven for mutants. Even though at the dawn of the fourth epoch, the isolationist policy of the Etna was removed and they opened their doors for trade and commerce with the outside world, they still tried to keep minimum contact with the humans and outside world.

The Etna Mountain is surrounded by a huge city with strange buildings that didn't fit the aesthetic of the Stream Era. Atop of the mountain was a black castle that perched on the edges. This was the holy sanctuary of mutants, as it was the residence of their God and Saviour.

However, the holy mountain was now trembling, as the scorching rays of the sun shone on it, illuminating the entire mountain.

Crack!

The mountain began to show cracks that began to spread from the peak to the ground, causing dust and stone to slide towards the city on the ground.

The mutants scrambled in panic and despair. They felt the trembling of the mountain. It was as if the mountain itself was crying out for what was about to happen.

Inside the black castle, Aucuses walked through the long hallway. The walls were filled with murals depicting the history buried beneath. In the middle of it all, there were words craved in blood,

"WE REMEMBER."

The hallway was empty and messy. It was as if someone had just evacuated, knowing of his descent beforehand.

Aucuses looked at the brutal murals. It was truly a dark time. It is not that he and the other kings of angels didn't know of the happenings, but they just didn't care.

In the end, though, under the order of the Creator, they were forced to intervene and managed to form an agreement. As a result of the agreement, the two races' relationship was severed, resulting in peace. Later, Tolzana became a member of rose redemption and participated in the final war.

Aucuses didn't have much of a relationship with Tolzana; it could only be considered an acquaintance at best.

Putting away his thoughts, Aucuses walked to the end of the hallway where a large black door stood. His footsteps echoed across the silent hall.

He pushed the door open, causing it to creak loudly, revealing a dimly lit room with bookshelves, a table and a fireplace. It was the study room.

At the table, a man was present, sitting in the main seat with his hands forward on the table and his fingers crossed. His gaze seemed to be fixed on the door, as though he had already been waiting for the arrival of Aucuses.

A puppet with roses intertwined around its body was present right next to him. It emitted an eerie and terrifying aura.

Aucuses just gave the puppet a glance before focusing on the man, who was now looking at him with a calm expression.

The man was none other than Tolzana, King of Angels of the chained pathway, who would also go on by another alias in the future: Chained God. The puppet near him was the uniqueness of the chained pathway.

Surprisingly, for the leader of the mutant race, Tolzana was dressed quite in a humane way, wearing a checked black suit and trousers.

As if noticing the meaning in his eyes, Tolzana said, a calm smile forming on his lips. "I just put it on, especially for this meeting with the most powerful human god. My mythical form would have been inconvenient. Don't you think so too, the great and merciful sun god?"

While walking into the room, Aucuses smiled at his not-so-subtle sarcasm and sat in the opposite chair, facing Tolzana.

"You seemed to anticipate my arrival?" He asked, ignoring the sarcasm, raising his brows and placing his hands on the table.

Tolzana rose from his seat and made his way to the puppet on the table. He picked it up and said, though his gaze remained on the puppet.

"I actually didn't until a few hours ago.." His voice was low as a whisper. "It was 'Her' who told me." He pointed up, indicating the cosmos. "'She' told me about your arrival. 'She' told me about your purpose. 'She' told me about your wickedness that lies beneath your so-called kindness." His voice became hoarse as he said every word, while his eyes flashed with hatred and despair.

He suddenly paused and tried to stabilise his deteriorating condition.

"Go on." Aucuses said, tilting his head. He asked curiously, as if he was very interested in details. He also didn't seem offended by Tolzana's words at all.

Tolzana put the puppet on the table. His twisted expression loosened, his eyes became serene. He once again assumed a calm smile. "'She' showed me the ugliness of human nature. It was darker and more twisted than anything that I had ever laid eyes upon."

"After making me realise all of this, 'She' told me that I could save my kingdom from your divine punishment. 'She' told me that I could even kill you and also take revenge for atrocities committed against us. All that was needed was for me to perform a ritual and embrace my desire for revenge. I should no longer be CHAINED!"

"What did you choose, Tolzana?" Aucuses said, his countenance still calm, despite the terrifying meaning hidden behind the words of Tolzana.

"What do you think I chose, the great and merciful Sun God?" Tolzana asked back. His eyes gleamed with madness, his lips rose to form a twisted smile.

Aucuses was silent for a moment. His eyes were observing the state of Tolzana. He was already on the verge of losing control; his mind and sanity were being consumed by madness and murmurs.

It was only due to his sheer willpower that he managed to keep the last of himself stable for his final conversation.

"You didn't." He answered, "You didn't fall for 'Her' bewitching. Even though I don't know much about you personally, I at least heard about your love and compassion for your own race."

Tolzana broke down, quite literally. His mental and physical bodies were collapsing. The murmurs from the starry sky thundered ever so loudly in his mind, consuming his sanity.

His body began to slowly wither, as white straps with roses appeared around him. They were like chains binding him.

However, Tolzana ignored his condition, tears welling in his eyes, his hands trembling. "I want my race to survive. I can't do that to them. I can't bring such a disaster on them, even if it means that I will die at your hands."

"Please.." He begged, "You can take my life. I don't care about that anymore. I want to ask for one last request."

"I request of you, the great and merciful sun god, that you grant a sanctuary to my race after my demise."

Aucuses stood up from his seat and walked towards him. He caught the collapsing Tolzana by his shoulders and lifted him up from his kneeling position. He could tell that, Tolzana was at death's door. He also knew that Tolzana was forced into this situation due to his own actions.

But, did he feel any guilt? No, not at all. This was a cruel and dark world. He had been through hell to get where he was. His journey of peril still hasn't ended. And, if he wanted to survive in the end, he needed to seize every opportunity to increase his odds. Many may loathe or hate him for his indifference. However, he didn't care. And, he's not going to change himself for anything or anyone.

"Get up." He said solemnly. "I promise, Tolzana. I will provide your race with a sanctuary under my own name. In the future, a new god will ascend from your pathway. He will lead your race into prosperity. He will also slay 'Her' and usurp the authority of desire from 'Her', breaking the curse of your race. I promise this, Tolzana."

"Thank you…" Tolzana whispered, his crumbling face forming a thin smile.

Aucuses let him go and nodded, while looking upwards at the ceiling.

With his nod, the ceiling, walls, and castle faded away from the reality.

The rays of the sun shone on the crumbling figure of Tolzana.

In the rays, a phantom of a divine woman descended. Her descent caused a deep autumn scene with withering flowers, grass, and mushrooms across Etna mountain.

The phantom embraced Tolzana's crumbling figure, relieving him of his pain and suffering in the final moments of his life.

The phantom also drained his life, dragging him down in an act of returning to the land, returning to the mother's embrace, peacefully.

The smile on the face of Tolzana faded and his eyes lost their light. His body collapsed into ashes in the embrace of mother, returning to the mountain of etna in perpetuity.