Swiiish...!!!

            Countless cherry blossom petals enveloped the ship thoroughly, without any potential opening. Deep down in his heart, Seungri sighed in relief. If he released it one second later, he didn’t know what have happened to them.

            He jolted as he felt a sudden sting on his left hand. At the same time his heart felt like under big rock. The long, forgotten feeling he once experienced. Years ago, when he was younger. The feeling he got whenever his servant was in trouble. The old memory which got replaced back with rush, Seungri has calculated many things which will be happened, except that one. That his heart will got throbbed because of his servant’s unstable inner-self. Also, the one he felt right now was the worst he ever had.

            Seungri knelt down, his right hand clutched his own cloth in front of his heart tightly. While his left hand balled in fist. His sight got blurred for a while, his breath like got shut down. All his nerves like got electricity shock. He cursed for his bad luck, to have such pain in such bad timing.

            ”Hold your ground, Master!”

            Seungri could hear Fylk’s stern voice clearly. His clutch on his cloth slowly loosen up, as he slowly stood up. He will dealt with that thing later. He was already had something more important in front of his eyes. Let out his magic energy bigger than it usually used, the pinkish flower petals moved faster, left no opening from any angle.

            ”I left them in your care, Hana, Taehyun. Make sure, you two bring them safe and sound till our final destination.”

            His goodbye, before he dashed out of the safety nest and chose to fight the old deity of that ocean. Both Taehyun and Hana didn’t give their reply, as they already knew what the right thing to do to answer Seungri’s expectation of them.

***

            ”He saved you, again.”

            Jiyong stopped to whatever he had right that second once he heard that words. He looked at the nearest window, the dark blue sea turned into pinkish flower petals, then not long after that turned into red.

            What... have happened?

            The magic craft on his fingers which previously glowed red, it dimmed down. And strangely enough, he felt that someone has gone – left the ship to be precise. That someone, his master.

            ”He hasn’t changed at all, since the last time... when he left you in the dark.”

            Jiyong heard that voice again. Now that he has conscious enough of that voice, he was kind of recognized whose that voice was. That little brat whom loved to stay at the forecastle in his inner world.

            ”What do you want to tell me exactly, Asta?” Jiyong asked, with a whisper alike voice.

            ”Nothing in particular, Master.”

            Silence engulfed after that. The magic flow around him slowly changed. There was a mysterious smoke appeared suddenly. Each second it got thicken, but it miraculously didn’t choke him. It kept flowing, like forming a barrier around him. And it got closer, till it reached the tip of Jiyong’s hair. He reached out his hand to touch it, and a sudden flash appeared to him.

***

            All he saw was hazy pictures. He felt like turned into limp, he even can’t felt his arms and legs. But, he still can felt the cold snow which mercilessly rained over his body. He still felt the cold winter wind blew just about a head above him. Miraculously, his auditory sense was still working well. The noisy, chilly winter wind as well as the thick snow which fell off the branch to the ground. And... someone’s sob.

            ”Stop crying, Master Lee.”

            A young man’s voice, interrupted the sob.

            ”It’s not your fault... in the first place.”

            That young man continued.

            ”It’s his fault, for conducting such an unnecessary thing. Only me is enough to serve you, Master Lee. Not in the past, in present time, or in the future... that I’ll get you the curse.”

***

            What was that?

            Jiyong questioned himself when he saw – or heard – that mysterious talk. That young man’s voice, he has heard it somewhere... When? Where?

            Eh?

            His sight got blurred, just like the one he ‘experienced’ in the sight just now. He didn’t feel dizzy because of that. But slowly, he lied back on the bed. Just like got spelled under a magic spell. And slowly, he closed his eyes.

***

            ”Yo, long time no see... Master.”

            Jiyong opened his eyes once he got that wake up call. He was in his inner world. He was sure that the one whom woke him up was his black demon. So, he was expected that he will met a boy... no. There was no boy. A young man around his age, dressed in the same attire Asta had – as Jiyong remembered.

            ”So, you did acknowledge me in this state, Master.” That young man spoke, still looked at Jiyong with his dark blue eyes which the left being a paler shade than the right one.

            ”You’re... Asta, right?”

