The silence in Klee's room was suffocating.
Barbara had left to attend evening prayers, extracting promises that someone would fetch her immediately if Klee's condition changed. Eula stood guard at the door, arms crossed, her expression carved from ice. Lisa sat in the chair beside Klee's bed, one hand resting near the little girl's head, not quite touching.
And Amber paced.
Back and forth, back and forth, her boots wearing a path in the floorboards. Her right hand—the one with the lightning scars—kept clenching and unclenching.
"Where is he?" Amber's voice was tight. "He said he'd be here ten minutes ago."
"Albedo is thorough," Lisa said mildly. "He'll want to gather all available information before—"
The door opened.
Albedo swept in carrying an armload of books, several loose papers tucked under one arm, and what looked like a piece of Klee's necklace chain held in a pair of alchemical tongs. His coat was dusted with chalk and his hair was disheveled—for Albedo, that meant a crisis.
"Report," Eula said immediately.
Albedo set everything on Klee's desk with careful precision, then turned to look at his sister. His face was perfectly neutral, but his hands trembled slightly as he reached out to check her pulse.
"Stable," he murmured. "Heart rate elevated but consistent. Breathing normal. Barbara's work?"
"Yes," Lisa confirmed. "She stabilized her about thirty minutes ago. But Albedo..." She gestured at Klee's too-pale face. "She won't wake up."
"I know." Albedo's jaw tightened. He pulled up a second chair, sinking into it like his legs had given out. For a long moment, he just stared at Klee, his expression unreadable.
Then Amber exploded.
"WHAT IS THAT THING?" She pointed at the necklace, still glowing against Klee's chest. "What kind of cursed artifact gives a child something that does THAT? I barely touched it, Albedo! I barely brushed it and it—it—" Her voice cracked. "I thought I was dying. I thought I'd killed her."
"You didn't kill her." Albedo's voice was flat. Factual. "The necklace did this. Not you."
"Then what IS it?"
Albedo was quiet for a long moment. Then: "A sympathy curse."
The words fell into the room like stones into still water.
Lisa leaned forward. "You're certain?"
"As certain as I can be without direct analysis, which I cannot perform without touching it, which I will not risk." Albedo gestured to the books he'd brought. "I've been researching since we returned from Inazuma. The signs were there—I simply didn't recognize them quickly enough."
"What signs?" Eula's hand had gone to her sword hilt. "Klee's been fine for three days."
"Has she?" Albedo looked at each of them in turn. "Has she been sleeping well? Eating normally? Have any of you noticed her... distracted? Touching her chest frequently? Staring off into space?"
Amber opened her mouth. Closed it. "I... yes. All of those things. But I thought she was just missing Yoimiya."
"She is missing Yoimiya." Albedo stood, moved to his books, flipped one open to a marked page. "But the necklace is amplifying it. Sympathy curses work by creating a connection between two objects—or in this case, two people. Whatever one feels, the other feels. Whatever happens to one, affects the other."
"That's..." Lisa's expression had gone very still. "That's incredibly dangerous magic. And illegal in most nations."
"Yes." Albedo's finger traced text on the page. "According to this—a treatise on forbidden artifacts from Sumeru—sympathy curses were outlawed approximately two hundred years ago after a series of incidents where linked individuals were used to torture or kill each other from a distance. The Akademiya classified them as weapons of war."
Eula's face had drained of color. "And someone gave this to children?"
"Two children," Albedo corrected quietly. "Klee and Yoimiya both wear them. Which means—"
"When Amber triggered Klee's curse, it triggered Yoimiya's simultaneously," Lisa finished. "Archons above. That girl is halfway across the world experiencing the same pain Klee experienced."
The room fell silent again.
Amber's legs gave out. She sat down hard on the floor, head in her hands. "I hurt both of them. I hurt a child I've never even met."
"You didn't know." Lisa's voice was gentle but firm. "None of us knew. That's the point of a trap—it's hidden until it's sprung."
