It's dark; my eyes cannot see anything. Just as I try to look around, inspecting my surroundings, a cold breeze touches my skin. I shiver from the temperature, hugging myself in an attempt to warm up, but my feet remain submerged in icy water, intensifying the cold.

Quiet. There is no sound, only a feeling of loneliness. Yet, I pay no mind and start walking, creating a splash with each step as I wander through this world of darkness. The ticking sound of each footstep echoes around me.

Tick... Tock...

I don't mind it at all, continuing to walk as if my mind is not thinking properly. This place feels like I belong here—comfortable yet eerie at the same time.

As I continue to wander, each step grows heavier, and my feet start to give up. I feel like I might faint at any moment.

Is this a dream? Or reality?...

Time seems irrelevant here; my mind begins to ask questions, yet nothing feels real. I close my eyes, trying to wake up, but my body grows weaker as time passes. I don't know how long I've been here, but it feels like an eternity.

Lost in thought, I fall. The water that was just below my feet now drenches my body. I put my hand on the ground, trying to get up, when suddenly golden and white leaves start to fall, one after another.

Confused, I look up and see a giant tree with golden and white leaves and a shining blue trunk. It is magnificent, beautiful, and majestic. My eyes cannot leave its sight as it lights up the darkness of this world, and the water surrounding the tree turns golden. It is beautiful.

The tree is far away, yet so enormous that it seems impossible not to have seen it earlier. But the beauty of the tree overrides any questions. Bewitched, I rise and start walking towards the tree, envious of its light, which contrasts sharply with the darkness surrounding me.

But then, a clang of metal echoes behind me, and my steps stop. I look down to see chains around my feet, extending into the endless void behind me. I sit down, gripping the chain and trying to pull it, but it doesn't budge. It feels like I am a prisoner in this world.

Hopeless, I look at the tree once more, seeking its beauty. But instead of beauty, I see horror.

The majestic tree transforms. The golden and white leaves turn into dark, blood-red and purple. The blue, glowing trunk becomes a shadowy black, and the golden water surrounding it turns to blood.

Worst of all, skulls and dead bodies float in the blood. In the middle of this macabre scene stands a mysterious man in a ragged robe with red patterns.

Without giving me a moment to think, the man raises a pointy finger to his head and, in the scariest, deepest tone I've ever heard, says:

"One."

Suddenly, thousands of rotting hands emerge from the water around me, grabbing and dragging me down. I try to resist, but it's hopeless. I am pulled into the water, falling into the other side of this world.

As I fall, the ground vanishes, and I plummet into nothingness at incredible speed, the wind growing stronger. Then, abruptly, the fall stops. Instead of falling, I ascend, as if pulled upwards by an unseen force.

And suddenly, a massive dark red chain started to envelop the world of darkness, no matter the direction, as if the world had just become a prison, and I was its only prisoner.

Then, massive shadowy purple shapes began to appear alongside the chains. Some were shaped like orbs, squares, and hexagons, while others defied any recognizable form. These shadowy purple shapes exuded a terrifying aura as they crazily shook, as if they were glitching.

Despite this, an unexplainable calmness and enlightenment surged through my mind. I raised my left hand, covering my left eye until I could see only half of the world. Then, I heard two ticking sounds.

Tick... Tock...

My eyes opened wide, and I found myself in a dark room, my left hand still raised. I was lying on a rough, cheap mattress. As I sat up, a pain emerged in my head. I touched my head in reaction, my vision blurry and my mind hazy.

What... What just happened?

I looked around, inspecting my surroundings. It was dark, but I could still see thanks to the light coming through the gap below the door on my right side, near me.

On my left side was a row of beds, each occupied by wounded people in bandages. Below me was another row of beds extending to the left side, ending at a window with closed curtains.

There were exactly ten beds below and above, and my position was at the end of the upper-right side, near the door.

After inspecting the room, I became confused about where I was. Noticing that each bed had a table on its right side, I looked to my right and saw a table with a mysterious book and a long black katana placed on it.

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Seeing these objects, my mind suddenly ached as memories of the monster and the forest flooded back to me. I instantly looked at my body and found it covered in bandages. Only then did my body start to scream in pain. The pain was so intense that I screamed internally, unable to disturb the other wounded people in the room. Despite my efforts, I let out a groan, hugging my body in an attempt to cope with the agony. I moved crazily on the bed until I fell to my right side, next to the table.

It lasted for minutes until it became bearable, but it was still painful. After that, I tried to stand up but failed, falling down as my knees shook and my hands trembled. My sight was blurry, and my chest felt tight, the same feeling I had the first time I woke up in the creepy forest.

Using my strength, I gripped the end of the table, trying to stand up until I was able to lift myself and sit on the bed before lying down again.

I breathed heavily as I rested for a while, laying down on the bed.

Hahh... My body is burning. Aghh, it burns.

