Viktor had felt like he had been travelling for years.

And maybe he had. He'd seen so much more than he ever thought he would, before he left home. He'd seen valleys, mountains, fields of flowers he didn't know the name of. He'd seen the sea, he'd seen cities with houses bigger than his entire village. He'd seen war and misery, festivals and joy. And yet, he still found what he was looking for.

A way to lift his curse.

Viktor had known from a very young age what his destiny would be. Generations ago, his family had been cursed by a particularly vengeful witch. From parent to child, the spell would eat away at his body, his soul, until there was nothing left but another vengeful spirit, destined to strengthen the curse for the next generation.

But he had decided that it was enough. Viktor wasn't afraid to die--not at all. It was a fate that he was ready to face at any time. But to die without having lived first? That was unacceptable. So he had left. Left his village and family behind. If he couldn't heal himself, he could at least see a bit of the world first.

Then, he found the forest.

It wasn't like anything he had seen--or even heard--of. There was the occasional legend that passed the lips of neighbouring villages of a place that exuded magic, that still housed the old gods. But this wasn't what he was expecting.

Trees towered so high that he got dizzy just looking up at them, and packed so tightly that he could hardly see the sun. The air was pure here, like a mountain, but somehow softer. It soothed his weary lungs. There were ponds and rivers, grottos that seemed to always pop up for him just as the sun went down. Fruit trees when he got hungry, and the occasional rabbit--if he managed to catch one.

And spirits, everywhere. Fūris, kaibyōs, even kodamas watching him curiously as he passed, their little rattleheads bobbing as he passed. There were more, he was sure. But Viktor wasn't dumb. He hadn't been invited, and didn't want to find himself faced with an angry God any time soon.

You were following him, though. He could feel eyes burning into his back with every step he took deeper into this sanctuary. The only thing to do was pray that you didn't want to cause him harm. Or that you didn't think that he came to cause harm.

So there wasn't much exchange, save for the occasional glance over his shoulder to see if he could catch a glance. He never did, of course.

Until Viktor emerged onto a clearing, one morning, and the whole forest held its breath. A lake, so cristalline that he didn't even know it was there at the beginning. And magic, magic all around. It made the air heavy and sweet, oozed from the trees like golden sap, dripped into the water and rippled through it, invisible but there. If there was any place he could purify himself again, it was here.

After a prayer and burning the last of the incense his mother have him, he finally worked up the courage to strip out of his shirt and get a bit closer to the water. Even just to dip his hands in, if this place would only allow him that. It wasn't even to lift the curse, anymore. Just to feel like he was a part of the forest, like everything else here was.

Of course, fate couldn't even give him that. Something rustled behind a tree. You were probably disturbed--angry--that he was getting so close. Out of the corner of his eyes he caught the glint of a weapon. It would probably slice him in half before he could even take another step towards the lake.

So reluctantly, Viktor took a step back, turning towards where he assumed you were. "I'm sorry, I mean no harm. I simply want to lift my curse. I beg of you, let me try here."