“What the fuck?!” I heard someone swearing nearby. Which means I have woken up again in the same place I died before, but with my handsome face touching the wet ground.

Opening my eyes noticing how dark it is around, I turn my back to fix my lying position. The dark sky seemed to be covered by something very solid… So familiar... But slowly disappearing, again showing the blue sky of the starry night.

My upper shirt was badly damaged, because of the fire. The floor where I lay on is also warm even though it's a little wet. The flames that had been remaining around were finally extinguished, leaving this place shrouded in complete darkness.

I can barely see anything...

Okay let's get this over with…

But...

“Uh… I can’t move. Little girl, you there? Do you hear me? Is not being able to move after death normal? What should I do?” I asked her in my own mind.

“For now, my soul is weak, you know? Like… Very very weak. Your control over my soul and your dead body will be a bit more difficult before getting some power sources. I don’t exactly know how, but You need to force your dead body to move somehow, or else…” She stopped, advised me to look at someone who was coming running.

“Yo… Do something, Daniel!” She panicked while giving me that order.

I was thinking pretty hard at the time. As if recalling memories from the past, I thought that there was indeed a way to escape. Right before the man's sword swung into my head, this body itself melted into a thick black mist. Forming a kind of puddle on the ground, the sword was embedded deep into the earth without hurting any of my body parts.

Then I move this mist form, to keep my distance away from the thug's position.

Brought my body back to its normal form, I fell again on my knees because this spine is not able to support itself. It’s too heavy... And… There is something else that really bothers me.

Is this pain? This can't be… Or is it?

I searched this weak body of mine, while sitting helplessly on the ground. There is a wide stab wound right in the middle of my chest…

But I'm not sure if this large wound is important for me to worry about, because this was just the wound that had killed me earlier and the pain didn't come from this scar. So I searched again and again and when I touch my right shoulder, that's where this finger also feels the exact same pain. “So is this the curse?”

“Yes.” The little girl replied from nowhere.

“So just because I transformed into that black mist within a few seconds, I got a counter-curse right away?”

“Every single time you use any abilities of mine, there will be a fee you will have to pay yourself. But anyway... Should we use this counter-curse word? That actually sounds cool.”

“Thank you, but that's not the problem right now, young lady... It hurts too much…” I whispered before finally falling onto the ground. That's where She panicked for the second time and tried her best to wake me up again and again.

“Daniel! Wake up! He’s coming!”

I yelled to myself…

Do it again, Daniel!

Think as if you are remembering something in the past that actually never happened!

“Stay… Away!” I thrust my hand forward with difficulty.

That's when every fingernail of mine glowed red like blood, with the hand movement I did just now, had raised five black sparks like claws that rushed forward.

The man knew nothing about the giant black claw that was moving towards him. And it was hard to see something that black in such a dark place.

After they collided, only a few pieces of limbs were left rolling on the floor, with his sword piercing the ground before slowly disappearing.

Suddenly my body starts to feel easier for me to control...

I stood up straight looking around. Noticing the many people who were still retreating away in fear of the little girl's long gone lightning serpent.

I heard something from behind the walls of the building...

“Was that magic? Did this boy just use magic? That was magic, right!?”

“What should we do?”

“Fuck with all of you guys, I’m running away.”

“Wait… If we kill him now, will the magic power fall into our hands?”

Many grandiose discussions about what they should do now about me. While I'm here silent with a pale face almost crying in pain…

They wouldn't choose to run away, would they?

“Little girl… I think this pain will kill me soon enough, so... I’m sorry… And good bye.” I spoke while breathing heavily, gripping my right arm tightly.

“That’s not even a scratch for you to survive!” But then She fell silent as if in thought before finally speaking again. “Uh… I take my word back. Please don't push yourself in the future, But for now... Just only for this time! Please Daniel do something! Look! They are coming!”

Suddenly a lot of people came forward while shouting intent to kill me.

“C’mon Daniel… We can do this!” She cheered me up.

I use the same claws but with two hands instead, forming an X moving forward. Some of the thugs got caught on their legs, a few turned their backs running away and the last two of them managed to dodge it through the small gaps.

A guy stabbed my left shoulder, while the other one was aiming for my neck. Using mist form, I pierced through one of their bodies. Pulled the sword out from its scabbard around my own back, stabbing him right in the middle of the spine.

His scream echoed before falling down and losing his own life…

The one remaining person who had previously failed to slash my neck, decided not to do anything much more than what he just wanted to do to me. Then fell silent as he was terrified after hearing the screams of the death of his partner.

