Kaien Mori woke to the sound of something moving.
It wasn't the wind if this place even had wind. It was a soft scraping, like claws dragging along stone, coming from somewhere in the thick mist. His body ached from exhaustion, his clothes torn and dirty from the previous night's frantic flight. He blinked, his eyes adjusting to the dim glow that seemed to radiate from nowhere.
The Shadow World.
He still couldn't believe it. His heart ached for the ordinary morning he should have had school, friends, laughter, sunlight. But those things were gone. All that remained was the suffocating darkness pressing against him.
"Calm down, Mori," he whispered to himself. His voice cracked. "Just… calm down. You can do this."
The scraping sound grew louder.
He held his breath, heart pounding in his ears.
---
A figure emerged from the fog not the towering shadow he had seen the night before, but smaller. Its body was wiry, hunched, and its arms dragged along the ground. Its face was blank, no eyes, no mouth just smooth black flesh that rippled like liquid.
Kaien staggered backward. "N-no… not again…"
The creature tilted its head at him, like a predator curious about new prey. Its body hissed with faint whispers as it moved.
Kaien grabbed the nearest thing he could find a jagged piece of rock half-buried in the twisted ground. His hands shook as he raised it like a weapon.
"Stay back!" His voice cracked with fear.
The creature let out a guttural hiss and lunged.
---
Kaien swung wildly, the stone scraping against its shoulder. The impact barely slowed it. The creature's arm lashed out, striking him across the chest. He stumbled backward, air rushing from his lungs. Pain flared, hot and sharp.
"I can't… I can't fight this thing…"
The creature charged again, faster this time. Kaien dropped to the ground, rolling awkwardly to avoid the blow. His knees scraped against the rough surface, blood mixing with the mist.
He forced himself to his feet, clutching the rock tighter. "I-I won't die here!"
The creature lunged once more, and this time Kaien thrust the stone forward with all his strength. It stabbed into the creature's chest. The shadow hissed, convulsing violently, before dissolving into black mist that sank into the ground.
Kaien dropped the stone, his hands trembling. His entire body shook with adrenaline.
"I… I killed it…" His voice was barely a whisper.
Then he realized: this was just one creature. And it had almost killed him.
---
He collapsed to his knees, gasping for air. His body ached, his chest burned, and his arms felt like lead.
"I can't do this… not if they keep coming… I'm F-Rank… I'm too weak."
He closed his eyes, trying not to let despair consume him. His father's face flickered in his mind though not clearly. He barely remembered him. A shadow, a whisper of someone powerful and untouchable. And here he was, powerless.
"Damn it…" he muttered, striking the ground with his fist. "Why me?"
The silence gave no answer.
---
Hours passed as Kaien wandered. The Shadow World was both endless and suffocating. The terrain shifted unpredictably twisted forests that ended abruptly in sheer cliffs, rivers of shadow that bubbled with eerie light, barren fields where nothing grew.
Everywhere he went, he felt eyes on him. The shadows whispered, though he could never make out the words.
Hunger gnawed at him. His stomach growled, but there was nothing to eat. Thirst parched his throat, yet the rivers glowed with unnatural energy that he dared not touch.
"This place… it doesn't want me alive," he whispered.
---
As night or what he thought was night fell, the mist thickened. Kaien stumbled into a clearing and collapsed against the roots of a warped tree. His limbs were heavy, his mind foggy.
"Just… a little rest," he muttered.
He closed his eyes, but sleep brought no peace.
---
In his dream, he saw flashes of the ordinary world Renji laughing, Haruka scolding him for forgetting homework, Kenta's ridiculous jokes. And then… darkness. Shadows swallowing everything. Takuro's face, smiling faintly but with cold eyes behind it.
And a voice, distant but sharp:
"You cannot survive as you are. Weakness will be your grave."
Kaien jolted awake, gasping. His body shivered.
Before he could gather his thoughts, another scraping sound echoed through the mist.
His blood turned to ice.
---
This time, there were two creatures. Smaller than the first, but faster. Their limbs twitched erratically, and their movements were insect-like.
Kaien grabbed the stone again, clutching it tightly. His hands were sweaty, his grip unsteady.
"Not again…" he whispered.
The creatures lunged in unison.
Kaien screamed, swinging desperately. He struck one, knocking it aside, but the other clawed his arm. Pain shot through him, hot and sharp. Blood dripped into the mist.
He staggered, clutching the wound. "I-I can't… I can't do this…"
But then, something inside him snapped. A fire, faint but burning, ignited in his chest.
"If I give up here… I'll die. And no one will even know."
He roared, swinging the stone with all his strength. The first creature dissolved into mist. The second hissed and leapt but Kaien tackled it, stabbing wildly until it too disintegrated.
He collapsed to the ground, chest heaving, blood mixing with sweat. His vision blurred.
But he was alive.
For now.
---
Hours bled into days. Kaien fought, ran, hid. His body weakened, but his instincts sharpened. He learned to listen for the scraping before the creatures appeared. He learned to strike their chests the core of their shadowy forms.
And slowly, a realization crept into his mind.
Every time he killed one, a faint warmth filled him. Not strength, not power not yet. But something. A spark.
"Maybe… this is how I survive. Maybe… this is how I grow."
Still, he was far from strong. His body bore cuts and bruises, his mind frayed by fear. He was still F-Rank. Still weak. But he wasn't dead.
And in this world, that counted for something.
---
On the third day, Kaien stumbled into a cavern. Strange crystals jutted from the walls, glowing faintly with violet light. The air inside was cool, almost refreshing compared to the suffocating mist outside.
He collapsed against a rock, closing his eyes. "Just… a little rest…"
But the cavern wasn't empty.
A low growl echoed through the chamber.
Kaien's eyes snapped open. His heart froze.
At the far end of the cavern, a creature larger than the others emerged. Its body was hulking, its arms massive, its face still featureless but radiating menace.
Kaien's hands shook as he raised his stone. "N-no… I can't…"
The creature charged.
Kaien barely dodged, the ground shaking with the impact of its blow. He stumbled, heart racing. His stone seemed useless against something this big.
"I can't win… not like this…"
The creature lunged again, and Kaien fell to the ground, rolling aside just in time. His body screamed in pain. His vision blurred.
And then, a voice echoed in his mind gentle, steady.
"Learn. Survive. Grow."
Kaien's eyes widened. He forced himself to his feet. His chest burned, his arms trembled, but he raised the stone again.
"No… I won't… die here!"
He dodged another strike, then leapt forward, stabbing the stone into the creature's chest with every ounce of strength he had.
The creature convulsed, shrieking, before dissolving into black mist.
Kaien collapsed, gasping for breath. His vision swam.
But this time… he felt something different.
A faint warmth spread through his body, stronger than before.
"You've gained experience," the voice whispered faintly.
Kaien froze. "Experience…?"
He didn't understand but he knew one thing.
This world had rules. Power could be gained. And if he wanted to survive, if he wanted to live long enough to find answers, he would have to climb no matter how weak he was now.
Kaien Mori, F-Rank.
But he wasn't planning to stay F-Rank forever.
---