Camity wasn't sure why she was dreading this, but she absolutely had to dig into the Curse of Loss to recover her memories. So she did her best to give herself perk talks. Camity, you do this. Camity, it won't be that bad. Camity, you o do this. Camity, hesitating isn't like you. Camity, you're a goddamn brave woman, this challenge is nothing.

  Those self-reassurances didn't help, so she just took the plunge and began pushing hard at the curse. It was like sinking into vile, deeply cursed mosses. Immediately, she felt a part of herself fighting against her. Yet she kept going. And going. And going. Only Relentless allowed her to keep going until she felt the curse abrade a little--

  She did a curtsy iest dress then ran toward her parents to hug them, they were the best parents and they loved her and she was their precious little daughter and they were the best because after she said she was a girl not a boy they listened and they were the best because they were nid they were the best because they were strong Adepts with cool jobs and... they were dead this was the st time she saw them before they went off and never came back.

  She snapped out of the memory, tears running down her face. What? What happeo her parents? She reached into the curse to find out, but the thick muck of hidden memories felt more vicious than before and--

  This memory is forbidden to you.

  She staggered bato her bed which she had been sitting on. Just what was that terrifying, horrible voice? Suddenly feeling unsafe, she pulled her favorite sword out of its hidden po in her jean jacket... what?

  Blinking, Camity stared at the bde she now held. It was a simple design, a long double-edged bde with a atterning on the bde itself. The hilt wasn't particurly fancy, but it was fortable and familiar in her hand. fused, she took a few swings with it, ohat she realized felt like strikes she had long practiced to a point of near perfe.

  [You have regaihe Bde Word with the Cut, jure, Pee, ay Sigils.]

  Hey, Voice, what's up with me getting so many Sigils?

  [It was your most well-developed Word, those Sigils are only a portion of what you had.]

  Camity just slumped further into her bed, burying her fa the kinda shitty pillow (at least it was better than the pillow i hotel). She'd been ready to dispel the mist c her past, but it felt like all she'd gotten was more questions.

  ~~~

  Camity turhe sword over and over. "So apparently this was my favorite sword and I retty shining good with bdes. Man, I wish I could swear, I just get weird phrases like that popping out if I try."

  "I see," Mirn said, "Did you know some people frown on swearing around children? I just learhat today. They don't like children using swear words either. The teacher at the school joked about washing my mouth out."

  "Don't get why it matters," Camity said as she took another swig of monster apple hard cider. She felt like splurging ouff, okay? She needed a treat!

  Mirn nodded. "All the monsters I know swear without any problems. Except you, but that's only because of your curse."

  "So, how's school?" Camity asked.

  Mirn shrugged. "Alright. I like learning. Some of the kids are mean, but they suyways."

  "Good on you for not letting it get you down." Camity took just one more swig and realized she just emptied her cup with that swig. She refilled it.

  Again, Mirn shrugged. "Those kids suck so I don't care about them. I made a couple of friends. I know you wanted me to."

  "Excellent!" Camity grinned.

  Mirn tilted aalk thoughtfully. "Grace's family's kids are fun, too. I think I uand why you wanted me to make more friends than just you."

  "Tell me if you need me to kick that teacher's rear by the way," Camity said.

  Mirn shook their head. "He's alright. Pretty funny. I don't think he was that upset by me swearing, but he asked me not to do it again. Still don't get why, but I guess it's just one of those weird things people do. Like gender and ing the dead. I don't mind ing the dead, but I'm not going to do gender. I don't mind not swearing around that teacher."

  "Ahaha, well, as a former human, I kinda get where they're ing from." Camity ughed sheepishly. "I think part of the ing corpses thing is because non-monster people get sick from it, they don't have the ability to eat anything sequence-free like monsters! Also, there're whole funeral s and you gotta respect that. And, well, part of it is it just feels weird particurly if it was someone you knew. Feel free to not bother with gehough, just be sure to respect how other people want to be addressed!"

  "I noticed other people do as much as monsters do," Mirn said.

  Camity answered, "Yeah, monsters basically have bottomless stomaches, they eat as much as they want and ara beyond what you o live daily goes toward evolution! Which is why all-you--eat restaurants usually restriany ptes us monsters get! Usually four ptes. We're also banned from most eating tests, though there're monster-only ones where you pete to see how fast you eat the food on your table."

  "So other people have limits to how much they eat?" Mirn asked.

  With a nod, Camity answered, "Yeah, however much fit in their stomachs."

  Mirn tilted their head. "That's a little sad."

  Camity shrugged. "Eh, they have lower food costs than us monsters, because they need less and the strength of the food source doesn't matter as much to them. They get nearly as much be from puny pin old cows as they do from direcows and the like."

  "Oh. Anyways, I'm hungry." Mirn looked at Camity inquiringly.

  "It's about time to start dinner, yes!" Camity said.

  ~~~

  This memory is forbidden to you.

  A couple of weeks had passed, and in that time Camity had made only slress on the Curse of Loss, often being blocked by that voice. She mao transform a few other curses while taking a break from tag that curse. The Curse of Pain had bee the Curse of Painful Jokes, making her more proo such, the Curse of Overheating had bee the Curse of Perpetual Heat, making her horny pretty much all the time, and the Curse of Passion had became the Curse of Innuendo, making her words more easily read as innuendo.

  Overall annoying curses but better than random fits of pain, frequently feeling way too hot, and having her emotions randomly run out of trol.

  This memory is forbidden to you.

  Progress with Grace was slow but steady; the monster smith was warming up to Camity again and even was sidering going on a date again. The bination of Camity's three new curses teo make Grace break into ughter regurly, which was kinda embarrassing. Mirn was doing well in school, catg up more and more to their peers at a quick pace. They were also rapidly pig up Sigils for their Adaptable Word and had earhe Spear Word and a few Sigils for that as well.

  This memory is forbidden to you.

  On the memory front, Camity was being more used to hearing that particur message, to the point where it became more irritating than anything else, even if she felt a little anxious at the voice itself. She had mao dig out some memories out of the quagmire, none of them clearing up the mystery of her assassination activity but painting a clearer idea of what kind of person she was before. Memories of drills with bdes. Memories of partying with a fun bunch of rich kids called the Wild Boys. Memories of flirting and sleeping with others. A memory that she had to fight the forbidding voice for, of drinking with a bunonsters who jokingly gave her the title of honorary monster. She had goo bed with one of them. Memories of her parents' home, though those were tinged with a little pain.

  This memory is forbidden to you.

  On the personal progress front, she had slowed down a little as she filled out the Sigils most easily obtained by her as. tiied to Relentless. Smash, Cw, and Fang, all tied to Bde. The tter two let her treat her natural onry as bdes for the purpose of the Bde Word and its Sigils. And, slowly, she could feel her Sigils advang toward the Transdental level through practid through byrinth runs, though none of them were that close to transding.

  This memory is forbidden to you.

  She had realized she both hated and loved the bde. The hatred seemed to be tied to the voice pguitempts tain her memories, but she loved the bde regardless because it was... fun. Particurly wheook unventional, rebellious even, bde stances. But she could go further. A greater act of defiance. So she started holding her sword ientacles instead, and that felt great. Xxx would hate it. Who Xxx was, she couldn't figure out, that was just the thought that popped into her head whenever she grasped her bde with her tentacles. Like that, she drilled, rapidly figuring out how to work with that, earning the Iocst aacle Sigils even.

  ...Was she actually a genius with bdes or something?

  This memory is forbidden to you.

  Gods, she hated that voice. Shut up and go away and stop blog memories! Well, she would just have to get strong enough to overpower it.