The group pressed onward.
Over two hours passed, yet the surroundings remained unchanged. Not only had they found no water source, but they had seen no other living creatures either. A young woman beside Alex, who appeared to be in her twenties, looked at him with despair and asked, 'Alex, do you think we'll make it back to Earth alive?'
Alex rolled his eyes. She'd asked this question countless times throughout the journey: 'Mia, forget about returning to Earth. Surviving is the priority.'
'He's right. As things stand, there's a slight chance of going back,' the young man interjected.
'Shut up, Wyatt! 'Nobody asked you!' Mia snapped.
Wyatt shot back sarcastically at Mia, 'Oh yes, yes, yes—we're right in your back garden. You haven't travelled through time; you're still sitting at home. We're playing a naughty room escape game.'
Alex watched the bickering pair with amusement. He'd met them both during the journey; being of similar age, they'd found common ground and formed an impromptu team. Compared to their squabbling, Alex remained remarkably calm. He was sure this wasn't Earth. Could things get any worse than this? Whatever happened next couldn't possibly be any more dreadful.
'The sound of running water!' someone suddenly cried out.
'It really is water.' Alex listened carefully, the splashing sound reaching his ears. It seemed there was a river with a swift current nearby.
Instantly, many faces lit up with excitement.
'We're saved!'
'We'll definitely make it out of this!'
'If we can just find food, this place could be our second home!'
The gloom began to lift, replaced by a glimmer of joy as the group glimpsed hope for survival. By now, the sky had grown faintly grey, veiled in a hazy mist that obscured the stars entirely.
'Aaaaaah...' A woman's sudden shriek echoed eerily through the empty woods. 'What is it?' The others paled, rushing to ask, each harbouring a sense of impending doom.
'Bones! Human bones!' the woman shrieked, her body trembling uncontrollably as she retreated, shivering violently.
The others followed her gaze to see two skeletal frames dangling from a large tree ahead, swaying with the wind in a most gruesome manner.
Alex and several more courageous men stepped forward to examine them closely. Though the sight of human remains was unsettling, it was also a positive sign – proof that people had once passed through these parts.
These skeletal remains belong to a man and a woman, covered in numerous coarse cracks and nearly weathered away. The environment of this world differs greatly from Earth's, making it impossible to determine their age," remarked someone with a frown.
Another joked, 'If this world possesses extraordinary elements, perhaps these two just died minutes ago, yet their bones are already weathered away.'
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. Such a thing would surely be considered a joke back on Earth, but now that something as absurd as time travel had occurred, what else could be deemed impossible?
Suddenly, some in the crowd began to look around suspiciously, glancing left and right. Even Alex felt a creeping chill run down his spine.
Alex noticed the creeping panic spreading through the crowd and quickly offered reassurance: 'The presence of human remains means others have been here before. It seems we're not alone—there may well be human settlements in this world.'
These words seemed to rekindle hope among the group, temporarily easing their growing dread.
After another half hour's trudging, everyone was utterly worn out, tormented by exhaustion and thirst.
They'd been walking for nearly five hours now, yet hadn't even managed to leave the forest.
'Could it be we've got lost in a looping path?' someone muttered.
'Though the surroundings haven't changed much, haven't you noticed the flowers growing ever sparser on the ground?'
'Hmm... well said; I hadn't realised until you pointed it out.'
'Let's press on. We must get out of this forest first. Without water, things will only grow worse.'
'Food we can manage, but lacking a water source is the real trouble. I wonder if this world even has dew...'
Alex observed the people around him, and it was clear that they all possessed remarkable resilience. So far, none had displayed any extreme behavior.
'There's a river!' someone at the front suddenly shouted. The crowd pressed forward to look over.
About two hundred meters ahead, a river nearly a hundred meters wide lay stretched across the forest like a silver dragon. Its surface was impossible to make out clearly, but the rushing roar of the water made it obvious that the current was fierce.
For the final hundred meters, the group sprinted toward the river as if running a hundred-meter dash.
When they finally reached it, excitement spread through the crowd.
"Wow, the water is so clear!"
"Look, there are fish—though they look kind of strange."
Mia stared at the surging river, unease flickering in her eyes.
"Could it be poisonous… or dangerous in some other way?"
"Even if it is," Alex replied calmly, "do you really have a choice not to drink it?"
Mia let out a helpless sigh.
"No. Between being poisoned and dying of thirst, I'll take the poison."
"Come on, girl," Wyatt chimed in with a grin. "Can't you say something nicer? What if this water isn't harmful at all? What if it's some kind of spiritual water—drink it and you get stronger or something…"
"Heh." Mia sneered coldly. "Do you actually believe that?"
While the three were talking, some people had already dropped to their knees by the riverbank and started gulping the water down desperately. Most, however, watched cautiously from the side.
About ten minutes later—
Seeing that those who had drunk the water seemed perfectly fine, more people finally gave in to their thirst and began drinking as well, though most only took a single mouthful.
Alex also took a small sip. The water was unnaturally cold, as if it had just been taken straight out of an icebox.
"Aaaah—!"
A shrill, agonized scream suddenly rang out, followed by another… and then another.
Alex watched in horror as a man not far away was suddenly engulfed by crimson flames. In an instant, roaring fire swallowed his entire body. Huge blisters erupted across his skin, only to burst and char away moments later. He collapsed to the ground, writhing and twisting in unbearable pain.
It was already far too late to save him.
His screams echoed throughout the forest, chilling everyone to the bone—and judging by the look of it, he wasn't going to lose consciousness anytime soon.
There were more than a dozen people like him—all burning alive.
Red flames.
Crimson flames!
Alex suddenly remembered—this man was the young fellow who had asked him to pick flowers earlier!
"Throw them away!" Alex shouted desperately. "Get rid of the Red Soul Flowers you picked earlier—now!"
But it was already too late.
The flames spread far too fast—faster than a blink of an eye. Anyone carrying a Red Soul Flower ignited at the exact same moment, collapsing to the ground and howling in agony. Some leapt straight into the river in desperation, yet unbelievably, the flames continued to burn even underwater.
The sight of living people being burned alive was far too brutal.
Mia couldn't bear to watch anymore. She turned her head away, shut her eyes tightly, covered her ears, and opened her mouth—whether she was about to cry or scream, even she didn't know.
Just then, another sudden change occurred.
Those who were burning began lunging wildly at the unburned, normal people nearby. The moment even a single spark touched someone else, that person would ignite instantly as well.
The fire spread rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen people were set ablaze.
The remaining survivors screamed in terror and fled into the forest, desperately trying to put distance between themselves and the living infernos.
As Alex ran, he wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. His heart was pounding violently—he had just brushed past death. One of the burning men had lunged straight at him, and he had barely managed to dodge in time.
By now, the crowd had split into two distinct groups:
those consumed by flames…
and those still untouched.
A distance of nearly a hundred meters lay between them.