I somehow got lost on my way to the village of Comfort. I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere. The path wasn't very visible, and it was in a large forest. I briefly considered blowing the whole forest up, but decided against it. That would be the Lina thing to do, and damned if I'll resort to that. It was very hot and humid, so my nerves were getting frayed fast. As I've stated many times before, being in the heat is not very fun when you're a rock. My skin has this annoying quality of absorbing heat. I can't forget that stink that accompanies humidity either. The birds wouldn't stop making their damned calls. It's times like that where advanced hearing can be a real pain. On top of all that I had a headache. At this point I was going into my hourly cursing of Rezo, let me take the time to curse him once again, when I literally stumbled into a clearing. I tripped on a rock.
As I recall, I cursed rather loudly and colorfully, then looked up and stared slack jawed in astonishment. Good thing none of those self proclaimed 'friends' weren't here. I don't like it when my mask slips like that. Before me I saw the oldest looking thing I've ever seen. What used to be several buildings of some sort lay before me. They were literally covered in vines and creepers, and all but one were nothing more then a pile of rubble. As I approached the one building still standing I could tell the original color of was black, but it almost looked like a giant plant now. I noticed something that made me nervous. The surrounding forest was so quiet I could've heard a pin drop. Forests are never quiet. With all the insects chirping, the aforementioned birds, and all the other animals it can get rather loud at times. Still I pressed on, determined to scout the place for a possible cure. I soon found what passed as a doorway. Unfortunately, it was blocked with rubble. A quick spell took care of it.
I entered wary of traps and a possible attack. Surprisingly, and thankfully, I found none. Not a single trap or monster was to be found. Normally that means someone has already cleared the place of any valuables, but I saw no signs of these ruins being disturbed recently. It was dark, but I was able to navigate through with little difficulty. I noticed that the walls were covered in runes. They were too faded for me to get a good look at them, but I saw enough to know it was in a language I've never seen before. I strongly believe those ruins have been around since before the Kouma War. Little is known about anything before the war, but I have a gut feeling. I have learned it's wise to trust those feelings over the past few years.
The trip through the ruins was largely uneventful, except when I got lost again. Apparently, it's my new hobby. As I progressed into the bowels of the ruins, it was harder for me to see. Eventually, I had to resort to a Lighting. I noticed that the runes over the walls seemed to repeat the same sentence/phrase/word continuously. What could it mean? As I didn't really have time to speculate (if getting lost in the daytime is bad, getting lost at night is a nightmare), so I pressed on.
In the center, L-sama knows how deep into the earth, I found a room. It was circular, with the same runes on the walls. The pedestal in the center eventually caught my eye. And I noticed with growing anticipation that a large, black book lay atop it. I scanned the room for any traps, both magical and regular. Just because I had yet to find any didn't mean there weren't any in this room. Letting your guard down can be quite fatal in this world. There were no traps. That is simply unheard of. There are always traps. And monsters, how could I forget monsters? I was anxious to get the book and get out. Something was obviously amiss, and night would fall shortly.
As I approached the pedestal my anxiety increased. I had, and still have, a bad feeling. With what seemed like an awful long time, but probably wasn't I finally reached the pedestal. And the book. The cover read 'The Total Codex'. I have heard of most books of legend. They are largely just that, a legend. But I have never heard of such a book. I was baffled as to how I could read the cover. It was obvious from the runes on the walls that whoever built that place hadn't used the same language as me, yet I could read it. As I picked it up a feeling of immense power and disgust ran through me. I could tell just from holding it that it held power, but it felt wrong.
Out of curiosity, I opened it up and found a passage that spoke of man twice born, who, after performing a ritual too dark to speak of, brought about something called the 'Blighter of Souls', and visited horrors to the world unseen in myth and legend.
Normally, I would just write it off as superstitious nonsense, but I found another passage that spoke of the death of the greater devil Fabarazo. It said that which it desired to bring upon consumed it: nothingness. This sounds much too similar to the death of Mazoku Lord Hellmaster Fibrizo for my taste.
Another one spoke of a 'God of Destruction', seven and one at the same time, who devoured it's victims from within. It claimed the god would be summoned and vanquished twice before the third, and final, time freed the thing permanently. Could it be referring to Ruby Eye Shabrinigdo?
I took the book with me when I left, and eventually found my way to Comfort. I am writing this in my room at the local Inn. I have yet to look into the book again. It may contain a cure to my curse, or maybe even the whereabouts of one, but I don't care. Something about it isn't right, and I don't wish to touch it again.
I'm sure I'm just being paranoid. My search is getting to me, that's all. But could it…? No, there's no way the world could be in danger again. Still, I guess it wouldn't hurt for me to prepare for the worst. Naturally, the worst generally happens to me.
Zelgadiss