Into The Sunlight - A KNY Renkaza Fanfic

Chapter 25: The Distant Rumbling of Thunder

After season 3 of Demon Slayer.. Man, I realized how wrong I am about the upper moon system... fuck. I guess I'll die  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Yeah so I've been speedrunning One Piece for the past month and a half (speedrunning, and yet still intaking information).

I went from finishing Skypiea (episode 175, on the 19th of June) and now I'm in the Dressrosa arc (episode 645, as yesterday).. So basically I've gone through 470 episodes in a span of 49 days.

But, considering I skipped a lot of filler, I've most likely watched at least 430 episodes (Law and Sabo give me the strength to continue on). Either way, I'm insane.

Anyways, It's showtime.

—

The sound of cicadas chirping woke me up. My eyes flickered. I looked up at the ceiling of the shed. For some reason, I couldn't tell if the sun was out or not.

"Surely it's not night already.." I yawned.

Unless my internal clock is busted, it shouldn't be night already. I moved a rusty shovel away from a corner of the shed, as there was a small hole in the wall behind it. I peeked my eyes through. It seemed to be night but..

"No.. that can't be right..." I whispered to myself.

I stood up and opened the door. The light of the moon was absent, but even stranger, I couldn't see a single star in the sky. It was pitch black.

"What.. Where am I..?" I questioned.

I walked out from the shed and into the forest. Despite my demonic night vision, I could barely see 20 feet in front of me. I walked through the darkness of the trees. Was I really in the same forest as earlier? The cicadas were still chirping every so often, but I couldn't spot any of them. I continued onwards. I walked for what felt like hours, until I finally saw a dim glow in the distance.

I squinted my eyes. "Huh..?"

I walked towards the dim glow and soon found myself a few trees away from the shore of a small pond. This pond was the source of the glow. Its crystal waters shone a gentle neon blue, and the area surrounding the pond felt.. surreal. The whole place had a strange enchanting aura.

I stood beside a tree, not knowing whether to leave or walk to the shore, but before I could make up my mind, I heard a voice. I looked around.

"..Who's there?" I asked.

I waited quietly for the voice to say something again. After a moment of silence, it spoke once more.

"Hakuji.." It said softly.

I closed my eyes. Hakuji.. I've heard that somewhere before.. Right, now I remember. That was the name I gave to Shoyo and Ayano, though I'm not sure why I chose that name.. I just said it.

"Hakuji." The voice repeated.

I opened my eyes. But this voice, how does it know that name? Besides me, only Shoyo and Ayano should know that name.. but, it can't be them. This voice.. its pitch is feminine, but different from theirs.. and yet, it feels familiar, as if I've heard it before.. but where?

"..Who are you? How do you know that name?" I asked.

There was a small silence but, during that silence, I realized the cicadas had stopped chirping.

"Come closer." The voice said.

I looked at the pond. My head was telling me to leave this place and yet, I found myself walking towards the shore.

"Closer." It spoke.

My feet reached inches away from the edge of the water. I knelt down and looked around.