"But why?" Amber looked up, eyes red. "Why would anyone do this? What's the purpose?"
Albedo flipped to another marked page. "Sympathy curses have historically been used for three purposes: torture, as I mentioned. Assassination—kill one person to kill their linked partner. And..." He paused. "Binding."
"Binding?" Eula echoed.
"Forcing two people together. Making separation physically painful. Some ancient cultures used them in marriage ceremonies—a way to ensure couples remained faithful, remained together." Albedo's expression was grim. "The practice was outlawed for obvious reasons."
"Yae Miko." Amber's voice was sharp with sudden fury. "That fox gave them these. At the dock. Right before we left. She said they were gifts, mementos of friendship. She KNEW."
"She's a kitsune," Lisa said quietly. "A five-hundred-year-old trickster spirit with the power of an Electro Archon's familiar. Of course she knew."
"Then why—" Amber was on her feet again, fists clenched. "What possible reason could she have for cursing two children? For fun? For entertainment? I'll kill her. I swear to Barbatos, I'll fly to Inazuma and—"
"Amber." Albedo's voice cut through her rage like a knife. "Right now, Yae Miko's motivations are irrelevant. What matters is breaking the curse."
"Can we?" Eula asked. "Break it, I mean. Can it be done?"
Albedo's silence was answer enough.
"There has to be a way," Amber insisted. "There's always a way. We just need to—"
"The necklaces cannot be removed." Albedo gestured to the tongs holding the chain sample. "I attempted to study a portion while Klee slept last week. The moment I tried to separate it from her body, the chain regenerated. It's alive, in a sense. Self-repairing. Any attempt to cut it or break it simply makes it stronger."
"Magic, then," Eula said. "Could Lisa dispel it?"
"I could try." Lisa didn't sound hopeful. "But dispelling a curse created by a kitsune who's served the Electro Archon for centuries? That's... beyond my capabilities. I'm a librarian, not a miracle worker."
"Then we bring in someone stronger," Amber said desperately. "Venti! He's the Anemo Archon, he could—"
"Do you know where Venti is?" Albedo's tone was sharp. "Because I don't. He appears and disappears as he pleases. We can't wait for a god who might not show up for months."
"Then Jean—"
"NO."
The word came from all three of them at once—Albedo, Lisa, and Eula speaking in perfect synchronization.
Albedo stood, moving between Amber and the door like a barrier. "We cannot tell Jean. Not yet."
"Are you insane?" Amber's voice climbed. "She's the Acting Grand Master! She needs to know that Klee is—"
"Do you know what Jean will do if we tell her?" Albedo's voice was cold now. Clinical. "She'll mobilize the entire Knights of Favonius. She'll declare this an international incident. She'll demand Inazuma's cooperation in finding a cure, which will involve diplomacy, paperwork, and weeks of bureaucratic process while Klee suffers."
"She'll also," Eula added quietly, "lock Klee in this room under twenty-four-hour guard and never let her out of sight again. Jean's protective instincts where Klee is concerned are... extreme."
Lisa nodded. "The moment Jean knows about this curse, she'll try to control every variable. She'll smother Klee in safety measures. And if she learns that the curse is triggered by others touching the necklace..." She let the implication hang.
"She'll make sure no one ever gets close to Klee again," Amber finished, horror dawning. "She'll isolate her completely."
"Exactly." Albedo returned to his chair, suddenly looking exhausted. "Jean's first instinct is always protection. But sometimes protection becomes imprisonment."
"But we can't just not tell her!" Amber was pacing again. "She'll find out eventually! And when she does—"
"When she does, she'll be furious that we kept it from her," Albedo agreed. "But by then, hopefully, we'll have found a solution. Or at least understood the parameters well enough to present her with a plan rather than a crisis."
Eula's expression was troubled. "This is deception. Jean trusts us."
"I know." Albedo's voice was quiet. "And I will accept whatever consequences come from that broken trust. But right now, Klee's wellbeing takes precedence over Jean's authority. I will not let her be locked away like a prisoner in her own home."
