I was dragging myself through the forest, stumbling, my feet barely lifting from the ground. The mist was so thick it felt like it was swallowing me whole, and each step was harder than the last. My legs were heavy, like they had been filled with lead, and my body was aching in ways I didn’t even know were possible. It wasn’t just the physical exhaustion that was wearing me down. It was the constant confusion, the sense that something was very wrong—something I couldn't put into words.

How long had I been in this place? Hours? Days? Time didn’t make sense here. It felt like time itself was warped, stretched thin, almost as if the past and present had become one. Every path I took seemed to loop back on itself, dragging me deeper into this maze of trees. The fog was relentless, pressing in from every side, making it impossible to see more than a few feet ahead.

I didn’t know where I was going. Hell, I didn’t even know if I was going anywhere. It felt like I was just walking in circles, like the forest had its own twisted design, and no matter how far I ran or how fast I moved, it always led me back to the same place. Every turn, every step, just seemed to draw me deeper into its suffocating grip.

There was no sound in the forest. No animals rustling in the underbrush, no birds overhead. It was eerie—unnaturally quiet. The air itself felt dead. I felt like I was the only living thing left in this place. But even though the silence was suffocating, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I wasn’t truly alone. That something—or someone—was watching me, waiting just beyond my sight.

I was exhausted. Physically and mentally. My breath came in ragged gasps, my throat dry, my head spinning. And then there were those damn memories—the strange man with the limp, his cryptic words echoing in my head: You’ll never escape this forest. His voice was like an ice pick to the chest, sending shivers down my spine every time I replayed it in my mind. But what did it mean? Was the forest alive? Was it trying to trap me? Was it all just some twisted dream I couldn’t wake up from?

The questions were endless, and the more I ran, the more they piled up. And then there was that damn skeleton—the one in the clearing, staring at me with those hollow eyes. Had it been Elias? Or was it me? I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I just knew something wasn’t right. Something was missing, some connection I couldn’t quite figure out.

Just when I thought I couldn’t take another step, I saw it—a flicker of light in the distance. It was faint at first, just a shimmer through the fog, but it was enough to make my heart jump in my chest. Maybe it was the way out. Maybe it was the escape I had been searching for. Or maybe it was just another cruel illusion designed to taunt me.

I quickened my pace, the hope swelling in my chest, even though a small part of me feared it would be a mirage. But the light grew brighter the closer I got, and soon, I saw it—an actual fire, small but real, flickering weakly in the darkness. The flames cast long, dancing shadows across the ground, and for the first time in what felt like forever, I thought I might actually be heading somewhere. Maybe this was it. Maybe this was the end of the nightmare.

By the fire sat a man. He looked a little younger than the others I had encountered in the forest, his face rough and unshaven, the wear of the wilderness visible in his appearance. His clothes were ragged and dirty, like mine probably would be if I kept going at this rate. When he saw me approaching, his sharp, calculating eyes flicked up, studying me with a level of intensity that made my skin crawl.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

"You look like you’ve seen a ghost," he said, his voice dry and hoarse, a little sarcastic. "You running from something?"

I stopped a few feet away from the fire, uncertainty tightening in my chest. There was something about this man that felt... familiar. Like I should know him, but I didn’t. His gaze was unsettling, like he could see right through me.

I swallowed hard, trying to steady my breath, trying to hold it together. “I... I don’t know,” I said, the words coming out shakier than I intended. “I’m just trying to find my way out.”

The man chuckled, a low, dark sound that sent a shiver up my spine. He tossed a log onto the fire with a practiced flick of his wrist, and the flames crackled and hissed as the log split, sending sparks spiraling into the air. He grinned, his smile crooked, too wide, and yet somehow hollow. It was the kind of smile that didn’t quite match his eyes.

“You think you can leave?” he asked, his voice casual, like we were talking about something trivial, not my desperate desire to escape. "I’ve been here too long, and I’ve learned—there’s no leaving. Not until the end."

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. My heart skipped a beat, and I felt the blood drain from my face. What did he mean by that? What was this “end” he was talking about? His words felt too familiar, too much like the man with the limp—the one who had warned me that I couldn’t escape. It was like they were all part of the same twisted warning, as if the universe itself was conspiring to trap me in this forest.

“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper. I took a hesitant step closer, my legs trembling. Not just from exhaustion anymore, but from something else. Something deeper. Fear.

The man looked at me, his eyes distant, detached, like he was already past the point of caring. “You’ll understand soon enough,” he said, his voice laced with a kind of eerie certainty. “This forest isn’t just a place. It’s a curse. And we’re all trapped in it.”

His words hit me like a ton of bricks. The forest. A curse. Trapped. That word—trapped—it lingered in the air, sinking deep into my chest, freezing me in place. I wanted to argue, to demand more answers, but I couldn’t speak. The weight of his words was too heavy.

“We’re all trapped in it,” he said again, almost to himself, like he was resigned to it. Like it was something he had accepted.

I wanted to scream, to deny it, to fight back against the suffocating grip of the forest. But I couldn’t. Because deep down, I knew he was right. The forest wasn’t just a place. It was a trap. And I had been caught in it, just like everyone else.

Before I could say anything more, the man turned his attention back to the fire, his gaze distant, as if he had already said everything that needed to be said. The flames crackled, sending sparks spiraling into the air, casting eerie shadows across his face. I stood there, frozen, watching him, my heart racing, my mind spiraling.

We’re all trapped in it.

The words echoed in my head, and I knew then that there was no escape. I had been running for so long, trying to outrun something I couldn’t even name. But it was always here. The forest. The curse. The cycle. And now, it had me.

I didn’t know what the end would look like. But I knew one thing for sure—I wasn’t getting out of here. Not unless the forest decided otherwise.