I Can Copy Curses

He stepped back, closing the door quietly, and turned his attention to the next—the living room.

Something about this door felt different, a sense of unease creeping into his chest. His pulse quickened slightly, but he didn\'t hesitate.

\'I can sense it. There is someone in this room!\'

Orion could feel the presence of someone behind the living room door. He was certain—his senses never failed him. There was definitely someone there.

Silently clutching the doorknob, he turned it and flung the door open, ready to attack if needed. What greeted him, however, was the sight of a figure calmly sipping tea from his second-favorite cup, sitting on his most cherished chair.

"It took you long enough," the figure smirked, seeing Orion enter.

Orion\'s expression darkened with annoyance as he recognized the figure. It was the same person he had fought alongside against the 9th-level platinum rank killer.

"Mark, what are you doing here?" Orion asked cautiously, narrowing his eyes.

Mark gestured for Orion to sit on the couch across from him. "Sit, Ray. We have a lot to talk about."

But Orion stood his ground, gripping his sword defensively. The tension between him and Mark became thick, almost suffocating.

They had just fought side by side, battling a common enemy, but that didn\'t change the fact that Mark had killed Ray. That was something Orion could never forget.

From the moment they\'d met, something about Mark had always unsettled him. It wasn\'t anything obvious—no sudden moves or blatant hostility—but Orion\'s instincts were sharp, and they kept telling him not to trust this man. Even during the fight against the killer, Orion had been on edge, half-expecting a sneak attack from Mark at any moment.

"Hey, we just fought like real friends against that killer, and now you\'re pointing your sword at me?" Mark said in a disappointed tone.

"What are you doing here?" Orion repeated.

"Where\'s the trust, Ray? The trust we had during the battle? The belief that I had your back? Where did all that go?" Mark asked, sounding dejected.

"I\'ll ask you one last time—what are you doing here, Mark?" Orion\'s tone sharpened.

Mark\'s expression shifted to seriousness. "Fine. If you want to be serious, let\'s be serious."

He leaned forward slightly. "Who are you, Ray Wiser?"

Orion\'s heart raced at the question, but his expression didn\'t waver. "Who am I? Have you gone mad?" he replied coolly.

Mark shook his head. "I know you\'re not Ray, so drop the act."

"What are you talking about?" Orion feigned ignorance, though his mind was racing.

Mark looked at him with disdain. "If you were really Ray Wiser, we wouldn\'t be having this conversation. Ray Wiser was my best friend."

Orion\'s eyes narrowed into slits, the sudden revelation catching him off guard.

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Mark observed Orion\'s stunned expression and continued. "There was a time when Ray and Tracy would come to the park with their parents. I was just an orphan, alone and sad. I was jealous of kids who had parents... so I was jealous of Ray too."

Mark went on, "But Ray was different. He saw things others didn\'t, did things others wouldn\'t. When others pitied me, he showed kindness. When others ignored me, he paid attention."

He paused, then resumed, "Whenever Ray and his family came to the park, he\'d always bring food for me. He\'d always play with me. Because of him, my days got better. I\'d wait at the orphanage every day just to see him. Playing with Ray became my favorite thing. Eventually, we got so close that Ray\'s parents decided to adopt me."

A look of sadness crossed Mark\'s face as he continued.

"But then, everything changed. Ten years ago, Ray stopped coming to the park with his family. I waited and waited, but they never came. A year passed, and on my tenth birthday, I got a gift with a letter. It was from Ray, apologizing for not visiting. He said it was because of his family."

Mark sighed.

"I was sad, and so was he. But the next day, Ray came to the park with his family again. I was so happy. I thought they were going to adopt me. But Ray told me his family\'s financial problems meant they couldn\'t. I was devastated."

Mark paused briefly before continuing.

"However, that sadness didn\'t last long. Ray kept coming to the park with his family. Years passed, and when I turned seventeen, Ray\'s parents died in an accident. That day, I visited his house for the first time, and it was the only time I saw him cry."

Mark looked at Orion and continued, "After that, I visited Ray\'s house regularly. We got even closer. But something changed in Ray. He became lazy, started to yell at his sister, stopped eating, stopped hunting—he didn\'t do anything. He just locked himself in his room."

Mark smiled sadly. "At that time, I decided to take responsibility. Ray had done so much for me, and now it was my turn. I worked part-time jobs to meet their daily needs, and Tracy started hunting. We somehow managed. Life went on until one day, we got the news that Tracy had died during a dungeon raid.

I cried hard that day, but someone else was even sadder."

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