Cold.
That was the first thing Tadashi felt when he opened his eyes.
A dry, cutting cold that slid straight through his skin and settled into his bones. He sucked in a breath, sharp and shaky, and the air tasted like dirt, moss, and the kind of silence that made your chest feel hollow.
He wasn't on the ground of some world challenge anymore.He wasn't in his room.He wasn't anywhere familiar.
He was lying on a bed of dead leaves inside a forest that seemed too dark for daylight and too quiet for night.
Tadashi slowly pushed himself up.
His hands trembled. His knees felt weak. His whole body felt… wrong. Like it had lived through something it wasn't built to handle. His heartbeat was heavy, loud, and painful — each beat a reminder of everything he had lost.
Nao's smile.Kei's annoying jokes.Rin's constant yelling.Hikaru and Haruto bickering about something ridiculous.
Gone.All of it.Just ripped away.
Tadashi swallowed hard. The back of his throat burned.
This wasn't another world where Kei and Rin would suddenly show up with instructions.This wasn't a place where Nao would find him and call his name.
This was quiet. And empty.Too empty.
The trees around him twisted upward like tall shadows. Most of their leaves were dead or dying, and the branches curved inward like claws ready to snatch anything that moved. Fog crawled low across the forest floor, coiling around his ankles when he stood.
Everything about this place felt… wrong.
And for the first time since the whole challenge began, Tadashi didn't feel the urge to scream, run, or call for help.
He felt nothing.
Absolutely nothing.
His body remembered the pain of losing them. His mind remembered the way Nao reached out before she disappeared. His chest remembered the pressure of fear and regret crushing him.
He wanted to speak. To call out. To ask if anyone was here.
But his voice stayed trapped behind his teeth.
Tadashi took one step forward.The leaves cracked under his foot — loud, sharp, too real.
It hit him then.
He was alive.But it didn't feel like living.
"Why… here?" he whispered, barely hearing his own voice.
He didn't get an answer.The forest didn't move.The air didn't shift.
Nothing cared that he was here.
His legs gave out slightly, and he grabbed a nearby tree to steady himself. His breathing grew uneven. His chest tightened. The world around him blurred as memories — too fast, too raw — flashed through his mind.
Nao laughing under the cherry blossoms.Rin rolling her eyes at Kei.Hikaru bragging about something stupid.Haruto trying not to talk too loud.
Moments that felt warm.
Now they just hurt.
Tadashi sank down until he sat on the cold ground. He hugged his knees without thinking, pulling himself into a small shape, as if making himself smaller would make the pain hurt less.
It didn't.
His head hung low.His eyes burned, but no tears came.He was too empty even for that.
The forest didn't comfort him.It didn't threaten him either.
It simply watched.
And for a long moment, Tadashi didn't move.He didn't think.He didn't even care what killed him next.
He just… sat there.
Breathing.Hurting.Barely holding on.
As the fog shifted again, a single thought echoed in the back of his mind:
"Why am I still here?"
But the forest gave him no answer.
Only silence.
Only cold.
Only the feeling that this place was going to break him long before it killed him.
Time didn't pass normally in the dark forest.
At least, it didn't feel like it.
Tadashi wasn't sure if minutes or hours went by as he sat there, staring at the dirt in front of him. His mind drifted in and out, replaying memories he didn't ask for and scenes he didn't want to relive.
He wanted to scream, but he didn't have the energy. He wanted to cry, but the tears wouldn't come. He wanted someone—anyone—to call his name. But the only sound was the slow rustling of leaves above him. Even the wind felt distant.
Tadashi finally forced himself to stand. His legs shook, but he managed to keep upright. A cold breeze pushed past him, brushing against his neck like the forest itself was trying to see if he was worth paying attention to.
He took one shaky step forward.
Then another.
He didn't know where he was going. He didn't know what he was supposed to do. He just walked because doing nothing made the silence louder.
The deeper he went, the darker the forest grew. The trees leaned in closer, packed tightly like they were guarding something he wasn't supposed to reach.
His foot caught on a root, and he stumbled. Normally he would've cursed, maybe complained. But now?
Nothing.
He just kept walking as a low hiss snapped through the air.
Tadashi froze.
His eyes darted around, heart speeding up. He swallowed, suddenly aware of how fragile he was. The hiss came again—sharper this time, sliding across the fog in front of him.
A shape moved in the mist.
Tadashi didn't react fast enough. His body was slow, drained, almost refusing to listen. He stepped back, but it was too late.
Something struck him—fast, sharp, and painful. His breath caught. His vision blurred. His heartbeat slowed. The world around him twisted like a heavy curtain being pulled across his eyes. He could barely see the forest anymore. His legs weakened, and he dropped to his knees.
Not again.
Not like this.
He didn't even want to fight, but he didn't want to go out like this either.
The ground rushed up to meet him.
His final thought before everything went black was simple, small, and painfully honest:
"Even if I stop trying… the world still kills me, huh?"