Kairo sat slumped against the cold cave wall, eyelids heavy with exhaustion. Despite the dozens of glowing eyes watching from the shadows—monstrous, dreadful stares that drilled into his back like needles—he drifted off anyway.
His dreams offered no escape. The creatures slipped into his mind, tearing him apart over and over in an endless loop of nightmares. Each death felt sickeningly real, the pain sharp enough to make his subconscious flinch.
He jolted awake with a sharp gasp, chest heaving as cold sweat trickled down his spine. "No way… Did I sleep through the night and wake up at night too?"
Kairo rubbed his stiff neck and shoulders, grimacing at the soreness. Well, let's loosen up. My body feels like it's made of wood. He pushed himself to his feet and began a full-body stretch. His joints popped and cracked in a satisfying rhythm that echoed faintly through the cave. A small, tired grin tugged at the corners of his mouth.
"Woah… Now I feel like I could run at the speed of light."
An invisible force slammed into him without warning, hurling him out of the cave like a ragdoll. He tumbled across the dirt and skidded to a stop in a thick cloud of dust, coughing.
"Hmm," he muttered, spitting out grit as he pushed himself up on shaky arms. "Gotta say, very good hospitality."
He brushed the dirt from his clothes with quick, irritated swipes and scanned the surroundings, eyes narrowing. The forest loomed silent and oppressive, the air thick with unseen pressure.
"Well… is it safe, or am I in big trouble? Where did that giant snake go? Or any of the other monsters?"
The quiet pressed in heavier with every passing second. Kairo's pulse quickened, a chill crawling up his neck. Okay, now I'm scared. This silence is way too scary because of the unknown threat.
He glanced right—nothing but twisted, gnarled trees. Left—more of the same emptiness. He started walking, boots crunching softly on the undergrowth, shoulders tense.
Should I sing a song or something? It's too damn silent.
The thought only made the unease worse. Ugh, this is driving me insane. Is this a good thing… or a very bad thing?
A sharp crack sounded from behind him.
Kairo froze mid-step, heart slamming against his ribs. "Great. No animals… but I don't sense it. The air feels so heavy. This silence isn't peace—it's the silence before the storm."
Two glowing red eyes materialized in the darkness ahead, staring straight at him with predatory intensity.
Kairo's stomach dropped like a stone. I don't have a sword. How am I supposed to defeat an adult tiger without one? It was already hard enough with a cub… He's faster than me. If only the wind was here…
The eyes approached slowly, with the lazy, confident grace of a stalking cat.
"Yeah… it's a lion," Kairo whispered, voice tight and trembling. "Now what do I do? What do I do—oh man…"
His back bumped against a thick tree trunk. He clutched his stomach, knees weakening as hunger and exhaustion crashed over him.
"Ugh… I'm too hungry. I haven't eaten anything, and I'm exhausted. I guess this is my first death…"
The creature emerged fully into view. Its fur was pale white, almost ghostly, and its eyes burned like rubies. Its face wasn't quite a lion's—it was a horrifying hybrid of beast and monster, twisted and wrong in ways that made his skin crawl.
The lion sniffed the air. Each pawstep landed in the mud without a sound.
Then it lunged.
Kairo's eyes widened in panic. He twisted desperately at the last second, dodging by a hair's breadth, heart pounding wildly.
When he looked up, he was covered in warm, sticky blood. But it wasn't his.
The lion lay dead at his feet, torn open.
Kairo whipped his head around, searching frantically, breath coming in short gasps. "No one…?"
A tall figure stepped out from the trees.
Long, unnaturally thin arms and legs. A body the size of a normal human, yet somehow towering in presence. Kairo felt like a fragile doll standing before him.
The figure wore a wide, creepy smile that stretched too far across his face. His eyes were milky white. He threw his head back and laughed—a shrill, broken sound—while tears of blood streamed down his cheeks. He looked frail at first glance, but when his tattered clothes shifted, lean, bruised muscles rippled underneath. He was already draped in the freshly skinned hide of the white lion.
"Hmm… Lion's blood and fur. Looks like I won't feel cold after all. I got skinny~" The man laughed again, the sound maniacal and gleeful as his shoulders shook with twisted delight.
Kairo was already gone, bolting away at full speed while the creepy tall smiler was still cackling upward at the sky, his laughter echoing unnervingly.
But the figure appeared instantly in front of him, blocking the path with unnatural speed.
"Well… you're not even worth scaring."
Kairo skidded to a halt, breathing hard, legs trembling. "You destroyed that lion, ate it, and made a jacket out of it in the blink of an eye—and you're saying I'm not even worth scaring?! Please, brother, let me leave!" His voice cracked with desperation, hands raised in a pleading gesture.
The tall smiler tilted his head, still smiling that unsettling grin, his milky eyes narrowing slightly with amusement.
"If you want to survive… follow me."
He turned and started walking deeper into the forest without waiting for a reply, his long limbs moving with eerie grace.
Kairo hesitated only a second, heart racing with a mix of fear and reluctant curiosity, before following. Even if it's a trap, so be it. I want to learn about this dimension. My death should at least be worth something.
