World Occult Usage Guide

ten years?

From the moment Comors' orbit began to overlap with Titan until now, it has only been a little over three years.

Ten years ago, Titan was not irradiated by that advanced planet, and all the legends were still just ethereal myths; there were no curses, magic, or rituals.

“Judging from your accent, you’re probably an educated American,” Professor Jason Hopper said. “And you’re not far from my hometown. Are you from New York?”

“No, I’m from Xinxiang.” Lin An waved his hand. “What do you mean by ‘curse’?”

“In this modern age of rapid technological advancement, we wouldn’t believe that things really exist unless we saw them with our own eyes or verified them with data,” Professor Cornelia Bannister continued. “Especially for scientists, but that’s how it happened.”

A middle-aged couple, both over fifty, leaned against a sparsely leafed baobab tree in southern Asia and told a story from the past.

More than a decade ago, the couple had been married for many years and, through hard work and talent, had achieved initial success in their respective fields, finally freeing up time to raise their next generation.

The Hoppers' son, Timothy, is as intelligent as his parents and full of curiosity about the world.

The two were considered prominent elites in the United Kingdom and had the means to send their child to a local private elementary school. Little did they know that on an ordinary Thursday morning, as the children were getting out of the car, a bullet passed right through Timothy's temple.

After the first shot, more bullets followed. Fortunately, the students reacted quickly and took cover in the school bus with bulletproof glass, resulting in only six children sustaining injuries of varying degrees.

Police arrived at the scene in time and shot the murderer, who had no intention of fleeing.

When the Hoppers returned from the university and laboratory where they worked, everything had settled down, leaving them only with a body covered in a white sheet.

This was undoubtedly an unfortunate coincidence; the newspapers published the news and called on the entire city to observe a moment of silence for them.

The Hoppers, however, lost their passion for life forever. Gradually, this emptiness consumed their enthusiasm for science. Professor Hopper frequently made mistakes in writing data; Professor Bannister often misspoke or omitted key points, leaving students confused.

The HR department repeatedly called them in for talks, and noticing his colleagues' impatience, Professor Hopper was about to resign when he received a phone call from Professor Bannister.

The wife said that the Kalevya Polytechnic University has a project studying whether genetically modified cowpea, yam bean, cassava, and corn seeds developed for the central South Oblast can increase food production and supply local farmers with limited resources, thereby solving the hunger problem.

This project has been registered for three years, but no one has applied for it.

Firstly, the project lacked substantial financial support; secondly, no one wanted to travel to the harsh conditions of Ubangi just to find out if these genetically modified seeds were suitable for the soil in the South.

Moreover, I've heard that some enthusiastic scientists went to the South to promote genetically modified seeds, but they were met with strong resistance from the locals.

However, the couple immediately agreed and decided without hesitation to travel to the South Island.

On the surface, the universities and laboratories on both sides tried every means to dissuade them, but in reality, they were eager to get rid of those who could not create economic value or attract investment and sponsorship.

As expected, the couple faced difficulties upon arriving in Bantu.

Locals refuse to use foreign seeds, believing that "evil spirits reside within," which would destroy the wisdom passed down from their ancestors, invite curses, and lead to a complete crop failure.

The Hoppers did not force the locals to cooperate. They were disheartened and were more hoping for an unexpected event that would allow them to reunite with their son than to conduct research.

Therefore, they would occasionally leave the control of the local government, under the pretext of taking soil samples, and drive out of the safe city in a car, wandering aimlessly.

As they wished, one day a group of xenophobic villagers set fire to their car and blew it up.

However, the couple happened to be out of the car when the incident occurred, and it is unknown whether they were lucky or unlucky enough to escape unscathed.

Despite contacting the government, which works with the university, rescue was estimated to arrive in two or three days, so the couple set up camp in the wilderness with the only tools they had left.

Suddenly, they heard light footsteps coming from the bushes. The two men drew their guns and stood ready.

"Splash, splash..."

Unexpectedly, an eight- or nine-year-old boy emerged from the bushes. He was completely naked, covered in strange, colorful patterns, bald, and had a blank stare.

In that instant, images of the past and present overlapped, and the Hoppers both thought of their deceased son, who had just turned eight when he was shot.

They quickly draped a coat over the boy, made him sit down, and gave him canned soup.

The boy did not respond, like a puppet without a soul.

After being rescued, the couple took the boy to the police station, but the police told them to immediately send the boy back to the wilderness.

