"Hic… hic… hhhk…"
In the dim light, a girl sat on the forest floor, her slender frame trembling with silent grief. Her breath came in uneven, ragged gasps—snf… snf… hhkk…—each one fragile and broken, as if the sorrow belonged to a world she visited only in dreams.
I stepped forward cautiously, every muscle tense, unwilling to let my guard down—this could be an illusion or some monster wearing a human guise, mimicking voices to lure prey.
"Hey," Kyle called out sternly as he approached the girl who looked painfully out of place. Her ragged breathing continued, relentless and raw, absorbed by the heavy shadows. He stepped closer, eyes narrowing, searching for any sign this was real and not some trick of the fog.
"Are you alright?" he asked again, his voice softer this time, trying to reach through her despair. Still, no answer. Kyle crouched down, studying her face carefully.
She was striking—no ordinary girl lost in the woods. Her features were delicate and refined, framed by thick, wavy chestnut hair that tumbled past her shoulders in loose waves, catching what little light filtered through the trees like polished wood. A large, faded blue bow sat atop her head, slightly askew but still vibrant—a stark contrast to the muted earth tones around her.
Her skin was pale, almost translucent in the dim light, with a faint flush on her cheeks. Her eyes remained closed, long dark lashes resting gently against her skin. Her pale hands clutched tightly at her knees, fingers trembling with quiet desperation.
Kyle hesitated, unsure how to break through the heavy silence surrounding her. Slowly, he reached out, his hand trembling slightly as he brushed a stray lock of hair from her damp cheek.
"Hey," he whispered softly, careful not to startle her. When she didn't respond, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a light shake.
Though her body remained limp and her eyes stayed closed, the fragile rhythm of her breath continued—snf… snf… hhkk…—as if the sorrow refused to be silenced.
Kyle's brow furrowed with annoyance as a memory surfaced—the old man's words: "It's okay... you're safe." He murmured this quietly, his voice barely louder than the whispering wind. He waited patiently, but when it became clear she wasn't waking, Kyle's restraint snapped.
"WAKE UP!" he shouted, shaking her vigorously.
"...Huh?" The girl's eyes snapped open at his shout, revealing those same clear, bright blue irises, wide and glassy, shimmering faintly in the dim light like fragile gems. Her gaze fluttered uncertainly, as if waking from a long, troubled dream. The darkness swallowed most of the forest around her, but those striking eyes caught what little light there was, sharp and alive.
Yet as her eyes adjusted and she blinked away the haze, the raw sorrow that had poured from her in dreams slipped away like mist. Her face smoothed into an expressionless mask, lips parting slightly but silent. The trembling in her fingers lingered, but the pain was gone—its like it's been sealed away by a mind protecting itself from memories too heavy to bear.
Kyle's grip on her shoulders remained firm but gentle. "Finally, I thought I'd have to slap you," he said, relief and suspicion mingling in his voice.
"…Who are you?" the girl asked quietly, tilting her head with a faint furrow of confusion, her tone distant, as if the emotions that should have accompanied the question were just out of reach.
"Kyle," he said, keeping his face steady and unreadable.
"Eh?" The girl let out a soft, puzzled sound, her brow knitting slightly as she blinked up at him, clearly struggling to place the name.
"That's what the Cardinals call me," Kyle said quietly, his eyes flickering with something unreadable.
The girl's brow furrowed deeper, confusion and curiosity mingling in her gaze. "Cardinals?" she echoed softly, the word unfamiliar on her tongue. She glanced around the shadowed forest, as if searching for answers in the gloom.
Kyle's eyes narrowed slightly, his grip tightening just a fraction on her shoulders as he studied her face. "Now, who are you?" His voice was low but edged with suspicion. "You look too out of place to be here. Are you a monster wearing human skin, or just a girl lost in the forest?"
The girl blinked, her eyes wide and searching, as if trying to grasp the weight of his words. She swallowed hard, her voice barely above a whisper. "I… I don't remember."
Kyle's gaze sharpened. "Don't even remember your own name?"
Her eyes flickered downward, uncertainty clouding her bright gaze. "No… it's like it's just… gone. Like a blank space where it should be."
