The Shadow World stretched before them like a nightmare that refused to end. The blackened trees rose like skeletal fingers against a sky without stars, their branches curling inward as if eager to trap the lost souls beneath them. A gray fog slithered through the air, wrapping around the group's ankles, chilling them to the bone. Somewhere in the distance, a low howl rolled like thunder, but it was too distorted, too inhuman to belong to any wolf.
Kaien Mori tightened his grip on the crude dagger he'd managed to scavenge two days earlier. Its blade was chipped and dull, but even that scrap of metal felt like a lifeline. His chest ached with each breath, and though he tried to hide it, his trembling hands betrayed him. He was weak—he knew it, and he hated it.
"Stay close," Kaida Ren said, his voice steady, authoritative, the kind that silenced fear before it could spread. His dark eyes scanned the twisted terrain, always alert, always calculating. "We can't afford to get separated out here. Not in this fog."
Renji snorted but kept his bow half-raised, arrow already notched. "You don't have to tell me twice. Whatever's making that noise is already sizing us up for dinner."
"Shut it, Renji," Haruka hissed, adjusting her glasses. Even here, she carried herself like she was analyzing data in a classroom. "If you rile Mori up, he'll freeze again, and then we'll all have a bigger problem."
"I—I'm fine," Mori muttered quickly, though his voice cracked. "I won't freeze this time."
Kaida gave him a firm look, not unkind but sharp enough to cut through Mori's panic. "You don't need to promise that. Just keep moving. Do what you can, when you can."
It was always like this now: Kaida steadying him, Renji teasing him, Haruka reminding him of reality, and Takuro… Mori glanced at him briefly. Takuro Hoshigami walked a little apart from the group, his E-rank status supposedly making him one of the weaker ones. Yet there was something about the calm way he carried himself that felt… unsettling. He wasn't panicked, wasn't even cautious—just watchful, like he was waiting for something.
"Renji," Kaida's voice cut through the silence, "you said you could find food?"
Renji grinned faintly, his cocky smirk strangely comforting in this bleak world. "Food, sure. Just hope you don't mind chewing on creepy-crawlies or roasted slime. Unless you've got a convenience store tucked in your pocket, this is what we're working with."
He crouched and set a small snare trap between two roots of a blackened tree. With practiced hands, he laid down a line of string and baited it with a lump of glowing fungus he'd scraped off a rock. The thing pulsed faintly, oozing green liquid. Mori gagged just looking at it.
"That's… edible?" Mori asked weakly.
"Edible's a strong word," Renji chuckled. "But it won't kill us. Probably."
"Encouraging," Haruka muttered dryly, scribbling notes into a half-torn notebook she'd carried since the ordinary world. "Still, Renji's right. Energy is energy, no matter how disgusting. We'll need to rotate watch shifts tonight. Kaida, thoughts?"
Kaida scanned the horizon again. His jaw was tense, his shoulders squared. He looked like he was carrying all their fears on his back. "We'll set up camp near that ridge," he said, nodding toward a jagged cliffside where the fog seemed thinner. "It gives us height, and only two approaches. If we can defend those, we stand a chance."
Takuro's voice slipped in softly, almost too calm. "Mori, walk with me."
Mori blinked, startled. "Huh? Why?"
Takuro's expression didn't change. He gestured with a faint smile that didn't reach his eyes. "You're falling behind. If you can't keep pace, you'll slow everyone else down. Better you learn to stand on your own feet now."
Renji muttered under his breath. "Here we go…"
But Mori, desperate not to be dead weight, nodded quickly. "O-okay." He jogged forward to match Takuro's stride.
Takuro didn't look at him. "You hesitate when you fight. That hesitation is what gets people killed. Out here, hesitation is worse than weakness. It's betrayal."
Mori swallowed hard, his throat dry. "I… I don't want anyone to die because of me."
"Then prove it," Takuro said simply. His voice wasn't cruel, but there was a chill beneath it. "Next time something comes at us, don't wait for Kaida to tell you what to do. Just act."
Mori nodded, though his stomach twisted. He wanted to believe Takuro was helping him. But when he glanced at the others—Renji watching warily, Haruka frowning, Kaida glancing back with protective eyes—he couldn't shake the feeling that Takuro's lessons were meant to pull him further away.
