The surroundings brightened as Shac woke up from his deep sleep. Yawn. He stretched as he got up from his bed, confused from what just dreamt of. The white place, nothing can be seen other than the talking duck.
“What was that even about?” He muttered, puzzled by the sight of the duck in his dream where for some reason, is able to talk to him. “But…” He paused, and looked at his body, “I wonder what’s about to happen to me now?”
Since this was the second egg, the egg that was supposed to ‘end the curse’, then there must be something different about this. Ah right, the talking duck in my dreams, that’s definitely something I didn’t expect to have.
Goosebumps. A shiver ran down his spine. “Crap, why is it so chilly today?…”
Today being Tuesday, he immediately went straight to the bath despite feeling chilly this early in the morning. As he went in, he stared at the showerhead with dread, “Can’t believe I’m about to get tortured by this.”
Shac was scared of the cold water the shower head was about to release after he was about to open it up. But without any choice, he sighed and turned the knob, he immediately felt the cold water in his neck making him involuntarily squeal. “Ah!”
But he kept on fighting the coldness he was experiencing.
Ten minutes later, Shac finally finished his shower. Grabbing a towel, he dried himself off, but his body wouldn’t stop trembling from the icy water. His teeth shaked as he muttered, “Sh-sh-h-h-it.” Without wasting any more time, he immediately dressed up for his school today.
Sneeze. “This is what I’m talking abo-” Another sneeze cut him off mid-sentence. “This is what I’m saying! This damn sneeze every time I feel cold.”
After finishing up and getting ready for the day, he headed out, walking toward the school once again.
“Huh!?” His eyes widened from the sudden pricking pain the moment the wind touched his skin. “AHHH!” He screamed, falling into his knees as he just stepped out of the door. He slammed the door shut and walked back inside, sitting on the floor touching both of his arms.
“What the hell was that!?” He gasped as he went back inside. Luckily, the pain was gone as soon as he went inside. But to his surprise, he started feeling cold once again. “Shit, what’s happening!?” A shiver ran down his spine as he started questioning what happened.
Even as he rubbed his arms, nothing happened, it still felt cold. He curled himself up on the sofa as he felt colder than usual. Shivering uncontrollably, it was as if he was still bathing in cold water.
A tear fell through his eyes as he felt extremely weak. Shac has always been weak against cold, that’s why every time he felt cold, he always experienced having a cold, and having to sneeze multiple times.
I’m cold. I’m cold. I’m cold. I’m cold. I’m cold. I’m cold. I’m cold.
He stayed like that, curled up and trembling. His mind was consumed by the single thought of ‘cold’. He wanted to move, to fight against it, but his body refused. It was too much, it was far more than he could handle.
Shac remained in that position, shivering uncontrollably, powerless against extreme cold. His vision blurred, his thoughts became weaker, and in the end his body gave up.
With one last shiver, he passed out, unable to control the cold.
× × × × × × × × × ×
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Shac opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was an endless sight of clouds, stretching as far as he could see. As he stood up, the sight became more clearer, it’s a vast sea of clouds extending infinitely in every direction.
“Am I dead?” He whispered. “Is this finally heaven?” He glanced around again before reaching out to touch the cloud beneath him. “Feels like nothing.” He muttered.
What is this place? Is this what heaven looks like? He thought, as heaven fits the description of a place having clouds.
And the sky, it looks white, totally white. A white sky and a cloud at the bottom, this feels like how heaven would look like.
But the difference is that, heaven has a blue sky, not a white sky.
And there is nothing here… What is this place?
He stomped and jumped on the cloud, but nothing felt different. “It’s like a ground... but it probably feels more like ice, without the slipperiness.” He muttered, touching the cloud again. “Yeah, it feels like nothing, it’s like a cold air.”
Shac sighed heavily. “So this is like that dream, but this time, there are clouds.” He muttered, as he remembered the dreams of meeting the duck. He then looked around once again, but found nothing but emptiness, and a vast area of never ending clouds.
He took a step forward but suddenly lost his balance, unable to properly process his surroundings. “Ooh... crap... What was that?” He muttered, holding his head as he tried to steady himself.
“This is scary.” He whispered. His heart pounded in his chest, as the thought of him being in an empty place is absolutely terrifying.
I wonder if I’m going to fall suddenly? After all, these are clouds, they’re not supposed to be solid ground. His worry grew as he realized that clouds weren’t meant to be walked on, let alone used as a foothold.
“That’s not gonna happen.”
“What!?” He exclaimed, looking around the area. “Who was that?”
“I’m here.”
As he glanced around to find who was talking, he immediately noticed a familiar creature he had always been seeing. “Again?”
“Yes, again.”
Shac sighed in relief. “I thought it was someone else.”
“Like what?”
“I thought it was God or something.”
The duck laughed. “You’re not entirely wrong.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I am ××××.” The duck introduced herself, but Shac couldn’t make sense of the name.
“You’re who? I don’t understand.”
“××××.”
There might be something wrong with me, or I can’t understand what her name is supposed to be. “I don’t know what it is supposed to be.”
“My name doesn’t matter.” She paused, before she walked slowly towards Shac. “All you need to know is that you’re in the void.”
“The void? You mean, this place?”
“Yes.”
“O-okay…” Shac glanced around the area for another time. “So, what am I supposed to do here… Why am I here in the first place?”
“The simple answer would be, that you died, again.”
Again? “I did? I thought I was sleeping and was brought in here.”
She nodded slowly. “I guess that could work too.”
“What are you talking about?” His eyebrows raised as he couldn't understand what she said.
“Consider feeling up your body heat.” She said, looking directly at Shac. “What do you think?”
“Why am I cold?” Shac whispered softly, as he touched his face, trying to sense his body temperature. “I… I’m cold…”
“Right. Does that remind you of something?”
“No… I still don’t remember. What happened?” He asked, still unaware of what had happened.
“You died from extreme cold.”
His eyes widened in shock. “Why don’t I remember any of that?”
“Who knows? Maybe your brain is blocking that memory from you.”
“Huh… I guess that thing does happen.” He sighed upon realizing his situation, he then continued, “I do remember eating the second egg, was that the cause?”
“That’s right. I guess you still remember what happened before you died.” She said as she understood a bit of Shac’s situation.
“Probably?” He paused as he remembered something, and continued, “You are a God right?”
“Technically. I’m just a small part of her.”
“Her?” Shac asked, curious about who it is.
“The creator.”
Shac nodded upon hearing what she said. “I see… The creator huh…”
A creator huh… She must be the one who created these curses.
I wonder what the creator looks like.
“So that person, the one you called the creator, really exists?” He added, curious about the existence of the creator.
“Absolutely, after all, you’ve met her already.” She said, as she revealed something to Shac.
“I did!?” Shac exclaimed, surprised by the sudden revelation from the duck. He paused, thinking for a moment, trying to recall who it could be, but no one seemed to match the image of the creator. “Are you sure about that?”
“That’s a funny question Shac.” She said with a serious tone.
“I’m being serious.”
“There’s no way I would be wrong.” She paused, then continued, “We share the same memories after all.”