There was a musty thickness present in the air, and the humidity in the area was off the charts. The place was dark, with only a single ray of sunlight being able to pierce through from one broken crack above.
It fell on the ground, illuminating a single sapling of some tree which flourished in this dark and humid environment. Usually, a ray of sunlight would have been a blessing for a tree, but here it was its death sentence.
The unusual eerie silence that enveloped the place was soon broken. Somewhere at a distance something moved, it was a hand.
Entwined in the trunk of a huge tree in such a way that it seemed like it was a part of it was a human body of a male. It was lying in a hollow space in the tree's trunk while being half-submerged in a water-like liquid that gave life to the tree.
The tree's pale branches and translucent vines had entangled themselves around his arms and legs in a way that it seemed like he was held in a deep and warm embrace.
The sight was enigmatic, sure, but it didn't feel disturbing or out of place. It was like this is how it was meant to be.
A few minutes passed, and the fingers on the man's right arm twitched again. They were pale, slender, and skeletal, just like the entirety of his body.
Then the darkness that had been covering this murky place for centuries was lifted as bursts of light filled the area.
The liquid that lay at the bottom of the tree was the source of this light. The light then began to spread, through the roots of the tree it climbed, illuminating the vines from within as it reached for the branches and then the small, almost nonexistent leaves that acted like bulbs.
The man's eyes then opened.
They were dull and lifeless at first, empty, like the eyes of a corpse. But then, slowly, light returned to them. There was a hint of confusion in them, but it didn't take long for it to turn into awareness.
His body groaned like the rusty gears and hinges of a machine, with his bones creaking and muscles unused for too long crying out in agony as he slowly sat up with the weight of centuries.
"How long…?" he muttered to himself. His voice was hoarse, like wind scraping over dry stone.
He stared at his arm, closing his fingers to form a fist and then opening them again. The once pale and skeletal fingers were now gaining youth at a substantial rate, and so was the case with his entire body.
Within a matter of seconds, the figure who once resembled an old, dried-up corpse with his skin clinging to bone, eyes sunken and dull, and every breath so silent he may as well be considered dead was now overflowing with vitality.
His skin was now flushed with color, muscles filled out beneath the once loose flesh, and a glow of youth surging through him like wildfire. He had whitesh-grey hair and crystal blue eyes and looked like he was in his late teens, somewhere between the ages of eighteen and twenty.
Once his form was recovered, the glow on the tree and the water reduced significantly, and the vines enveloping themselves around his body and arms receded, freeing him from the tree's embrace.
He stood up and looked around, surveying his surroundings. With the light now somewhat illuminating the area, it appeared to be some sort of cave. Although it seemed like he already knew this and was rather looking for something else.
"Lia…" he muttered. "You're not here," the disappointment after not being able to find who he was looking for was clear in his voice.
After waiting for a moment in desperation and still not getting any answer, he let out a sigh. He then walked out of the swamp of the glowing liquid.
He looked around the cave as his feet touched the ground after a long time. The walls that were once familiar to him were now covered in moss and vines, some of the stone had fallen, and somewhere up there, a section of the ceiling had collapsed, which was now letting in a single ray of sunlight.
He wandered around and soon came upon a stone alcove. In it lay some neatly folded clothes—his clothes. Although there was quite a difference now since after sitting in here for so long, they had collected a lot of dust and moisture, along with some parts of them being eaten by moths.
He touched them softly, and a strange tenderness appeared on his face as his expression gave out in a soft smile. He then put them on, as till now he had been wandering around naked.
It was nothing unusual, just some garments and a robe. But despite their wear and tear, they fit him like a second skin.
He then began walking further out in the cave, and as he walked, he came across multiple passages that connected to the chamber he was in. In no time, he navigated through the complex maze of passages and corridors without any problem as if he were used to doing this every day.
A few minutes later, the pathways widened a little and the area became more visible as light flooded in from what appeared to be the entrance—or exit—of the cave.
He continued walking and approached the entrance, his eyes twitched and narrowed a little when sunlight fell on them, before going back to normal once they adapted to the intensity of the light.
Then his legs came to a halt as he stood right at the edge of the cave's entrance, and his body, which had been held in the tight embrace of darkness for centuries, felt the warm touch of sunlight.
Outside, the world bloomed.
Before him was a forest, calm and tranquil as it absorbed all the bright rays of the morning. The overhead view was dominated by very tall trees that had their huge trunks covered in moss and creepers.
The branches above were twisted together in a dense mat of green. The atmosphere was filled with a low hum, made by the insects which occupied the place underground, and it was hot and dense with the fragrance of wet earth and plants. The ground had many ferns and shrubs covering it, and their leaves were full of dew that was hanging down.
