"Oh my god... that thing was terrifying, man. Holy crap. The way it just stared at me... I almost pissedmyself."
Jun let out a shuddering sigh of relief, thankful for the momentary reprieve from the monster's gaze.
I've felt wrong for a while now. Even breathing is heavy... Damn it, why now, of all times?' he thought, struggling against the atmospheric pressure.
Jun wiped the sweat off his brow and leaned his back against an old tree. His knees shook. The forest was quiet, almost too quiet.
'That thing hasn't chased after me. I'm lucky I managed to break visual contact. But I can't let my guard down for a second.'
'Shit! Why the hell is this happening to me?' Jun thought bitterly, the injustice fueling his growing rage.
The instant he had seen the monster, the primal instinct 'Run!' had flooded his mind, forcing him into a desperate, panicked sprint.
Exhausted now, he leaned heavily against a massive tree, his consciousness reeling within the forest's oppressive gloom.
He cautiously glanced back toward the direction he came from, confirming the monstrous shadow hadn't immediately pursued him.
"I'm thirsty... and hungry. Gotta find some water first," he mumbled.
As Jun pushed himself up to search for water, a faint, unsettling murmur drifted into his ears. The sound slowly intensified, growing from a whisper to a chilling drone before abruptly ceasing.
Jun panicked. Thinking the monster had returned, he frantically held the broken sword up, aiming at his surroundings.
...A rabbit?
he muttered when a small, trembling creature hopped out from behind a rock.
He let out a shaky laugh.
''God, I'm losing it. Scared by a damn rabbit.
I'm just paranoid."
Jun sighed, his tension easing a fraction.
Then...Suddenly,
The ground beneath him moved.
"AHHH...!"
"What the hell is that thing? AHH...!"
Jun screamed in pure, unadulterated terror, utterly aghast at the sight unfolding before him.
Black, shadowy appendages, like twisted limbs, erupted from his own shadow, coiling tightly around him.
Jun grabbed at the shadow-tendrils with his free left hand, trying desperately to tear them away, but his hand passed right through. Frantic and unable to grasp the intangible threat, Jun stabbed the broken sword into the ground where his shadow lay.
The tip of the broken blade, still sharp, bit slightly into the shadow. The jagged edge pierced through the shadow, then the tendrils loosened instantly, releasing him.
When Jun pulled the broken sword out, the tip was smeared with faintly red stained, something that looked disturbingly like blood.
Jun didn't hesitate, bolting immediately. He glanced over his shoulder, and the sight that greeted him filled him with utter dread and astonishment.
Behind him was a monstrous figure. Its head was covered by long, straight black hair. Like the gaunt demon he'd seen near the ruin, it was severely emaciated. It possessed long, skeletal fingers and moved on four long, spindly legs, its body cloaked in swirling, black shadows.
This terrifying shadow monster was gaining on him, its two skeletal hands stretching out to grab Jun.
Jun ran with everything he had, but the combined toll of his exhaustion and the suffocating atmospheric pressure caused him to stumble and fall.
As he lay there, fragmented images from his past violently flashed through his mind.
'Jun... your mom is a murderer. You're the murderer's son, the criminal's kid. We don't want scum like you around here, you bastard! Hahaha!'
Cruel scenes from high school, the echoing, mocking laughter of his bullies, violently slammed against his consciousness.
Ethan had been his sole protector, his first true friend. Later came Liam, Marie, and Olivia. they were his sanctuary. Jun cherished them deeply, eternally grateful in his heart.
Jun tried to force the nightmarish images away. He pushed himself up, preparing to run again. But it was too late. The skeletal arm of the shadow demon shot out and clamped onto his leg.
The sharp, bony fingers of the demon's hand tore into Jun's right calf, drawing blood. Jun immediately swung the broken sword down at the monsters arm.
The blow was shockingly clean, severing the arm as if struck by a perfect, sharp blade. Jun scrambled up without stopping to question the surreal damage and ran again.
Then, abruptly, another horrifying monster materialized right in front of him.