The room fell into uncomfortable silence.
Finally, Lisa sighed. "How long do we have? Before Jean notices something's wrong?"
"She's in meetings until late tonight," Eula said. "Tomorrow morning at the latest. She always checks on Klee first thing."
"Then we have until tomorrow morning to figure something out." Albedo looked at each of them. "I need all of you to research. Lisa, check your restricted texts—anything on sympathy curses, binding magic, kitsune artifacts. Eula, discreetly question anyone who might have encountered similar magic. Amber..." He paused. "Amber, I need you to write to Yoimiya. Immediately. She needs to know what's happening."
"But the mail takes two weeks to reach Inazuma," Amber protested.
"I know. But it's all we have." Albedo rubbed his eyes. "We're working blind here. If Yoimiya has experienced the same symptoms, if she's learned anything about the curse, we need that information."
"What are you going to do?" Lisa asked.
Albedo looked at Klee's unconscious form. "I'm going to stay here and make sure she's safe. And I'm going to pray that when she wakes up, she'll forgive me for bringing her to Inazuma in the first place."
"Albedo—" Lisa started.
"This is my fault." His voice was hollow. "I took her there. I let her accept the gift. I didn't recognize the danger until it was too late. If anything happens to her because of my negligence—"
"Stop." Eula's voice was sharp. "Self-flagellation helps no one. You couldn't have known. None of us could have. The fox deceived us all."
"Doesn't make me feel any better," Albedo muttered.
Amber moved to the door, then paused. "I touched it. The necklace. That means I triggered the curse for both of them. Yoimiya's hurt because of me, and she doesn't even know why. She doesn't even know who I am."
"Then tell her," Lisa said gently. "Write that letter. Explain. Apologize. It won't undo what happened, but it's a start."
Amber nodded, not trusting her voice.
One by one, they filed out—Lisa to her restricted archives, Eula to her investigation, Amber to write the most difficult letter of her life.
Albedo stayed.
He pulled his chair closer to Klee's bed, taking her small hand in his. It was warm. Alive. The pulse at her wrist beat steady.
"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm so, so sorry, little sister. I should have seen this coming."
Klee didn't answer. Her chest rose and fell with mechanical regularity. The crystal necklace glowed its steady, pulsing red.
Albedo laid his head on the edge of her bed and, for the first time since he'd become her guardian, he prayed.
Not to Barbatos—the Anemo Archon was too unreliable, too whimsical.
But to Alice, wherever she was in the world.
Please, he thought. Please let your daughter be strong enough to survive this. Because I don't know if I am.
The crystal pulsed. The night deepened. And Klee slept on, trapped in darkness.
---
In the darkness, there was a voice.
"Klee."
She knew that voice. High-pitched, cheerful, familiar as her own heartbeat.
"Dodoco?"
The darkness shifted. Shapes formed—not quite real, not quite dream. She was standing somewhere gray and formless, and in front of her sat Dodoco. Not the stuffed toy, but Dodoco as she'd always imagined him when she was little: alive, talking, real.
He was glowing faintly, red-orange like a banked fire.
"You're dreaming," Dodoco said gently. "But that doesn't mean this isn't real."
"What happened?" Klee looked down at herself. She was wearing her regular clothes, but they seemed... faded. Translucent. "Why can't I wake up?"
"The curse," Dodoco said. "It knocked you into deep sleep. Your body is protecting itself from the pain by shutting down. But you need to wake up soon, Klee. There are things you need to know."
"What curse? What are you talking about?"
Dodoco hopped closer—an impossible movement for a stuffed toy, natural for whatever he was now. "The necklace. Yae Miko's gift. It's not a gift, Klee. It's a trap."
Cold flooded through her. "But... but Miss Yae said..."
"Miss Yae is a liar." Dodoco's voice was still gentle, but there was steel underneath. "She's a trickster. A manipulator. She gave you and Yoimiya cursed necklaces that link you together. When someone touched yours, it hurt you. And it hurt Yoimiya too, at the exact same time, even though she's in Inazuma."
