Nala and Kurt emerged from the ground a couple of miles away from the black knight, nearly back at the academy.

The boy immediately dropped on his knees once Nala returned his body back to normal after dragging him through the soil like a mole using her intangibility and began to thrown up over the grass while shaking his eyes.

He wasn't sure if the feeling was due to the process of having his density messed with, or if it was from the pile of information that was just dropped on his head.

"Argh... Argh..." he whispered while trembling and trying to regain control of himself, "Crazy woman with her crazy talk..."

Nala gazed at him and tried to analyze his state. Kurt wasn't looking so good.

"What did she tell you?" she asked.

"What...?"

"The woman in black armor... What did she tell you?" Nala repeated with a heavier tone.

"I'm fine by the way, thanks for asking..." Kurt groaned, "What are you even doing here?? How did you find me?"

Nala began to lose her patience and kicked Kurt in the stomach before locking him against the ground with her foot.

"What. Did. She. Tell you? Don't make me repeat myself again!"

"N- Nala...? W- What are you-"

The girl pulled out her hood and allowed Kurt to look directly into her face in order to make him know she was serious.

"She... She just told me some made-up story about how the dragons are killing all the other races using some kind of game..."

Nala clenched her fist as it started to tremble, "Dammit...."

"Nala?"

Nala then moved away from him and began to walk towards a small rock where she took a seat and used her palms to bury her face in.

Kurt, naturally, was completely clueless as to what was going on.

"Nala...? Is... Is everything okay...?" he asked while carefully standing up and approaching her.

"Doesn't matter..." she mumbled.

"What...?"

"I said it doesn't matter!" she repeated while lifting her head and glaring at him.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter? What's going on??"

Nala simply ignored him and began to slide down her body in order to use the rock as a pillow to help her gaze at the night sky.

"Just wait a few minutes... It will be all over soon..." she whispered.

"Seriously, what is happening? Why are you acting so weird?" he wondered while getting even closer, "I mean... I assume it's weird... I don't really know much about you to be honest..."

"You do..." she corrected.

"Eh...?"

"You do know me..."

"Uuhh... I'm pretty sure I don't... Today was the first time you and me ever even talked with each other..."

Nala raised her hands and began to shake them as if she was strangling an invisible person, "Godamnit!!! Godamnit!!! I'm so sick of this!!!"

Kurt twitched and backed away for a bit while staring at her with absolute confusion.

"Anyway... Should we go before that crazy lady comes after us?"

Nala took a deep breath in order to try to relax and started to rub her head, "Just give it a few more seconds, it will be over soon..."

"What will?"

"Look at your left arm..."

Kurt tilted his head and did as he was told. He stared at his arm and noticed that there was a glowing red mark in the shape of a snake's bite pulsating over his skin.

"What the hell??" he gasped, "What is this?? Is this a wound?? How is this possible?? I can't get wounds! I always heal myself from any damaged I receive!!"

Nala rolled her eyes, "It's not a wound it's a curse..."

""A curse? When the heck did I get cursed!?"" both Kurt and Nala talked at the same time as if she knew exactly what he was going to say.

""How did you- Hey! How are you doing this?? Stop it!!""

Kurt began to feel completely creeped out by the girl sitting on the ground. Every time he tried to speak, she would just open her mouth and spill out the same words he was going to use.

"What's going on..."

Nala rolled her eyes, "What's going on... What is happening... How are you doing this... Good Lord... You ask the same stupid questions every single time!!"

""Every time!? What do you mean every time??""

"Stop doing that!!" Kurt shouted.

The boy reached up to her and grabbed her by the collar so she couldn't look away from him.

"Tell me what's happening!"

"Your memories are getting erased..." she simply mumbled.

"What? Erased?? My memories??"

She grabbed his arm and showed him the throbbing on his arm getting stronger, "You were cursed, Kurt... You were cursed a long time ago... And any time you start asking questions about the game before the time is right, the curse activates and eats up anything inside your head that might be related to it..."