“Yes, I killed him. So what?” I asked.

But after I noticed where his eyes were actually looking at, it turned out his partner wasn't the one in his sight. Instead, he is looking at a few others who were screaming while hugging their own legs that had been torn apart by my cursed claw.

Next, he turned his face towards the limbs of the man who had died first. Maybe because before it was too dark for him to understand what he was looking at, so then now is the time for the nausea to run through his own mind. I let him run away while crying…

I squatted down to hold back my consciousness which was getting less and less due to the terrible pain of my own curse which is also getting wider.

Feeling dizzy and more disturbed because of the screams of people whose legs have been severed, I tried to kindly ask them. “Guys, I know that’s painful... Because right now I'm feeling it too, okay? We are the same victims here... So if you actually can, how about you stay quiet for a while?” But no one wants to answer my suggestion.

“How did you get that power just now?!” I know whose voice this is. His body was not injured at all from the fire, but his clothes are more burnt than what I have right now. He was still sitting on the ground, unable to believe what he had just witnessed.

He was the one who killed me...

“I thought the fire was enough to kill you… Damn, this carrier thingy is strong as hell. So… Why are you still here? You know you could have just run away earlier, right?”

He chose to remain silent.

And again, I stand while cleaning my knees from any dirt.

“Is it because you're too scared that you can't even move? Or you are just the same as these people... You still think that you can get this power out from me, somehow? Listen sir…” I walked slowly to get closer to him.

“I didn't come here out of revenge. I asked why you killed my parents, because I thought you were showing off your power right in front of my eyes. I came here only to die. You come with me or not, it doesn't really make any difference. But that's precisely why I tried.”

“That… That was just a lie, right?” He stood up.

“Is it? Well… I don't really know either. My head is too dizzy to think. Maybe it’s because now I'm too tired already? But okay then... Just forget about it. So… Any last word?”

He was surprised by my own confidence...

“Fuck you!” He charged ahead.

For some reason, the more I kill, the more I realize that the movement of people around me becomes easier to read as if time is slowing down. That’s why I can easily knock his sword until it is thrown high using my own sword.

Then I slashed his head out of the body for a quick death.

Wait…

Does the severed head hurt less than another death? Should I research it next time?

Yes... Maybe I should…

“I can't hold it anymore… Please just kill me already…” I heard some people whose voices started to weaken, gave up on enduring the pain. I completely forgot about these people.

“End their suffering…” The little girl told me what we have to do about them. So then I walked closer to each person.

“Oh yeah... While you're at it, what’s your plan next? Finding the other me in your own world? I mean, that's the only plausible plan, right?” Said the little girl.

“Nah… I need to meet my best friend first.”

“Oh… Yeah… I forgot about them…”

“So in your own world, there is also another Deo?”

“There is, but I don't really know him… And his name is not exactly the same as Deo. The Daniel we have is also not called Daniel. As well as my name which is different from my other names in this world.”

“What’s your name then?” I Asked.

“Eliones… Or just call me Elis. That’ll be much easier for you to say.” While hearing her introduce herself, I approached the legless people one by one. Killing them in an instant with the sword, until only one remains.

“Sir… Do you have a cell phone?” I asked the last guy left… He nods.

He handed me his cell phone, but I immediately refused. Then I said “No, You will call this number for me.” After saying a few numbers, I tell him to hold it right next to my ear. It's two o'clock in the morning, but I know Deo must not be sleeping.

“Who is this?” He asked.

“You should be sleeping at this hour…”

“Who?”

“You don't recognize my voice?! How dare you!”

“If you say you're Daniel, you better realize what you're saying man. This isn't funny at all. I can report you.”

“So what name should I use?”

“That’s it. I'm reporting you right now.”

“Wait! I’m sorry, but this is actually me! I can explain, but first I need your help, Deo!”

“Please don't play with me, man…”

“Sorry if I've always been joking about anything, but I really am not dead and I really need your help… It is not my number, so write this one instead. There we can talk freely. Deal?”

“Wait… Give me some rest.”

“I won’t! Write this, you gloomy man!” I shouted my new landline number for him to write down immediately.

“Call me tomorrow at three o'clock by afternoon, there I will explain everything in detail. Bye!” I pulled the phone from this man's arm, I squeezed it until it was completely shapeless.

Standing up intending to walk away, I heard someone pleading.

“No… Don’t go… Kill… Me…”

“Oh… I forgot about you. Sorry… My bad.”

Ending his suffering, I was silent for a while before actually slowly walking away from this place.

~~~~~