Rain fell like knives.
Kairo stumbled through the dense undergrowth, every breath a wheeze, every step a gamble. The chains dragging from his wrists were caked in mud and blood, clinking softly as he moved. Branches clawed at his skin, roots threatened to trip him. His left leg limped from the wolf's earlier bite. His soaked shirt clung to his ribs like a second skin, torn open from the fight.
"Just keep… moving," he whispered.
The cursed forest was alive with sounds. Distant howls echoed across the dark canopy. Twigs snapped behind him—too deliberate to be wind. He wasn't alone.
The cursed beasts weren't the only ones stalking these woods.
---
> [System Alert: Curse Instability 19%]
> Recommendation: Avoid sustained combat.
> New Objective: Reach Shelter before Nightfall.
---
"Yeah, thanks for the helpful tip," Kairo muttered, swiping rain from his eyes. "Why not throw in a sandwich while you're at it?"
The system pulsed in his vision like a silent judge. No answer. Just cold data. It didn't care about his sarcasm. It didn't care if he bled out in a ditch. It only cared that the experiment continued.
Kairo pushed through a thicket and emerged into a narrow ravine. A stream trickled at the bottom, barely ankle-deep, winding through moss-covered rocks.
He paused.
A breath in the air shifted.
Then—snap.
His eyes widened.
He dove to the side as a crossbow bolt slammed into the tree beside him, splitting bark. It hadn't come from a beast.
It had come from a man.
---
Figures in black cloaks emerged from the treeline—four of them. Their faces were hidden behind birdlike masks, beaked and narrow. Crimson eyes gleamed beneath the hoods.
One of them raised a hand.
"Target located. Shackled Hero. Curse-class anomaly confirmed."
Their voices were distorted—mechanical, inhuman.
"By order of the Royal Extermination Decree, you are to be cleansed."
Kairo's heart dropped.
"Cleansed…? I didn't even do anything!"
The answer was another bolt.
This time, it grazed his shoulder, slicing through fabric and flesh.
"Dammit!"
He ran.
The chains weighed him down, catching on branches, dragging in the mud. He bit back curses, leapt over the stream, and sprinted deeper into the forest.
---
> [System Combat Assist Engaged.]
> Adrenaline Surge +20% Movement Speed for 15 seconds.
> Pain Sync: Active
> WARNING: Sustained usage will cause neural fatigue.
---
His legs burned, lungs aflame—but he moved like a hunted animal. Branches tore at his arms. Something stung his cheek—maybe a thorn, maybe shrapnel. He didn't stop to check.
Bolts hissed through the air behind him. One struck a tree ahead, the force shaking pine needles loose like snow. Another whistled past his ear.
A third—thunk!—buried into his lower back.
Kairo screamed.
He crashed through a bush and tumbled into a small clearing, rolling through wet leaves. He clawed at the ground, trying to rise, but the pain overwhelmed him.
> [Damage Registered: Internal Bleeding – Minor]
[Curse Reacting: Unstable Surge Detected]
The chains around his wrists glowed—red and violet.
They moved.
Not dragged—moved.
One lashed out, wrapping around a tree branch. Another coiled protectively around his midsection, pulsing with heat. The third writhed like a living serpent.
"What the hell…?"
He barely managed to kneel when the first masked assassin burst into the clearing.
Silent. Swift.
A curved blade in hand.
Kairo raised his chained arms by instinct—clang!
The chain intercepted the strike, deflecting the blade.
The masked figure recoiled, surprised.
Kairo didn't wait. He swung his arm—wildly.
The chain followed, smashing into the attacker's chest. The impact hurled him backward into a tree.
> [Chain Pulse – Counterstrike Lv. 1 Activated]
> Effect: Force Knockback + Pain Echo
But Kairo felt the backlash. Pain lanced through his wrist like it had snapped in half.
He screamed and dropped to his knees again.
Three more masked figures closed in, forming a triangle around him.
---
"You are resisting purification," one said.
"Further resistance will escalate your sentence."
"Sentence?!" Kairo shouted, face twisted in pain. "I was dragged here without choice. I didn't ask to be cursed!"
They didn't care.
One raised a glowing orb. Magic crackled from it—arcane, high-tier.
He was going to cast a fire spell.
Kairo clenched his fists.
"No… not like this."
The chains pulsed.
> [Curse Skill Unlocked: Chain Snare Lv. 1]
Effect: Grabs and pulls enemy within 6 meters. Chance to interrupt casting.
> Activating Skill… Chain Snare
The chain shot forward, wrapping around the caster's leg.
Kairo yanked it with all his might.
The mage stumbled, breaking the chant. Energy fizzled out.
One of the others lunged—blade poised to strike.
> [System Trigger: Survival Instinct – Active]
The chains retracted—fast.
Like whips, they curled around Kairo's body, creating a spiral shield just in time. The sword struck metal—sparks flew.
The force knocked Kairo backward into a tree.
He slumped against the trunk, vision swimming.
Blood ran from his side, shoulder, lip. The world blurred.
The third assassin approached slowly.
Kairo's thoughts spiraled.
I'm not a hero.
I'm not even a warrior.
Why me…?
And then—
He saw it.
Beyond the trees.
A ruin.
Half-buried in roots and vines. A temple—old, broken, forgotten.
Shelter.
"Move," he rasped.
He hurled the chain forward, striking the ground behind the assassin.
It wrapped around a thick root.
Kairo pulled.
Launched himself forward.
The assassin swiped—
The blade missed his head by inches.
Kairo rolled, gasping, sprinting toward the ruin. His vision went red with pain, but he didn't stop. He couldn't.
Behind him, the assassins gave chase.
He reached the stone doorway and slammed his hand against the rusted seal—
> [Ancient Ruin Detected: Entry Authorized for Cursebearer Class]
The door groaned.
Opened.
He dove inside just as a bolt hit the frame where his head had been.
---
Darkness swallowed him.
The door closed with a thunderous slam, locking out the light, the assassins… and everything else.
He collapsed onto cold stone, breathing ragged.
> [Shelter Achieved – Temporary Safe Zone]
HP Recovery +5% per hour
Pain Feedback Stabilizing…
"Holy hell…" he whispered, laughing breathlessly. "I'm alive…"
The chains loosened slightly—resting.
The system's screen pulsed faintly.
> [New Skill Branch Unlocked: Curse Devourer – Pending Awakening]
Survive three more Extermination Attempts to evolve.
"Extermination attempts," he muttered. "You make it sound like I'm some insect."
He turned his head toward the stone walls. Ancient carvings lined the chamber—murals of chained figures, weeping gods, and something massive beneath the earth.
A forgotten place.
A place for cursed things.
And he was one of them now.
---
Above ground, the assassins stood in silence outside the ruin.
"He made it inside."
The leader narrowed his red eyes beneath the mask.
"No matter. The ruin is laced with ancient wards. He cannot leave until it chooses him. If it consumes him…"
"Then we report success."
They vanished into the forest.
---
Deep within the ruin, Kairo lay on his back, eyes locked on the ceiling.
The chains no longer felt like weight.
They felt like claws.
Attached to something beneath him.
Waiting.
Whispering.