"Curse."
Chris tapped at the screen, the sole source of light in the dim bedroom. Beside her, Daisuke peered at it. The site looked strange. Some kind of message board. Very old-fashioned, almost deliberately so. Just as he decided to look it up, Chris continued.
"It's a place where curse accumulates," she said. "There are many elemental nexuses to be found in nature, but online is trickier. By its very essence, it rejects the natural elements. Curse, though... is the element most suited to the internet. It accumulates in deeper parts of the web, where those who cannot stand the brightness of society huddle together for comfort. That's why you shouldn't go looking, Daisuke."
"O-oh." He stopped the search, feeling like he'd had his hand caught in the cookie jar. "But, um, it's only data, right? I can just run a virtual machine."
"Maybe if it were the old world. But that won't cut it anymore. Sites like this used to be harmless. It's different now, though. The world is happier. Brighter. Kinder. Society has helped more people than ever... so those who were not helped are even worse off than they used to be. The shadows are deeper than they've ever been. Their resentment much sharper." Chris' fingers flew as she typed out a short question, attaching a picture of a character from an anime airing this season, before clicking submit. Soon enough a new thread was created before their eyes. "Curse is stubborn. And resourceful. Malice can go right past ones and zeroes. It'll hit you where it hurts; your heart. For us it'll hit harder than most. Because we can't reject it as easily as other Tamers."
A new post appeared on the screen. By someone that wasn't Chris. As Daisuke read it, his core began to spin up. "How could they say that?" he wondered out loud. "That's just - awful!" Another appeared. It was worse. As was the one that came after it. As the number of replies grew, so did his confusion. "Wha-? Chris, is everyone here like that?"
"Mm. Not quite. They're all their own people. Regular people. This site just tends to make them behave similarly."
"Regular people would say stuff like that?"
"Of course they would." Chris typed out a reply of her own, tagging several of the worst responses. Her cool-headed paragraph was like a beacon of sanity in the mess of nastiness. "It's open to the public. You can find it through a simple search. I used to post all the time, myself. Not as much anymore."
That single post of hers was swiftly drowned out by even more nastiness. Opinions Daisuke had never seen before. Graphic sentences that should never have been written. Vitriol and spite and hate. Simple words with no names or faces to attach to them. Yet he could imagine something much worse behind the text. He could almost feel it, looming over him. "Were you... like that? Like everyone here?"
Chris chuckled. She posted again, fingers flying. "Most of the time, no. But sometimes, yes. I had plenty of curses of my own. Mundane, pointless complaints, but to me they were more important than anything else."
"B-but you don't have any curses now, right?"
The screen filled up with textual pollution. Even though it shouldn't have been possible, Daisuke could feel his processes beginning to slow down just by looking at them, like a fog was descending upon his thoughts.
"No," said Chris, staring straight at the screen. "I still have plenty. I'm a human, after all. You won't find a single person whose heart is free of curses and wishes. If you do, they're either a saint or a liar. That's why this is important, Daisuke. Take a look. Don't avert your eyes; this is the darkness in the hearts of the people we have to save."
The buzzing in his processor grew as he stared. And stared. And stared, at the growing thread, at the numerous instances of awfulness that appeared like clockwork, one after the other. There must have been at least a hundred, two hundred people sharing their hate with each other. Eventually a beeping sensor in his skull started warning about an encroaching corruption threshold, and he was forced to look away. Only then did he realize that his Heat was near maxed, the room's temperature having risen several degrees.
"I... don't get it, Chris. It's so awful..."
A warm, comforting hand descended upon his head. If not for the Harmonizer field, the heat radiating from Daisuke's skull would've scalded her palm, but Chris didn't mind.
"It's not awful at all," she said. "They're helping each other out. Even if it means their curses pool together, they're able to not be alone for a while. It's relief, in a way, to be able to air out your grievances like this without constantly holding them in. It's not the best way to deal with things... but it's a way for them to keep going."
She forcibly changed it. The picture of a monster in his mind. Twisting it into something more sad than scary.
"Behind every curse is a feeling, Daisuke. A tragedy. A story of someone who needs help and hasn't gotten it. Even in a place like this... you can reach out. To the people behind the curses. It's not as if ordinary people are beyond saving. Just push it aside. Post something real. Even in a place like this, the darkness can be gently brushed away. These people want to be understood. To have someone care. Just by doing that, you can dissipate the concentration of curse and reach out to someone for real. I guarantee it."
She reached out, touching the screen, hovering over the last post before the thread was deleted. Two simple words from a complete stranger: Thank you.
Chris smiled. Then she closed the tab and started up a scan of the computer.
"Besides, even if it seems bad... it's really not," she said as she pulled open the blinds and let some fresh air in. "Those who come here are those who were fortunate enough to be able to. It's not like they're complaining about truly awful things. It's not like they're beyond help. These are regular curses any ordinary person would have. Jerk neighbours. Not being popular. Mental illness. Anxieties. A character in your favourite show not winning. The death of an author you liked. All ordinary. All manageable with a bit of empathy. The truly serious curses, those that come from horrific tragedies... well. Those are different. If a pit of curses like that existed, you or I would be dissolved by it in an instant. But what you saw? Well..."
"Just a mild curse."
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Originally Posted by Hiyori
