The Heart of the Curse

Chapter : 4 The Heart of the Curse

Annie knew the curse could be undone. But every answer she found came with a warning—breaking it would demand a price.

Desperate, she returned to the shrine, the place where she had last seen Sakura’s ghost. The air was thick with silence, pressing down on her like an unseen force. Shadows clung to the ancient wooden beams, stretching unnaturally in the dim light.

She stepped forward.

"You seek to undo what is already written?"

The voice was soft, almost kind, yet it seeped into her bones like ice.

Annie swallowed hard. "I want him back."

A pause. Then, "All magic requires balance. Would you trade your soul for his?"

The question sent a shiver down her spine. A life for a life. That was the simplest path. But Sakura had sacrificed himself to save her—he would never forgive her if she undid that sacrifice.

"No," she said firmly. "There has to be another way."

Laughter, faint and amused. "Then you must find the heart of the curse. Destroy it. Only then can the lost be returned."

The air shifted, and just as suddenly as it had come, the voice was gone.

Annie stood there, her heart pounding.

The heart of the curse.

She knew where it was.

The ancient cherry blossom tree—the one where she had first met Sakura, the one that had always felt alive in a way that defied reason. That was where it had begun. And that was where it had to end.

With a final glance at the shrine, she turned and ran toward the forest.

The wind whispered as she went, carrying voices she couldn’t yet understand.

The forest seemed different that night—darker, heavier. The moon was a sliver in the sky, barely enough to light Annie’s way. But she didn’t need light. She knew where she was going.

The cherry blossom tree stood in the clearing, its petals glowing faintly even in the dark. The wind was still, as if the world itself was holding its breath.

Annie stepped forward and placed her hands against the rough bark. The moment her fingers touched it, the world around her trembled.

"Show me."

A pulse of energy shot through her, and the ground beneath her feet crumbled away.

She was falling—no, sinking—into a vision, a memory not her own.

She saw the first woman who had defied fate, the one who had cast the curse. She saw her weeping beneath this very tree, begging the gods to return the man she had loved. When they refused, she had cursed them in return, binding love and loss together for all eternity.

Then, Annie saw the others—the women who had come before her. They had all loved Sakura, and they had all disappeared, their names swallowed by the curse.

And finally—she saw Sakura.

Trapped in the space between life and death, his body flickering like a shadow, his eyes filled with sorrow.

"Annie," he whispered.

She reached for him, but a sudden force slammed into her chest, knocking her backward. The vision shattered, and she was back in the clearing, gasping for breath.

She knew what she had to do.

If she destroyed the tree, the curse would end.

But what if it destroyed Sakura along with it?

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