The Limbo Forest was no place for the faint of heart. The silence that inhabited him was more terrifying than any scream, a heavy, thick silence that clung to his skin and whispered promises of death. Ryuusei, despite his attempts to remain calm, could feel the erratic beating of his heart pounding in his ears. Every step he took, every sigh, felt like a scream in the stillness of darkness.
Aiko walked beside him, her little bare feet making almost no noise on the wet earth and fallen leaves. She clung to Ryususei's hand with desperate strength, as if he were the only anchor in that sea of uncertainty.
"Ryuusei-nii... do you think we can get out of this alive?" Aiko asked, her voice barely a whisper breaking in the icy breeze.
The boy sighed, his breath hot forming a small cloud in the air. He tried to sound more confident than he felt. "Of course, Aiko. We only have to hold out for three days. Three days. It's not that long... is it? He tried to joke, but the laughter choked in his throat. The truth was that three days in this place seemed like an eternity.
The group stopped at a clearing, a small bubble of false respite in the middle of the oppressive grove. Haru, a 16-year-old girl with a calculating look and her hair pulled back in a high ponytail, knelt down to examine the ground. Kenta, the 15-year-old with a carefree air that didn't fit in that spot, sat on a rock, swaying his feet with forced optimism. And Daichi, the serious 17-year-old boy who had joined them, stood on one side, his tall, gloomy figure fused with the shadows of the trees, watching everything with his empty eyes.
"I'll go explore a little. I won't go too far," Ryuusei announced, breaking the tense silence.
Haru looked up, his eyes narrowed in a gesture of distrust. "Don't delay, Kisaragi. We don't know what kind of crazy people are loose around here, or what bugs. We cannot afford to lose one of us.
Aiko looked at him with eyes full of concern, but nodded weakly. Beside him, Daichi Mokuren said nothing. He only remained silent, his gaze as enigmatic as the forest itself. He was a boy of few words, but his presence was as imposing as that of a predator. His silence, somehow, was more unsettling than any threat.
Ryuusei stepped into the thicket, feeling the dampness of the leaves under his slippers. The silence grew even deeper, broken only by the rustling of branches. After walking for what seemed like hours, he came across a rock wall covered in vines. An instinct, a hunch, made him push the vegetation. Behind, hidden, was a dark cleft, the entrance to a cave. Curiosity, an emotion he had almost forgotten, drove him in.
The atmosphere inside the cave was suffocating, the air heavy and stale. The smell of damp earth and something else, something old and magical, filled his nostrils. His footsteps echoed in the darkness until, in the center of a large hall, he came across a stone altar covered in dust and cobwebs. And above him, shining with a dim light that seemed to come from nowhere, were two pairs of weapons: a pair of daggers and two hammers. They were not ordinary weapons. They felt an ancient, powerful energy.
He took the daggers first. They were small, with cold metal hilts and blades so sharp they seemed to be able to cut through the air. But what caught his attention were the strange inscriptions that I did not understand, shining with an almost imperceptible brilliance. He moved it in the air, feeling its weight... And suddenly, his surroundings changed. He had moved. From one moment to the next, he had advanced several meters without even taking a step.
His heart, which was already pounding, raced.
"What... what the hell!? he exclaimed, his voice echoing in the void of the cavern.
He tried again. He threw one of the daggers at the rock wall, and the instant the blade stabbed, he felt an invisible force pulling him toward it. A laugh, a mixture of disbelief and euphoria, escaped his lips.
"This is incredible...!" Teleportation?! He shouted, his voice filled with the thrill that adrenaline provided.
Then he took the hammers. They were heavy, much heavier than they looked, with metal handles and massive heads, adorned with spikes and ominous runes that vibrated with a dark energy. With a simple swing, he hit the cave wall. There was no simple impact. There was a shockwave that shook the ground beneath his feet and knocked several stalactites off the ceiling. A smile of satisfaction, of pure power, was drawn on his face. Daggers and hammers. He realized that these were not mere weapons. They were very powerful weapons. They had been born of his desire to survive, of the value he had placed on the hope of returning to his life. They were a manifestation of the strength that slept within him. They were his.
"This is definitely going to be useful," he murmured.
But the feeling of euphoria was short-lived. Right at the entrance of the cave, darkness moved. A shadow. Ryuusei put himself on guard, feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the temperature. A curvy-figured woman, crimson eyes that glistened in the gloom, and black hair, slowly advanced towards him. He had a scythe in his hand, and the blade dripped fresh blood, falling on the ground. A disturbing smile was drawn on his face, revealing razor-sharp teeth.
"Well, well... What an interesting boy..." His voice was honeyed, almost a whisper, but his eyes exuded an unmistakable madness.
Ryuusei swallowed. Fear, raw and visceral, took over her body. He knew he had to fight, that his life depended on it, but his hands were shaking so much that he could barely hold the weapons.