---
The night fell fast in the Shadow World, swallowing what little light there was. The ridge they camped on overlooked a chasm where the fog churned like boiling water. They built a fire from dry, brittle wood that burned too black, its smoke curling upward like skeletal hands.
Renji's trap had caught something. A small, rabbit-like creature, but its body was translucent and its eyes glowed red. Its squeals cut the silence until Renji ended it quickly with his knife.
"Dinner's served," he said, holding up the twitching thing.
Mori turned away, nauseated. "Do we really have to—"
"Yes," Haruka interrupted, sharp. "Unless you want to collapse tomorrow. Don't look at it as an animal. Look at it as fuel. That's all it is."
Renji roasted it over the fire, and the smell was foul, like burnt rubber mixed with rotting fish. Mori gagged, but forced himself to take a bite when it was passed to him. His stomach rebelled, but Kaida's calm nod across the fire gave him just enough strength to swallow.
"You did good," Kaida said quietly. "Small steps, Mori. You'll get there."
Mori's chest tightened. No one had ever believed in him like that. Not at home, not at school. Kaida's words settled in him like an anchor against the storm.
Takuro sat apart, polishing his blade. His eyes reflected the firelight, unreadable.
---
It was sometime past midnight when the attack came.
Mori had just dozed off when Renji's sharp whistle cut through the night. "Up! Now!"
The fog below the ridge churned violently, and from it poured creatures—doglike, with twisted limbs and jaws that split too wide. Their eyes burned like embers, and their shrieks pierced Mori's skull.
"Positions!" Kaida barked, instantly on his feet, sword drawn. His voice cracked like a whip, pulling everyone into action.
Renji loosed an arrow, striking one creature in the throat. It staggered but didn't fall. "Damn it, they're tougher than they look!"
Haruka shouted, "Aim for the joints! Their movement patterns are irregular—cripple them first!"
Mori scrambled to his feet, dagger shaking in his grip. One of the creatures lunged at him, its jaws snapping. He froze, every muscle locked in terror.
"Mori!" Kaida's voice cut through. "Move! Left, now!"
Mori dove aside just as the creature slammed into the ground where he'd been. Kaida's blade flashed, cutting it across the neck. Dark smoke poured from the wound, and the beast dissolved into ash.
"On your feet!" Kaida snapped, grabbing Mori's arm and hauling him up. "You're not dead yet. Don't waste that."
Mori's heart pounded, but something in Kaida's unwavering tone jolted him. He forced his legs to steady, forced his breath to even out. Another creature came for him. This time, he raised his dagger and slashed. The blade barely nicked it, but it was enough for Renji's arrow to finish it off.
"Nice timing, rookie!" Renji shouted.
Mori's chest surged with something like pride. Small, but real.
The fight raged. Haruka called out patterns, Renji picked off targets, Kaida struck with precision, and even Mori managed to hold his ground. Takuro moved like a shadow, always a step away, his strikes precise but oddly restrained—as if he was testing the waters rather than fighting with all he had.
The creatures pressed harder, their shrieks echoing in the fog. Mori stumbled, nearly overwhelmed, when Kaida's hand clapped his shoulder.
"Breathe. You've got this," Kaida said firmly. His calm steadiness was like fire in Mori's veins.
Together, they pushed forward, Kaida cutting, Mori following his lead.
Finally, as the last creature dissolved into ash, the group collapsed around the fire, panting, drenched in sweat and blood.
Kaida's chest rose and fell, but his eyes remained sharp. "We made it. Barely. Good work, everyone."
Renji flopped onto his back, laughing breathlessly. "Barely is right. Another ten seconds and we'd have been minced meat."
Haruka adjusted her glasses, smudged with grime. "We need better formation. But… yes. We survived."
Mori sat shaking, staring at his bloodied dagger. He looked up at Kaida, who gave him a small, steady nod.
"You did well," Kaida said.
For the first time since entering the Shadow World, Mori almost believed it.
But when his eyes flickered toward Takuro, who was cleaning his blade with that same calm smile, a chill ran down his spine.
Takuro's gaze lingered on him for a moment too long.
---