The Cursed Child

"Where am I?"

Cold sweat ran down my back.

There was nothing around me. Nothing but towering mountains and a faint light glimmering far in the distance. No power lines, no roads — just some invisible nowhere, and me stranded alone in the middle of it.

Why the hell did auto-save trigger now?

I remembered the message saying auto-save had completed. Because this was the final moment? Was it telling me to rage-quit?

I had no idea what the entity behind the regressions was thinking. I couldn't believe a being capable of rewinding time had simply gotten slapped around by an anomaly.

Magic Conch Flute?

I called out to the anomaly, but it gave no answer. It just sat there in silence — and that silence was somehow more unnerving than anything.

Magic Conch Flute. Is it safe to go in there?

Yep!

Instead of waiting on the anomaly, I asked the Conch Flute directly. It said going in was fine. Minimum safety confirmed.

I started walking slowly toward the thatched house.

No sign of anyone.

I kept walking. Still no presence. An empty thatched house with no one in it at all. I sat down on the silent wooden porch.

"Wonder if they made it okay."

I couldn't sit still thinking about the others. Whether the companions I'd been separated from had reached a safe place was an open question.

"Ow…"

I grabbed my arm. Everything had changed so suddenly I'd completely forgotten — forgotten that I'd shot myself in the arm to break free of the illusion.

"Nngh."

Clutching the wound, I stepped inside the house. Breaking and entering, sure — but this whole place was an anomaly. No point fretting about trespassing in a space an anomaly had created.

I went in and ransacked the cupboards.

"Found it."

In the corner of a cabinet I discovered a first-aid kit. I brought over gauze and bandages and administered emergency treatment — pressing gauze against the wound ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠and wrapping it tight with the bandage. Luck was on my side; I'd missed every major blood vessel. The amount of blood I was losing wasn't as bad as it could have been, but if this dragged on long enough, I could still die of hemorrhage.

I uploaded the post and let out a sigh. It would still take time for comments to start rolling in.

There's nothing here. Absolutely nothing.

I couldn't see any answer for escaping the anomaly. Nothing but trees and underbrush as far as the eye could reach. Getting home looked completely impossible.

Then comments started appearing under the post.

Stronger than a humanity-extinction-class anomaly?

Puppy was a lot weaker than I'd thought. She might just be a gatekeeper on the way up to the top-tier anomaly line.

"Hmm. Hmmmm. Mmmmm."

A low humming drifted through the air.

A person?

I shot to my feet and went on high alert.

Nngh.

I'd lost too much blood. I clutched my head and lowered the gun.

She told me not to burn through more than two magazines…

In-seo's advice came back to me far too late. How many magazines had I used so far? Getting here had cost me about two. Factor in the blood I'd spilled since, and that was easily three magazines' worth.

No more guns.

Dying of blood loss would come before ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dying to the anomaly.

"Hmmmmm."

The voice drew closer, step by step, until it was right on top of me. A small silhouette approached from beyond the sunset glow.

A little girl who looked about eight years old.

Given the circumstances, she had to be the anomaly's core. The core had revealed itself of its own accord and was walking straight toward me.

"Play with me."

The child who'd been standing on the hill was suddenly right in front of my face, leaning in close, demanding I play with her.

I threw the question at Goe-bung-i. But no answer came back.

Cold-hearted bastard. Ditched me and ran first.

I'd thought he was a friend. I'd thought he was a comrade. The second things looked bad, he bolted.

"You don't want to?"

"I'll play. I'll play with you, so quit nagging."

I dug a finger in my ear and stood up. My legs were shaking so hard I could barely stand.

Fuck. If I die, I just regress. Stop shaking. Stop fucking shaking.

Dying and regressing was always an option — but I only had about seven uses left.

I can escape within seven tries, right?

I licked my bone-dry lips. If the count were infinite, I'd crack it eventually — but the regression point was locked in place.

"W-what should we play?"

Fuck, I was terrified. My survival instinct had my cock standing at full attention. I wanted to take care of this libido now.

Impossible! Fuck, impossible!

I am not a pedophile!

The kindergarten teacher had been impossible because she wasn't human. The one standing in front of me was impossible for a completely different reason. All I had here was an eight-year-old girl whose baby fat hadn't even melted off her cheeks yet. If she'd been a twenty-year-old adult, sure — but against an eight-year-old kid, I couldn't even get it up.

My cock wilted… and died.

Fuuuuuuuck.

I'd just lost my entire driving force. An unexpected ambush had stripped the meaning right out of my life.

"Keeeeeh…"

"You don't want to play with me?"

"No, I do. What should we play."

I'd lost my purpose and was drifting, but my life wasn't over yet. The girl stuck a finger in her mouth, deep in thought.

Cute.

Looking at her like this, she seemed like any ordinary kid. I hoped her idea of play would be just as pure and innocent.

"Mmm. I've decided! Let's play Red Light, Green Light!"

