Coker never felt a forest like this before. It didn't look different from any forest he knew, but something deeper, something hiding under the roots and leaves made it feel like a place from a dream—or a nightmare. The deeper they went, the quieter everything became. Even the sound of his own footsteps started to feel wrong, like the earth itself didn't want to be walked on.
The silver-haired girl walked ahead, her long hair moving with the wind like it was alive. She didn't look back at him, but Coker could feel she knew he was right behind her. Every time he felt scared, she slowed her steps like she could feel it through the ground. It made his chest feel weird. Soft. But also heavy.
"Where are we going?" Coker finally asked. His voice came out too loud in the silent forest.
She didn't stop walking. "To the place where it all began. The place where I heard the curse speak."
Coker blinked. "You... heard it?"
She nodded slowly. "Before I met you... before the village burned... it spoke to me. Not like a voice from outside. It was inside. Inside my thoughts."
Coker's hand went to his chest again, right where the curse mark sat under his clothes. It had started to feel warm. Not painful, just... like it was alive.
"Did it... say your name?" he asked, careful with his words.
"No," she said. "It said yours."
Coker stopped. The world felt like it just fell sideways.
"What?"
She turned to face him now, her silver eyes glowing softly under the shadows. "It whispered your name again and again. Like it was waiting for you to appear. Like you was the one it needed."
"But I'm just... I'm just me," he said, stepping back a little. "I'm not chosen or special. I'm not strong. I can't even talk to girls properly."
She smiled at him sadly. "And still, the curse picked you."
He looked down. The ground had small black flowers blooming where he stepped. That wasn't there before. He crouched and touched one, and it disappeared into black dust.
He didn't say anything for a while.
Finally, he whispered, "I don't wanna be cursed."
The girl walked close to him. Close enough to hear her breath. She knelt beside him and softly placed her hand on his. "Then don't be."
"But I don't know how," he said, his voice breaking. "I don't even know what it is."
She looked at him gently. "Then I'll help you find out."
Coker's face turned red again. He looked away quickly, biting his lip. "You don't have to help me, y'know."
"I want to," she said, squeezing his hand. "Because you helped me first."
And just like that, something inside him melted. He stood up slowly, and she did too. They walked again, this time more careful. More together. The wind carried strange smells now—ash, blood, and something old. Like forgotten magic.
They came to a small ruin hidden deep inside the trees. It was made of black stone, cracked and half-swallowed by the forest. A broken statue stood in the middle. It had no head, and one arm was missing.
"This is it," she said. "This is where I heard the curse first."
Coker walked to the statue. As he stepped closer, the mark on his hand burned slightly. The air thickened. The ground felt wet under his shoes even though there was no water.
He looked at the statue. "Who was this?"
"I don't know," she said. "But when I touched it... I saw things."
"What things?"
She looked down, afraid to say it.
Then slowly, she whispered, "I saw you... burning."
Coker felt his stomach twist.
"And I saw me... calling your name."
The wind around them spun fast, and the sky above changed slightly, like it just blinked. Then the mark on Coker's hand glowed red, just for a second, then went black again.
Something deep under the ruins rumbled.
The ground shook. Trees bent. Birds flew away like arrows.
Coker stepped back.
"Run!" she shouted, grabbing his arm.
But it was too late.
From beneath the cracked statue, black liquid bubbled up. It wasn't water. It wasn't blood. It was something in between—thick and moving like it had a mind.
A voice echoed out of it.
"Coker..."
It wasn't her voice.
It wasn't anyone's voice.
It was many voices speaking at once.
"Why... did you survive?"
Coker's legs almost gave out. The girl stood in front of him like a shield.
"Don't answer it," she said quickly. "It wants to crawl inside your mind."
But the black liquid rose up, forming a shape. Not fully human. Not fully beast.
"Coker..." the voices came again. "Return... what was taken..."
"What did I take?!" Coker screamed.
The figure stepped closer, not touching the ground.
The mark on his hand burned hotter now, and suddenly—without warning—it released a burst of red light. The shadow figure screamed and fell back into the hole, vanishing with a splash of darkness.
Silence returned.
Coker fell to his knees, gasping.
The girl knelt beside him. "It's not just a curse anymore," she said. "It's waking up."
Coker looked at her, eyes wide. "What is?"
She swallowed hard, her hand touching the ground to feel its trembling heart.
"The thing inside you," she said. "It's not only a curse... it's a piece of something forgotten."
And deep under the ruins, that thing wasn't dead.
It was only beginning to rise.