Ugh, Kyle muttered, running a hand through his hair. Great. Lost and forgetful. Just what I needed.
He thought to himself how different she seemed now—no trace of the sobbing girl from moments ago. The raw pain, the trembling breaths, all replaced by this hollow stillness, though a faint, almost imperceptible flicker of curiosity lingered in her gaze.
He glanced around the dark forest, then back at her. "Look, I don't know what happened to you, and frankly, I don't have the time or patience to figure it out. I'm trying to get out of this forest. So, you can either stay here and hope for the best—or follow me."
Her eyes, wide and clear, held no spark of fear or recognition, but a subtle glimmer of something else—quiet curiosity—flickered just beneath the surface. They were like still pools reflecting the dim forest light, calm but not empty.
Her face remained smooth and unreadable, muscles relaxed as if she were a doll moved by unseen hands.
When she spoke, her voice was flat, lacking inflection or urgency, yet the words carried a faint softness. "I will follow," she said, precise but hollow, as if repeating a phrase learned by rote, yet tinged with a quiet willingness to see what comes next.
She moved with a quiet deliberateness, every step measured and controlled, but there was no urgency in her pace—no sign of hope or dread, only a muted compliance, tempered by that subtle, lingering curiosity.
—crunch… crunch…—
Kyle glanced over his shoulder, his eyes narrowing. "You're not going to say much, are you?" His voice was low, edged with a tired frustration that had been building since he woke up in this nightmare.
—crack… snap—
The brittle sound of a broken twig echoed sharply in the dense fog, slicing through the heavy silence. Kyle's eyes snapped toward the noise, and there, just beyond the swirling mist, stood a wolf. Its fur was thick and unblemished, eyes sharp and alert—no grotesque mutations, no unnatural parasites clinging to its back. It was ordinary, almost out of place in this twisted forest.
The wolf's gaze met Kyle's for a long moment, steady and unafraid. It took a cautious step forward, nostrils flaring as it sniffed the damp air.
Kyle's breath hitched. For a brief second, a flicker of hope stirred in his chest. Maybe not everything here was corrupted.
The girl beside him shifted slightly but remained silent, her eyes fixed on the wolf with that same distant calm.
The wolf let out a low, rumbling growl—not hostile, but wary—and then, without another sound, it turned and disappeared into the fog as silently as it had come.
Kyle exhaled slowly, tension easing just a fraction. "A normal one," he muttered. "Maybe there's still some part of this place that's not rotten."
The girl said nothing, but her eyes lingered where the wolf had vanished. "Hay let's keep going" Kyle said to the girl
They moved on, the forest swallowing their footsteps once more, the oppressive silence closing in again.
The forest finally opened onto a vast riverbank, where the water stretched wide and slow, swallowing the edges of the land in endless shadow. The air was thick with dampness and a metallic tang that clung to Kyle's throat.
Plop… plop…
Drops of water fell from twisted branches above, splashing softly into the river's dark surface.
The river's flow was deep and sluggish, carrying with it patches of that same viscous, unnatural darkness from the swamp before. Beneath the surface, faint bubbles glurp… glurp… rose and popped quietly, as if something stirred just out of sight.
Kyle's boots sank with a wet squelch into the muddy shore. His gaze flicked sideways—just a quick, subtle glance at the girl beside him. She stood still, her pale face unreadable, eyes fixed on the dark waters.
Splash… splash…
The gentle lapping of water against the shore mingled with the distant croak of frogs hidden in the reeds, and the faint rustle of leaves stirred by a cold breeze.
Kyle's eyes narrowed as he stared at the dark river before him.
"Wasn't this the same liquid as that swamp?" he muttered under his breath, the metallic tang lingering sharp in the air.
The river's edge squelched softly underfoot as Kyle shifted his weight, the damp earth reluctant to hold him firm. Somewhere nearby, a frog croaked again, a lonely sound swallowed quickly by the dense fog.
Glurp… blop…
Bubbles surfaced and burst quietly in the water, sending ripples that faded into the stillness. But something was different—there was still that weird mana emanating from within the corrupted water, faint yet unmistakable. It pulsed beneath the surface, less intense than in the swamp, but it's still there.
