"Oh my god... that thing is terrifying, man. Holy crap. The way it just stares at me... I almost piss myself."
Jun lets 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 thinks, struggling against the atmospheric pressure.
Jun wipes the sweat off his brow and leans his back against an old tree. His knees shake. The forest is 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 thinks bitterly, the injustice fueling his growing rage.
The instant he sees the monster, the primal instinct 'Run!' floods his mind, forcing him into a desperate, panicked sprint.
Exhausted now, he leans heavily against a massive tree, his consciousness reeling within the forest's oppressive gloom.
He cautiously glances back toward the direction he came from, confirming the monstrous shadow hasn't immediately pursued him.
"I'm thirsty... and hungry. Gotta find some water first," he mumbles.
As Jun pushes himself up to search for water, a faint, unsettling murmur drifts into his ears. The sound slowly intensifies, growing from a whisper to a chilling drone before abruptly ceasing.
Jun panics. Thinking the monster has returned, he frantically holds the broken sword up, aiming at his surroundings.
...A rabbit?
he mutters when a small, trembling creature hops out from behind a rock.
He lets out a shaky laugh.
"God, I'm losing it. Scared by a damn rabbit.
I'm just paranoid."
Jun sighs, his tension easing a fraction.
Then... Suddenly,
The ground beneath him moves.
"AHHH...!"
"What the hell is that thing? AHH...!"
Jun screams in pure, unadulterated terror, utterly aghast at the sight unfolding before him.
Black, shadowy appendages, like twisted limbs, erupt from his own shadow, coiling tightly around him.
Jun grabs at the shadow-tendrils with his free left hand, trying desperately to tear them away, but his hand passes right through. Frantic and unable to grasp the intangible threat, Jun stabs the broken sword into the ground where his shadow lies.
The tip of the broken blade, still sharp, bites slightly into the shadow. The jagged edge pierces through the shadow, then the tendrils loosen instantly, releasing him.
When Jun pulls the broken sword out, the tip is smeared with faintly red stained, something that looks disturbingly like blood.
Jun doesn't hesitate, bolting immediately. He glances over his shoulder, and the sight that greets him fills him with utter dread and astonishment.
Behind him is a monstrous figure. Its head is covered by long, straight black hair. Like the gaunt demon he saw near the ruin, it is severely emaciated. It possesses long, skeletal fingers and moves on four long, spindly legs, its body cloaked in swirling, black shadows.
This terrifying shadow monster is gaining on him, its two skeletal hands stretching out to grab Jun.
Jun runs with everything he has, but the combined toll of his exhaustion and the suffocating atmospheric pressure causes him to stumble and fall.
As he lies there, fragmented images from his past violently flash 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 slam against his consciousness.
Ethan was his sole protector, his first true friend. Later came Liam, Marie, and Olivia. they were his sanctuary. Jun cherishes them deeply, eternally grateful in his heart.
Jun tries to force the nightmarish images away. He pushes himself up, preparing to run again. But it is too late. The skeletal arm of the shadow demon shoots out and clamps onto his leg.
The sharp, bony fingers of the demon's hand tear into Jun's right calf, drawing blood. Jun immediately swings the broken sword down at the monster's arm.
The blow is shockingly clean, severing the arm as if struck by a perfect, sharp blade. Jun scrambles up without stopping to question the surreal damage and runs again.
Then, abruptly, another horrifying monster materializes right in front of him.
Jun notices that it is the same gaunt monster he first saw outside the ruin. The massive creature is 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 understands the monster's nature, but the realization is useless now. He briefly thinks 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 surges through him, strengthening his resolve. Jun prepares to fight back.
No choice.
He tightens his grip on the broken sword. If he is going to die, he'd die fighting.
Suddenly, the shadow monster from behind bypasses Jun and violently attacks the human-shaped gaunt monster in front of him.
Jun is stunned by the chaotic turn of events. "This is my chance!" he mutters, and tries to escape.
However, the shadow monster's bony appendage stretches out again, piercing right through Jun's right calf.
"AHHH!"
Jun screams in agony. He is about to swing the broken sword at the bone-tendril when it quickly retreats. Blood flows profusely from the gaping wound, the pain is excruciating.
Despite the agony, Jun tightens his grip on the broken sword with his right hand and tries to move quickly with a desperate limp, seeking freedom.
But the human-shaped gaunt monster suddenly appears in front of him with blinding speed. Its sharp claws slash across Jun's sword-wielding arm, severing his hand entirely.
"AHHHHH!"
Jun's scream is deafening. The intense pain from his severed hand sends him into a state of near-unconsciousness.
The sickening truth dawns on him:
They are playing with him.
The monsters aren't hunting. they are toying with him.
He understands now.
They could've killed him at any moment, but they didn't. They want to savor it.
Jun coughs, 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 screams in pure rage.
Tears stream down Jun's face, overwhelmed by the pain and the realization of his powerlessness.
He is nothing but a broken toy, caught between beasts that laugh without mouths.
But even then he refuses to give up.
he snatches the broken sword with his remaining hand. He grips it tightly, pressing his back against a tree. Blood drips from his wounds, staining the ground red.
And then, he aims the sword and screams.
"Come on, you ugly bastards," he growls, his voice trembling between laughter and tears.
"Come and kill me already hahahaha!"
He laughs broken, delirious, half-mad. The blade trembles in his grip, his eyes glimmering with defiance.
"I'm still here! Come on! Lets end this!"
The terrifying gaunt monster opens its massive, ripping mouth, lined with razor-sharp shark-like teeth, preparing to devour Jun.
Jun doesn't move. He can't.
But his eyes burn with something beyond fear, an ember of pure will.
The monster lunges.
In that very instant, fear, pain, rage, and hatred, a storm of catastrophic emotions simultaneously erupts within Jun. The gaunt monster's sharp claws plunge into his body, and its gaping maw draws closer.
Jun instinctively plunges the broken sword into the demon's eye. The monster, however, begins to clamp down, biting and consuming Jun's shoulder.
Jun screams, tears and agony mixing as he feels his flesh and blood slowly being consumed.
Then...
Time slows.
In the realm of his consciousness, Jun finds himself face-to-face with his friends.
In his fading vision, he sees them—Ethan, Liam, Marie, and Olivia—standing before him, smiling faintly, their faces gentle and warm.
Seeing his friends, Jun's eyes instantly well up, tears overflowing. His face crumples 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 manages to say, tears streaming down his face, unstoppable.
Then, with a faint, resolute smile, Ethan speaks. "YOU MUST LIVE, Jun."
Jun is momentarily stunned by Ethan's words. His friends then turn and begin to walk away. Jun screams their names, desperately, but his friends pay him no mind, their forms slowly dissolving, fading into the ethereal void of the consciousness realm. They are gone.