“Hana, it’s gonna be alright,” Baru said. He had been watching her go from one end of the campsite to another in panic after Kaiyo’s disappearance. He tried to reassure her in front of her tent that most likely, everything was fine and it was just an overreaction. However, his attempt at reassurance just seemed to anger her even more.

  “Baru, I swear to God, if you tell me to calm down one more goddamn time, I will smash your balls into fragments!” she barked. Baru felt an odd pain down there just thinking about it, but because he was a good friend, he tried to understand where she was coming from—minus the ball-smashing part.

  “Well, I could try using my Sense to search for heat patterns, but it will be difficult since there is no vantage point to overlook. I won’t be able to see the patterns if a huge mass is blocking them,” Ayame said next to her brother, leaning on the closest tree with her arms crossed. Hyo nervously adjusted his glasses.

  “Um… I have Sight too, but I’m not nearly as talented, so I think you should count on them more than me. I’ll still help when I can, regardless,” Hyo said, clearly not confident in his capabilities.

  “Alright,” Hana said, trying to stand up straighter and calm herself. “We’ll go in groups. I’ll go with my brother, Baru will go with Hyo, and Ayame will go with Genkai.”

  Hmm. What about the suspicion that she’s the culprit? Baru thought amusingly. He wasn’t oblivious to it; Hana clearly suspected Ayame, but he wouldn’t say it out loud. It wasn’t appropriate for the situation. In any case… It looks like Hono really might have been the one all along, huh? I would have never guessed. No, I would have—I just simply can’t believe a person like her would do such a thing. A few hours ago, she was sharing her traumatic childhood, which should have been a sign of some sort of trust, but maybe that was a lie too. Who knows. Maybe I’m just too easily fooled by women, but that’s not news.

  Yet Baru couldn’t help but feel he was missing something—something important to the puzzle that simply didn’t add up. Not that he was very good at puzzles, to begin with. It just felt… odd and out of place. Baru just didn’t feel as if Hono truly hated them. If there was one thing that always proved him right no matter what, it was his gut. And not in terms of food either.

  “Let’s try to cover as much ground as we can, and remember, if you find her, use the ear device to tell us,” Hana ordered them. Ayame and Genkai looked at each other uncertainly, and Hana noticed it.

  “Oh, that’s right, you guys don’t have one. Well, um, just try your best, and if you do find her, just bring her back here,” Hana clarified, her face looking a bit flushed from anxiety.

  Baru had received an extra one from Sen before the second challenge started as a sign of trust. Unfortunately, that was the only spare they had, so they would have to make do in this situation.

  “Right, let’s get going. Hey Sen, are you ready?” Hana asked her brother. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to, but I do think I might be safer if you did, since at least I would be by your side.”

  … No answer.

  “Sen?” Hana scanned the area in confusion, but he was nowhere to be seen. “Where the hell is he now?” she growled in frustration.

  “Maybe he went back in the tent,” Baru said.

  “In this situation?” Hana asked impatiently. “I feel like I’m the only one goddamn worried around here!”

  Baru watched as Hana stalked toward the second tent, which had been for the boys only. She entered through the zipped-up entrance and returned a moment later, albeit obviously without someone.

  Hana’s face changed from frustration to dismay as she looked at Baru. I don’t like that look, he thought.

  “Sen,” Hana froze up. “Sen’s gone too!”

  Sen’s body was moving independently as he whipped past the shadows of trees and undergrowth. Or at least, that’s what it felt like. In truth, he was in control of every movement he enacted—yet it was as if he were attached to a long string, pulling him to a desired place. He thought of himself as logical, putting objective reasoning over his emotions, and he was usually successful in doing that. Now, however? Well, it would be quite illogical to say he still did.

  He had foolishly sneaked out of his camp amid the panic when he had heard Kaiyo had been kidnapped. Why had he done that? Well, he wasn’t so sure. His logical brain urged him to turn back and regroup with his friends. After all, he relied on them for his safety. Or at least, that’s what his team thought, and to some extent, he did too. However, he was beginning to doubt that. He wasn’t sure why, but he had no fear as he ran through the dark, clustered forest. The danger of monsters wasn’t even a reality to him anymore. It was getting quite concerning—perhaps he had lost his mind…

  No. I took that monster down at the start of this challenge—when I heard that voice in my head. There’s one thing hallucinating, but killing things is another. And I do have evidence that I actually did, according to our Techo watches. This isn’t as simple as my mind playing tricks on me. I’m certain.