Jun noticed that it was the same gaunt monster he had first seen outside the ruin. The massive creature was sniffing the air with its tiny nostrils.
'Blood... it must be smelling my blood. My leg is bleeding because of that other monster.'
'This thing hunts by scent!'
Jun understood the monster's nature, but the realization was useless now. He briefly thought of his sick mother and his friends, contemplating giving up.
But the crushing need to return to his mother and the desperate desire to see his cherished friends again surged through him, strengthening his resolve. Jun prepared to fight back.
No choice.
He tightened his grip on the broken sword. If he was going to die, he'd die fighting.
Suddenly, the shadow monster from behind bypassed Jun and violently attacked the human-shaped gaunt monster in front of him.
Jun was stunned by the chaotic turn of events. "This is my chance!" he muttered, and tried to escape.
However, the shadow monster's bony appendage stretched out again, piercing right through Jun's right calf.
"AHHH!"
Jun screamed in agony. He was about to swing the broken sword at the bone-tendril when it quickly retreated. Blood flowed profusely from the gaping wound, the pain excruciating.
Despite the agony, Jun tightened his grip on the broken sword with his right hand and tried to move quickly with a desperate limp, seeking freedom.
But the human-shaped gaunt monster suddenly appeared in front of him with blinding speed. Its sharp claws slashed across Jun's sword-wielding arm, severing his hand entirely.
"AHHHHH!"
Jun's scream was deafening. The intense pain from his severed hand sent him into a state of near-unconsciousness.
The sickening truth dawned on him:
They were playing with him.
The monsters weren't hunting. they were toying with him.
He understood now.
They could've killed him at any moment, but they didn't. They wanted to savor it.
Jun coughed, his breath ragged, his body trembling.
"Shit... you cursed dogs! You could have killed me right away... you're just playing! This is unbearable, damn it.''
"SHIT!" He screamed in pure rage.
Tears streamed down Jun's face, overwhelmed by the pain and the realization of his powerlessness.
He was nothing but a broken toy, caught between beasts that laughed without mouths.
But even then he refused to give up.
he snatched the broken sword with his remaining hand. He gripped it tightly, pressing his back against a tree. Blood dripped from his wounds, staining the ground red.
And then, he aimed the sword and screamed.
''Come on, you ugly bastards, he growled, his voice trembling between laughter and tears.
Come and kill me already hahahaha!''
He laughed broken, delirious, half-mad. The blade trembled in his grip, his eyes glimmering with defiance.
''I'm still here! Come on! Lets end this!''
The terrifying gaunt monster opened its massive, ripping mouth, lined with razor-sharp shark-like teeth, preparing to devour Jun.
Jun didn't move. He couldn't.
But his eyes burned with something beyond fear, an ember of pure will.
The monster lunged.
In that very instant, fear, pain, rage, and hatred, a storm of catastrophic emotions simultaneously erupted within Jun. The gaunt monster's sharp claws plunged into his body, and its gaping maw drew closer.
Jun instinctively plunged the broken sword into the demon's eye. The monster, however, began to clamp down, biting and consuming Jun's shoulder.
Jun screamed, tears and agony mixing as he felt his flesh and blood slowly being consumed.
Then...
Time slowed.
In the realm of his consciousness, that Jun found himself face-to-face with his friends.
In his fading vision, he saw themEthan, Liam, Marie, and Oliviastanding before him, smiling faintly, their faces gentle and warm.
Seeing his friends, Jun's eyes instantly welled up, tears overflowing. His face crumpled with despair.
"Ethan... everyone... I am so sorry... it looks like... I won't be able to come back to you guys."
"I was truly happy to have met friends like you and to have spent my high school years with you."
Thank you for being my friends.
Jun managed to say, tears streaming down his face, unstoppable.
Then, with a faint, resolute smile, Ethan spoke. "YOU MUST LIVE, Jun."
Jun was momentarily stunned by Ethan's words. His friends then turned and began to walk away. Jun screamed their names, desperately, but his friends paid him no mind, their forms slowly dissolving, fading into the ethereal void of the consciousness realm. They were gone.