The birds flew through the branches, their sounds were distant and yet were clear and sharp.
"This is quite different from how I remember," he said to himself.
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It was dark in the night, and somewhere deep in the forest, the rustling of leaves could be heard. Suddenly, a girl darted through the trees, leaves and branches whipping her face while her breath was shallow and desperate.
Her boots struck the earth with a frantic rhythm as she ran, while her deep red hair streaked in the air with sweat and dirt covering it. Behind her, another set of rustlings could be heard paired with the sounds of multiple footsteps.
"Stop you fucking bitch! How long are you gonna keep up your worthless struggle?! There's nowhere you can run or hide!" Someone's loud, screaming words could be heard from behind her.
People were chasing after her—five of them, and they were rapidly closing the distance.
One of the men chasing raised his right arm and aimed toward the girl. The next instant, a bolt of pure energy shot out from his hand.
It went straight toward the girl, burning through all the leaves and bushes that came in between. However, since she was constantly moving, it flew past her shoulder and hit a tree beside her, creating a small explosion.
The resulting shockwave hit her, putting her pull balance and forcing her to tumble a little before she gained her balance again.
However, this wasn't just a one-off attack. The other guys did the same and shot out bolts of energy one after another, causing multiple explosions around her.
"Tch! Bastards," the girl mumbled to herself. "I hope this works," she said, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again. A translucent dome-shaped barrier formed around her as she kept running.
Though it didn't do anything more than give her a fake sense of security, since the barrier shattered like glass after taking three direct hits.
As things stood now, she was quite weaker compared to them.
Although frustrating, she couldn't do anything other than keep running. She clenched her teeth as she forced her lungs to breathe in more air, making use of every last bit of the stamina she had left in her.
Suddenly, the forest around her thinned. Her eyes darted ahead, only to find an edge where the ground ended. A cliff.
A dead end.
She skidded to a halt at the edge, toes hanging above the abyss. She looked down and instantly realized that it was high enough to kill her with a direct fall.
The sounds of footsteps became louder, and the men chasing her emerged from the forest like a pack of wolves.
"It seems like the little kitten has nowhere left to run," one of them said as he walked ahead of the rest. He appeared to be the group's leader.
"If you had listened to me back then, I would've made it painless for you. But how sad, after making us chase after you like that, there's no way your death is gonna be anything but—LISTEN TO ME YOU BITCH!"
Those words fell on deaf ears as she completely ignored him. Instead, while he was busy speaking, she reached behind her back and drew two daggers, short and curved.
With a deep breath, she turned around, facing the men behind her. But rather than paying them any heed, she took a backstep and jumped off the cliff.
The world became a blur of wind and stone.
She slammed the daggers down into the cliff wall as she fell, the metal grinding against rock, sending a million vibrations to her hand.
Sparks flew. Her descent slowed down, but it was not enough.
In the end, her grip failed. Her hands slipped. The blades were ripped from her grasp, and she descended into a free fall.
She crashed into the trees. Branches snapped and tore into her body as she tumbled. The air left her lungs. Her limbs flailed helplessly before she finally hit the ground with a sickening thud.
She lay there curled up in the mud, her expression filled with agony and pain. The robe she was wearing was torn up, and her sleeves were soaked with blood.
She coughed violently, more blood coming out in her spit.
Yet no matter how painful it was, she was at least still alive, and that made her breathe a sigh of relief, though even that was accompanied by a sharp, piercing pain.
Her right hand clawed into the dirt as she dragged herself forward, inch by inch. Her legs refused to obey. Her arms were trembling, and she could barely feel them.
"Move…" she said to herself, gritting her teeth as she used every bit of strength she could muster up to drag herself forward.
She turned her head and looked around to see where she was, but her vision was a blur of green and brown and red. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and then looked again.
After a bit of looking around through the trees and bushes, she paused when her eyes caught sight of something.
A figure stood at a short distance away from her, their back turned to her. They were staring up at the sky, completely still. The moonlight lit their silhouette in silver light, forming the illusion of a halo.
She blinked.
It was a guy.
He wore a dirty brown robe that clung to his body. His white hair shimmered in the moonlight, unnaturally bright as it reflected it a bit.
As if sensing her stare, he slowly turned his head toward her, and his gaze fell upon her.
Their eyes met.
His eyes were a brilliant shade of crystal blue, almost translucent—like frozen water. There was no surprise in them, no fear.
In fact, his expression was relaxed as if he was peacefully admiring the beauty of the full moon up in the sky, which he was, and this wouldn't have been strange at all if it wasn't for the fact that he was in a forest in the middle of nowhere.
She reached out toward him with a trembling hand.
"Help…" she said.
The boy blinked. Then he stepped forward.