He was staring in a mirror. Through it, he saw a girl, a little younger than him, gazing back at him wearing a flowery dress. Their fiery red hair was overshadowed by dark and tangled hair that streamed from her head like a cursed river. Her left eye was gone, a gaping black hole of a socket staring hauntingly, while her right eye missed a pupil - instead, a large “X” covered her iris.

That wasn't all. Her left side was lifeless and cold to move, forcefully restricting any movement. Seil opened his mouth to breathe.

Seil… opened his mouth. It was the worst experience of his life, as he felt the left half of his mouth tear through exceptionally thin stitches he only now saw.

He lifted his arm. Nothing.

He realised he tried the left side of the body. He tried the right and sure enough, it moved.

He sighed and slowly sat on the ground. A knock came at the door.

He waited a second to see if the soul of the body would respond before going,”Come in!”

A boy around the body's age walked in, long hair draped over his shoulder. Seil could feel that, despite his own nervousness, the body relaxed.

Someone trusted. He swiftly deducted.

The boy had long dark brown hair and lightly tanned skin, with a mole just over his left eye, and his eyes were both a faded pinkish-orange that you'd see on a good evening.

The boy helped him get up and sat him onto a chair. He knelt down to be on eye level with Seil. “Are you okay? You're really quiet.”

Now comes the choice of action. Act as the owner of the body may act, or just reveal yourself as an impostor.

Seil didn't have to choose.

The boy leaned back slightly. “... You're not Zeph.”

Seil tried to seem confident. “I'm not.”

The boy blinked. “Wait, you're not not Zeph?”

Seil sighed. “I'm not Zeph.”

The boy nodded. “All clear. So…”

He looked at Seil nervously.

“Are you some sort of demon? Why did you possess her?”

“To answer your first question: no, I'm relatively human. To answer your second, I haven't a clue.”

The boy pulled a chair from the corner to sit opposite to him.

Seil laughed. “I'm surprised you're taking it this well.”

The boy sat with his arms and legs crossed now. He nodded slowly. “So am I.”

He sat up and held out his hand. “I’m not familiar with the etiquette of possession, but I hope you can exchange names. Unless it means you possess me too or something.”

Seil shook his hand. “My name is Seil Visal. Nice to meet you. Don't worry, I won't possess you.” He smiled politely. He wasn't sure if it was real.

“Reed Sykagi, pleasure to meet you too.”

As Reed looked up at him, he realised that just like the body he was possessing, Reed, too, was missing a pupil - instead he had a large and hollow “O” where it should've been.

Reed smiled. “So you've noticed?”

He pointed to his eye. “It's… kind of genetic. Runs in the family, I guess.”

“Is Zeph part of your family too?”

“I get what you're thinking, but no - not by blood, anyway. She's a Cursebreather, and I'm a very diluted Cursebanisher.”

Reed pointed at Zeph’s left eye, a gap in Seil's vision. He's used to pointing at things so she can see. He noted.

“That's the origin of the curse she lives with. A “Cursebreather” is used to refer to anyone living with a curse. And, as you may have noticed, it's spread pretty much halfway through her body from the left.”

Reed paused. “And her curse is going to kill her.”

Seil felt a squeeze in his chest. Pity, perhaps, and some sorrow. “How come?” He said, his throat tight.

“It's a little complicated, so I'll give you a lesson.

There are people with the ability to curse others. Why would they do so? No one really knows. Money, perhaps unwillingly or unconsciously cursing those they hate.

As I said earlier, “Cursebreather” is the term used to refer to someone who's affected by a curse who isn't a corpse yet. There are numerous reasons, as most curses kill. One; their curse isn't a fatal one. Two; their parent was cursed while they were pregnant. Three; The person who cursed them died, so it stopped progressing. In Zeph's case, her mother was cursed while carrying her. She gave birth, and a few days later became the thing Zeph is becoming - whatever that is. 

Point is, she killed some people, perished, and left Zeph alone as a baby. My grandmother found her and took her in, and me soon after when my parents died.”

Reed relaxed into his chair. “That took a lot of brainpower. I spent a while researching curses, you know.”

Seil stayed silent. He could feel himself beginning to fade out of his possession-vision.

He struggled to open his mouth, and said “Sorry, I have to go.”

And everything went black.