"I don't want to kill you, but if you insist..." he said, his voice trying to sound confident. The tremor did not go away.
The woman smiled cruelly and lunged at him with inhuman speed. Ryuusei, guided only by instinct, barely had time to dodge the sweep of his scythe. The air hissed where seconds before his head had been. In a desperate act, he threw one of the daggers. He teleported behind her and, with trembling hands, slashed her back. The woman did not scream. He just spun quickly, like a snake, and stuck a dagger in his shoulder. Not his. Hers.
"Ahh, shit! Ryuusei roared, recoiling with his wound burning. The pain was so real that it blurred his vision, and a damp heat spread across his clothes.
The woman sneered as she watched him bleed. His crimson eyes shone with sadistic pleasure, as if he were enjoying his suffering.
"Poor thing... Does it hurt?" He licked his lips, and for a moment, the horror of the situation made him feel nauseous.
Ryuusei was breathing heavily, his mind fighting against the fear that paralyzed him. He was not a hero, he was not a warrior. It was a 14-year-old boy who had killed unintentionally. How was I supposed to do this? His hands trembled from head to toe. Cold sweat trickled down his back. If I didn't do something, I would die here. And he couldn't die. Not after what he had seen, after what had happened to Haruto.
He closed his eyes for a moment, pleading for a strength he didn't know he had. "No... I can't die here..." he murmured, gritting his teeth, channeling all his rage, his pain, and his desire to live into the dagger he held.
When he opened his eyes, he knew what he had to do. He teleported behind him, using both daggers in a swift and desperate attack. The woman screamed, a shrill sound that turned into a wince as her torso was pierced by multiple cuts. But she did not fall. He tried to fight back, but Ryuusei, in a fit of icy rage, raised one of the hammers and smashed it into his skull. A nauseating sound, crack of bones and flesh, echoed through the cave. The woman fell to her knees, her face disfigured. His lifeless body fell into the mist of the ground.
Ryuusei stood, panting. Disgust and relief struggled to control him. He had killed. Again. And this time, he had done it with the intention that the person would not get up. The image of the woman's crushed skull, of the stream of blood splattering on the wall, hit him with brutal force. A feeling of nausea rose through his throat. He fell to his knees, the hammer slipping from his trembling fingers.
Suddenly, a scream in the distance pulled him out of his thoughts. A scream of terror. The group was in danger!
Without hesitation, he left the woman's corpse behind. With daggers in hand, he ran back, and the scene he encountered was utter chaos. Haru, Aiko, Daichi, Kenta... They were all surrounded by several assassins with sadistic looks and improvised weapons. Aiko trembled, holding a small dagger, while Haru already had blood on her face and clothes. Daichi fought with calculated ferocity, his katana dancing in the air.
"Ryuusei, help!" Aiko shouted, her voice barely audible.
Kenta, in an act of bravery or stupidity, rushed to the attack with a war cry, but an opponent pierced his leg with a spear.
"! MY LEG, MY LEG! Kenta shouted, falling to the ground.
The spear still embedded in his leg. His heart-rending scream reverberated through the forest, but his attacker showed no mercy. He twisted the spear into the wound, causing blood to gush out in a hot stream. Kenta screamed even louder, but the pain was soon replaced by a sense of numbness and terror.
Aiko, her face pale and her eyes filled with tears, ran and plunged the dagger into Kenta's assailant's neck. The man fell with a gurgling sound. Then the girl stepped back in fright, her hands trembling in horror at what she had done. One of the attackers lunged at her, but Daichi blocked him with his sword. Haru moved precisely, taking out two enemies with clean slashes, his gaze more calculating than ever.
The battle turned into a bloodbath. Haru received a cut on his arm, and spat blood after being punched in the stomach. Aiko sobbed as she narrowly dodged an axe that nearly split her in two.
Ryuusei no longer thought. His mind was clouded by a mixture of anger and fear. He grabbed his hammer with insane strength, ran over, and teleported behind an enemy, stabbing one of his daggers into his back. Blood gushed violently. The man screamed, but Ryuusei didn't stop. His hands, which had once trembled with fear, were now firm. Anger had consumed him. He stabbed the dagger again and again, piercing the man's back with unleashed fury, not caring that the body was already inert.
After a few seconds, the man fell to the ground. Only then did Ryususei return to reality. He stared at the body, the pool of blood. The man's face, his last breath. The adrenaline dissipated and the brutality of his actions hit him hard. He turned to the side and began to vomit, his stomach churning with the smell of blood and the bitter taste of fear.
The boy fell on his back, panting on the ground. His breathing was irregular, his body trembling from head to toe.
"This... is what it means to survive here...? He wondered, his voice broken with guilt, his eyes fixed on the dark sky of Limbo.