Axel stood amidst a throne of liquid bones,
with shards whirling around him.
The ground beneath his feet moved, as if it were a living creature breathing...
And in the air, ancient curses howled with the voices of laughing and crying children—all at once.
Above it all...
She was waiting.
The Mother of Curses.
Not a queen.
Not a goddess.
Not a being describable or measurable.
She was... the primal root of ruin.
She stood upon a platform of black, pulsating flesh, her body covered in a living veil that slithered like serpents.
And her eyes… those eyes… they didn't look at Axel. They pierced through him, reading a sin he had not yet committed.
The Mother of Curses was not pleased.
Her voice shattered the void.
"Have you brought me failure, O heir of the reversed path?"
Axel lowered his head slightly, bowing, as if every atom in his being understood the weight of the crime he had committed.
