Darkness stretched endlessly. Not a quiet, peaceful darkness, but one that pressed down on Light's senses as if the void itself was trying to crush him. His body felt heavy, immovable, and his mind couldn't distinguish up from down. All he could feel beneath him was… something cold, wet, and sticky.
He lifted a hand—or tried to—but it sank into a deep, liquid red that clung to his skin. Blood. Blood everywhere. It wasn't just on the ground; it stretched as far as his eyes could see, pooling endlessly into a nightmarish void with no walls, no horizon, no end.
Panic erupted in his chest. He tried to run, but every step felt slower than the last. Then the shapes started to emerge from the red—bodies. Human bodies. Some twisted, some broken, some familiar. And the familiarity stabbed him harder than the blood beneath his feet.
Iris…
He froze. His heart skipped. There, a body lying face down. Hesitantly, fear gripping him, he stepped closer—and horror froze his blood. It was Iris. Half her head was gone, one eye missing, and her expression frozen in a mask of pain. Light staggered back, tripping over another body, then another.
His vision blurred with tears and sweat. Voices—some echoing, some whispering, some screaming—flooded his mind. They weren't coming from anyone around him. They were inside his head. And then the bodies began to move. Slowly at first, then faster. Their eyes glowed faintly red, their limbs shaking as if trying to regain strength.
Light stumbled backward, screaming, "Ahhhhhh!" He slammed his hands over his ears, shutting out the sound, but the voices only grew louder, merging with the thundering panic in his chest. His knees buckled. Darkness swallowed him completely.
And then—he woke.
Gasping. Sweat slicked across his skin. His chest heaved as he drew ragged breaths, every muscle aching. He opened his eyes and froze at the sight around him. Sunlight filtered through the gaps between enormous trees, painting the forest floor in dappled gold. The air smelled faintly sweet, alive, untouched by smoke, blood, or decay.
Where am I?
The forest was vast, unlike anything on Earth. Trees towered like living skyscrapers, their trunks wider than small houses, leaves larger than a human body. Some were green, but others shimmered in shades of violet, gold, and deep crimson. Light's heart beat faster, confusion churning with relief. His body, too, felt… different. There were no scratches, no scars, no bruises. He flexed his fingers, tested his arms and legs. He was unharmed.
That fight… the monster… Marcus… Iris… was it all a dream?
Every memory from the previous nightmare lingered with sharp clarity, yet the contradiction of his healed body and the serene forest gnawed at him. Could the blood-soaked hellscape, Iris's mangled body, and Marcus's monstrous form have been real? He forced himself to breathe, to calm the racing thoughts. It was a dream. It had to be.
Accepting it, or at least pretending to, Light slowly stood and started walking. The forest seemed alive. Leaves rustled in patterns that almost resembled language, sunlight glinting on dewdrops that reflected colors he had no names for. Strange vines hung from tree branches like glowing tendrils, some pulsating softly, others whispering faint hums when touched. Small creatures with shimmering skin scurried across the forest floor—some with wings, some with long tails that flickered like ribbons in the wind.
A soft glow drew his attention ahead. There, in a clearing, stood the largest tree he had ever seen. Its trunk was wide enough to hide a dozen people, and its leaves shimmered with an ethereal, golden light. Behind it, a lake stretched like a sheet of polished glass, reflecting the unusual sky. The water smelled clean, sweet, and invigorating. Light knelt and drank deeply, letting the cool liquid soothe the panic still thrumming through his body.
Looking up, he noticed the sky. Not Earth's blue, but a swirling violet and white canvas. A massive planet hovered low in the sky, rings faintly visible, while a star-like sun shone brighter than he had ever seen, golden and sharp. His mind raced. This place… it's not Earth. But it's not the hell I was trapped in either.
The serenity didn't last long. A shiver ran down his spine, prickling the hairs on his arms. He sensed eyes on him. Something intelligent, aware. He didn't look back, moving carefully, hands searching for a stick lying nearby. His instincts screamed caution.
Before he could react further, a strong grip grabbed him from behind, pinning him to the ground. His arms and legs were restrained, tied by cords of strange fiber that glowed faintly in the shadows. Three figures loomed over him, humanoid yet distinctly otherworldly.
They resembled monkeys—yet human. Fur covered parts of their faces, their ears were pointed, their eyes intelligent and calculating. Muscles flexed beneath sleek torsos. They were Wukong-like beings, standing upright, aware, and clearly not of the forest's small fauna.
Light struggled, but they were too strong. Panic clawed at him again, but this time, it was tempered with awe. They weren't mindless monsters—they were intelligent, structured, perhaps even capable of speech. But their eyes glowed with a predatory curiosity.
The largest among them, who must have been the leader, crouched close, holding him still. Its sharp eyes scanned him as if assessing a puzzle, a prize, or a threat.
In the back of his mind, memories of the nightmare resurfaced. Marcus as a monster, Iris lying dead, the endless blood… all of it could have been a dream. Or perhaps fragments of reality bending in ways he couldn't yet understand. He swallowed hard, forcing himself to focus.
Dream or not… I survive. I have to.
As he caught his breath, he noticed subtle details of his surroundings he had missed before. The moss beneath him glowed faintly in phosphorescent blues and greens. Strange flowers with petals that hummed when touched bloomed nearby. Tiny flying creatures, almost like glowing insects, darted through the air in patterns that seemed deliberate. It was a forest alive not only with flora and fauna, but with intelligence, purpose, and mystery.
The Wukong beings didn't speak, but their grip suggested communication of its own. Light tried to twist free, but it was no use. A shiver ran down his spine. For the first time since waking, fear mingled with exhilaration. He was alive, unhurt, in a world unlike anything he had known. And yet, danger had already found him.
He took a steadying breath, forcing his mind to silence the echoes of nightmares, the memory of Iris, and the horror of Marcus. This is reality now. I am here. I will figure it out.
Even as he thought this, the forest around him whispered. The giant tree's glowing leaves swayed, reflecting the golden light of the sun-star. The lake shimmered. The violet sky above stretched infinitely. Somewhere beyond the trees, creatures moved. The Wukong-like beings maintained their hold, their intentions unreadable, yet undeniably powerful.
Light realized one thing clearly: he was no longer on Earth, no longer in the wreckage of IPRA's mission, and no longer in the nightmare that had haunted him. He had been brought—or perhaps fallen—into a world that was beautiful, strange, and deadly.
And in that realization, a single thought anchored his mind amidst the chaos: I will survive. I have to survive.
Because the forest was alive.
Because he was not alone.
And because somewhere in the distance, this world held answers to questions he didn't even know how to ask yet.
End of chapter- 4-