Chapter 378: Vyasa’s Womb & Myriad Cursed Incarnation Tattoo
“Listen, Ace. Did you know my awakening ceremony was nothing like what they explained in that video you shared? I wasn’t driven mad by a flood of negative emotions building up in my heart. The array didn’t just protect my mind — it made it sharper. Thanks to that, I was able to not only condense my curse core but refine it to its very limits. See, you were wrong about the ceremony. This proves it, even though you were a curse master longer than I, you don’t know everything. Also, your rules work when facing strangers, but between us siblings, as far as I am concerned, they don’t apply,” Lyra said, defending her thoughts and ideas against her brother’s ridiculous ideology and rule that barred her from discussing her innate curse tool and art with her own baby bro.
She could understand the need to keep such things secret from strangers — but from Ace? He was her dearest brother, her guide into this cursed world. She needed him to help her understand her abilities. How could someone so smart act so stupid sometimes? Lyra blamed his annoyingly over-cautious nature for this annoying trait of his.
“That can’t be. The awakening ceremony array doesn’t have any functions like that. It’s more likely that you have an exceptionally high aptitude for curse energy. That’s great and all, but… you can’t brag about this to others,” Ace said, lying through his teeth with an exaggerated expression of disbelief and forced excitement.
The truth was, Lyra’s experience had little to do with the array. It was DD’s engineered pollens and Emi’s tranquility talisman at work. The pollens had kept her sane despite the flood of negative emotions, and the talisman had cleared her mind, sharpening her focus. On top of that, the McSuile family’s version of the awakening array could also enhance memory.
With all these boosts aiding Lyra during her curse core condensation, Ace chose not to guide her from the sidelines, worried he’d end up being more of a distraction than a help. To put it simply, thanks to his Toy Summon’s abilities, Ace had managed to raise the success rate of anyone attempting a curse core awakening to 99.99 percent — unless they had some kind of mental ailment.
But he couldn’t just tell Lyra that, especially after she’d blatantly refused to follow his rules. So, he lied. He couldn’t afford to take any chances. After all, a method with a 99.99 percent success rate during a curse core awakening ceremony was unheard of, even in the World of Curses. If word got out, the Curse Council would be sending Curse Enforcers after him in no time.
“Don’t worry,” Lyra said, brushing off his concern. “I know better than to brag about my wealth in a shady neighborhood.”
Then, holding her right palm out, she added, “Ace, check this out.”
“Is that a tattoo?” Ace asked, eyeing what looked like a knock-off Lexus logo — except instead of one ‘L,’ it had two.
“Yes. It’s my innate tattoo. The Ls stand for Lyra Lander. And look — I can move it anywhere on my body or even turn it invisible.”
As she spoke, the tattoo slid up her wrist from her palm. Just as it reached the edge of the sleeve of her T-shirt, it vanished, as if it had never existed.
“You’re an ex-graphic designer and a comic artist — couldn’t you have come up with something more creative than copying the Lexus logo? Don’t come crying to me when Toyota sues you for trademark and copyright infringement. And is that all your innate curse art can do?” Ace said, clearly unimpressed with Lyra’s design choice. He felt someone with her background should’ve done better than repurpose a well-known car brand’s logo for a lifelong magical tattoo.
“Unless you can design a better tattoo in under a few seconds while mentally drained, don’t you dare question my creativity,” Lyra shot back, her expression grave. Then, almost instantly, her mood shifted as she added eagerly, “No, it can do more than that. Just find me a small bug, and I’ll show you what it’s really capable of.”
Ace stared at her with a deadpan expression before refusing flatly, “Forget it. I don’t want to hear it.”
Not only was she openly breaking his first rule, she was also asking him to go hunt for bugs a couple of hours before dawn.
“Ace, you better do as I say, or else—” Lyra began to threaten, but Ace cut her off with a resigned sigh, “Fine. The wood palace will fetch you a bug soon.”
Ace had to give in — because Lyra’s threats weren’t destructive, they were self-destructive. If she were just threatening to break things or blow off steam, he would’ve gladly left her alone, figuring she’d calm down after the tantrum passed. But when her threats turned inward, he couldn’t ignore them. No sibling or parent in the world could stand by and watch their loved one suffer, no matter who was at fault.
That’s how kids everywhere got their way — self-destructive threats. Take the classic “holding their breath” trick. It wasn’t just a tantrum; it was emotional blackmail. And even though parents shouldn’t give in to that kind of manipulation, they often do.
In Lyra’s case, it was already too late. She had mastered the art long before Ace was old enough to resist. So, he’d learned early on: it was better to give in while she was still reasonable. The longer he dragged it out, the worse it got — for him.
Not that her antics really bothered him anymore. He was used to it — even fond of it in a way. Somewhere deep down, a quiet voice echoed in his heart: My sister should get and do whatever she wants. That was his pride speaking — and he promptly crushed before it could spark any resistance.
What did bother him, though, was that his toy summons openly sided with Lyra. He was so annoyed that he seriously considered revoking their status screen privileges. Not that it was surprising. His summons had been calling him out for being too cautious since the beginning.
“Great! Until then, we can talk about the abilities of my innate curse tool, Vyasa’s Womb,” Lyra said cheerfully, unfazed by her brother’s sour mood.