No Return (Shadow Slave Fan-Fic)

It had been a while. Levi had fallen asleep for a few hours. It was already evening by the time he got up.

'Ah... I slept...'

His head felt hazy as he came to his senses. He hadn't lost much blood, so why did he feel like this? His stomach felt empty , and after coming to his senses the reality of the situation struck him with dread once again. He was nowhere near powerful enough to defeat an Awakened Tyrant when a Dormant Beast had inflicted him a wound that he wasn't able to use his arm properly.

He assumed that the empty feeling on his stomach was connected to hunger , so he reached out for his backpack. He pulled out the meat from it , he did not want to bother cooking it. He was most likely going to die anyways , at least he could die on a full stomach.

The forest was eerily calm, the evening wind carrying the soft rustle of leaves. It felt lonely , but he knew that this place was very dangerous and he was not alone. When he looked at the greenery , he could not believe that this place was going to be a burnt down place , he felt pity for it.

Luckily the meat looked like it had been cooked before , so it was just a bit cold and that's all. It was edible and surprisingly tasty. He savored every bite of the meat as if they were his last. He did not know what kind of meat this was either , but it was tasty. He was aware that he was currently acting like a pushover , but he couldn't help it. 

'I don't want to become an abomination...'

Truthfully, Levi feared that if he died, he would become a Nightmare Creature in the real world. He did not want to cause the death of other people , the small guy - Sunless or the other police officers.

Bitterness crept into his mind. Why... why was he thinking about other people? Why was he not thinking of himself? He was going to die dammit! Why was his mind drifting off to other people..? He hated himself for that , never in his life people had genuinely cared for him. Not even his parents. 

Unconsciously he clenched the meat in his hand , his nails digging into it. It was getting harder to keep his calm , so he tried to focus on the taste of the meat before anything else. 

***

After finishing the meat, the emptiness in his stomach finally faded. For now, his mind was free of anger and hatred. Surprisingly, the body he had taken over also had long hair , he ran a hand through it. But when he looked at his hand, he saw strands of hair covering his palm.

His hair was receding, it seemed. It had felt quite healthy at the start of the nightmare. Why was it falling off now? Levi assumed it was stress building up over the past few hours. But as he inspected the fallen strands in his hand, he noticed the tips were turning white.

It had only been around twelve hours since the nightmare began, and his hair was already turning white? It did not make any sense. No one could accumulate that much stress over just some hours , and his journey was not THAT stressful , of course it caused him some stress , but it was nothing compared to some situations that Awakened faced.

"Interesting.."

He murmured as he finally rose to his feet. Grabbing his backpack, he took a long drink of water, relieving the dryness in his mouth. He also noticed that his skin was a bit paler than it was from the start. His eyes narrowed. Something was happening to him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Deciding that he had rested too much , he threw the backpack over his shoulder and started walking along the edge of the river. He had unsheathed the Kodachi , keeping it in his hand tightly. It was nighttime and he did not want to be caught off guard like the first time , the forest felt lonely , but he knew that he was not alone. He walked silently , trying not to make any sounds as he traversed the forest. 

He would either die or become an Awakened. And Levi was almost certain—it would be the former.

***

Levi was... walking... walking... and walking..

Every step he took felt like he was carrying weights on his legs. His breath was shallow it was getting hard to breath. His stomach felt empty and he felt like something was swirling inside it. His mind felt hazy as he walked, nausea wrapping around him like a suffocating fog. He was not feeling well , and he didn't know what the problem was. The meat wasn't the problem. He had checked it beforehand—it wasn't spoiled or poisoned. He knew because he had learned how to spot rotten food—back in the real world, people sold expired goods all the time.

"Rip offs.."

He scowled at the thought of those bastards. He hated those people , selling old junk to kids and poor people.

'Wait..'

His mind was drifting to pointless thoughts once again , causing unnecessary anger. For the past few hours he had been trying to keep a clear mind , but it was getting harder by the moment. And his nausea was not helping. What was happening to him..?

'Oh!'

Then it hit him—what if he was infected? The bite. The cut on his forearm. He stopped walking and set his backpack on the ground. He sat himself on the grass and let out a pained sigh. He was feeling exhausted , but he hadn't even walked that much. It was an interesting situation that had left Levi bewildered. He didn't hesitate. Pulling the tunic from his forearm, his stomach twisted the moment he saw it.

***

He emptied his stomach into the river, then, hands braced against the ground, lifted his head to stare at his reflection. His eyes widened at the sight.

"What the hell..."

His left eye was bloodshot red. It was repulsive to look at. And almost half of his hair had turned white , stripping away all life from it. His skin looked dry and it was incredibly pale. Levi was shocked , repulsed , a sense of fear washed over him at the sight of his damaged body. But that wasn't the worst sight.. his forearm...

The bite mark on his forearm... the skin was corroded, rotting away. The wound had spread—his bone and the raw, exposed tissue beneath were visible. The sight made his stomach churn. What was worse.. the veins around the mark.. they had turned pitch black.. and they were pulsing as if they were alive. 

Terror clawed at his chest. The corruption was spreading. That was why he had been feeling exhausted , he was poisoned.. or corroded , he did not know what kind of words he could put into this kind of situation.

"shit.. shit.. shit.."

He repeated with a worried tone. Was this how he was going to die..? From a poison that was spread by a Dormant Beast? No.. He didn't want to die like this.. couldn't he at least die by that Awakened Tyrant..? 

"no no no no...."

His fist struck the ground below him. He was again letting anger get better of him. Levi had always thought that he was rather a calm person. But in this nightmare , he had realized how much hatred dwelled within his being. He was surprised at this too..

Again, his mind drifted—slipping between panic and detachment. What was this poison? Why were his thoughts so... slippery? Why couldn't he focus? He gritted his teeth as he pulled himself up to his knees. Other than anger... he was also feeling depressed and hopeless. He had gotten himself into a situation that he will most likely not be able to escape.. why was it so hard to keep his cool...?

Then—leaves rustled. A presence loomed behind the tree. Heavy. Sinister. Watching. Levi didn't turn. He didn't move. He only waited...

The Forest Dweller had found him.