Rin's eyes were fuming with anger. Rin pushed Kito, shouting, "What on earth are you thinking, risking our lives?"
Kito spoke, "Rin, you know you're just a child who tried to act all tough outside, but there is nothing inside."
Daniel stopped the fight.
Shina spoke, crying, "Rin, leave it, let's go."
The tension in the room was palpable as their argument escalated, voices rising with intensity.
Suddenly, a sweet yet unsettling voice cut through the chaos. "Well, aren't you a lively bunch?" it chimed, dripping with a playful malice that silenced them momentarily, a chill creeping down their spines.
Because of the giant, they didn't notice what was in the back: a huge structure that resembled a cage, filled with thousands of chains.
Inside, it contained something horrific that had been unleashed into the world, unlike anything seen before.
A man with purple eyes and black hair smiled as he walked out of the darkness. He was a bit taller than an ordinary human, but he appeared to be just like one. However, his malice was palpable.
The man smiled and spoke, "An interesting group, indeed." He looked in Daniel's direction and said, "A promising prodigy." Daniel was on edge.
He turned to Shina, his gaze filled with reverence. "You are a noble princess," he declared, his voice steady. Shina's eyes blazed with fury as she locked onto him, her anger palpable.
He looked at Kito. "Ha, a dark sorcerer! You are more like me; I can feel it. That's why I used you as my toy."
Finally, he looked at Rin with a sinister, uncanny smile. "I think you are my favourite among all of you," he said.
The unknown man spoke again, "I will train you if you come with me."
Rin replied, "I don't know what you see in me, but I refuse."The unknown man shrugged. "Too bad," he said. As he continued speaking, his eyes revealed what true superiority looked like. "You let me out, so I will let all of you go."
They tried to leave as soon as possible because they knew they were not even the slightest match to him.
Shina was breathing heavily; she couldn't control the fear.
The unknown man smiled, "Wait."
He continued, "You forgot to hand over my book." Kito, "Ha, it's mine now."
Kito's grin didn't last long. The moment his words settled, the air changed.
It wasn't just tension anymore—it was pressure.
Heavy. Suffocating. Like the world itself was pressing down on them.
The man's smile didn't fade... but something behind it did.
"Yours?" he repeated softly. No one saw him move.
One second, he stood in the distance. Next, he was right in front of Kito.
Kito's body froze. His instincts screamed, but his limbs refused to obey.
The man tilted his head, studying him like a curious experiment. "Tell me... did you open it?"
Kito tried to speak, but his throat tightened. Still, his pride pushed through.
"...Yeah. I did." For a brief moment—
Silence. Then—
"Good."
A ripple of dark energy spread from the man's fingertips. The air around Kito twisted violently, as if reality itself rejected what was happening.
Kito screamed.
Not in pain alone—but in something deeper.
Something was tearing at his very existence.
Rin's eyes widened. "KITO!"
He tried to move, but Daniel held him back.
"Don't!" Daniel hissed. "You'll die!"
Kito dropped to his knees, clutching his head. Black veins crawled up his neck, pulsing with an unnatural glow.
The man watched calmly.
"You see," he said, almost gently, "that book doesn't grant power."
"It reveals it."
Kito fell unconscious. Shina asked, "What did you do?" He laughed and replied, "I just granted his wishes." He touched the book as every story within it disappeared. He said, "You can keep it; I just did a quick factory reset." Rin lifted the unconscious Kito, who was sleeping peacefully, and they ran out of the temple as quickly as possible. Rin stood there, unable to comprehend what had happened inside.
As they sprinted through the dimly lit forest, a low, grumbling sound echoed behind them. Panic surged through their veins as they realised it was the flesh creature from earlier, relentless in its pursuit. Its guttural growls grew louder, urging them to run faster, heart racing with each echoing thud of its approach.
As the sun dipped low on the horizon, painting the sky in vibrant hues of orange and pink, Rin and her friends sprinted with all their might. The chill of night was creeping in, urging them to move faster through the breathtaking scenery, each step echoing with the thrill of the chase and the beauty of the fading day.
After narrowly escaping its grasp for a few precious moments, Rin turned to his companions, urgency etched across his face. "We need to set sail now! Staying on this island is far too dangerous," he insisted, his voice firm. "But we can't leave without food. I'll protect Kito; you need to go out and gather some supplies. It's essential if we're going to continue our journey."
Shina and Daniel nodded.
Rin was protecting Kito and was also able to collect some fruit to eat.
Daniel and Shina returned after a few moments. Shina bought some meet and Daniel bought some mushrooms. Rin showed his fruits; they nodded at each other.
After walking for a few minutes, Rin and his friends returned to the boat, injured and tired. Alex, Yuri, and Sam were shocked. "What happened? Why did you take so long? We were about to come search for you!"
They didn't speak and say the boat, which was repaired and filled with goods and fried the meat so it wouldn't rot.
Shina spoke, "Let's set sail now."
Alex asked, "Now?"
Yuri spoke, "It's night, it's dangerous to travel the river."
Daniel Shivering said, "This place is more dangerous than the river."
Sam asked, "Why is Kito unconscious?"
Rin said, "I will explain later."
Sam, understanding the situation, didn't ask any further questions.
They set the boat to sail, Rin breathing heavily.
Yuri spoke, "Tell us what happened."
Rin explained, "When we were hunting for food, we were kidnapped by a flesh-and-blood cult and witnessed some people being murdered as sacrifices for their god. We tried to escape, but we were surrounded by the oracle of the flesh-and-blood god and his followers. We attempted to fight them, but they outnumbered us, and the oracle could tame beasts, so he had five creepy Meguneers assisting him. As we fought, it suddenly started to rain, and every single follower of the flesh god died and transformed into a creepy monster that pursued us. To escape their grasp, we ran into an ancient temple. During our time there, Kito turned evil, and we ended up fighting a giant—remarkably, we actually killed it. When I saw the giant, I felt a wave of guilt wash over me. I continued, "In the process, we unintentionally released an ancient evil that had been sealed inside the temple. The entity spared us for freeing it and did something unsettling to Kito, causing him to fall unconscious. We managed to escape again, but we were spotted by the flesh monster. We found some food and eventually made our way back."