As Shac thinks for what the cause, he thought for a while before choosing the best answer he could think of. “There was another cursed person.” He said, with a serious expression.

“That’s right.” ×××× said as he looked at Shac, and asked him, “Say, who do you think was the other cursed person?”

Shac thought for a while, but no matter how much he rack his brain, there’s simply no way for him to guess that. “That’s impossible.” He said, glaring at her. “How would I know that when all this time I was unaware of the whole situation.”

×××× sighed in disappointment. “You’re no fun, you know?”

“Is there something fun about this?” He asked, clearly annoyed.

“Well to me, yes, kind of. It’s just a question, am I wrong?”

“It’s indeed a question, and there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m just clearly annoyed with all this massive load of information in my head right now.”

She laughed lightly. “Fair enough. Honestly, part of me just wanted to mess with you. But don’t worry, I usually do that to everyone, not only to you.”

Shac glared at her. “That’s not really reassuring. But simply shows how shitty your personality is.”

“You’re really friends, huh?” She said, amused. “He told the same thing to me.”

“If you’re that self aware, why not do something about it?”

“Nope.”

Shac shrugged. “Not that it matters, I just to understand this world.” He paused, and stared at the mountain. “It’s unfair, and full of things that don’t make any sense.”

“You’re right.” ×××× nodded in agreement. “This world is indeed unfair, and are full of things that don’t make any sense. That’s the truth, and that’s because this world is created behind that idea.”

Shac raised an eyebrow. “I don’t exactly get what you’re trying to say… You’re saying that the world is meant to be this way?”

“Yes.”

“But-”

“But why?” She interrupted, cutting him off, “This world is imperfect, and so are the laws that governs it.”

“The laws?”

“Yes. One example is the curse.”

Shac furrowed. “What about it?”

“The curse is simply an idea, born in this world. And from an idea, it became a law.”

“An idea… A law?” He asked, struggling to comprehend the concept. “Is that why you keep on saying that there’s a reason for everything?”

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

She nodded. “Exactly.”

“So, us getting cursed, getting killed, and getting looped, is a normal thing?” He asked in disbelief.

“That’s right. That’s how this world normally operates.” She said, and paused to glance at the floating library. “And if you haven’t notice it yet…” Her gaze was fixated on the dripping blood. “The blood is still dripping from the library. You know what it means right?”

“Someone is still dying at this moment.” Shac muttered, feeling a sense of dread.

“That’s right.” She nodded in response. “It’s always like that, and it will continue to do so.”

Shac froze. So it’s going to go on forever? He thought, because no matter how he look at it, this place is hopeless.

Sensing Shac’s despair, suddenly ×××× laughed. “It’s indeed unfair, but, there’s also a false hope behind it.”

“A false hope?” He looked at her, confused. “What do you mean by that?”

“It means that world isn’t entirely useless. And to ask your question earlier, the answer is No, it won’t go on forever.” She answered, her voice was calm. “As this world was created to be something hopeless, it’s also was made to die in the near future.”

Shac stood in frozen, his thoughts were a mess. Everything she said sounded impossible, but odd enough, it was also somewhat believable. “I… don’t get it.” He muttered, “If it’s made to die, then all the suffering before that… Was it all meaningless? Are you saying it was for nothing?”

She shook her head. “That’s not quite true. The world is indeed going to die, but it’s not because it’s natural, but rather because someone is going to end it.”

“Someone?” He whispered, “That someone will end this world?”

She nodded. “Yes.”

“Who is that someone then?”

“I’m no prophet, I don’t exactly know who is going to be that one.” She paused and chuckled, “But it could be you.”

“Me?” Shac blinked, surprised. “You’re joking, right?”

“I’m not joking.” She said, her voice was serious. “The future is unpredictable, and it’s something I’m not capable of knowing. That’s why it could be you, or it could be anyone else.”

“I don’t know how would anyone be able to end this world.” He said, shaking his head. “I can’t think of any possible reason to do that, like how would we be able to do such thing? It doesn’t make any sense.”

“That’s where the false hope comes in.” ×××× explained, “It means the power to fight back.”

Huh? To fight back? “To fight back? Against this world?”

“Do you think it’s possible?”

“No.” He said without hesitation.

She smiled faintly. “And yet, here you are at the White Void. That alone means you’re already fighting back.”

“I… I guess it is?”

“Well it is, it’s not something everyone can do.”

But, it’s not all me. Shac knew that it was not just him, his friend Ivan also provided him a lot of help against the curse. Without him, he would surely continue on dying on the curse, or even became a duck himself.

“That doesn’t matter. You only need to think that you were able to come in this void, and that’s the first step.”

“This place… is the first step?” He asked.

“Yes. That’s why I’m here to guide you. The curse and this world, while they work together to kill and trap people, it also hold the power to fight back.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Slow down, you mean the curse itself is not just a curse, but rather something we could use to fight?”

She nodded. “Yes, it’s a tool.”

“A tool!? You’ve got to be kidding.”

“I’m serious. The curse is one of the laws of this world, and it’s also a tool.”

“The tool for what? For killing?”

“Yes it’s indeed for a tool for killing.”

“Even if you say that, I couldn’t think of any reason for it to be useful for fighting against this world.”

“It’s more than that. Did you forget that this world revolved around deaths?”

“I know.” Shac muttered bitterly. “I’ve died enough times to see that. But how is it a tool when it’s the same thing that killed me?”

“That’s because you don’t understand it yet. As I said, it’s a tool, and a tool is also a weapon.”

Shac furrowed. “Are you saying that the curse is used by someone to kill? And is that why I’m cursed?”

“Exactly.”

“You said that the curse is one of the laws in this world… Are you saying that there’s a god behind it all?”

“Yes. There is a god, the one who cursed everyone.”