"WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!" Shac shouts, awakening abruptly from his deep sleep, he glances around and checks himself. "Shit, what was that even about?"
Shac sighed heavily. I just can't get too used at dying…
He has once again been killed and has been brought back to life.
Goosebumps. Shac remembered the sensation of his body exploding. As he felt and examined himself again, he couldn't believe how his insides had exploded like that.
I don't think I would want another time of expanding abnormally. This curse keeps getting crazier each time, I can't believe it. Shac thought, realizing how slowly the curse starting to be more dangerous.
But wait… "What time is it!?" Shac immediately runs outside, eager to find out what time he had looped to this time.
As he saw the familiar scene from his past, he sighed. "I'm back here again, darn it…"
The dead body of his pet, which was also his killer, can be seen.
Once again, he buried the lifeless body of the duck, and grabbed the single piece of an egg that would later would kill him.
"Can't I just clutch this egg in my hand and break it?"
But Shac prevent himself from doing that, knowing that it will not solve anything. Unlike in the previous life, this time he knew he could ask for someone's help, and that someone was Ivan. Quickly, he reached for his smartphone and sent a quick text to Ivan, hoping to find a time with him to ask him about the duck.
It didn't take too long for Ivan to pick up the message, and he immediately messaged back saying he would go at Shac's house in a minute.
One thing after another, I can't seem to see how would this thing even end. Is there even an end to this? Ah right… Shac paused, remembering what Ivan said. Ivan managed to escape his curse, so it's not entirely impossible. But…
Feeling a bit lost, he decided to rest for a while and wait for the arrival of Ivan.
× × × × × × × × × ×
"Yo!" Ivan greeted.
Shac responded with a salute. "Yo! thanks for coming."
Ivan noticing the current state of Shac's face, he decided to lighten up the mood by laughing it off. "Tell me everything first, I'll see what I can do."
For 20 minutes straight, Shac told Ivan about his experiences in the past lives, carefully telling him about the most important parts, not leaving a single thing. As he narrates everything, Ivan noticed few things that he seemed to have no idea about.
"That's all." Shac paused. "So, what should I do now?" Shac asked, unsure of his next steps.
"First, I'm not quite sure about the egg, the thing that killed you. To be more exact, it's something I never experienced… You said you didn't touch the egg or anything after that?"
"Yeah, I told you in the previous one that there is a crack in the middle part of the egg. I told you exactly that, then you immediately said that I should throw the egg away."
"Oh…" Ivan replied, nodding slowly. "As you already know, someone in the past told me about how dangerous the egg would be if left to rot. Although she didn't specify what would happen, all I know is that the 'abandoned houses' exist because of the eggs. That's why I suggest we throw the egg away." Ivan paused. "But it looks like it didn't work."
"Yeah, you're right, it was unexpected… I mean dying that way." Shac replied, laughing awkwardly.
This is something that Ivan is not aware of, that these eggs can kill the cursed individuals from far away.
"When you were killed, we are still far away from the egg right?" Ivan asked, making it clear.
"Yeah, we're only halfway done that time, so something about me dying at that time doesn't make any sense to me."
"Right…" Ivan paused for a few seconds. "As you might know, ducks could kill everyone at sight, that's what I know. So, a dead duck would mean killing everyone at its sight, that's how I understand it."
Shac nodded as response. "But how is that possible?"
Ivan shrugged. "All I know is that the duck is capable of removing one's oxygen, that's why we are not able to breathe whenever we are cursed."
"Yeah, that's right." Shac nodded, agreeing at Ivan.
"Plus, knowing about the eggs being able to kill you out of sight is something I just learned today. We might as well say that it could kill you no matter the distance is." Ivan declared.
That probably is the case… because there's nothing normal about people exploding without any reason.
"But you know, this time, I would suggest two options." Ivan suggested.
"Two options?" Shac raised his eyebrows, thinking what is this about.
"Yes, choose between two options…" Ivan paused, his expression turns serious. "Do you either want to curse someone else, or eat the egg?"
"Huh?" Shac froze, surprised as he didn't expect such options.
"Exactly what you heard, you can choose whether to curse someone else or eat the egg."
"Wait, wait, wait. You have to explain what you mean by that!" Shac voiced out, confused, asking Ivan to slow down a bit.
"So, actually… Your only options are to curse someone else or to eat the egg. Otherwise, you will eventually die tomorrow." Ivan explained. "Eating the egg will curse you, that's the problem."
"So you are making me choose whether to let someone eat it to pass on the curse, or become a curse myself?"
"Exactly, So… would you like to curse someone else?"
"No." Shac answered immediately.
Ivan chuckled "I bet you wouldn't want that at all. But…" Ivan paused for a while and look straight at Shac. "You really don't want that?"
"Well, if I would be honest, I don't want someone else to experience the same thing."
"I like your answer." Ivan pleased with the answer, patted Shac's shoulder multiple times. "So, become a curse yourself then? Otherwise you will be killed." Ivan added.
Shac thought deeply on what he should answer, he knew that both doesn't seem to be a good answer, but those both are the only options he has.
Become a curse huh, I'm not exactly sure what is that supposed to mean. But, that sounds better than dying tomorrow.
"Sure, let's do it." Shac answered, still unsure on what to feel, but decided to become a curse.
As Shac decided to become a curse himself, he grabbed the egg and decided to cook it. Grabbing it from the pillow, he started cooking it, preparing for a simple fried egg. It didn't take too long for him to fry the egg, and now the only thing he need to do is to eat it.
"Doesn't seem like there's anything different in the taste." Shac said as he began eating the fried egg.
"Really!?" Ivan exclaimed.
"Wait, why did you react like that?"
Ahem. "Sorry, I just never knew what the taste would be."
Shac then offered Ivan a small piece of the egg.
"No…" Ivan hesitated, considering the potential danger of eating it, but… "A little might be fine…" he finally give in to temptation. As he took a small bite of the egg, Ivan shouted "It… tastes so bad!" He quickly ran to the sink and spat the egg out. "It tastes so bad, I can't explain it."
"Huh!? What are you talking about? It tastes the same as a normal egg." Shac said, confused, as he tasted the egg himself, he knew that there's nothing wrong about the taste.
"Yeah, yeah, must be something wrong with your taste buds." Ivan said. "That thing really shouldn't be eaten after all."
"Well, a food is a food." Shac replied, eating the fried egg without any problems. After a few more minutes, he finally finished eating the egg.
"So, that's all I need to do?" he asked.
Ivan nodded in response. "But, don't let your guard down. Let me know if you feel anything different."
"Got it." Shac replied, nodding in response.
After making sure he had eaten the egg and avoided death tomorrow, Ivan decided to head home.
Seeing that Ivan is finally going home, Shac couldn't help but wonder what's about to happen next, and what should he be doing now.
Well… What am I supposed to do now after this?