The Hakudo Maru groaned as it cut through the choppy waves, its massive hull creaking under the relentless assault of wind and water. For days now, Yami and the four other travelers had battled both calm seas and furious storms. In moments of serene weather, the ship sailed as if gliding on a polished mirror of water, the gentle hum of the wind and the rhythmic creaking of the wood forming a lullaby that barely masked the ever-present dread of the night.
Every day before sunset, however, they followed a ritua, the ship's anchor was lowered with deliberate precision, and the vessel would come to a dead stop on the open sea. This pause was not by choice but out of fear of the night crawlers that roamed the waters after dusk, their sinister forms capable of rending the hull asunder.
"I can't believe we're really going to World Paradise," Yami murmured one afternoon, his voice a blend of awe and disbelief. His eyes, dark and distant, gazed over the calm sea as if trying to memorize every ripple and wave. The words escaped him softly, barely audible over the creaking timbers and whispering wind, yet filled with the desperate hope that had sustained him through five years of torment and imprisonment.
Sakura, who had been adjusting the mainsail at the bow, turned to him with a questioning frown. "Are you sure this is the right way, Yami?" Her tone was cautious, laced with uncertainty. Every wrinkle on her face seemed etched by worry, she had grown up alongside him and had seen firsthand the cruelty that fate had dealt their small group. Her voice, though gentle, trembled with the weight of their shared history.
"C'mon, you shouldn't doubt the ship's sailor," Renjiro interjected, clapping a firm hand on Yami's shoulder. His voice carried a confident, almost mocking tone, as if daring the very sea to challenge Yami's command. "If there's anyone with the most knowledge of the sea, it's Yami." The young man's eyes sparkled with determination as he added, "Besides, we've seen nothing that can stop us now." His words, intended to bolster their spirits, resonated against the persistent pounding of the waves.
Shin, quiet until now, nodded slowly and added, "I trust Yami. We've come too far to let doubts sink us now." Their voices merged with the sounds of the sea, a symphony of splashing water, creaking ropes, and distant calls of seabirds that dared to challenge the silence of the open ocean.
Back on the island they'd fled, the scene was a stark contrast to the hopeful clamor aboard the ship. In the dim, suffocating cell where Nobizo was imprisoned, darkness and despair reigned. Chained heavily to the cold, damp stone walls, the old man's once lively eyes were now hollow, yet they burned with a fierce inner light. His battered frame shuddered as he endured the relentless interrogations from the guards.
"Why did you help Yami escape?" one guard barked, his fist connecting with Nobizo's weathered cheek. The slap echoed in the cramped cell, mingling with the muffled sounds of other prisoners' agony.
"I've always said the boy shouldn't be punished for something he didn't do," Nobizo replied between labored breaths, his voice calm despite the abuse. "I helped him because it was the right thing to do." His words were laced with both defiance and resignation. Even as the guards hurled more questions and inflicted further torture, Nobizo met each query with a weary honesty, accepting every blow as a necessary sacrifice for the chance at freedom for the boy he had once protected.
Meanwhile, the Hakudo Maru continued its clandestine voyage. Days turned into nights and nights back into days as the five travelers battled the fickle temperament of the sea. Each evening, as the sun began its descent, they would drop anchor. The ship, suspended on the water like a drifting specter, would become eerily silent. It was a haunting scene, an entire vessel rendered motionless in a vast, dark expanse where the threat of night crawlers loomed large. Their presence, a constant, unspoken terror, forced the travelers to huddle together in tense vigil until the first light of dawn would banish the creatures back to the depths.
Then, one early morning after several days at sea, the lookout cried out. An island appeared on the horizon, its silhouette blurred by a thin veil of mist. As they drew nearer, the travelers could see smoke rising from the island, a sure sign that it was inhabited. Hope stirred anew in their hearts as the ship's course was set for this newfound haven.
Upon landing, the group disembarked onto a narrow strip of shore that led into a dense forest. The island exuded life, the scent of damp earth, fresh foliage, and a distant bonfire mingled in the cool morning air. As they ventured deeper, the forest floor yielded a symphony of sounds, each step on the leaf littered ground was punctuated by the brittle snap of dry twigs and the rustle of unseen creatures moving among the undergrowth.
Yet, the forest's natural melody was abruptly shattered by an ominous sound, a deep, rumbling groan that seemed to come from beneath their feet. Suddenly, the earth trembled as if something massive was clawing its way up from the subterranean depths. In the blink of an eye, from the very spot where the five travelers had been treading, a monstrous form erupted from the ground.
It was a crawler, a day crawler, to be precise, a creature they had never expected to encounter in daylight. Its hideous form was a nightmarish distortion of nature: its mottled skin stretched tight over grotesque bulging muscles, and its massive, circular maw was lined with uneven, razor-sharp fangs. With a sound that defied description, a cacophony of grinding stone and the shriek of tearing flesh.
it lunged forward. In one horrifying instant, its cavernous mouth engulfed Renjiro from feet to head.