Klee's hand flew to her throat. Even in the dream, she could feel the necklace there. Warm. Pulsing. "Is Yoimiya okay?"
"She's hurt. But she's awake. She's strong, Klee. Stronger than you know." Dodoco's glow brightened. "But you need to listen carefully. The curse is going to get worse."
"Worse how?"
"Every time someone touches either necklace, you both feel pain. And each time, the pain will be stronger. Longer. More dangerous."
Dodoco's ears drooped. "Eventually, one of these triggers will be strong enough to kill you both."
Terror, sharp and immediate. "No. No, we have to take them off! We have to—"
"You can't." Dodoco shook his head. "The necklaces can't be removed. Brother Albedo already tried. They're bound to you now. Part of you."
"Then what do we do?" Klee's voice was small. "How do we stop it?"
Dodoco was quiet for a moment. Then: "There's only one way to break the curse. You have to go to Yoimiya."
"Go to Inazuma?"
"Yes. You have to travel there, find her, and..." Dodoco hesitated. "You have to find her."
"Find her...?"
"It's a binding curse, Klee. It's meant to force people together. The only way to transform it from curse to blessing is to... fulfill its purpose. True affection, freely given, breaks the binding and turns it into protection instead of pain."
"But..." Klee's mind was reeling. "But I'm just a kid. And Master Jean won't let me go to Inazuma again. And how would I even get there? It took days on the ship with Brother Albedo and—"
"You have to go alone."
The words fell like stones.
"What?"
Dodoco moved closer, his glow intensifying. "The curse reacts to anyone except you and Yoimiya. If someone else touches the necklaces, it triggers. If someone travels with you, they'll inevitably come into contact with it—by accident, or trying to help, or just being too close. And every trigger makes the curse stronger."
"But I can't go alone!" Klee's voice cracked. "I'm eight years old! I don't know the way! There are monsters and—"
"You're the Spark Knight of the Knights of Favonius," Dodoco said firmly. "You've fought hilichurls and slimes and treasure hoarders. You know how to fish-blast for food and make bombs for protection. You're smarter and braver than anyone gives you credit for."
"But—"
"And Yoimiya needs you." Dodoco's voice softened. "She's hurting, Klee. Every trigger hurts her just as much as it hurts you. And the next one could be worse. Could be fatal. You're the only one who can save her. And she's the only one who can save you."
Klee's throat was tight. "I'm scared."
"I know." Dodoco pressed against her leg, warm and solid and impossible. "But you're brave too. Brave enough to do what needs to be done. Brave enough to save your friend."
"What if I can't make it? What if I get lost or hurt or—"
"Then you'll figure it out. That's what you do, Klee. You blow things up until a solution appears." There was a smile in Dodoco's voice.
"And you won't be completely alone. I'll be with you. And Yoimiya will be waiting."
The dream was starting to fade at the edges, reality bleeding back in.
"Wait!" Klee reached for Dodoco. "How do I—when do I—"
"Soon," Dodoco said. "As soon as you can. Every day you wait is another chance for someone to trigger the curse again. Make a plan. Gather supplies. And go."
"But Brother Albedo will stop me. And Master Jean will—"
"Then don't tell them." Dodoco was barely visible now, just a glow in the darkness. "I'm sorry, Klee. I know you don't like lying. But sometimes, to protect the people we love, we have to do hard things. Even things we're not supposed to do."
"Dodoco—"
"Wake up now. And remember: alone, or not at all. Anyone who travels with you will be in danger. Anyone who tries to help will trigger the curse. You have to be brave enough to do this by yourself."
"I don't want to—"
"I know. But you will. Because that's who you are."
The darkness was dissolving, light streaming in from somewhere above. Klee felt herself rising, floating, pulled back toward consciousness.
Dodoco's voice followed her up: "Be brave, little spark. The world needs your light."