The sky above Zone 87 was thick with red clouds. Lightning flashed without sound. Wind didn't blow here. The world was still, like time itself had stopped.
Ren and the team stood on the edge of the broken highway, looking down at the ruins of the once-beautiful city.
Now, everything was buried under cursed ash.
"Are you sure about this?" Kael asked, arms crossed.
Ren nodded. "The signal came from below this city. There's something under all of it. A lab… maybe a bunker. It's old. Very old."
Aki stared down at the collapsed buildings. "Cursed energy is stronger here. Be careful. Even breathing is dangerous."
They all wrapped cursed masks over their mouths. Yumi drew a sigil on each person's arm — a protection charm, small but helpful.
They began their descent.
---
The Ruins of Zone 87
Getting down was hard.
The roads had fallen into each other like broken bones. Buildings were half-melted. Red vines grew everywhere, some of them twitching when touched. The mist around them moved on its own, as if watching.
Rei kept her blade ready.
Kael held his chrono-blaster, eyes scanning for movement.
Aki walked with a hand near his chest — the cursed spirit inside him was awake, growling, restless.
> "This place… I remember it," it whispered.
"I bled here once. Long ago."
Aki ignored the voice.
Finally, after two hours of slow climbing, they reached what looked like an entrance.
Half-buried in rubble was a steel hatch, with Spiral codes carved into the side.
Ren stepped forward and touched it. The Spiral symbols lit up.
> "Identity confirmed: Ren of Spiral Delta."
"Access granted to Archive Level Four."
The door hissed open.
They stepped inside.
---
The Hidden Lab
Inside the lab, the air was cooler, cleaner — but the cursed energy didn't go away. It clung to the walls, made the lights flicker, and made their skins itch.
"This place feels wrong," Yumi whispered.
They walked through long metal hallways. Old screens blinked with faded blue lights. Some showed maps of the world — but they were old maps. Maps from before the cursed zones appeared.
Ren opened one of the consoles.
> "PROJECT: ECHO-TIDE INITIATED."
"Date: 11 years before Spiral Collapse."
"Goal: Extract cursed energy from Rift anomalies and weaponize it."
Everyone went silent.
"What does that mean?" Kael asked.
Ren scrolled further. His face grew pale.
"They… they tried to bring cursed energy into the world. On purpose."
Rei's voice was sharp. "Why?!"
Aki stepped closer. "Because they thought it could stop the Spiral system from collapsing. They wanted cursed energy to balance it."
Ren continued reading.
"They didn't know how powerful it was. And they opened a gate they couldn't close."
---
Memory Playback: The Test
Ren activated a file labeled "Memory Record: Test 13."
A small hologram appeared in the air.
In it, scientists stood around a tank filled with red fog. A girl floated inside, unconscious. Spiral wires were attached to her body. One scientist spoke:
> "Subject Echo-13 is stable. Begin cursed transfer at 40%."
The fog inside the tank grew darker.
The girl began to twist.
She opened her eyes—and screamed.
The room in the recording exploded. Alarms blared. Lights died.
The hologram ended.
The group stood in silence.
"They made a cursed child," Yumi whispered. "And it destroyed everything."
Ren nodded. "This must've been the start. When cursed energy escaped into the world."
Kael looked at Aki. "That thing inside you… it came from here?"
Aki didn't speak at first. Then slowly, he said, "No. The spirit in me is older. But this place... it fed him. Let him grow stronger."
---
Deeper In
They continued exploring. The lab had lower levels.
On the third floor down, they found a sealed chamber. Aki approached, and without touching it — the door slid open.
Inside was a black stone with glowing red lines. It pulsed with cursed power.
Everyone stepped back — except Aki.
He walked in, drawn to it.
The cursed spirit inside him laughed.
> "This is my cradle."
Ren shouted, "Don't touch it!"
But it was too late.
The moment Aki laid a hand on the stone, a wave of cursed energy exploded from it.
Everyone was thrown back.
Red light filled the room.
Aki floated above the stone, his eyes wide open but glowing red.
> "You woke me up too early," the cursed spirit said through him.
"But no matter. I've waited long enough."
Ren reached for his pen.
Kael fired a chrono-shot.
Rei rushed with her blade.
But the energy around Aki shielded him. His body wasn't fully his anymore.
> "You little pigs think you can stop me? This world is mine now."
Then suddenly — Aki dropped.
The cursed spirit pulled back, laughing again.
> "I'll let him stay… for now."
Aki gasped and rolled over.
"I'm fine," he muttered.
But he wasn't. Everyone could see that.
---
Back Outside
They climbed out of the lab hours later.
The red mist above the city had gotten thicker. Creatures howled in the distance.
Ren stood on top of the ruins and looked at the horizon.
"There's no going back now. This world is broken — because of people like us."
Rei said, "So what do we do?"
Aki stood, weak but standing.
"We get stronger. We learn cursed energy. We control it."
Kael nodded. "And if we can't?"
Yumi stepped forward. "Then we find someone who can teach us."
---
Final Scene
Back in the lab, the black cursed stone cracked slightly.
From the crack… a pair of glowing red eyes opened.
> "The cursed core… is awake."