  In the end, it was a risk—and for some reason, he voluntarily still took it.

  He felt a small buzz in his ear. It appeared his team had finally noticed his absence and tried calling.

  He did not pick up.

  Sen wasn’t sure why he decided not to, but out of all the foolish things he had already committed, this was the least surprising.

  His heart pounded viciously in his chest, and it wasn’t all due to the running. He was worried—worried about his friend. Sen had never felt this way before, and that was becoming a common occurrence, apparently. Why am I so worried? he asked himself. Why is it only now that I feel this way?

  These questions were pointless; he knew that, yet he couldn’t help but foolishly ask them in his mind as if someone would whisper the answer in his ear.

  He was always a solemn person. Sometimes snarky to compensate for his bluntness, but still serious nonetheless. His mother constantly worried about him in school due to that, wondering how her rather unsociable child would be accepted in society. In short, Sen wasn’t accepted well at all. He often even wondered if his lack of Sense contributed to why people gave him the cold shoulder. That was the common assumption, but perhaps it had more to do with the person he was. He was closed off from the rest of the world, so how could he expect to be welcomed with open arms?

  No… in truth, back then, he didn’t care to be welcomed or brought in. His sense of humility and shame had been dull his whole life. He didn’t have the capacity to feel those emotions that should have prompted him to try to escape his warped worldview.

  Was I a fool back then, or did I simply not have the capability to grasp it? What changed within me from the person I was to who I am now? He stared at the brilliant moon between the gaps of the canopy above, his throat aching from the cold mountain air. If there is a god, I hope that someday, he will tell me the reason for the way I feel—the reason for my sudden raw pain and shame.

  The pain he felt was sharp, leaving no time to prepare for its iron grasp. It was as if he were an infant just born into the world of uncertainty—scared and unsure. It wasn’t the pain of a blade or any weapon, for it felt as if they wouldn’t be able to cut deep enough compared to the pain of uncertainty. The helplessness of not understanding was like being thrown into a pitch-black void, with no light to lead him nor any footing to get a hold of. Simply floating is what it was—floating in the depths of his empty consciousness.

  Alone.

  He stopped, a twig snapping beneath his shoes as he gaped ahead. An ethereal dark shape awaited him, its red eyes gleaming even in the darkness of night. It was half his size but broad and stocky, likely weighing five times as much as he did. It stood upright on three furry legs, exposing its belly, which revealed two extra limbs with claws. Disturbingly, the sides of its belly were not fully covered in fur like the rest of its body—instead, rib cage bones protruded grotesquely from the flesh. Above its disturbing body, a small round head with a squished nose looked at him.

  The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  And then it pounced.

  Its speed was far greater than he had expected. The body swerved in the darkness, raising one of its limbs by its chest to claw at him. However, his body moved on its own before his mind could even process what was happening. Sen’s hand was already gripping the handle of his Sense sword, swiftly unsheathing it and hoisting it toward the pouncing monster.

  Then, a light suddenly appeared, catching Sen’s eye—the brilliant blue gem on the sword’s pommel. It erupted with light, painting Sen’s face with its beautiful radiance and stunning him into silence. He wished to stop time to take in the magnificence—however, his body had different plans. The attacking limb of the monster hit thin air as he dodged to the side. He ducked into a roll, feeling the rough forest ground scrape against his spine. As Sen found his footing, the monster made no effort to give him time to prepare. It attacked again, its claws outstretched, its squished nose snarling ruthlessly.

  Sen did not fear its battle cry, nor did he dodge the attack. He plainly stood still as the monster veered towards him, his sword pointing straight ahead.

  "Kill."

  A voice, eerily similar to Sen’s, whispered in his mind as if it were right beside him. It was the same voice as before—the same one that had spoken when he killed his first monster.

  Who… Who are you? he asked the voice. Are you the one controlling me?

  "Kill," it repeated.

  Before Sen had a chance to form a thought, his sword was already lodged deep into the monster’s belly.