Kyle's gaze flicked sideways to the girl. Her pale profile was framed by the fog, her bright blue eyes fixed on the river, calm and unreadable. He looked back toward the riverbank—and there, emerging from the mist, was a figure drifting slowly in a small, weathered boat.
His silhouette was shrouded in tattered robes, face hidden beneath a wide-brimmed hat that cast deep shadows. His hands rested lightly on a long oar, motionless but poised. The boat creaked softly as it bobbed against the shore, the wood slick with moss and age.
A low, gravelly voice broke the silence. "Travelers."
Kyle stood there, watching the figure silently, his expression blank as his eyes locked onto the shadowed man in the boat. The figure's face remained hidden beneath his hood, hands resting on a long oar, unmoving like part of the river itself.
The thick fog curled around them, covering everything beyond the slow-moving river. Kyle glanced quickly at the girl beside him, then looked back toward the river.
The man waited quietly, his presence heavy and still, as if the river itself was watching.
Kyle tightened his jaw. He took a careful step forward, his boots sinking softly into the muddy ground.
Getting closer, he asked, "Who are you?"
Kyle's eyes narrowed as the figure lifted a hand to his jaw, stroking it thoughtfully. After a pause, the man replied, "…Who... am I? Well, I don't have an answer for that. But the people who lives in this parts call's me the ferryman."
Kyle's brow furrowed. "People! So there's a town here somewhere?"
The man's shadowed face remained still for a moment before he gave a faint, almost knowing smile. "A town, a village... something like that. But not all who wander here find it, and not all who find it wish to stay."
"Ah huh is that right?," Kyle said in a low voice forrowing his brow's "but more importantly what is this place?"
The figure's eyes glinted faintly beneath the shadow of his hat. "A crossroads," he said slowly, "a culminated realm of broken worlds that were made by gods."
He shifted the oar in his hands, the wood creaking softly. "A place where fragments of shattered realities gather, twisted and intertwined. It's neither here nor there—only those caught between worlds find themselves here."
Kyle's gaze hardened. "And what happens to those caught here?"
The man's lips curled into a shadow of a smile. "They go mad, twisting into mindless, grotesque creatures born of chaos. The more discord they carry inside, the stronger they become."
A cold breeze whispered through the fog, carrying with it an unsettling silence.
Kyle's voice was low, almost a whisper. "So... those things I killed were... humans?"
The man's shadowed face remained still for a moment before he nodded slowly. "Once, yes. But now, they are something else—fragments lost to madness, twisted beyond recognition."
The river's slow current lapped quietly against the boat, as if echoing the weight of the truth.
Kyle swallowed hard, the metallic tang in the air suddenly sharper, more suffocating.
Kyle's voice was barely audible, a quiet murmur lost in the thick fog. "I… see."
—ring... ring... ring...—
The sound echoed faintly through the mist, strange and out of place.
The man's shadowed face lifted slightly. "Oho, it seems I must return to my post soon. If you like, I can give you a ride—just near where I stay. From there, you'll have to find your own way."
Kyle was hesitant at first, the weight of uncertainty pressing down on him. But wandering lost in the forest with a girl who had no memories felt like an even more foolish choice.
He glanced at the figure in the boat again, then back at the girl. Taking the ride was the safer option—for now. The river might lead them closer to answers, or at least to shelter.
Kyle settled into the boat, the wood creaking softly beneath him. "Hay you coming out what?" He shouted at the girl
The girl followed quietly, her eyes never leaving the dark water as the figure gripped the oar and pushed off from the muddy shore.
Kyle settled into the boat, the wood creaking softly beneath him. "Hey, you coming or what?" he shouted at the girl.
She followed quietly, her eyes never leaving the dark water as the figure gripped the oar and pushed off from the muddy shore.
The fog wrapped around them like a thick veil, covering up the sounds of the forest and river. The boat rocked gently with each stroke, the dark water below moving slowly in the gray, cloudy sky.
The boat rocked gently with each stroke, the water beneath them a deep, dark, still and heavy in the faint light.
Kyle glanced at the girl again, then back toward the figure steering them forward. The slow current carried them away from the shore and deeper into the unknown.