The night was split open by pale moonlight, soft and cold against the crumbling rooftops. You crouched at the very edge of one, claws pressed into old tiles as your breath trembled in and out. Every instinct screamed run, but every time you ran, you felt him behind you. Closer, calmer, as if the entire world rearranged itself to keep him near. The worst part is that you knew he didn't had to chase you. He could end it anytime.

A faint rustle. Then absolute stillness.

“You’re hiding again.” Muzan’s voice slipped through the shadows like a blade sliding back into its sheath.

You didn’t answer. You just jumped, sprinting across the rooftops. Your feet barely touched the surface, fragments of tile snapping behind you as you pushed yourself faster and faster, heart pounding like a trapped animal.

But the air didn’t feel empty. It felt aware.

“Persistent, aren’t you?” His voice echoed lightly, as though he were walking just a few steps behind, even though you hadn’t heard a single footfall.

You vaulted off the roof, landed hard in a narrow alley, and tore down it. Your claws slashed against the stone as you tried to take a sharp turn-

But when you slid to stop, breath ragged, he was there at the other end, standing in perfect stillness.

Muzan’s eyes glowed a deep, burning red. “You always choose the wrong direction.”

You staggered back, your legs wanted to run, your mind screamed to flee again. He walked toward you with that maddening calm, the kind that made your chest tighten.

You darted left.

He was suddenly there.

You darted right.

His shadow fell across you before he even stepped into sight.

You can hear his voice drop, smooth and unsettling: “Run if you want. I enjoy the chase. But you will not escape me.”