Your choice becomes painfully easy when you hear him murder someone the very next night. The woods go completely quiet just moments before a bloodcurdling scream erupts worryingly close to you. The sound makes you jolt in a sharp flinch, heart racing in fear.
What the hell was that?
You listen intently for more, debating on going to the person's aid. A bad feeling in your stomach insists against it, however.
"Shut up," someone hisses. "I don't want to hear your filthy shrieks."
Your heart plummets into your stomach. That voice is too familiar for you to be unable to identify its owner. Your top teeth mash harshly onto your bottom lip once you make the connection.
Muzan.
His name flashes in your head, as if the universe isn't allowing you denial.
The unease in your gut morphs into a feeling of sickness. A string of incoherent whimpers and pleas for mercy fall out of the victim's mouth, only to be silenced by a second command.
"I said shut up, didn't I?" he snarls. You shudder at the uncharacteristically serrated edges of his usually soft tone, the same one that asks you about your day with loving care. The drumming beat your heart makes increases rapidly.
A sickening gurgling sound reaches your ears next. You clamp your hand over your mouth in disgust and squeeze your eyes shut, unable to prevent the stream of images of a bloodied Muzan standing over a mutilated corpse conjured by your mind. The noise of flesh ripping comes afterwards, no doubt chewed up and devoured with gusto. The thought only fuels your overactive imagination, creating even more sickening imagery. A picture of his eyes, glistening like puddles of blood, ruthlessly burns into your memory.
The taste of sour vomit rises in your throat. Your clammy hands fidget and twist in an attempt to calm down, because who knows what Muzan would do if he found you? You take a few ragged, deep breaths, before forcing your weak knees to get you the hell away from those terrifying sounds.
Your legs shake and tremble violently as you try to run, terror shooting electric bolts through your chest as your breath comes in and out inconsistently, requiring great effort each time. Branches whip past you, lashing against your face and limbs, threatening to jab an eye out or open a nasty gash. The darkness of the woods nearly blinds you, only adding fuel to your fear. Clenching your teeth, you only sprint faster.
You run as hard as you can, but you can never outrun the haunting aftertaste of what you heard.
~
When you finally bolt into your house, your body gives up instantly. You collapse to the ground like a dropped sack of rice, each scorching body part feeling like a pile of heavy rocks. For a while, only the sound of your struggle for air fills the room.
A wretched sob breaks your mantra of gasps. You press your forehead against the floor, hair tangling as it pools around your head. The ground is cold and unforgiving, refusing to give way and provide comfort.
"I thought...I thought..." you choke out to yourself. "I thought that maybe..." Your voice trails off slowly as you struggle for words.
You thought what, exactly? That a demon could be human, too?
Ah, the price of being a fool. A pang cuts through your chest. The throbbing ache pulses and blossoms into your head as bitterly warm tears drip from your eyes and onto the floor, intensifying like the start of a rainstorm. Everything feels numb, including your body that refuses to move as you cry your heart out on the ground.
Your hands reach up, grasping at the air and scrabbling on the floor in a drunken stupor of despair, attempting to hold onto something stable for just once in your life.
They take hold of nothing.