No matter how well you describe a rumor, it’s bound to be warped and twisted. Humans are the only creatures capable of lying, after all.

Sen sprinted across the forest floor, twigs snapping under his durable shoes. It was surprising that they weren’t dirty yet, but then again, this was the AOK he was talking about; they had the funds for it. It was midday, and the sun shone directly above him, granting more light than usual under the canopy of trees. At first, Sen had been claustrophobic and unnerved by the trees and the lack of light; however, now, it made him feel oddly safe. Patches and clearings were also scattered across the forest—where their camp resided—giving some alternatives, so it wasn’t as bad as one might think.

“Will you slow down, for Christ's sake!” a voice panted from behind.

Sen slowly stopped his sprint, looking back. “Aren’t people with Touch supposed to have better stamina, Hana?”

His sister leaned over to catch her breath, barely able to blurt out words between her huffs. “Yeah, but… you know… I—I…” she rambled. Either she was just bad at cardio, or he had improved drastically. He had to admit it did feel unusually easy running through the forest, not that he ever had before. Since he mainly ran on a treadmill, it was hard to gauge how fast he was going with the change of setting and without the right equipment. All he recognized was that he wasn’t really putting in much more effort than he normally did.

“Seriously…” Hana wheezed. “What the hell is up with you lately?”

That was something even he didn’t have an answer to.

“I don’t know…” Sen answered truthfully. “Weird things just seem to keep happening.” His gaze drifted, remembering last night with a shudder. Exhaling one last breath, Hana straightened up again, noticing the uneasy expression on her brother’s face.

“We were worried sick, ya know,” Hana’s usual harsh tone melted into genuine concern. “And when we tried using our communication earbuds, we couldn’t reach you at all. I actually thought a monster had snatched you right under our noses. But in actuality, you ended up…” she trailed off, struggling to convey what she wanted to say as if even she didn’t quite believe it.

“Killing a monster,” Sen finished before sighing. “No, I just so happened to get lucky, that’s all.”

Hana wasn’t convinced. “How the hell do you kill a monster with just luck? This isn’t just a game of poker, Sen.”

As he expected, Hana wasn’t going to let go of this topic that easily. Additionally, it was getting more difficult to argue against it due to how bizarre the circumstances were. For someone to win an argument, they had to believe what they were saying, and it would be a lie to say that he did. Sen shared his sister’s concerns more than he would ever like to admit.

Something is wrong with me. Yet, he didn’t want to tell anyone. It was a scary feeling not to be in control of his own body. In truth, it was far beyond that. It wasn’t just his body but his thoughts and feelings—they were different—so alien and unrecognizable. That was the scariest part… it was as if he were losing a part of himself, yet, at the same time, discovering something completely new.

He simply didn’t know. And that’s exactly what terrified him—the unknown.

He was growing more and more used to the feeling of fear. Whenever he felt it, his heart would pound out of his chest, and he noticed that his mind would draw a blank, prohibiting him from controlling his thoughts. He had never felt it to this extent before, and when he did, it felt so dull and cloudy.

Now, it was stark and clear as day.

It was as if he had blurry vision his whole life and had grown complacent, only to put on glasses and see everything in a completely different light.

“Alright, fine,” his sister conceded. “Just please do not go out alone just because you want to, okay? It’s dangerous. You don’t know if you’ll be able to get lucky a second time.”

I didn’t go because I wanted to… Sen wanted to say, but held his tongue. He couldn’t share that piece of information just yet—only once he figured out the answer.

“And when I’m battling a monster, please just wait in a safe space.”

He sighed. “It’s like you’re my mom or something.”

Hana rolled her eyes. “Buddy, just because you defeated one monster doesn’t give you the right to be cocky. The only reason you’re here to begin with is because everyone else is busy slaying monsters for points. Trust me, if I could leave you behind, I would. But I can’t, since leaving you alone is arguably more dangerous than watching me slay monsters.”

Sen had to admit that was fair. If he found out that his Senseless sibling had wandered off and could have been killed, then he would react the same way. Although Sen didn’t leave of his own volition, playing it off that he did was more reasonable than telling her he had just woken up in the middle of the forest and that a voice told him to kill a monster.