"How much do you know about the customs of these villages? I know a lot. Coyotes can turn into humans and roam between villages in the dark. If a village hears a coyote's laughter, a villager will be cursed and fall ill the next morning; when it turns back, it leaves behind an empty human-like shell."

The police officers said this with deep fear in their expressions and voices.

The couple did not believe in these customs and taboos, and adopted the child of unknown origin, naming him Timothy, believing him to be a gift from God.

Suspecting Timothy might have autism or some other mental health issue, they contacted child psychologists in the UK. However, these experts were unable to assess him remotely via video and advised the couple to take Timothy to the UK for treatment. The Hoppers had no problem returning home, but Timothy, lacking any identification, was unable to enter the country.

The couple sent countless emails in their efforts to obtain his visa, but the results were unsatisfactory.

As time passed, the shadow of "Commerx" crept in, and the world gradually slid from rationality into madness. The Hoppers' return journey was repeatedly delayed, and the two gradually lost hope.

Moreover, the couple discovered a strange phenomenon.

Timothy looks to be about 8 years old, which is the time when he is growing. However, a year has passed since they found him, and the boy has not changed at all. He has neither grown taller nor gained weight, and his weight is less than 200 grams different from last year.

It's as if... he also died forever in that year's shooting.

What remained was a moving corpse.

There was no time to ponder why Timothy never grew up, because of the mysterious appearance, a coup d'état occurred in the Hoppers' city, plunging it into chaos, and they quickly fled with Timothy.

Even more inexplicable things happened. While Professor Hopper was driving, he suddenly felt the car seat getting strangely hot and vibrating with a buzzing sound.

An ominous premonition welled up in Professor Hopper's heart, and as if possessed, he opened the car door, pulled his wife and children out of the back seat, and disappeared into the roadside bushes without looking back.

"Boom!"

A deafening explosion occurred as the car, which had been perfectly fine, exploded on the spot, engulfing the area in flames and billowing black smoke.

The couple stared at the familiar scene, their backs covered in cold sweat.

Following the familiar road, they arrived at the place where they had camped last year. With a rough visual measurement, the location of the car explosion was exactly the same as last year.

curse……

The words the Bantu people uttered reached their tongues, and the Hoppers felt their hands and feet turn cold, their vision go black, as if the things they had believed in, persisted in, and studied for the past few decades had collapsed in an instant.

Under the immense psychological blow, Professor Bannister fainted on the spot, and Professor Hopper's limbs went limp, sitting on the ground for several hours in a daze. After a while, they came to their senses and found that Timothy, who had almost no independent consciousness, was gone.

Overcoming their fear, the two walked forward along the trampled grass.

Under the moonlight, the strange boy leaned against a tree. He had taken off his clothes and was using a sharp stone to grind away his newly grown hair. His technique was exquisite and careful, without hurting his scalp at all.

"Timothy..."

Professor Bannister called out in a trembling voice, but Timothy still did not respond. As the two approached, he did not run away, but stood still as always.

In that instant, the couple instinctively wanted to draw their guns, let the bullets embed themselves in the boy's temples, and kill the monster once and for all.

The image of their son's death flashed through their minds, and in the end, they couldn't bring themselves to harm Timothy and pull him back to their side.

A few days later, they were taken in by a village that Lin An passed through, and have been living there ever since.

"It's as if absurd special effects movies have become reality. We've seen talking animals, people with two heads, and fish that walk on land. So we have to accept the fact that science is dead, God has gone mad, and hell exists."

After hearing the story, Lin An fell silent.

The Hoppers’ son’s death was undoubtedly a coincidence, and his soul could not possibly have crossed the ocean to possess a South African child and forever haunt his parents.

However, the second "Timothy" mentioned by the couple is most likely a mysterious figure.

"By the way, when did you find Timothy?"

"July 2036, 9."

"So, from that moment on, his appearance hasn't changed at all?"

Professor Hopper nodded.

Strangely, it's impossible for any mystic to maintain the same value forever, not even the heads of powerful families or "demigods".

Suddenly, Lin An's pupils contracted.

"So, you ultimately chose to accept 'Timothy,' so he's now living in this village?"

“That’s right. We’re telling you his story in the hope that you can find a way to lift his curse. After all, you’re the first ‘mystic’ we’ve encountered who we can communicate with.” Professor Bannister pointed straight ahead. “He’s in that haystack.”

Lin An quickly closed his eyes, letting his consciousness sink into a state of emptiness.

The lush, shallow lake wetlands have vanished, leaving the vast grassland like a dark abyss, utterly empty, devoid of any light that could represent life. (End of Chapter)