The ground stretched endlessly beneath a red sky.
Cracked. Dry. Endless.
Covered in red mist
There were weird creatures everywhere.
In the sky.
On the land.
Even under the ground.
Yuta stood still.
He had to accept it now.
He was in a different world.
His body felt… different.
Better than before.
Not perfect.
But better.
The shaking had mostly stopped.
His limbs responded when he moved them.
Not instantly.
Not cleanly.
But they listened.
…Because I ate.
The thought came clearer this time.
Didn't slip.
Didn't break.
He stayed there for a moment.
Then—
he moved.
A step forward.
Stable.
Another.
Less hesitation.
The body adjusted with each movement, learning—no—
he was learning.
The ground beneath him crunched with every step. Fine dust shifted, sliding into the cracks that split the land apart like old wounds.
The air burned.
Dry.
Heavy.
Each breath dragged through him, rough and uneven—but it worked.
He didn't stop.
Couldn't.
Something inside him had quieted after feeding.
But it wasn't gone.
It was waiting.
—
Something moved in the distance.
Fast.
Low to the ground.
Then gone.
Yuta froze.
His body tensed instantly, limbs locking.
No thought.
Only reaction.
Stillness.
The world didn't pause.
It never did.
Far off, something slammed into the ground with a heavy, crushing force.
A dull impact.
Then another.
Then silence.
…Danger.
The word came slowly.
But it stayed.
His vision shifted.
Low.
Wide.
Different.
He could see more of the ground than before. More movement. More detail.
Shapes moved far away—distorted by heat, by distance, by something else.
Creatures.
Not like him.
Some crawled.
Some dragged themselves forward.
Some didn't move at all.
But even the still ones didn't feel safe.
Nothing here felt safe.
—
A shape rolled past in the distance.
Heavy.
Crushing.
The ground cracked beneath it as it moved.
Yuta didn't move.
Didn't breathe.
It passed.
Gone.
Only then did his body loosen.
Slightly.
…Don't move.
The thought stayed.
Clear.
—
He turned.
Slowly.
Carefully.
There—
Something else.
A long shape dragging across the ground.
Its underside scraped forward in jerking motions.
Clawed.
Pulling itself.
Alive.
The pull inside him reacted instantly.
Weaker than before.
But there.
…Food.
His body leaned forward.
A step.
Then—
stopped.
The creature wasn't still.
It moved.
Alive.
That meant—
danger.
The pull twisted harder.
Demanding.
…Wait.
The thought came.
Forced.
He didn't move.
Didn't chase.
The feeling didn't like that.
It pressed harder.
Sharpened.
But he held.
Barely.
The creature dragged itself away.
Gone.
The pull eased.
Not satisfied.
But quieter.
—
He moved again.
Slower now.
More careful.
The ground changed as he went.
Less flat.
More broken.
The cracks widened.
Some deep enough that he couldn't see the bottom.
Heat rose from them.
Stronger.
Something else, too.
A smell.
Rot.
Thick.
Heavy.
His body reacted instantly.
Turned toward it.
The pull surged.
Stronger than before.
Closer.
—
He reached it.
A depression in the ground.
Not natural.
Worn.
Used.
Bodies lay scattered across it.
Some whole.
Most not.
Torn.
Crushed.
Split open.
Some still moved.
Barely.
Others didn't.
The air was thick with it.
Death.
Decay.
Warmth.
Yuta stopped at the edge.
His body stilled.
Not from fear.
From overload.
The pull inside him twisted violently.
Every direction.
Everywhere.
…All of it…
Food.
The thought came.
Clear.
Sharp.
Hungry.
His limbs moved.
Not careful anymore.
Not slow.
He stepped forward.
Then another.
Into it.
—
The moment he touched the nearest body—
it started.
The flesh sank inward.
Collapsed.
Pulled into him.
Faster than before.
Much faster.
The warmth flooded in.
Thicker.
Heavier.
The hollow feeling filled—
then stretched—
then filled again.
Not enough.
It felt like it would never be enough.
He moved again.
Another body.
Then another.
Each one breaking down beneath him, dissolving, disappearing as he absorbed it.
The world blurred.
Movement became automatic.
Consume.
Take.
Fill.
Repeat.
—
Time passed.
He didn't know how much.
Didn't care.
Only when there was nothing left near him—
did it slow.
The pull inside him eased.
Not gone.
Never gone.
But satisfied.
For now.
—
He stopped.
His body stilled.
Completely.
For the first time—
it didn't tremble.
Didn't twitch.
Didn't resist.
It listened.
Fully.
…I'm… better.
The thought came.
Clear.
Steady.
He looked down.
At himself.
At the body.
It felt different.
Stronger.
Not just stable.
More.
Something else was there now.
Something he hadn't noticed before.
Or—
something that hadn't been there before.
—
A faint pressure.
Inside.
Not hunger.
Not pain.
Something quieter.
Deeper.
It moved when he focused on it.
Shifted.
Responded.
…What is this…
He held still.
Focused.
The pressure gathered.
Slightly.
Then spread.
Through the body.
Through every limb.
Every joint.
The movement felt—
smoother.
Sharper.
More precise.
His leg lifted.
Clean.
No delay.
No hesitation.
It landed.
Perfectly.
…This…
He focused again.
The pressure moved faster this time.
Flowing.
Following his intent.
His limbs reacted instantly.
No lag.
No resistance.
Just movement.
—
He stopped.
The pressure faded.
Not gone.
Still there.
Waiting.
…I can use it.
The thought settled.
He was sure of it.
It just—
fit.
—
He looked at what remained around him.
Broken bodies.
Empty shells.
He moved toward one.
Touched it.
Nothing happened.
Empty.
Already taken.
—
He focused again.
That pressure.
That thing inside him.
He pushed it outward.
Into the body beneath him.
For a moment—
nothing.
Then—
the corpse twitched.
A leg jerked.
Then another.
Uncontrolled.
But moving.
Yuta froze.
…It moved…
He pushed again.
Harder.
The pressure flowed out of him.
Into it.
The corpse lifted.
Slightly.
Then collapsed.
Still.
The pressure snapped back into him.
Weaker.
Less than before.
He stood there.
Still.
…I can… move them.
The thought came slowly.
But it stayed.
—
He looked across the feeding ground.
At the bodies.
At what remained.
At what could still be used.
The pull inside him stirred again.
Not as strong as before.
But it was still there.
—
He moved forward.
Slow.
Controlled.
Watching.
Learning.
The world stretched out before him.
Endless.
Hostile.
Full of things to consume.
And now—
with the abilities he had..
he could do more than just survive in it.