“Let’s get going then.” Hana nudged him by the shoulder, taking the lead. Sen found that humorous.

“What’s funny now, dear brother?” She turned her head back to scowl at him.

He decided to keep his remarks to himself. It was just ironic that after struggling to keep up with him, she still insisted on leading. It didn’t matter in the end because Hana seemed to get the hint.

“Haha, very funny, man,” she deadpanned, sighing with defeat.

Once they started moving again, Sen felt strange. An uneasy tingle ran down his spine, telling him something wasn’t quite right. Shaking his head, he tried to overlook it, but as he continued his quick pace with Hana, it only became more noticeable. This sensation… he realized, ducking below an imposing tree branch to tail his sister. I felt this once before, though it’s a bit too vague to fully tell.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The trees began to thin out, giving them a bit more room to run without needing constant caution regarding their surroundings.

“Man, this sucks,” Hana huffed while jogging. “The moment I actually want to find a monster, there are none.”

“Well, to be fair, slaying monsters is only one part of the challenge,” Sen noted beside her. “The most important part is just surviving the harsh environment.” Nonetheless, Sen had to admit that the so-called Danger Zone, which everyone feared, had been way more lackluster than he had expected.

'It’s not going to be dangerous,' huh? Sen remembered Baru’s words when they had arrived at the self-proclaimed Danger Zone. The more the challenge went on, the more Sen was convinced Baru knew more than he presented. It could all be a fancy coincidence, of course, but combined with the hints he had picked up along the way, Sen was inclined to believe it.

“True, but… it’s better to be safe than sorry. I thought we already decided on the strategy?” Hana panted. They had, but Sen wasn’t exactly thrilled about it. The rest of the party had come to an agreement while he was asleep from his headache to prioritize killing monsters instead of attempting to survive the already challenging conditions.

“Well, if you think you guys can handle it, then there isn’t much I can say to stop you. It just seems rash to me,” Sen said while they both stopped to catch their breath and continued by just walking, inspecting for any signs of monsters.

“I wouldn't worry about our safety too much,” Hana assured. “Every monster we’ve encountered has been relatively easy to beat, at least for us. I mean, our hundred and fifty points are evidence alone.”

Her statement piqued Sen’s interest. “What rank would you say the monsters you killed were?”

“I’m not too familiar with what rank each monster is, but the ones I did recognize were mostly bronze and occasionally silver.”

“Not one gold?”

“I don’t think so. If it was, I think I would have had a hard time. Not to mention, it would probably give us a big chunk of points,” Hana answered. Based on the points of the monsters they killed, it wasn’t a stretch to say a gold rank would reward them substantially more.

“Interesting…” Sen made a mental note.

“Why do you ask?” Hana tilted her head.

Sen shook his head. “Nothing much. Just gathering all the info I ca—”

A loud shriek of a person cut him off, startling both of them. They swung their heads in all directions, trying to find where the horrifying scream came from. A monster is close…

“Where... where did that scream come from?” Hana blared anxiously, her long white hair messy from running. Sen shushed her with his finger, gesturing for her to be quiet. Noticing what her brother had in mind, she perked her eyes, not uttering a single word.

…

“AGHHH! AH, I—”

Sen found it. “It’s coming from the right!” Without hesitation, they both began rushing between the trees in that direction. Sen noticed the ground becoming steeper and the trees thinning as they scaled the hill—the dirt slowly changing into rockier terrain. Sen guessed they were scaling one of the many rocky hills at the base of Mt. Fuji. He saw the large mountain towering in the distance, but it was way too far for them to actually be climbing it. Not to mention, the walls of the AOK were placed to prevent them from getting too close to the mountain.

“Remember, make sure you stay at a safe distance!” Hana exclaimed breathlessly as she trekked.

“Of course…” Sen said but kept his honest thoughts to himself. That sensation… it’s getting stronger.

As it grew more evident, Sen couldn’t help but start recognizing the feeling, and he truly wished he was wrong. This feels so similar to the start of the second challenge when I saw them…

They halted.

The steep slope gradually led to a flat, rocky clearing encircled by trees. From this height, one could even overlook sections of the forest. But the scenery didn’t matter to him, or better yet, he didn’t have time to appreciate it because of what he saw in front of him.