            That young man – Asta – frowned as he heard his master questioned about his identity. Was there anyone resided that place other than him?

            ”What happened to you? The Asta I know is... a boy around ten years old.”

            The grown-up Asta sighed, then he whom previously sat on the wooden deck stood up. He walked away, took about five steps away from Jiyong. His back faced his master.

            ”Unlike ordinary black demon out there, which stayed in their exact age, I grow up... at the same time as you, Master.” Asta turned around just to face his master, whom strangely had a calm face. ”It’s all thanks to your Master who have erased the magic seal on me that I can turned into my original state.” He showed his left wrist which free of the previous magic seal on it. ”But, seeing you... still calling me Asta, it seems that he hasn’t given back all of your memory, Master. Especially, your memory about me.”

            Jiyong had his questioned look over his face once he heard Asta’s random explanation just now. The last part of it was the most intriguing thing he has said. About the magic seal, Jiyong has known it – even it’s still confusing for himself. About Jiyong calling his black demon as Asta, did he has another name which Jiyong used to call back then?

            ”I think... you didn’t want to comment about those trivial things to me, here, Asta?” Jiyong tried to bring another thing to their senseless talk.

            ”Ah... always perceptive, Master.” Asta replied fast. ”Did you remember the sight you’ve seen just several minutes ago, Master?”

            ”The sight... you mean, the sight where I did nothing other than listened to whatever strange things become spoken by the unknown man in the middle of snowstorm?”

            Asta nodded as his reply. ”It’s one of your forgotten memories, Master.”

            Jiyong didn’t comment to that statement. For unknown reason, he has predicted such a thing has happened in his past. So, it was true.

            ”It was your memory... when for the first time, you gave your Master Lee a curse.”

            A curse? What curse?

            ”It’s his fault, for conducting such an unnecessary thing. Only me is enough to serve you, Master Lee. Not in the past, in present time, or in the future... that I’ll get you the curse.”

            Suddenly, the last sentence he heard from that strange young man came back to his consciousness. Did... it was the same ‘curse’ that man meant?

            Seeing his master was silence, while had an exact confused look over his face, Asta was sure that his master still didn’t remember all of the things which revolved around him.

            ”Just now, maybe, you’ve given your Master Lee another curse.”

            ”What do you mean?!”

            Asta could see the pure confusion in Jiyong’s eyes. Also, a slight of anger in it.

            ”Say, Master. What do you feel when you know ‘several’ of your missing memories got back? Happy? Confused? Sad? Guilty? Or, angry?”

            Jiyong couldn’t give the precise answer for that question. He couldn’t depict what he has felt that time, when he ‘knew’ several things of his forgotten past. He didn’t feel happy because none of the scene he has seen had a happy picture. He got confused, because he hasn’t found yet the exact thing which tied all the problems together. He wasn’t sad, but felt more into guilty. Angry? Even if he was, he didn’t know to whom he should angry with.

            ”Those unstable feelings, which lead to a curse to your Master Lee.”

            Jiyong still stayed in his mute mode.

            ”As long as I remember, the two of you never talked about that matter, in the past.” Asta paused, as he reminiscent the old memory of his. ”He always put you into slumber whenever you gave him the curse. The extreme way he took was when he put the magic seal on me.” Asta added, then faced his master.

            Jiyong kept listening to it. He has his head bowed, his sight met the wooden floor underneath him. All the things he has seen in his previous ‘dream’ and all the things got spoken out by Asta, it didn’t related at all. There was a missing link between them. There was still a wide gap which needed to be bridged up.

            ”You seem... know all about me, Asta.” For the first time after his long silence, Jiyong spoke. It hasn’t until Asta replied to his words yet, Jiyong added. ”Precisely, the past ‘me’.” Jiyong raised his head, his confused face already turned into calm, unreadable look. ”Mind... if you told me, all the things that you knew, Asta.”

***

            First thing he did once he got out of the ship was setting the large scale of defense magic. Around him and that old deity of Vreutzer Ocean, also the intruder whom has launched a surprise attack earlier. He smirked as he realized how bad his luck that day. The worst ever.

            ”Serve you right for your frivolity, Master!”