It's been six years since I was diagnosed with this terminal illness, and my body still hasn't recovered. I'm confined to my bed-I can't stand, can't move, can't do anything. Useless. Worthless. I'm expected to die by next year.
I've heard rumors... The Kibutsuji family has a heir-and it's not me. After giving me a name, my mother never returned. Not even once. I was left forgotten.
Word spreads that the newly named heir also has the same terminal illness as mine. That means my younger brother likely suffers from the same affliction. But despite our shared condition, my father still chose him as the heir. I've even heard his name-Kibutsuji Fujin.
In the original story, Muzan was supposed to die from a rare illness before reaching the age of twenty. But in my case, the doctors said I wouldn't live past seven. Maybe it's a side effect of reincarnating into this body-my punishment for interfering in fate.
Fujin and I shared the same physician-an incredibly kind and loyal man, known only as the Generous Doctor. Loyal to a fault, he served my father without question and is determined to cure our illness.
He visits often, advising me on what I should and shouldn't do. He's gentle, too good for someone like Muzan. It always made me wonder... why did Muzan kill him in the original story?
Every visit, he brings me a new medicine. It works like a painkiller, dulling the pain just enough to endure another day. But still, deep down, I can't shake the feeling-I'm nothing more than a lab rat.
The doctor once told me that, unlike me, my younger brother's body is slightly healthier. He might live until twenty. Me? I'll be lucky to see the next year.
It's ironic. Fujin's fate mirrors that of the original Muzan-dying at twenty. But me? The reincarnated soul? I'm stuck in a version of Muzan doomed to die at seven.
---
Four Years Later.
I'm ten now.
The Generous Doctor has shifted his focus to plant-based treatments. I'm still alive, thanks to a mysterious medicine he gave me four years ago.
Before leaving, he told me he finally discovered a plant that might serve as the foundation of our cure. He needed time that may take years just to find it again. But I already knew what he meant.
The Blue Spider Lily.
---
Ten Years Later.
I'm twenty now. My body feels like it's falling apart. The pain has returned, worse than ever. But tonight, the Generous Doctor returned-this time holding a strange bluish pill.
He said it was created from the Blue Spider Lily.
I wasn't surprised. I'd been waiting for this moment.
I asked everyone to leave the room, even him. Once I was alone, I held the pill in my hand, hesitated, then swallowed it. It had a sweet taste, followed by a bitter aftertaste.
I know that this will turn me into a demon, but I don't want to experience that hell again.
The medicine didn't effect immediately, but then after some time passed... it began.
It felt like my cells were exploding. My blood boiled. My heart raced, thundering like a drum. I screamed once again an inaudible scream of agony. My body was burning, as if I was back in the abyss again. Fangs pushed through my gums. My eyes burned red, veins bulging across my skin.
And then... a voice echoed inside me:
"Kill and eat humans."
I was no longer human.
I was now... a demon.
The scent of humans drifted through the air. I knew who they were-the Generous Doctor and the servants waiting outside. Hunger clawed at my mind, but instead of devouring them, I did the unthinkable...
I bit into my own hand.
It was disgusting. Foul. Traumatizing. My first taste of blood and flesh-and I hated it. If my own flesh tasted this horrible, would human flesh be any different? I thought this to myself so that I would never eat any humans.
With that thought, I stopped myself.
I absorbed the blood that spilled on the floor and focused-trying something I'd only seen in fiction. I regenerated. Awkwardly, in almost an instant... I was able heal myself.
It was the first time.
My senses were sharper, my body became stronger. I felt weightless. Without realizing it, I jumped out the window, landing silently near the estate's pond.
Looking into the water, I saw myself-my once pale, frail face now looked healthy. My eyes glowed a deep plum red. I had changed.
I returned quietly to my room, unnoticed. I dressed myself, ready to leave. But before I disappeared, I left a letter and all the money I had on the table.
In a low voice, I called out,
"Generous Doctor, please come in."
I knew he would be shocked. I had never spoken before. Not once since I was born.
As he opened the door, I vanished into the night.
Generous Doctor's POV:
"Generous Doctor, please come in."
I froze. That was the first time I had ever heard Muzan-sama speak. Even the caretakers had never heard his voice.
I opened the door slowly. The room was empty.
But on the table, I found a letter-and instinctively, I knew it was for me.
"Thank you.
Please take all the money on the table.
I've heard your dream to have a medicine store.
With this money, build your own medicine store.
And lastly, please tell my father and brother…
I will never return.
Farewell."
I stood there in stunned silence.
He's alive... The medicine worked. I can't believe it. It was still in the experimental stage, but somehow, it saved him. Thank you, Muzan-sama. With this money, I'll build a store-one that sells affordable medicine for the poor. And maybe... maybe I can even create another cure, for the second young master.
A few hours later, I left the Kibutsuji household.
---
Somewhere Deep in a Forest.
The scent of blood filled the air.
A man stood hunched over a dead wild pig, devouring it raw.
"So... I can't get rid of this craving for blood and flesh so easily," he muttered, licking the blood from his fingers.
"I need to travel. If I can find more Blue Spider Lily, maybe I can create a medicine that will help me conquer the sun."
(IMAGE)
With a whisper of wind, the man vanished into the night.