  It let out a shrieking cry of pain as it thrashed, dislodging the sword from its stomach. Sen watched as the monster convulsed on the ground, its grotesque body drenched in dark blood from its gushing wound. For a moment, Sen was thankful that it was night—it meant he wouldn’t have to see the vile red color of the liquid. However, his appreciation ended there…

  He started seeing the color of the blood.

  Beyond that, the green foliage of the bushes and grass. Even the earthy brown dirt. They were all blooming with color as if it were day.

  Then—Sen felt a stabbing pain in his eyes, throwing him to his knees as he groaned. The grueling pain was as if a needle was continuously stabbing his retina over and over until he would eventually go blind. Yet, darkness didn’t await him, or at least, not the one he was expecting. He pounded his eyes with his fingers in hopes of making the pain go away, and when he blinked next, the obscurity of night welcomed him once more. The colors and pain that had once been there flickered away. He knelt on the ground for a few moments, panting, trying to calm his mind as best as he could—or, better yet, process what had just happened.

  I saw colors, he thought, shocked. Colors, in the night. How is that even possible? And the gem of the sword too, it… He reached to the side where he had dropped the sword in the fit of his episode, gazing at the once-shining gemstone embedded in the pommel.

  “It glowed,” he whispered to himself, unable to believe it. That could only mean one thing, and Sen was scared even to say it—to even mutter the thought to himself—yet deep down, he had a feeling it was true.

  “I have Sense energy.”

  ....

  "Kill."

  Sen covered his ears as the voice came back to him, shaking his head violently. Who was that voice? Why wasn’t he in control of his own body? The realization of having Sense Energy had already been inconceivable, but maybe there was even more to it than that. As far as he knew, people who had a Sense didn’t have a voice that spoke in their thoughts and controlled their body with incredible skill.

  “Get out of my head!” Sen grunted as he struck his forehead against the ground, feeling bitter pain with every thrust. He lost count of how many times he did it. All he knew was that, at a certain point, it was beginning to feel numb. If it were up to him, he would continue until blood was drawn or he had fainted. However, his head abruptly stopped a few inches from the ground as if he had second thoughts. And it wasn’t him who did it.

  No, it was his body—or rather something inside of him, something that felt every ounce of pain he inflicted upon himself and shared every breath that he inhaled. Something that growled with bitterness and scorn from within him, although it was as faint as a water drop in a vast ocean. He felt it. He wasn’t crazy. Sen was not alone.

  “Why?” Sen whispered, frozen in place against his will. “… Won’t you let me… hit myself?”

  The voice didn’t respond. Perhaps out of hatred and bitterness, or simply because it couldn’t understand him.

  Sen crouched there, his head right next to the forest floor, yearning for its touch and the pain it could inflict in hopes it would wake him up from this dream. Sen knew it wasn’t, but he truly dreamed that it was.

  ...

  Then, like a rude awakening, his head slammed against the ground, the swollen wound on his forehead beginning to sting and throb. He groaned in pain and wobblingly tried to lean his chest up. Sen lay there alone—or not—his heart thrashing inside his chest as he tried tensing his fingers, testing if he was in control again. Commanding one of his fingers to move, it obeyed, and the rest followed suit. After a mere few moments of abandoning his body, it almost felt strange to be in control again—like a glove that felt awfully too loose. He took a long sigh of relief and lay on his back.

  It listened to me? Sen thought to himself, his breath coming in harsh huffs as he gazed above. Seeing the darkness once again felt comforting after the forest had burst into unusual colors—ones that felt forbidden to perceive at night. Sen laid a hand on his eye, feeling it pulse in rhythm with his thumping heart. The pain he felt was so fresh in his mind that thinking about it made it come back. He cringed, trying to forget the feeling. There were more important things to worry about other than the horrific agony that struck him.

  The voice… Sen propped himself up with his arms, looking at the limp monster ahead. It disappeared when I killed the monster. Is it trying to help me? Now that Sen thought about it, all the times that voice appeared, it had only helped him. Did that mean it was controlling his body to save Sen? Or was there something else?

