The oil lamp burned, its orange-red flame flickering. Su Mu sat quietly at the table, gazing at the lamp and silently enduring the hunger for flesh rising within him.
He felt that hunger growing stronger little by little, steadily eating away at his will.
If this continued, a day would come when that hunger overwhelmed his will. Then he would become just like most of the demons in this world.
That was the fate of those who became demons.
Even someone as powerful as the progenitor of demons, Muzan Kibutsuji, could not escape it.
And so, no matter how strong a person's will was, once they became a demon, they would eventually succumb in despair, degenerating into a monster they could no longer recognize.
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Fortunately, his heart had not given in to despair. He still had hope, and he still had the will to resist.
The oil lamp's flame flickered, but its light no longer seemed as bright as before. Not because the flame had grown dimmer, but because the sun was about to rise. The surrounding darkness was lifting, making the lamplight less noticeable.
As it did every day, the sun would rise again in the east, spilling its light over every corner of the earth.
Su Mu blew out the oil lamp and looked toward the window. A faint glimmer of dawn was about to pierce the clouds and mist and fall upon the earth. Fear rose in his heart-the instinctive dread demons felt toward sunlight.
Lowering his eyes slightly, he stood, walked to the bed, and bent down to crawl beneath it.
As he crawled under the bed, an inexplicable surge of anger and humiliation welled up within him.
He possessed an immensely powerful body and a life that was all but immortal, yet when the sun rose, he could only hide in the shadows like a rat in a sewer, like some filthy bug.
Suppressing his humiliation, he crawled to the wooden board beneath the bed and reached to lift it so he could enter the underground hole.
But just as he was about to climb inside, he turned his head.
At some point, Kanao had climbed down from her bed and crawled beneath it. She was already beside him.
"Why did you come down here?"
Su Mu looked at the girl and spoke gently.
"Uncle, are you going into the hole?"
Kanao looked at the open cover and the excavated hole beneath it.
"Yes."
He nodded.
"Can I come with you, then?"
The girl raised her eyes to him, her lovely gaze full of anticipation.
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At her words, Su Mu did not know whether to laugh or cry. "It's damp and cold down there. It isn't good to stay inside."
Kanao tilted her head slightly as she looked at him, puzzled. If it was so unpleasant down there, why did he have to crawl inside?
It was so comfortable outside.
He could sleep on a soft bed just like Kanao and wait for the warm sunlight to fall upon him.
Seeing Kanao's confusion, Su Mu did not know how to explain. Was he supposed to tell her he was a demon, and that once the sun rose, he could only hide in the dark?
"When the sun comes out, I have to hide here."
He reached out and gently brushed her little nose. "Go back up and rest in bed. When you're hungry, go ask the innkeeper for something to eat..."
With that, Su Mu climbed into the hole and prepared to put the wooden cover back in place.
"Uncle..."
Kanao watched him with wide eyes.
Su Mu turned back and looked at her questioningly.
"Kanao still wants to stay with you."
The girl's voice was soft.
"Didn't I tell you? It's damp down here. Staying inside isn't good for you."
He explained once more.
Demons loved darkness and felt as at home in it as fish in water, but humans were different. Humans preferred the light, after all. Besides, Kanao was not in good health. Staying in a damp, dark hole could easily make her ill.
"But you're in there too, Uncle."
Kanao spoke softly, her spirits sinking. "It isn't good for you to stay in there either. Maybe you'd feel better if Kanao kept you company."
Su Mu looked at her, his gaze softening at her words. "I can't go out into the sunlight."
But sensing her disappointment, he could not bear to see the girl who cared about him unhappy. He smiled instead. "I can't go out into the sunlight, but you can! You can go outside and bask in the warm sunlight for me."
"Help me."
Kanao's eyes brightened slightly. "All Kanao has to do is bask in the sunlight?"
"You also have to feel its warmth. Feel how warm the sunlight is on your skin. If you can feel it, then I'll be able to feel it too."
"Really?"
The girl looked a little happier.
"Yes. Go on."
Smiling, Su Mu watched Kanao Tsuyuri walk over to the window.
The warm light of dawn was now streaming through the window. The girl reached out and gently cupped it in her hands.
"Uncle, the sunlight feels a little warm on my skin..."
Kanao closed her eyes and concentrated on the sunlight falling upon her, trying hard to feel it so that her uncle could feel it just as she did.
As she felt its warmth, she described it to him.
When she finished, Kanao seemed a little excited. "Can you feel it, Uncle?"
"Yes, I can. It feels very warm."
His gentle voice reached her.
"That's... wonderful."
Kanao was delighted and could not help looking toward him. The wooden cover was already closed, and he was no longer visible. But she knew that in the darkness beneath that board, her uncle must be feeling the warmth of the sunlight through her.
If he could feel the warmth of sunlight on his skin through her, it would surely drive away much of the cold and damp and make him far more comfortable.
"Uncle, I'll make sure to feel it properly for you."
Kanao clenched her little fists. "Being able to help you is just... wonderful."
In the dark underground hole, Su Mu listened to the girl's innocent words and could not help smiling.
She was still a child, after all, easily fooled by a simple lie. How could he possibly feel sunlight on his skin through Kanao?
There was no way he could feel its warmth.
Through could not on body, but not.
Kanao felt the warmth of sunlight falling upon her, but it was the little girl's kindness that warmed his heart.
He lifted the wooden cover just enough to open a tiny crack and looked at Kanao as she basked in the sunlight.
Kanao immediately noticed the tiny opening beneath the cover and could just make out her uncle seeming to watch her.
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The girl gave him an innocent, sweet smile and held out the sunlight cupped in her hands toward him, as though she wanted to scoop up a warm beam of sunlight and give it to him.
He pressed his lips together in a silent smile, then closed the last narrow gap beneath the wooden cover. The instinctive fear and unease that the sunrise stirred in him as a demon seemed, at that moment, to slowly subside.