""But how!!?? Why!!??"" she spoke with him while gesturing confused faces as if she was mirroring his reactions.

"Because someone doesn't want you to know about the game just yet..."

Kurt released Nala and began to feel his body getting weaker. He started to stumble his way through the forest in an attempt to get away from her, but his limbs were barely obeying his commands.

"This can't be happening..." he murmured, "This has to be a mistake..."

Nala stood up and began to walk towards him. Her face exhibited pain, as if looking at him in that state was something she had seen plenty of times before.

"I'm so sorry..." she whispered before he closed his eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

_________

_________

The rays of sunlight began to caress the boy's skin as he opened his eyes to find himself in his own room inside the mansion.

"Mmmm..." he mumbled while rolling over his sheets and letting the comfort of his bed take him back into dreamland.

"Kurt!" a woman's voice shouted outside his door, "Kurt! Honey! Are you ready?"

"Mmmmm...."

The woman opened his door and began to stare at her boy who continued to assume a fetal position on top of his mattress.

"Come on, Kurt! It's the third day of school! You don't wanna be late!"

"Third day of school...? What...?" the boy slowly raised his head and noticed the annoyed expression on his mother's face as she continued to wait for him to rise up and get out of his bed.

He looked at his room and began to wonder when did he return home. The last thing he remembered was chatting with Gaby after the combat lesson was over.

"Mom...?" he whispered while scratching his hair, "What time did I go to sleep yesterday...?"

"I'm not sure..." she admitted, "You were pretty tired when you arrived. I heard you overused your healing flames more than usual. Did you forgot to not push yourself too much?"

"I guess..." he muttered.

"Well... No matter... Today is a new day, so get ready already!"

"Understood..."

Sabiri closed the door of the room and left Kurt alone inside so he could prepare himself for breakfast before leaving.

He stood up and walked towards the mirror in order to give a look at his state.

"God, I look like a mess..." he commented while staring at the state of his hair and the bags under his eyes.

'Morning, sunshine...' a voice echoed inside his head.

Kurt turned around and noticed Dorothy hanging on top of his closet. She spoke to him using their telepathic link.

[Oh! Hey, Dory! Good morning to you too!]

'How are you feeling today?'

[I feel like somebody used my body as a ball in a game of soccer...]

Dorothy giggled, 'Well... Good thing you can heal so fast..'

[Yeah...] he nodded with a wide grin, [You know me! Always getting back up again, no matter how hard I get hit!]

The grey bird observed the red-haired lad for a couple of seconds in silence.

[Dorothy...? Dorothy, something wrong?] he asked while noticing her unusual lack of morning mockery towards him.

'Sorry... I was just thinking...'

[About what...?]

'About how much someone can take before they reach their limit...'

Kurt just raised an eyebrow and tilted his head.

'Don't mind it too much... I'm just an old lady being an old lady, losing herself in old lady thoughts...'

[I... I see...?] he shrugged.

Kurt wasn't sure of what Dorothy was talking about but he knew if she had anything to say she would just go ahead and say it. She wasn't the kind of 'person' to hold back on what she was feeling or thinking.

[Ready for the third day of school?]

'You tell me. Ready for your first day with a girlfriend?'

[Oh, yeah! I have a girlfriend now... I...

I almost forgot about that... That's so strange...] he commented while slowly widening his eyes and lowering his head.

'Tsk. Tsk. You two haven't even gone on your first date together and you already feel like getting rid of her? That's why I can never calm down around you...' Dorothy joked while flying over to land above his head.

[Well... Thankfully the two of us are always together, so you can just call me out whenever I stray too far!]

'Sure, sure, but be my guest to try and adjust yourself without me as well every now and then...'

Kurt then paused at the mention of the word 'guest' and began to feel strange for some reason.

These words suddenly appeared inside of him as if a warning against some kind of approaching danger.

'Kurt? Something wrong?'

[I...]

[I think I wanna stop by the library after class...]