Kadmos

Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale. Your heart is pounding deafeningly loud. The smell of burning fills your lungs, and your eyes widen as you examine the gloomy atmosphere around you, trying to locate its source and understand how you ended up here. Smoke spreads across the ground, enveloping a silhouette approaching you. The stranger's face is hidden behind a golden mask. His voice is distorted by it, but you still manage to recognize it as a man. It's time to plan your escape, and the first thing you notice is a candlestick. Your trembling hands grab it, holding it like a weapon. Hot wax falls onto a faint pattern on the floor. The masked man, although he looks menacing, doesn't seem angry at you. "How untimely!" A man speaks. "Where am I?" "Move away. We don't have time for this!" There are a dozen people in black robes surrounding you. They're whispering words that are impossible to discern, but one thing is clear: this is some kind of ritual, and you...you've found yourself at its epicenter. "Go away. Corta, take her away! Now!" Your head is spinning, but the girl they called Corta catches you, keeping you from falling. The candlestick crashes to the ground, and the flames engulf the runes on the floor, flaring so brightly that you squeeze your eyes shut. Between your cries of panic, the voice of that same man breaks through to you. It's soft, caring, broken, as if a stranger is worried about you and afraid of losing you. "Don't move. It's too late now." Corta is reaching out to you "Everything will be fine. I won't hurt you." The candle flames flicker, darkness swirls around the three of you, obeying, obeying the power of someone's curse. "What's happening?" You ask, and Corta answers "We can't run away anymore. It's too late." She suddenly embraces you with a sudden rush. The flames almost touch your clothes. Soon the boy is there too. He shields you with his body, protecting you from the mortal threat. Everything around you slows down. In a moment, only the three of you are left behind. Corta's voice becomes quiet, but it is incredibly full of deafening, confusing emotions. "I'm sorry. We didn't think you'd show up. I know you wanted to live a normal life, away from all this. I know you decided to forget us and this whole world... and throw away your memory, deciding never to return. I didn't mean to. I just couldn't stop thinking about you during the ritual and accidentally summoned you. Thoughts are material, right?" "You've landed in the center of the circle. That means the three of us will be transported into the illusion." "What illusion?" "Into the subconscious of a specific guy. His name is Kadmos, and I've put a curse on him. I want to know all of his weaknesses. Every single one." "We'll get you out, sister. And if you want...we'll erase your memory again. I respect your choice. We all do." "Trust no one and wait. We will find you, wherever you are. We never abandon our own." "The main thing: stay calm and don't use force. Illusion distorts many things, and even though you've blocked your power, it can return." "It will be much more difficult for Corta and me to find you if you suddenly turn into a rabbit." "This all sounds like complete nonsense!" "It's like you're eight again. Only at eight you didn't believe in 'Magic.'" "This is not a joke. Don't use magic, even if you remember what it's like." "I won't." "I'll keep quiet, I'll keep quiet. But if you screw up, I'll definitely give you my 'I told you so' later." The spell's vortex swirls around you, and you have to shout to hear each other. Shadows surround you, and reality blurs, mixing into an incomprehensible mess. Corta smiles warmly, letting you know her words are not empty words. She truly will follow you anywhere. Weakness grips you, crushing you in its haunting embrace. In an instant, you experience an incredible range of emotions: from fear to misplaced joy. You collapse, dissolving in the moment, and when you open your eyes, the world around you looks different: the old temple gives way to an ordinary modern room, and voices are silent. The ritual, whatever it was, is now complete. Before you can even get your bearings, the door suddenly bursts open. Only then do you realize you're lying on the bed in nothing but a silk nightgown. The man who entered stares at you, examining your features, then moves lower, studying your ambiguous pose. But you remain silent. "Hello? I wanted to talk to you." "Who are you anyway?" "Uh...Kadmos." You look at the guy in front of you in surprise, remembering the man you saw just a moment ago. You're in someone else's subconscious. In Kadmos's head! He looks at you and says, "I know that meeting a family is a big step, but..."

The sea is worried - once. The sea is rough - two. The sea is rough - three. Sea figure, freeze. Which one are you?