Sid jolted awake, his chest rising and falling like he had just run a sprint. The cabin's rough wooden ceiling replaced the blinding light of the schoolyard, and for a moment he couldn't tell if he had dreamed or remembered. His pulse slowed, but the afterimage of the mission screen burned in his vision. The text hung there, taunting him.

[NEW MISSION ACQUIRED]

[Main Mission: Confront the Zombie Bunny Bride in the Cathedral]

[Objective: Face your unresolved desires and necrophilic urges by standing before her.

"What the hell is this supposed to mean? Confront the Zombie Bunny Bride? Are you kidding me? Why the hell do you care about my personal feelings? And how the hell did you even know about this? Get out of my head, you BITCH!"

Sid swung at his own head, trying to make the system go away, but only ended up punching himself. He stopped, breathing hard, and glared at the screen, waiting for it to vanish.

"DAMN YOU! And what the f*ck do you mean by 'unresolved desires and necrophilic urges'?! I DON'T HAVE THOSE! SHE'S A GODDAMN ZOMBIE—a dead person, a corpse! She's just your NPC built in code, or what kind of bullshit!"

The mission prompt lingered, glowing faintly, but Sid shook his head and pushed himself to his feet. He let out a long breath, steadying his nerves, forcing the memory away. The dream, the mission, the twisted reminder of that fight, it all pressed heavy on him, but he wasn't going to let it sink in. Not now.

The cabin brightened as the first rays of sunlight slipped through the cracks in the shutters. Sid turned, his eyes landing on a wood mantle above the fireplace. A dusty picture frame leaned against the stone, untouched by years of abandonment. He stepped closer and brushed his sleeve across the glass.

Inside was a photo. A man with a grizzled smile stood with his arm around a young girl, maybe seven or nine. She was beaming, her small hands clutching the man's sleeve like she never wanted to let go. Sid stared at it, the warmth of the picture cutting through the cold weight in his chest.

"Morgana…"

He whispered, the name slipping out before he realized. He shook his head, staring at the girl in the photo, and then at the man's other hand. In it, resting against his leg, was a shotgun. The barrel gleamed even through the faded image.

"So the old man knew how to survive out here. Question is… did he leave that shotgun behind?"

Sid rubbed his palms together and muttered.

"Alright, old man, where'd you stash it?"

He started with the obvious places, under the carpet, inside the cabinet, behind the fireplace. Nothing. He even knocked along the walls, hoping for a hollow sound, but the cabin gave him nothing but dust and cobwebs.

Frustrated, he leaned back, scanning the room again. That was when he noticed the wall near the corner. Vines had crawled thick over it, hiding something flat and square in shape. Sid narrowed his eyes, stepping closer, and tugged at the greenery until a wooden outline appeared.

"A door? No way."

He pulled harder, clearing the plants until the handle revealed itself. With a grunt, he pulled it open. Dust billowed out in a choking cloud, making him cough and wave a hand. When it finally settled, his flashlight beam cut across a grim sight.

Right in front of the hidden door lay a skeleton slumped against the wall. A shotgun rested across its lap, the barrel pointing upward. The skull had been blown open, a dark, silent testimony of how the man had chosen to go out.

Sid's steps creaked against the old floor as he approached, eyes locked on the shotgun.

"Guess I found it… hell of a price you paid, though."

His hand stretched toward the weapon, but before his fingers could close around it, a sharp scream tore through the silence.

Something lunged from the darkness. Instinct took over. Sid's pocket knife flashed in his grip, and with a desperate thrust, he buried it straight into the attacker's skull. The body twitched, then collapsed at his feet.

Panting, Sid ripped the knife free and turned his flashlight toward the corpse. His heart froze. The face, what was left of it was… familiar. Burned into the photo he had just seen. It was the girl. The daughter from the frame.

Sid stumbled back, his stomach lurching. His voice cracked in disbelief. "

No… it can't be… it's her."

Sid staggered back, his chest heaving. His knife hand trembled, slick with blood. His eyes locked on the small, ruined body sprawled at his feet.

"Shit… shit! No, no, no… goddamn it!"

He dragged both hands down his face, groaning into his palms.

"She was just a kid… a kid! What the hell am I doing stabbing children?!"

His voice cracked, anger mixing with horror. He crouched down, staring at her pale, broken features, his tone softer now, more strained.

"I didn't… I didn't mean to. I was startled. I didn't even think— I just reacted! I thought— hell, I know you were a zombie, but still… damn it, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

His eyes burned, not with tears but with rage, and he slammed his fist against the wall.

"This is sick. Whoever designed this place, whoever thought it'd be a good idea to put this in the game, screw you! You hear me, devs? A father blowing his brains out while his little girl turns? You think that's content? You think that's fun?! You're monsters. Worse than the goddamn zombies you programmed."

Breathing hard, Sid forced himself to look at the skeleton slumped by the wall. The shotgun sat in its lap, and just as his Lootsense flickered to life, it glowed faint red. His voice dropped to a whisper.

"You really used this, huh? To make sure nobody took you alive. To make sure you didn't… become one of them. You… you did what you thought was mercy."

He knelt, prying the shotgun gently from the brittle bones.

"Don't worry. I'll take care of it now. I'll carry it forward."

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