Lucius woke to the sound of wind. Except... it wasn't really wind. It was too soft, too even like the world itself was exhaling.
When his eyes opened, all he saw was gray. Mist stretched in every direction, swallowing the horizon. The ground beneath him was damp grass, cool and uneven.
He sat up slowly, his head pounding. "Where... am I?"
His voice sounded strange muted, like the fog absorbed it before it could echo back. He pressed his fingers to his temple, trying to remember.
I was... somewhere. I was talking to someone. Then... light? No, sound. A flash, a pull then nothing.
He looked around again, heart starting to race. "Did I fall asleep at the park or something?"
No answer.
He stood, brushing the dirt from his jeans. The air was clean almost too clean. There were no insects, no birds, no distant hum of life. Just grass, stone, and endless mist.
Lucius took a step forward. The ground dipped slightly, revealing faint patterns beneath the grass cracked stones arranged in perfect circles.
"Someone made this," he muttered. "This isn't natural."
He followed the stone path for what felt like minutes, maybe hours. The mist distorted his sense of time. Each breath sounded too loud, each step echoing against the silence.
Then, faintly, he heard something.
A whisper.
It wasn't close, but it wasn't far either. The words were too soft to understand, but they tugged at something deep inside him something familiar.
He stopped walking, scanning the fog.
"Hello?!"
No response.
He clenched his fists. "If this is some kind of joke, it's not funny!"
Still nothing. Only the quiet hum of the mist moving.
Then, without warning, the fog shifted thickening to his right. A silhouette appeared, faint but human shaped.
Lucius froze.
"Hey!" he called. "Wait!"
The figure turned. For a moment, he saw dark hair, a glimpse of movement then it vanished, melting back into the mist.
Lucius ran after it. "Stop!"
But the more he ran, the thicker the fog became. The world twisted, the air colder with every breath. His lungs burned.
When he stumbled to a stop, he realized the ground beneath him had changed. The grass was gone replaced by uneven stone and faintly glowing veins of silver running between the cracks.
He turned in a slow circle, trying to get his bearings. "Okay, great. I'm lost in a foggy death maze. Nice going, Lucius."
A low hum vibrated through the stones. He crouched, pressing a hand to the ground. It was warm now, pulsing like a heartbeat.
And then footsteps.
Lucius shot to his feet. The sound was soft, measured, deliberate.
A shape appeared through the mist again, clearer this time a girl with long dark hair and piercing green eyes.
She stopped a few feet away, equally surprised.
They stared at each other for a moment before she spoke. "You're... human."
Lucius blinked. "Yeah. I was hoping that wasn't a rare thing here."
Her expression didn't change. "You're from Earth, aren't you?"
That made him freeze. "Wait you too?"
She nodded slowly. "Cindy."
"Lucius."
They stood in awkward silence, the fog curling lazily between them.
"Any idea where we are?" he asked.
Cindy glanced around. "No. But I've been walking for hours, and the mist just keeps... moving. Like it's alive."
"Alive?"
She pointed at the ground. The glowing silver veins pulsed faintly again, brighter where her shadow touched them.
Lucius frowned. "That's not possible."
"Neither is waking up in a world made of fog," she said flatly.
"Fair point."
Lucius exhaled, glancing around the clearing again. "We should stick together. Whatever this place is, it doesn't want us wandering alone."
Cindy gave him a long, unreadable look then nodded once. "Fine. But if something comes out of that mist, you're going first."
He smiled faintly. "Deal."
They started walking.
The mist shifted with them, curling back just enough to clear a path ahead. It almost felt like it was watching.
Lucius glanced at Cindy. She didn't seem scared. If anything, she looked like someone used to danger. That thought made him uneasy.
He shoved his hands into his pockets, pretending to focus on the road. But the truth was, his heart hadn't stopped racing since he woke up.
'This place isn't random. It's built. Controlled. Someone or something brought us here.'
And as they disappeared deeper into the fog, a faint whisper drifted through the air once more.
...
Lucius wasn't sure how long they had been walking but it felt like an eternity. The mist felt... Wrong in a way that he couldn't describe.
He looked over to the girl at his side. She had long dark hair cascading down to her lower back and she was about 15-20 cm shorter than his height of just under 180 cm.
All she was wearing was a hoddie and trackpants with some slippers. the way she was dressed didn't seem like it belonged in this fantastical place in which they awoke but then again nether was he with his jeans and black tee shirt.
The corridor they were walking in was lit like a medieval castle hallway with a faint orange glow that looked like it came from a torch.
'This place is really strange, First that creepy voice that sounds like it came straight out a Horror movie, then waking up in this weird forest which lead me to this dingy corridor that seems like it goes on forever.'
'There is definitely something going on here that I'm not seeing, But what could it be?'
'I can't forget this Cindy character appearing out of nowhere. the way she seems so calm and able to take everything with stride as though its just a normal day means she either is keeping up a face Infront of me, has no care towards her own life, has some knowledge about this situation beforehand or is just one of those people who like to do dangerous things just for the thrill.
Fed up with trying to come up with reasons as to why Cindy looks so at home in this strange environment Lucius decided to just ask... what's the harm in that right?
Lucius turned to the dark haired girl next to him. Cindy was looking straight ahead unbothered by their situation
"You act like you've been here before. Why?" Lucius stated frankly.
Cindy opened her mouth as if to speak then she stopped as a growling noise came from one of the unseen paths of the corridor
both Lucius and Cindy imminently tensed up as a tall gray wolf stepped forward. The wolf had an uncanny intelligence to it that put them on edge but before they could act in any way the wolf spoke.
"Welcome trail takers. You're soul has been judged worthy of the Path of Sin. Welcome to the Trail of Pride!"
As his vision went black once more Lucius saw a faint glimmer of excitement in Cindy's eyes before he hit the ground once again unconscious in this mysterious world.