I pushed myself up and started to walk again.
This time, there was a goal.
I needed to get out of the forest.
------
As I moved deeper into the forest, something began to feel... different.
At first, I couldn't place it. Looking around, all I could was trees; they still towered above me, just as massive, just as imposing... but...
The color.
I stopped walking.
The bark was darker now.
Not brown. Not Grey.
Red.
A deep, dark red... like dry blood.
"What the"
The words slipped out of my mouth.
I stepped closer to one of the trees. Raising my hand slowly. As if drawn to it, I pressed my finger against its rough surface.
For a moment...
Nothing.
Then...
-HMMMMM
The sound vibrated through the air.
My head snapped up. I spun around, my eyes darting through the forest searching for the source.
But...
Nothing.
No movement. No figure. No source.
Only the trees.
Still.
Watching.
A thought crept in.
'The trees'
I looked back at the one I'd touched.
'It's them.'
My heart pounded in my chest as I felt fear creeping in.
-HMMMMM
The humming grew louder... no, not louder. Closer. Like it had always been there, just waiting for me to notice.
Then I saw it.
Right where I placed my finger...
Something moved.
A dark red liquid began to ooze out of the bark thick and slow, like it was bleeding.
I staggered back.
The forest didn't feel the same anymore.
It was alive.
It wasn't just a den of monsters... It was a monster itself.
I turned and walked, faster this time.
Not running.
Not yet.
------
"Hah... hah... hah..."
My breathing came out ragged, uneven.
It didn't make sense.
My body wasn't tired, not fully at least, but my lungs burned as if I had been running for hours. Each breath felt heavier than the last.
I forced my body to move.
''The trees.'
Looking around, I saw the trees had changed again.
No longer red.
Now they stood with dark shades of green, their bar slick and unnatural. I no longer felt their gaze. It didn't help calm me, though.
If anything... it made it worse.
But underneath the anxiety, something else took root.
A feeling.
A direction.
I didn't understand it. Nor could I explain it. But it was there. I felt something pulling me toward it, or rather guiding me forward like an invisible thread.
"Hah... hah..."
The closer I got, the harder it became to breathe.
It was as if something was trying to stop me.
Each step heavier than the last. The air thickened, pressing against my chest, pushing me down, urging me to stop.
"Hah... hah... haa"
My vision blurred. My legs trembled.
Each step felt like a marathon.
But I didn't stop.
'I can't stop now.'
The thought echoed in my mind over and over, louder than the pain.
'I can't.'
I forced my foot forward.
Then another...
And another...
until...
A sharp ringing pierced my ears.
Everything froze.
For a moment, the pressure lifted.
And despite everything...
I smiled.
Because I knew, or rather... I felt it.
'I made it.'
I lifted my head slowly.
And saw it.
At the centre of a small clearing, surrounded by the husks of dead trees, lay a single green case.
Waiting.
I stepped forward. I felt lighter with each step. The pressure that had tormented me was disappearing. When I reached it, I stopped and stared at the case.
I didn't question it.
Didn't hesitate.
I knew what it was.
"A sword case... huh."
My smile widened.
My heart began to pound faster, not from fear.
But something else.
Something new.
Excitement.