The pain was followed by a burning sensation that spread through my body. Feeling hopeless, I gripped my chest as the burning intensified, and the tightness made it harder to breathe.

This agonizing pain lasted for minutes until the burning sensation began to cool down, but the pain was still there. Fortunately, it was bearable, and I could move my body with some difficulty.

I didn't dare to move yet. Instead, I inhaled and exhaled heavily, trying to gasp for more air to cool down and relax my body. After some time spent relaxing until I could think properly again, I fell into deep thought, wondering what had happened to me.

At that time, the monster cornered me against the tree, and I was sure I was going to die. So how come I am still here? And where am I? Hahh... Well, looking back, when the monster cornered me and I tried to move back, something crushed in my pockets. What was it?

I reached into my pocket to find out, but sadly, I found nothing. Saddened but undeterred, I tried to think about what I had put in my pockets.

Hahh... Let's see. After I met the monster, I gathered equipment and... Yeah, I remember now. The crystal. I put it in my pocket because it was beautiful. Wait, does that mean the crystal just saved my life?

If I remember correctly, there was a light that appeared after the crystal crushed in my pocket, and then the monster vanished, the terrain changed, and I heard a voice. Did I get teleported? Is such a thing possible? Well, considering the appearance of the monster and the forest, perhaps it is.

So, does that mean the voice I heard was from the people who saved me? If so, am I in a place where people live? Heh, I did it. I found where people live. For hours of walking in that forest, I had been thinking there might be no humans like me living in this world.

But the most important part is that this is my chance. I can now gather information from my fellow humans. To think there are other human beings besides me—when I was walking in that forest, I thought there might be no living beings in this world.

Looking at the wounded people in the room with me, although their state is bad, my heart was relieved to have reached here and seen other human beings like me.

Heh, I survived... However, I think there is a much more important matter I should attend to now.

I looked to my right and saw the book placed on the table. Although I wanted to celebrate or rest for a while after reaching here, I stopped myself. The information I have is still too little for me to survive, and I don't have anything that will actually help me.

I might have reached this place, but I still have no way of surviving. I'm not sure if the people here will welcome or help me. And the most concerning part is, after encountering the monster and the forest, the outside must be in a much more terrible state than I thought. I need to prepare myself for the worst and for my future. Hahh... Damn it, one thing after another.

Well... Luckily, they didn’t take the book or the sword. I should be grateful to whoever saved me, but first, let's inspect the book. They might have saved me, but I cannot forever rely on others. I need to take matters into my own hands and become self-sufficient. Who knows what will happen to me? I need to adapt to my new environment.

With the pain almost gone, I was able to move without much problem. I picked up the book to inspect it more closely, something I hadn't been able to do in the forest. This might be the time to do it.

However, just as I touched the book, I noticed some changes. The book no longer looked like it had aged for years; it now appeared to be a book that holds nothing but knowledge.

The book changed... Strange, I don't feel any shock anymore, but I guess that's a good thing. I need to adapt because survival is a must after encountering that monster.

Hmm... If the appearance of the book changed, then the written text inside must have also changed.

I It might hold more knowledge, just like the earlier quote. Perhaps this book is my key to survival.

And just as I expected, the book had indeed changed. The previous quotes were gone, replaced by a new quote, and the yellowed pages had transformed into fresh, new paper. I read the quote, hoping to gain knowledge from it, but it made my spine chill.

This is...

A cryptic quote was written in the book, making my heart race. It was written in black ink.

"Eternal might be forever, so is fear. I've bet my eternity to save the world, so is my past, but nothing shall change, not in eternity."

A riddle again? Just like in the forest. What does this even mean? Hmmm... But is this the only thing written here?

Reading it made my heart pound more. However, the text felt incomplete, so I flipped to the next page and found the next text. This time, it wasn't a quote or a riddle; it was more like a warning.

"They are coming. All of them. Watching us from afar like ants. They will conquer the world again. And the end is not far anymore."

The messages in the book became scarier as I flipped further. The ink changed, turning into what looked like blood, sending a chill through my bones and spine. This time, the message was much scarier:

"The time of conquest begins. All shall perish until nothing is left."

"Survive, Julian Campbell."

I froze in shock as I read the messages. It felt like they were directed at me, warning me of something dangerous, possibly something coming towards me. The greatest fear is the fear of the unknown. How can I survive if I don't know what's coming? But the most shocking part is...

The book knows me? This is... The message is directly for me...

My heart raced with fear, and I didn't try to flip the page again, knowing this was the book's final message, a warning to me.

With that thought, my body shook with fear. I tried to calm myself down but failed as my mind panicked. Who could possibly be coming for me, and why? A single question surged in my mind:

Who am I?

At that moment, the door to my right suddenly opened. Shocked and scared, I instantly looked at the door and grabbed the sword out of reflex.

Because of the cryptic messages in the book, I was instantly scared, so I took the first action I could think of: grabbing the sword.

Who?...