Even though Shinash didn't give me much information to go off of, I managed to follow Aisha's airstream right out of her nose. On the outside, I can finally see what's going on. I am tempted to relish in my freedom, but now is not the time–my dead body is in Nazz's hands!
Given that I am right in front of Aisha's face, yet she has not noticed me indicates that I am invisible to the natural eye. I see Lily standing directly in front of Nazz,...I can't believe that she looks that distressed over me of all people.
Flowing from her mouth, I see a current of air. When she inhales, the air current changes direction. This is not the case just for Lily and Aisha–Gene, that brat, and Nazz have that same air stream phenomenon.
I need to be careful not to drift too closely to anyone else, lest I accidentally end up inside the wrong mind.
Vex pauses to concentrate on Nazz's breathing, tuning out the words from her mouth into nothing but meaningless noise.
The nerve of this girl to hold my body that she messed up. I'm coming to address you in a place where not even you can escape from!
Recognizing the pattern of airflow, Vex floats towards Nazz and follows her air stream into her nose. In just a matter of seconds, he travels through her bodily airways right into her mind.
Hmm, looks like the space inside Nazz's mind is pretty similar to Aisha's. Though not in thoughts…wait, I can sense what Nazz is thinking. Without Shinash interfering, my soul can perceive much more. I couldn't care less about Nazz's current thoughts, but now that I am here…
It's time to be the annoying voice in her head!
"Nazz? Apostle Nazz? Can you hear me?"
"W-who are you and why are you speaking inside my mind?!"
"Aww, you don't recognize my voice? That's a shame, since I am the man you afflicted with a shrinking curse!"
"Vex?! When did you…how did you–"
"Enough! From your thoughts, I can clearly see that you have my body in your possession. I'll get straight to the point–resurrect my body!"
"Hmph, I see that you are still as brazen as ever. Who are you to make such demands of me?"
"May I remind you who cursed me in the first place? It was you, you false apostle!"
"False apostle? You are calling me a false apostle? You dare to blaspheme the goddess who ordained me herself?!"
"Don't try to deflect–you are the issue, not the goddess! So what? You couldn't handle the fact that a demi-human girl heard something from the goddess that you didn't know about? You could easily belittle the girl, making her doubt herself, but when you were called out, you resorted to cursing me. I knew that you were just an immature little girl after all!"
"Tch! Curse you! I do not want to hear your grieving voice any longer–get out!"
"Nope, not until you revive me!"
"What makes you think that I have the authority over the dead? My curse has nothing to do with reviving the dead!"
"Well, surely you can do something. Come on, you are a real apostle, aren't ya? Prove it to me right now!"
"That assertion is outright absurd! You are nobody worth proving anything to!"
"Okay, that's perfectly fine. I'll just stay right here inside your mind."
"I said get out!"
"Never! Not until you do something about my body. Until then, I will be here to haunt your mind forever!"
"Oh, so you want me to do something with your body, huh?"
Nazz opens a small gap in her robe that is just large enough…to dump Vex's body into her cleavage. Witnessing such a humiliating sight, Vex lashes out.
"You wretch, what are you doing to my body?!"
"You told me to do 'something', so I did. It would be a shame if I were to accidentally crush your bones, knocking them out of joint."
Nazz smugly grins. Not wanting to give her leverage, Vex returns the favor.
"I may be tiny, but your baby chest isn't big enough to even suffocate me!"
"Then how about I apply a bit of force?!"
"Do it! I'd like to see you try!"
"Both of you, cease this foolishness at once."
"?!"
A spirit that has no distinct form appears inside Nazz's mind alongside Vex. Its feminine voice carries gracefulness and authority.
"Huh?! There's another spirit that's haunting your mind?!"
"She isn't just some spirit, you heathen! She is–"
"I am the goddess. I did not anticipate meeting you here inside the mind of one of my apostles, but nevertheless, I am glad to interact with you, Vex."
"...so it's you? You are really the goddess who speaks to Lily? The goddess who can be summoned with 9 special crystals? The goddess who is responsible for curses?"
"I understand that you have a lot of questions for me, but–"
"Oh you bet I do! I need your help obtaining those hard-to-find crystals that you apparently like so much; we can cut Lily out as the middleman and you can just reveal this information directly to me. Better yet since you are here, how about fulfilling my request directly? I want you to–"
"I am not here to fulfil the requests of a mortal who has offered nothing in exchange to me. My time here is short and I only want to accomplish one thing–Nazz, give this man what he seeks from you."
"But my goddess, this vile man blasphemed your authority! How could I do anything remotely good for him?"
"Hey, I'm the victim here! You should have never cursed me in the first place! Now obey your goddess and prove me wrong."
"I cannot simply resurrect you as I already told you. However, if I release you from my curse, then everything that has happened to your body in that shrunken state will be undone."
"So in other words, I will unshrink and become alive again? You should have just said that from the beginning!"
