The hideous creatures swam toward them in a graceful manner, every movement perfectly synchronized. The hunters staggered back as they drew near, then slowly placed the gorgeous fruits by the edge of the water.
There were five of those creatures. They distributed the fruit among each other evenly, silent and precise.
'That explains why they can't leave the water,' he thought while staring at their rotting tails.
They reached for the fruit and tore it from the ground with trembling hands. Their mouths opened wider than any human's should. The slits pulled and split, stretching until the skin around them cracked. What little beauty they had twisted into something sick and wrong. Rows of jagged teeth glimmered beneath the faint light slipping through the leaves. Then came the sound—one wet crunch after another.
With each fruit they consumed, their appearance began to shift. Slowly, the monsters went from ugly hags to something close to beautiful women, but incomplete.
As the fruits ran out, so did the transformation. Their skin began to sag again, their teeth uneven and chipped, hair rotting as it drifted away in the water. The beauty they had experienced moments ago peeled away like dead skin.
The longer time went on, the faster they decayed, aging and withering until there was nothing left but what they truly were.
Seeing how their form was still hideous, their gazes locked on the hunters, filled with rage.
"That was not enough," their voices broke and cracked.
"We'll get you more," the scarred hunter replied, stepping back to put distance between himself and the beasts.
But they didn't listen. They leapt toward them, baring their teeth. In that moment, the hunters pushed the couple and Shiro in front of them, using them as shields.
He glanced at the beasts, and they instantly leapt back. Stepping closer, he extended his arm, showing the fruit he had picked. "They weren't as pretty as the others, so I didn't offer them to you."
They stared for a moment, then backed away. He stepped forward and placed the fruits near the water. Once again, they each ate one, and before long, their old bodies began to shift—their saggy skin tightening, scales glimmering faintly beneath the surface, tails smoothing into sleek forms.
The old abominations were gone, replaced by something young, graceful, and disturbingly beautiful.
He turned toward the couple. They were paralyzed in fear, eyes empty, almost hollow.
He turned back toward the fish-like beasts, and instantly, they moved aside as the lake split open. Following the path, they exited the forest, and at last, warm sunlight touched his skin.
The couple trailed behind him, trembling, their breaths shallow. They wouldn't last much longer.
"Let's set up camp," he said quietly.
The hunters turned. "No, we have a few more miles before the city."
"No," he said again. "We're resting."
The scarred hunter stepped forward, shadow falling across him. "Who are you to make that decision?"
"She saved my life. And from what I've seen, you're all worse than the monsters in this world. Plus, I always pay my debt."
Grounding his teeth, he tilted his head up, meeting the man's gaze while holding himself back from killing him. It was harder than he expected. His fists clenched so tight that his nails dug into his palms.
"What are you going to do, pipsqueak?" the man sneered, a wide grin stretching from ear to ear.
In the blink of an eye, he brought his foot down, striking the scarred man on the top of the head. His face slammed into the dirt, and before he could move, Shiro followed with a kick to the gut, sending him flying toward the other hunters.
"Take that trash out of my sight."
The others roared and charged. He just glanced at them, quiet and effortless, and they froze mid-step. Their breaths turned sharp and uneven, bodies trembling like something had coiled around their throats.
He stomped forward. "Come, you fools, if you have a death wish."
They hesitated only a moment before grabbing the fainted man and leaving.
He glanced over his shoulder. They had stepped a few steps back, the man instinctively trying to shield his wife.
"Can you walk? If so, follow me."
He started walking, his steps slow and measured, just enough for them to keep up.
After a while, realizing they couldn't go farther and their stomachs were growling, he stopped and told them to set up camp and light a fire. The night stretched dark and silent around them until his knight emerged from the shadows, carrying a whole boar. He roasted it over the flames, the smell of smoke and meat cutting through the cold air.
He walked over to them. "It's ready. You can eat."
But as he drew closer, she began to shiver again as if the temperature had dropped. The once gentle lady trembled under his gaze, hiding behind her husband's shoulder.
The man pulled her close and gave Shiro a soft smile. "You eat first. We'll eat whatever's left."
As he walked away, that familiar emptiness crept back in. The world around him dimmed; the firelight flickered out. The couple was gone. The world, silent.
Only he remained.
He grabbed one of the legs and tore it off. Sitting far away, the pressure in his chest grew tighter. Even Ari couldn't silence that feeling.
The darkness around him thickened, and his father's last words echoed in his mind.
'You are a monster.'
Curling up into a ball, he tried to shut the voice out, but it only grew louder.
Then another voice came, deep and familiar. "So, kid, how can someone your age have such a monstrous presence?"
He looked toward the sound, but there was no one there.
"When I was seven, my father threw me into a pit of snakes," he murmured. "I think I died. I remember the pain. But then I came back. Consumed by rage, I trained for four years. And when I got out… I did the most unforgivable thing."
Silence lingered. Then the unseen man asked quietly, "Why would a father do that to a child?"
A broken laugh escaped him. "Because I was weak. I lost to a child and dishonored them."
His eyes burned. "I did my best. I really did. But I was never good enough. Too weak. Now I'm strong… so why doesn't it feel right? Why do I still feel weak?"
His tears began to ran down his cheeks, voice cracking, like he was a child again. "Why do I feel regret? This is what I wanted. Then why does it hurt? Why do I feel sad for a mother who never held me? For a father who kicked me, who looked down on me like I was trash?"
The man said nothing. He simply stayed near him for a while, then turned and walked away.
Once again, Shiro was alone. His father's voice mixed with the cries of everyone he had killed, echoing through the dark.
He sat there in silence, eyes unfocused, breath shallow. The echo never stopped.