His stomach rumbled loudly in the oppressive quiet.
The creepy man glanced back over his shoulder, his too-wide smile stretching further. "Are you hungry, my sweet little brother?" He burst into another fit of laughter, shoulders shaking.
"Yeah… I'm way too hungry," Kairo admitted, voice shaky as he clutched his abdomen.
In one fluid, horrifying motion, the man reached out. Kairo's stomach was torn out and replaced with something else—organs that weren't his. The acid from the discarded stomach splashed onto his toes, yet it caused no damage. The entire act happened in less than a second.
Before Kairo could even process it, agony exploded through his body like fire in his veins.
He grabbed at the wound, screaming hoarsely. Tears of blood poured from his eyes as he collapsed to his knees, body convulsing, voice raw and broken with unbearable pain.
The tall man watched calmly, arms loosely at his sides, head tilted with mild curiosity.
"Well, if you eat animals, you'll become like them. So yeah… I made sure you become just like me. I don't want you to be someone else."
Kairo tried to scream again, but the man raised a hand and sealed his mouth with magic. Silence fell over Kairo's throat even as the pain continued to burn relentlessly through every nerve.
The man resumed walking, his steps unhurried.
Kairo looked back with wide, tear-streaked eyes. Countless red eyes now watched from the shadows—waiting hungrily. If the man left him behind, he would die for sure.
Even through the agonizing pain, Kairo forced himself to stand on trembling legs and stagger after him. "Wait for me… brother!" His voice came out hoarse and desperate.
The man stopped and unsealed his mouth with a casual wave. "Well, I'm standing right here."
"I neeeed food…" Kairo gasped, doubling over slightly.
The man pulled something from a pocket dimension and offered it. But the moment Kairo reached for it with shaking hands, the hunger vanished completely.
"What's the point of eating food when I lost my stomach…?"
"Look at this," the man said, holding the food out.
The food instantly rotted before their eyes, turning to gray dust that scattered in the faint breeze.
"No way… Even if I bring food, it'll just rot?"
"Yeah. Now follow me. I'll make sure you won't feel pain anymore."
A strange green aura began to flow from Kairo, obediently wrapping around the man's command. Kairo's face twitched violently. Then, slowly, a smile crept across his lips—the same creepy, stretched grin.
"What… is happening to me?"
"You're becoming like me. Well, that's the only way you'll survive this forest."
Kairo didn't resist anymore. His body grew slightly taller, limbs lengthening just a touch as the pain dulled, then faded entirely. Instead of getting eaten alive… I think this is the best option.
"If you didn't eliminate the pain, would I still be screaming right now, brother?"
The words slipped out naturally. Why am I calling him brother? It just came out… and now I can't stop it.
The man smiled, his posture relaxing. "Yeah, you would have screamed until your throat went numb. Well then, little brother, let's go."
"Okay, big brother."
The creepy man turned and looked at Kairo. For the first time, his smile reached all the way to his ears—a genuine, almost warm smile that softened the bloody tears on his cheeks.
Kairo leaned back slightly, still perched on the tall smiler's broad back, and muttered with a casual tilt of his head.
"Ohh, that sounds welcoming."
The tall smiler's shoulders shook with a low, rumbling chuckle, his long fingers adjusting their grip on Kairo's legs as he continued walking steadily through the twisted forest.
"Welcoming, huh? You haven't met Lucian yet."
"Lucifer?" Kairo asked, blinking in surprise as he leaned forward a little.
"Well, Lucian," the tall smiler corrected, his long fingers tightening just a fraction around Kairo's legs. "He conquers all these demons except the one you contracted with. And he's the weakest one of his kind. Well… it seems like it's beyond our capabilities."
"Woah, that guy is insane," Kairo said, whistling softly as his eyes widened. "Well, it seems like you would make him as a father."
The tall smiler suddenly stopped mid-step, his entire body going rigid. His grip turned iron-hard for a split second before loosening. He twisted his neck at an unnatural angle to glare back at Kairo, milky-white eyes narrowing into thin slits, the bloody tears on his cheeks seeming to glisten sharper.
"No jokes to your big brother."
Kairo's body went rigid, a cold sweat breaking out along his spine. He raised both hands in surrender, shoulders hunched protectively as his voice cracked. "Ok, ok, chill, brother! I was just trolling!"
The tall smiler held the glare for another tense beat, his stretched smile twitching, before it slowly returned to its usual width. "No need to worry. I won't kill ya… but I will punish you so that you respect your elders."
Uhh, I have to take this seriously and stop saying jokes… or else my death will be a joke too, Kairo thought, swallowing hard as his throat tightened.
"Yeah, big brother," he replied, his voice small and shoulders slumping in defeat, eyes downcast as he avoided that piercing gaze.
The tall smiler resumed walking, his posture relaxing as his tone shifted back to something almost casual. "About your stomach—you can check it out. It was just an illusion."
Kairo glanced down and patted his abdomen cautiously, fingers pressing lightly against the skin. "Woah… not even a single scratch." It hurt like it was real…
Without another word, the tall smiler reached into a fold of his lion-skin cloak and tossed a cooked goat leg toward Kairo with a casual flick of his wrist.