Renjiro's scream was abruptly silenced as blood splattered in a crimson arc over the forest floor. The sound of bones shattering and sinews snapping reverberated in the still morning air, leaving an echo of pure, unadulterated horror. The remaining four Yami, Sakura, Shin, and Hinata stared in frozen terror, their faces etched with disbelief and fear. Their eyes, wide and unseeing, reflected the gruesome spectacle before them. Every muscle in their bodies tensed as the reality of their predicament settled in with crushing finality.
"Let's run before it finishes eating Renjiro!" Yami shouted, his voice cracking with urgency as he grabbed Hinata's hand. Without waiting for a response, he dashed forward, pulling the others along. "Where are we going?" Shin managed to cry out as they fled through the underbrush, " I don't know, but we should follow the smoke, perhaps people are there to help" yami answered.
The monstrous day crawler, sensing the sudden escape of its freshly claimed meal, did not hesitate. With an ungodly slithering movement that made the ground ripple and crack, it began its relentless pursuit, it was as of intelligent, if this was the crawler that killed Oda, it would have killed yami and his mother too, because rather than devouring one and allowing the rest to escape, it would kill the first and pursue the others killing them too. there's no escape, it was a greedy and intelligent type. The sound of its emergence from the earth, an unholy blend of groaning soil and tearing roots chased them relentlessly.
Sakura, overcome by revulsion and terror at the sight of Renjiro's dismemberment, suddenly doubled over. Her body convulsed as she bent forward, head bowed low, as if trying to hide from the gruesome spectacle. Unable to contain the revulsion coursing through her, she began to vomit violently onto the forest floor. In that sickening moment, as she writhed in despair, the day crawler emerged fully. With a swift, brutal swipe of its gigantic, clawed hand, its fangs glistening in the pale light. it struck Sakura. In a single, horrifying motion, her form was shattered, her body was splattered into a grotesque mosaic of torn flesh and bone. The sound was a wet, abhorrent squelch, as if nature itself had been desecrated.
The remaining survivors Yami, Shin, and Hinata stopped in their tracks. Their faces contorted into expressions of unyielding terror and disbelief. Yami's eyes, burning with a mix of fury and despair, darted around for any possible escape. His parents' words once a beacon of hope now only deepened his anguish.
Shin, visibly shaken by the carnage unfolding before him, halted abruptly. "If anything, I should be able to buy time for you guys to escape," he said in a calm voice that belied the chaos around him. His words were met with a mix of incredulity and despair. "What are you talking about? That's suicide," Yami shouted, his voice raw with anger and desperation. "There's nothing you can do to buy time, you'd only get yourself killed and then it'll still come after us!"
Before Yami could finish his protest, the ground behind Shin erupted once more. The day crawler reappeared from the earth with predatory speed. It lunged forward, its massive maw opening impossibly wide. In one swift, brutal motion, it clamped down on Shin's head. The sickening crunch of bone and the gush of blood were audible even over the frantic pounding of Yami's heart. Shin's head was severed from his body in a horrifying display of cruelty, his lifeless form left in shock as crimson cascaded down his neck.
"Is this how we all die?" Yami whispered to himself, his voice barely audible above the pounding of his racing heart. The grim realization that he might never reach World Paradise the elusive sanctuary of hope sent a fresh wave of despair crashing over him. Tears streamed silently down his face as he clutched Hinata's hand tightly, desperate to hold onto any semblance of life amid the encroaching nightmare.
But fate was not yet finished with its torment. As they ran, the day crawler continued its pursuit, emerging from underground with unnerving agility. Its gnarled, massive hand burst forth from the earth, snatching Hinata's leg in a vice-like grip. With a sickening, bone crushing squeeze, her leg shattered. Blood sprayed in a dark, viscous arc, staining the forest floor with the remnants of her hope. Hinata's agonized scream pierced the air as she staggered, her foot crippled beyond recovery. Yami, holding her hand as if anchoring his own will to hers, felt the crushing weight of impending loss.
In a final, ghastly moment of horror, as Yami dared to glance back, he realized with a sickening certainty that Hinata was no longer there. The hand he clutched was the only remnant of her; she had been left far behind, her injured body soon claimed by the relentless creature. The day crawler, its hunger unquenched, dragged her into the open. With one final, merciless swipe of its massive, serrated claw, it ended Hinata's life in a burst of red and shredded flesh, a grotesque farewell that left Yami's soul bleeding.
Driven by a raw, primal instinct to survive, Yami ran. The echo of his parents' long-ago words "Survive, Yami" reverberated in his mind with every pounding step, each one a desperate plea for escape from this living nightmare. His legs, though trembling with exhaustion, carried him forward as he dared to hope for a future beyond the blood and terror.
In his frantic flight, Yami dared to steal glances behind him. Each time, his eyes searched for the distance between him and the monstrous day crawler. The creature's relentless pursuit seemed almost supernatural as its presence closed in with every passing moment. Distracted by fear and the overwhelming shock of loss, Yami failed to notice a gnarled tree trunk looming directly in his path. With a sudden, brutal collision, he slammed into the tree. The impact was jarring; his head struck hard, and his vision blurred into darkness as he crumpled to the forest floor, consciousness slipping away.
In that moment of darkness and despair, Yami's last thought haunted by the ceaseless screams, the blood-soaked ground, and the memory of every loved one lost echoed softly; "Without going to World Paradise..."