"It's futile for someone like you anyway. As you are right now, I cannot undo the curse you have been afflicted with."
"That's nonsense! You just want an excuse not to undo your screw-up. Aren't you being disobedient to your goddess?"
"Vex, I understand your frustration, however, Nazz is right. She cannot undo the curse because you still meet the requirements that caused the curse to activate in the first place. Until you no longer meet those requirements, the curse cannot be lifted. That is why I wanted your foolish bickering to cease."
"Her curse has an activation clause? What did I do besides rightfully pissing her off?"
"You had the audacity to despise my position and belittled me. Therefore, my curse activated and cut you down to size. Now look at you–you are helpless on your own, and you can only rely on me to heal your affliction, yet you still have not changed your mind. There's nothing more I can do for you on my end!"
"Tch…"
I suppose that I could just quickly tell her that I am sorry and get this over with…nah, there's no way that would suffice. I reckon that my feelings must be genuine in order for the curse to be deactivated–no point in wasting time.
Even though I recognize this fact, it still doesn't change the fundamental issue: I don't see Nazz as someone worth respecting; at least not with that title.
Dang it, how am I supposed to resolve this…
Vex furrows his brows while crossing his arms.
"If you have nothing else to say, then there's no point in you lingering inside my mind since nothing will change. You are technically dead anyway, so your soul should be going to the afterlife. I'm sure that you have a well-deserved judgement awaiting you!"
"Vex, she is right–you cannot just linger here as you please. Therefore, since you appear to be unable to settle this stalemate, I will make your soul become one with Nazz's conscience as your judgment."
In an instant, Nazz's face dropped.
"My goddess, with all due respect, that is an inadequate judgement that would be an unfair punishment to me! I do not want such a heathen to become one with my mind!"
"Need I remind you that you afflicted him with this curse in the first place without my approval? This also serves as judgment for your actions as well."
"But my goddess—"
"The matter is settled! I will now execute my judgment on–"
"Wait goddess, before you cast judgment, I have a question for you. Is it okay if I ask?"
"...continue on."
I need to change my perception on Nazz quickly, else both of us will be subjected to hell. If I could just get more information about her…
"Why did you choose Nazz to be one of your apostles?"
Vex's question lingered in the air, and for a brief moment, there was silence.
That is an unexpected question, though the answer is rather straightforward. When Nazz was just a young girl, she decided to call out to me in desperation and put her complete faith in me. The fact that she was willing to do that despite everyone, even her own family, despising her abilities or lack thereof moved my heart. How could I not anoint such a beautiful soul?"
"..."
Nazz was despised growing up…even by her own family? If I were to guess, it was due to her curse or at least partially. Perhaps I'm just projecting…
If only a supernatural force would have come to my aid all those years ago…
"Unfortunately, I must refrain from giving you any more details than what I have said for the sake of privacy. Is there something else that you were–"
"That was sufficient enough, thank you. Nazz, please listen to me."
"...Yes?"
Okay, here goes…
"I know that you and I did not start on the right foot. I was hoping that you would have been able to help Lily and I find what we were looking for, and felt frustrated when I hit another roadblock. I lashed out at you in defense of Lily, since I couldn't stand you dismissing her–for that, my only regret was being just a tad too sharp tongued. Anyway, I did not think someone as small as you could be a true apostle, especially since you did not know about something a little girl learned from the goddess who supposedly ordained you. But now I see that you and I are somewhat similar–curses suck. We had to rely on differing methods of coping, with you choosing to devote yourself to the goddess and earning your position. For disrespecting the position that means so much to you, I apologize, Apostle Nazz."
Hearing a genuine apology from an enemy is never something that anyone could anticipate and accept without experiencing some awkwardness. Naturally, Nazz stands still in silence–Vex's speech took her remaining breath away, though only temporarily.
"Well…maybe I did not have to curse you in retaliation. I am sorry for putting you in a situation that led to your death…Vex."
"?!"
My soul is vanishing, I'm fading away! Am I finally returning to my body?
"I am glad that this manner has allowed you two to reconcile. Now you and Lily can move forward. I look forward to the day you and I will meet face-to-face. Until then, try not to get in trouble with my other apostles."
"Wait, what do you mean by–"
THUD!
"EEEEK!"
"Nazz, what's going on in here?! Are you alright–"
After bursting into the office upon hearing a shriek of distress, Aisha notices that Vex is lying on the floor– his face is buried in Nazz's "bosom". Of course, the absurdity of this incident brings a mischievous smile to Aisha's face.
"Oh, I didn't expect you to be so naughty, Nazz. At least, not at the temple!"
As Aisha continues to tease them, the others who arrived behind her are not as found of the situation. Gene averts his eyes and covers Lily's, while Thena scowls, passing judgment with her gaze alone.
Steam emanates from Nazz, her face blushing cherry-red. Unable to look anyone else in the eyes without shame, she and Vex stare right at each other for a second, then speak under their breath in unison.
"I want to die."