  There was movement up ahead, catching Sen’s eye. Without thinking, he gripped the sword off the ground and jumped, hoisting it into the shadows. Silence persisted, and nothing happened. Sen frowned, eyeing his surroundings. As dumb as it sounded, perhaps it was the wind. He waited for a few more moments just to be sure, keenly watching for any movement. The wind rustled the leaves, and the cicadas sang quietly in the night. The little bugs had once only appeared during the spring and summer, but now, after generations of evolution, they boasted their beautiful tune throughout the year.

  Something moved again.

  This time, he was sure it wasn’t simply the wind. It was–

  Sen stalked a few feet towards the limp body of the monster, regarding it carefully. The monster’s protruding rib twitched slightly, prompting Sen to tense up.

  “It’s not fully dead yet,” Sen sighed, relaxing and feeling slightly relieved after discovering the origin of the ominous movement. No wonder I didn’t hear the Techno watch announce the points. I was too caught up dealing with… everything, to notice. Sen shivered, lost in thought. Let’s get this over with. I’ve already spent too much time fighting when I should be trying to find Kaiyo.

  Granted, it was a bit out of his control. A bit was an understatement, actually. It was physically out of his control. He couldn’t control his body like he used to—something else did. The voice.

  He had always rejected superstition and sought the most logical answers. If there was a voice in his head, that meant he had gone mad. If his body moved against his will, that meant his mind was tricking him into thinking he had no control. If the gem of his sword glowed, and he saw colors at night…

  That’s where the excuses end.

  If he did not have a logical answer to one question, his excuses for all the others would also be jeopardized.

  “The truth that I once knew….” Sen’s whisper grew louder with every word he proclaimed. “The reasoning. The logic. The fucking knowledge… It means nothing now!”

  For the first time in his life, Sen felt true anger and angst. Clenching his sword, he drove it with incredible strength deep inside the monster’s skull, a crack resonating.

  “Identifying monster, please wait,” the watch said, a hologram popping out. “Monster confirmed, Ribbon. Ten points added to Team Baru. Total points—Three hundred and twelve.”

  Sen’s fingers did not leave the handle’s grasp; he simply soaked in the sudden... feeling in the air.

  Something had been escaping the monster this whole time—something that filled the invisible hole inside his chest with contentment.

  Fear.

  That’s what the voice inside of him had truly wanted. It never sought to save Sen. No. It desired to harvest the fear.

  Suddenly, Sen’s body became relaxed and rejuvenated. The wounds that had been plastered across his body and the aching of his bones… they vanished. However, not only had his injuries vanished, but something else. His anger. His worry. They were suddenly muffled—replaced by his unquenchable thirst for the sweet sensation that exuded from the monster.

  Then Sen’s eyes started to flicker a light blue.

  He solemnly gazed at his lodged sword and pulled it out, standing dizzily. He looked up at the sky, a stray ray of the moon landing on his face and reflecting his glowing blue eyes. Sen inhaled slowly.

  “I need more…” he muttered to himself, oddly calm. “I need more fear.”

  The want, the urge for more fear, had consumed him. There was nothing on his mind except for that.

  Kaiyo suddenly became an afterthought to him. He didn’t even care to think why he felt so tunnel-visioned, all that mattered was to consume more fe—

  He paused.

  Something moved inside the forest, making Sen’s eyes gravitate toward it...

  A monster circled him with immense agility and speed, waiting to pounce from the shadows. However, the monster’s movements were hesitant… almost fearful. It knew that something was wrong with the human it had planned to prey upon. After catching a glimpse of Sen’s eyes, the creature’s heart thumped in its chest and cowered before his presence. Its leopard-like body began to shake and slowly started to retreat from him.

  Unfortunately for it, Sen had other plans. He grinned. “You’re not leaving.”

  ...

  “Monster confirmed, Pardd. Ten points added to Team Baru. Total points—Three hundred and twenty-two.”

  ...

  “Monster confirmed, Rabat. Eight points added to Team Baru. Total points—Three hundred and thirty.”

  ...

  “Monster confirmed, Arokai. Twelve points added to Team Baru. Total points—Three hundred and forty-two.”

  ...

  “Monster confirmed—”

  ...

  “Monster confirmed—”

  ...

  “Monster confirmed—”

  ...

  “Monster confir—”