They both gaped at the scene in disgust, shocked into silence. Lying lifelessly in the clearing were three mangled bodies… human bodies at that—their limbs stripped away and tossed like detachable toy dolls.

Sen could barely recognize the familiar white tracksuits, which were nothing more now than torn-up cloth stained with scarlet. It was as if it had rained blood from above, forming puddles of crimson liquid.

Yet, that wasn’t the most shocking sight.

Accompanied by the contestants' bodies, the corpses of two furry monsters lay unrecognizable next to them—sliced and disfigured. And at the center of all the death was one standing figure…

His clothes soaked in blood, he stood tall unwaveringly. At first, Sen thought his hair had also been sodden with the disgusting bodily fluid, but it wasn’t at all—his hair was naturally long and red.

The figure turned to face them—his oddly black eyes almost staring into their souls.

Thump…Thump…Thump…

Heart thrashing in his chest, a loud, putrid ringing blared in his ears, putting him on his knees. His vision blurred when he stared at the ground, the world feeling like it was whirling.

Make it stop… Sen groaned. However, his useless plea was cut off, and before he knew it, he was throwing up in front of his leaned-over hands. Disgusting, half-translucent liquid mixed with chunks of his past meal violently escaped his mouth, making him gasp for air.

But it just wouldn’t stop…

His wish just to breathe refused to be granted from the constant vomit.

“Sen!” Hana exclaimed, rushing to her bent brother in horror, panic flashing in her eyes as she sought a way to help. How could she stop someone from vomiting? Was that even possible?

Hana began tapping her brother’s bent back to make him throw up more, concluding that the vomiting wouldn’t last forever. The quicker he let it out, the better. Sen, at least, started doubting whether the vomiting would ever end. Red dots formed on his face from the pressure, and his eyes rolled back from pain. There was only so much he could take—

“Ah… I think I recognize you…” the long, red-haired young man said in the center of the mangled bodies. And as if he had said some magic words—Sen stopped vomiting. He gasped for air, trying to catch his breath. He’d never missed simply inhaling in all his life. Only when something was snatched away does it begin to be appreciated—something that many wouldn’t even care to notice before—something as simple as just breathing.

“Sen…” Hana murmured, nudging him to see if he was alright. “Are you o—”

“I see, so your name is Sen, isn’t it?” the bloodied young man said in an overly composed voice.

Sen felt it again. He could tell by the way his mind drew a blank and how his heart pounded out of control. It was fear.

With the world spinning around him, Sen saw the blurry figure stalk toward him—barely being able to distinguish his features. Yet… Sen could see this faint outline of a face. The more Sen strained his eyes, the more that outline formed into something entirely different. No, it wasn’t the face of a human at all.

Sen was sure of it. The young man was no human to begin with. He was…

“No!” Sen shouted at the figure, scrabbling on his feet to run. “Get away from me!” However, all the energy was sucked out of him, making him trip and stumble on the rocky ground as if he were a baby deer trying to find his footing.

“S-Sen, it’s okay. What’s wrong?” his sister tried to help him up.

How could she not see it?—that horrifying face in front of them, slowly closing the distance as if he were about to pounce at any second.

“We have to leave!” Sen squirmed out of Hana’s grasp, frantically trying to crawl down the rocky slope to escape. His fingers became bloody and ragged with each failed attempt to run away.

“Stop it!” Hana begged, chasing after him. Her Sense activating, she heaved him up on her shoulders, holding him with only one hand. Flailing his arms in panic, he eventually gave up, slowly feeling unconsciousness battle him.

“No need for such apprehension,” the young man said, only a few strides away. “I mean no harm. In truth, I was battling the monsters over there. Unfortunately, I was too late to save the contestants. It is indeed quite a gruesome sight, so I can fully understand your brother’s fear. I apologize that you were forced to see that.”

“Are you…” Hana trailed off.

“Yes,” he nodded. “My name is Nova.”

Sen didn't even have the energy to look up. Their voices were suddenly becoming more and more muffled.

No… he couldn’t fall asleep. Not next to that thing. They needed to escape… or else—

“Actually, it’s quite funny we bumped into each other,” Nova said. “I had just overheard a rumor about a Senseless contestant…”