"…Kgh… you… you're wrong…"
Shizo tried to push him away, but his strength was rapidly draining from his body. Every movement felt heavier than the last, as if something invisible was pressing down on his chest, stealing his breath bit by bit.
The edges of his vision began to darken and blur.
The sounds around him turned muffled and distorted—like he was sinking deeper and deeper underwater, where there is no light and no air.
This is it… it's over…
"…I don't want… this…"
And then—everything changed.
Something inside him snapped.
Instinct.
Sharp. Uncontrolled. Inhuman.
His arm jerked forward in a motion that didn't feel human at all. It wasn't a movement—it was a reflex, like a broken mechanism or a predator striking. His joints bent in the wrong direction, fingers stretching too far, too fast, as if his body no longer belonged to him.
"…what?.."
A sudden motion—
A knife appeared in his hand.
And in the very next second, he drove it deep into his neighbor's throat.
A short, wet, choking gasp.
Warm blood splattered across Shizo's face, burning against his skin as it dripped down in thick, sticky streams.
The neighbor's body went limp almost instantly and collapsed heavily onto him, crushing him under its weight.
"…ah…"
Shizo lay there motionless, breathing raggedly, unable to process what had just happened. For a few seconds, he simply stared into nothingness.
"…What… did I just do…? I killed… my neighbor?.."
Silence became absolute.
And then came the smell.
Heavy. Metallic. Suffocating.
At that moment, something in his perception shifted.
As if something hungry had awakened inside him.
Something not human.
His breathing grew faster. Sharper. Unstable.
"…hunger…"
He didn't even realize when he leaned forward.
And bit.
Flesh.
Blood.
"…!"
Reality hit him instantly.
He snapped backward as if struck by electricity.
"…WHAT AM I DOING?!"
He scrambled backward, shaking violently, unable to feel the ground beneath his hands.
"This isn't me… this isn't me… this isn't me…"
With effort, he forced himself to stand. His legs barely held his weight. He staggered, then ran out of the apartment, nearly falling with every step.
Only when he reached the street did his breathing begin to stabilize slightly. The panic didn't disappear—it changed shape, becoming a cold, suffocating emptiness inside him.
He ran without direction until he ended up in a narrow, damp alley.
Shizo pressed his back against the cold concrete wall. His lungs burned. His breathing was broken and uneven, as if air could no longer reach deep enough inside him.
"They put a bounty on my head… they want me dead… I… I ate my neighbor… I killed him…" he whispered, his voice trembling and breaking apart.
He suddenly covered his face with his hands, pressing hard against his temples as if he could physically stop his thoughts.
But it didn't help.
The fear didn't fade.
It only grew.
And with it came something even worse.
Realization.
He was starting to fear himself.
"I need… I need to understand… Why is there such a huge bounty on my head? Why do they hate me so much?.." His thoughts spun chaotically, but now there was something inside them—direction, however fragile.
He slowly sank into a crouch, trying to steady his breathing.
And then—
A voice cut through the silence.
Familiar. Too calm.
"…Shizo… is that you?"
He snapped his head up.
A stranger stood in front of him.
His heart tightened.
"Yes… it's me. Shizo Kageyama. Do we… know each other?" he asked cautiously, every muscle in his body tensing.
"Yeah… it's me…"
Seirito Sawata stepped closer.
And in that instant, reality itself seemed to tremble for Shizo.
Not suddenly—but like a crack spreading through glass.
The sounds around him dimmed for a moment. The air felt heavier. And then—
A memory crashed into him.
"Who do you think you are, kid?"
The voice of the past didn't feel like a memory—it felt like it was happening again.
"Give me my bag back, Kaigo!" Shizo shouted, his voice carrying both fear and defiance.
Kaigo smirked, looking down at him like he was nothing.
"Who even are you supposed to be?"
Seirito stood nearby, laughing with him.
"Hey! Give it back!" Shizo shouted again, stepping forward even though his whole body was trembling.
But Kaigo suddenly grabbed him by the collar.
And then—impact.
Pain exploded through him instantly, tearing through his face and mind.
And in that moment—
Something inside Shizo opened its eyes for the first time.
Not strength.
Something deeper.
Darker.
Instinct.
He struck back.
One hit.
Too fast. Too strong. Not human.
Kaigo staggered in shock, and the bag slipped from his hands.
Shizo, still trembling, picked it up and quietly handed it back.
"…Here…"
But there was no gratitude.
Only rejection.
"I could've handled it myself… you just bring trouble…"
And something inside Shizo quietly cracked.
The return to reality wasn't smooth—it was a rupture.
Seirito was closer now.
Too close.