Agony! Unimaginable agony engulfed them in an instant! It felt like thousands of red-hot needles piercing every inch of their skin, or molten lava scorching their bones!
Even more sinister, no matter how they screamed or writhed, not one of them could pass out to escape the torment. Their minds were forced to stay awake, excruciatingly aware of every second of bone-deep suffering!
Golden lightning raged for a full five minutes! The screams gradually weakened, fading into feeble, pained moans.
The thunderclouds calmed slightly but still churned, with occasional thin golden bolts crackling down with a sharp snap, a reminder that the punishment wasn't over.
The survivors lay like heaps of mud on the charred, smoking ground, their bodies blackened, clothes tattered, and exposed skin covered in burns and blisters.
The intense pain left them convulsing uncontrollably. Each breath tugged at their wounds, producing ragged, wheezing sounds like a broken bellows. Cold sweat mixed with dirt and blood streamed from their foreheads, soaking the earth beneath them.
Their eyes were hollow, filled only with the numbness of surviving a nightmare and a fear that sank into their very bones.
"The punishment is complete," an ethereal voice declared, devoid of emotion.
"However, the malice in your hearts remains, like soil nurturing a malignant tumor. To prevent this malice from birthing new demons…"
"I shall implant a 'curse' within you."
"What…?!" The half-dead villagers, gasping like stranded fish, heard the word "curse" and struggled to lift their heads. Their blackened faces bore eyes wide with terror and despair, nearly bursting from their sockets!
Buzz…
The golden thunderpolitics
System: The golden thunderclouds in the sky began to swirl slowly, and countless tiny black beams, like withered autumn leaves, drifted down.
They ignored distance and resistance, homing in on the marked villagers.
"No! Don't curse me!"
"Have mercy, gods! We know we were wrong!!"
"Get away! Get away!!"
They twisted in terror, trying to dodge the ominous black beams.
But the lightning punishment had drained their strength, their bodies wracked with pain and unresponsive, like broken marionettes.
They could only watch, helpless, as the eerie black beams silently sank into their foreheads!
A cold, viscous chill, capable of freezing the soul, surged from their foreheads, spreading through their limbs and bones!
"This is the 'Calamity Curse.'"
"For three days, your 'luck' shall plummet to the abyss."
"The darker your heart, the worse your fate."
The voice paused, its tone carrying the icy weight of final judgment.
"If, after three days, you remain unrepentant…"
"This 'calamity' shall bind to your life, haunting you until death."
"Henceforth, every wicked thought shall chip away at your fortune."
"Until… misfortune claims you, and you perish!"
The final, chilling word rang out, and the grand, eerie hymn echoing in the sky cut off like a snapped string.
The blinding golden light piercing the heavens receded and dimmed like a fading tide.
The roiling thunderclouds dissolved silently, revealing the dim sky.
The oppressive divine presence vanished as if it had never been.
The world returned to stillness, save for the scorched craters, the acrid smell of burnt air, and the villagers' pained moans and twitches, silently testifying to the reality of the nightmarish "divine punishment."
"Caw—caw—caw—"
A few black crows appeared from nowhere, circling low with harsh, grating cries, as if mocking the ants below.
"Ugh! What the—?!" A villager felt something wet and cold on his head and instinctively touched it.
All eyes turned to see a steaming pile of sticky bird droppings smack in the middle of Varg's bald, burnt scalp!
"Damn plague birds!!" Varg trembled with rage, his blackened face glaring up at the circling crows as he opened his mouth to curse them.
Splat!
Another warm, white glob of bird droppings, like a precision-guided missile, landed squarely in his open mouth!
"Urgh—!! Pfft! Cough cough! Urgh—!!" Varg's eyes rolled back, his stomach churning as he turned and retched violently, unable to rid his mouth of the foul, nauseating stench.
This dramatic scene was like a bucket of ice water dumped on the shell-shocked villagers.
A bone-chilling dread shot from their feet to their scalps!
The gods' curse… it was real! And it had struck in such an absurd, humiliating way—right before their eyes!
A hopeless silence enveloped the crowd, their moans fading into heavy, terrified breaths.
"It's all your fault!!" A shrill female voice shattered the silence. It was the stout, blackened woman Lisanna had accused of stealing mushrooms, pointing at the leaders and screaming through tears. "If you hadn't insisted on burning them, on playing heroes, I wouldn't have followed! I wouldn't be cursed! This is all your fault!!"
A man nearby, equally battered, let out a hoarse sneer.
"Save it, Maggie! You and Varg were the loudest about the Strauss family, stealing their stuff with the most gusto!"
"Did you think about today when you bullied them? Worry about yourself! The worse your heart, the harsher the curse! You might drop dead in three days if you don't repent!"
"You filthy cur! How dare you curse me?!" Maggie's face quivered with rage, her jowls shaking. She struggled to stand, ready to lash out. "You're the one who—"
Splat!
Another warm glob of bird droppings, like divine justice, landed perfectly in her screaming mouth!
"Urgh—! Damn—urgh!—birds—urgh!" Maggie's curses turned to violent retching, tears and snot streaming down her face.
This relentless string of "bird dropping miracles" crushed the villagers' last shred of hope.
A burly man collapsed onto the charred ground, staring at his blackened hands and the chaotic, fearful scene around him. He let out a long, regretful sigh.
"Ugh… it seems old lady Liya… was the only one in the village who saw things clearly…"
His voice was low and hoarse, heavy with the crushing weight of reality.
The shadow of fear and the curse loomed over every villager's heart like a tangible stormcloud.