"Eat it fast."
Kairo caught it and tore into the meat with desperate, greedy bites, grease smearing across his chin. The tall smiler watched silently, then froze, genuine shock flashing across his face as his milky eyes widened.
"That food… didn't get spoiled," he murmured, voice low with disbelief.
Kairo paused mid-chew, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "Woah, sorry. But I was very hungry, so even if you hadn't told me, I would've eaten it anyway. And why would it be spoiled? Even if it did, I would still eat it… because you're giving it to me out of love."
The tall creepy smiler threw his head back and laughed—a sharp, manic sound that echoed through the trees. For the briefest flicker, his smile softened into something almost normal, almost warm, the bloody tears pausing on his cheeks, before the creepy grin snapped back into place with renewed intensity.
"Well, thanks for the food," Kairo said, wiping his mouth again as he shifted on the smiler's back, "but where are we going? Are we going home?"
"Well, yeah. We're going home," the tall smiler replied, his long strides never faltering.
He mumbled something under his breath, the words barely audible. A soft white light bloomed ahead of them, floating gently like a will-o'-the-wisp, casting an eerie glow on the path.
"Follow it, Kairo."
"Ok, big bro."
The tall creepy smiler tilted his head slightly, one eyebrow arching in curiosity as his milky eyes flicked sideways. "Bro? What's that?"
"Short form of brother," Kairo explained. A normal, boyish smile flashed across his face for a moment—bright and genuine—before it twisted back into the same unsettling, too-wide grin. His shoulders relaxed slightly even as his fingers tightened nervously on the smiler's cloak.
The tall smiler glanced over his shoulder again, his voice softening with a rare gentleness. "Your ankle… it's still hurting, isn't it? And you haven't eaten properly. As your big bro, you can climb on my back properly if you want."
Kairo hesitated, still terrified by the man's unnatural height and bloody-tear-stained face, his stomach twisting with unease, but he pushed the fear down and shifted higher onto the broad back, gripping tighter. "Sorry if I'm heavy."
"Nah. You've lost a lot of weight, and I can lift thousands of Kairos at once. So don't worry—your big brother is strong." The tall smiler flexed one lean, bruised arm casually, the lion fur shifting with the motion as his smile widened with pride.
Uhh, if I tell someone a monster like him exists, they wouldn't be terrified of monsters. But when they see them, they judge based on looks. This guy isn't as bad as he looks… Well, it seems like humans are worse than monsters. Monsters who listen to that tormentor… These monsters are aware of them. They might look like monsters, but their hearts are like angels. Well, don't judge a book by its cover.
Kairo smiled faintly at the thought, a small warmth spreading in his chest despite everything, and let his eyelids grow heavy. Soon, his head lolled against the tall smiler's shoulder as sleep claimed him, his breathing slowing into steady rhythm.
"Hey, don't you sleep—" The tall smiler stopped mid-sentence, letting out a long sigh as his shoulders sagged slightly. "Guess he's making things harder. Now I have to deal with the monsters, you sleepy head. Well, it's natural. Even I slept for months when I first entered here. I think they still fear me…"
Kairo's eyes fluttered open, heavy with lingering drowsiness. Before him stretched a beautiful, glowing land—his Land of Harmony, radiant and inviting under a soft ethereal light. He instinctively leaned forward, yearning to step inside, his heart aching with homesickness, but an invisible barrier held him firmly back.
The tall smiler, now breathing heavily from the effort of carrying him, gently set him down on the ground, his lanky arms lingering for a moment. "Hey, it's your home. Can you enter?"
Kairo broke into a run toward the shimmering boundary, excitement surging through him, but his body bounced off it like solid stone. He tried again, pushing desperately with both hands, frustration building in his chest.
"Where are you running away from me?" the tall creepy smiler asked, his voice cracking with what sounded almost like tears. His long arms hung limp at his sides, shoulders hunched forward in visible distress as bloody tears welled brighter in his white eyes.
"Uhh, no! Why would I?" Kairo said quickly, his pulse spiking with guilt. If I think I'll go alone, this will allow me to go there. He focused on the thought and stepped forward. This time, he slipped through effortlessly, the barrier parting like mist.
Excited, he turned back and reached out with both hands, trying to pull the tall smiler inside with him, fingers grasping at empty air.
An invisible force immediately flung Kairo backward, sending him tumbling across the soft grass with a surprised yelp.
"See? It doesn't work," Kairo said, rubbing his sore backside as he sat up, wincing.
The tall smiler rushed over, his movements surprisingly quick, and pulled him into a gentle hug, his lanky arms wrapping around Kairo with careful strength. Bloody tears welled in his white eyes as his posture softened. "Sorry for misunderstanding you."
"Hey, it's fine," Kairo replied, patting the man's back awkwardly but warmly, a small smile tugging at his lips despite the earlier tension. "You're my brother. You forgave me and didn't punish me when I disrespected you, so now we're even."
The tall creepy smiler's smile stretched ear-to-ear once more, but this time it carried a genuine spark of affection, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he held the embrace a moment longer, reluctant to let go.