"Sure. Who's it?"

"I'll go first!"

Red Light, Green Light with only two people… less fun, and the difficulty was going to be brutal.

"Starting now."

She pattered over to a tree on her little feet.

"Red light… green light."

The girl pressed her face to the tree and the game began. Before she finished speaking I moved fast, closing about half the distance in one go. One more turn of her head and I could touch her and win.

"I'll go again. Red light…"

The moment she turned her head I closed in again.

Can't I just walk up and tap her on the back?

The difficulty looked easy. While she had her body pressed against the tree, I approached slowly.

Shff.

Something was coming up behind me. I locked up and scanned my surroundings. Another one of the anomaly's tricks, maybe.

A woman shot past me and arrived out in front.

The kindergarten teacher?

It was the teacher from earlier, still wearing the kindergarten uniform.

Oh. Possible.

All I could see was the back of her head. The rear view passed inspection. My cock started rising again. I licked my lips as I looked her over.

Uuuuugh… please, just stop already.

The teacher stretched her hands toward the girl, begging. She'd lost a bet with the child, and her soul had been captured. Her body had become an anomaly, absorbed into the cult.

I could cop a feel of her chest as I go by, right?

My fingers twitched. I already understood how serious the situation was. But brushing a nipple on the way past seemed reasonable enough.

"Green light."

The girl finished the phrase and turned her head. Nobody was moving. Neither I nor the teacher so much as twitched.

"I'll go again."

The girl buried her face in the tree once more.

Uuuuugh…

The moaning teacher slowly turned around. I saw her face head-on.

Nope. Impossible.

I recoiled, shaking my head. Her face had melted — eyeballs bulging out, every scrap of facial skin peeled away. A face like that was never getting my cock hard.

Help me… I don't want to die anymore…

The teacher flailed her arms as she came at me.

Fuck. Impossible.

It's impossible, so stay the hell away, you crazy bitch!

But she wasn't listening. Save me… save me… She grabbed my arm and shook my whole body. I finally understood what she was trying to do — throw off my posture and get me eliminated.

Cut it out, you lunatic.

The next time the girl buried her face, I had to deal with this woman. I pulled off my T-shirt and threw it over her face.

"Oh. Fuck. Possible."

Cover the face and it works. I reached out and grabbed her breast. That soft, yielding sensation brought my will to live roaring back.

"Green light."

The girl finished the words and turned her head.

"Uuuuuh?"

Her eyes narrowed — and of course they did, because my stance was wobbling like I was about to collapse any second.

Hang in there, lower back.

I was bearing the teacher's full weight alone. She was considerably heavy, and cold sweat was pouring off me.

"Red light…"

After staring at the two of us for a good five minutes, the girl buried her face in the tree again.

Get it together. Finish this fast and get out.

I locked in and started toward the girl.

I don't want to die. Die in my place.

But the anomaly clinging to my body made every step a struggle. Her frail frame felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

Teacher, if we just grab this mister, is that okay?

Teacher, over there is so cold…

It wasn't just the teacher. Kindergarten kids appeared from nowhere and latched onto me. I'd barely managed ten steps before even a single step became nearly impossible.

"Argh."

Even so, I pulled it off. Through every last obstruction, I made it to the girl with her face pressed against the tree.

"Got you."

I grabbed her arm. With a soft spring of elasticity, the teacher and all the children clinging to my body vanished without a trace.

"Aw? Too bad."

Holding onto the girl, I shouted. She made a disappointed little sound.

"I won the bet. Let me go. I want to go home."

I'd won, so I could leave, right? I poured every ounce of desperation into the plea.

"Huh? What are you talking about. Once isn't enough. Play with me more."

But the girl wasn't satisfied. She clutched my hand and begged. Faced with her request, I had no choice but to move on to the next game.

"Next is hide-and-seek. Run from me. Get as far away as you can."

At her declaration I fled without looking back, vanishing into the mountains to hide.

"Hide until right before the sun comes up! Starting now — I'm coming to find you!"

The sun sank lower and lower. Night fell, and every kind of anomaly scoured the entire mountain looking for me.

"Hah… hah… The morning sun's up. I kept the promise. You can let me go now, right?"

I'd been chased by anomalies until dawn. Without the Magic Conch Flute and my hard-earned instincts, I would have died at least once along the way. In exchange, every last ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bit of the Conch Flute's durability had been burned through.

Is this right?

Had this path been the correct one? Was relying on regression my mistake? I asked myself and got no answer.

"Mmm. No."

As expected, the girl had no intention of releasing me.

"Why that face? You knew from the start. You can never leave my side."

Of course. This child was the core anomaly of the cult.

"The others are bound by rules, but I'm different."

I'd thought the bets were the rules. They weren't. This thing had been toying with me from the very beginning.

"Why that face? You can never escape this place, you know?"

"Well — because I'm going to find a way out."

The instant Goe-bung-i's comment appeared, the sky began to crack.