Vex slowly opened his eyes, staring at a surreal scene of black foliage swaying overhead, an ominous dance against the inky sky. The dense mass of leaves almost completely obscured the night sky, giving off an otherworldly and unsettling energy. Stars twinkled dimly in the small patches of visible sky, adding to the surreal and dreamlike feel.

Trying to make sense of his surroundings, he sat up, feeling dizzy and disoriented. As his senses slowly returned, Vex noticed that the breezeless air was thick with the scent of damp earth and decaying leaves, a musty smell that slowly filled his nostrils and added to the otherworldly atmosphere.

"Where am I?" Vex mumbled, his voice trembling with confusion.

As his gaze wandered around the unfamiliar landscape, he noticed something strange. In the corners of his peripheral vision were little icons.

"There's no way this could be... a game?" he wondered aloud, rubbing his eyes in disbelief.

Looking around the world, Vex absorbed the details with wide-eyed curiosity as the peculiar perception persisted. It felt like the entire landscape had transformed into a living interface. As his fingers brushed against the cold ground beneath him, a sense of surrealism mixed with tangible reality warred with his rational mind.

"Alright," Vex said to himself, taking a deep breath. I may not understand what's happening, but I won't figure it out by lying in some strange, creepy forest at night."

As his piercing blue eyes scanned the area again, Vex worked to accept the bizarre reality that enveloped him calmly. However, no matter how hard he tried to comprehend everything, Vex couldn't shake off a growing sense of unease.

"Was I roofied?" he pondered. Clenching his cheeks tightly, Vex quietly acknowledged that the intrusive thoughts may have had a point despite not feeling like anything was physically wrong.

With each passing moment, Vex's confusion and fear transformed into curiosity about the world he had found himself in. The strange symbols in his vision, the alien-looking forest, and his hazy memories left him seeking answers that weren't immediately available.

Vex called out, deciding to see if he was truly alone or if a polite monster was giving him a moment to come to his senses before he was invited to dinner. "Is there anyone else here?"

After several moments of agonizing stillness, Vex noticed how oddly quiet the world around him was. Despite their gentle swaying under the starlight, the trees and foliage weren't making any sounds. Similarly, there was no breeze or the gentle call of strange creatures. The world itself was entirely still, offering no answers.

"Fine," Vex muttered, frustration slowly simmering beneath his words. "I'll have to learn the hard way then."

Finally sitting up, as he determinedly resolved to explore further, two shadows caught Vex's eye. They sat casually on a nearby log, with strange, illegible green text floating above them. A flicker of recognition surged through Vex as the character selection screen briefly came to mind – these were probably his Shadowlings. While Vex wasn't willing to rule out that he had lost his grip on sanity, he decided he may at least lean into the delusions until he could figure out what was happening.

"Hey, you two," he called out, cautiously standing up and approaching them. The shadowy figures turned their heads towards him, their silence both unnerving and intriguing.

"I'm Vex," he introduced, attempting to gauge their reactions. "Looks like we're in this together." He offered a tentative smile, hoping to break the ice with his newfound companions.

The fighter waved back while the rogue nodded, their silence unbroken. They seemed unable or unwilling to speak, but Vex wasn't discouraged.

"Alright, let's give this a shot," he said, thinking on his feet. "If you can understand me, nod your head."

Both Shadowlings nodded in sync, confirming their comprehension. Vex sighed in relief, glad to know he wasn't alone in this strange new adventure.

"Perfect," he continued, enthusiasm creeping into his voice. "We need to figure out where we are at and what's going on. I hope you two are up for the challenge."

The fighter and rogue both titled their heads, looking between Vex and each other. As the silence stretched, Vex slowly lost momentum as he attempted to decipher their body language. While Vex was fairly certain that the head tilts indicated confusion, he was still aware that he was dealing with entities that weren't human. They may not have his cultural knowledge unless some bond was created through his traits or skills.

The two shadow creatures lacked the facial details that Vex had hoped to take cues from. Their incorporeal nature, combined with a wispy presence to their outline, left the two Shadowlings looking mostly indistinct. The two summons felt like living, three-dimensional, humanoid silhouettes that lacked a few expected curves, such as ears.

Stolen story; please report.

As the silence stretched between them, a sense of awkwardness settled over the group. Being the first to notice, or at least the most inclined not to go crazy in the silence of the world around them, Vex decided to try and take charge.

"Alright, gang," he said, rolling his shoulders and preparing himself. "Should we get to know each other more or explore the area?"

As the silence and awkwardness continued to stretch on, Vex observed the two Shadowlings before him, as only the fighter offered a shrug. He raised an eyebrow in question, studying their body language. "Do either of you have names?" he asked, his voice low and uncertain.

The fighter shrugged its shadowy shoulders while the rogue twirled a dagger between its fingers that it appeared to pull from the air. Vex sighed, feeling a pang of frustration rise within him at his present social ineptitude. As he scratched his head, Vex's thoughts raced, attempting to decide the best course of action.

"Fine," Vex mumbled, doing his best to be undeterred by their lack of response. "We'll get to know each other as we look around. For now, let's get a better grasp on our surroundings."

Choosing not to look back, Vex rose to his feet and stepped into the twisted undergrowth, trying to make sense of the new world. As they traveled, Vex quickly discovered what he thought were creatures in the shadows. While he couldn't see anything directly, he was met with more illegible floating text with each prolonged stare into the darkness.

As Vex slowly became acclimated to the low-light vision required of the new world, he could see the faint eerie glow of luminescent fungi casting an otherworldly hue over the twisted black foliage. Neither the stars nor the luminescence were enough to give Vex a comfortable amount of vision in the dark forest. However, the rare splotches of light comforted him as he and the Shadowlings ventured further into the unknown.

Pressing deeper into the woods, Vex nearly stepped on to something that immediately caught his eye—a small, fluffy creature with vibrant white fur nestled between the roots of a gnarled tree. Above the furball's head floated another one of the illegible labels, this time in bright red.

"Hey, look at this little guy," Vex called softly, crouching down for a closer inspection. "Is this not the cutest thing you've seen?"

The Shadowlings exchanged puzzled glances. The creature looked harmless enough, with its big, round eyes and tufted fur, but something undeniably concerning to the Shadowlings that Vex appeared incapable of noticing.

"Maybe it's friendly?" Vex wondered aloud, reaching out a tentative hand.

The creature moved forward with measured steps, its gleaming eyes fixed on Vex as it sniffed cautiously. The tendrils of its fur bristled slightly, but there was no aggression in its movements. After several moments of awe and curiosity, Vex could not help but see the uncanny resemblance to a gremlin - from abnormally large ears to its extremely bulky fur coat.

Dispensing with caution, Vex gently picked up the gremlin, cradling it in his palms as if it were made of glass. The creature purred contentedly, nuzzling against his fingers.

"Seems pretty docile so far," Vex commented, focusing entirely on the gremlin.

Behind Vex, the two Shadowlings stood in shocked disbelief at how Vex addressed and handled the gremlin. Expressions of confusion and growing worry lined their faces.

"You're a cute, little fuzzit," Vex continued, addressing the gremlin directly, "What are you doing here? You look like nothing else I've seen in this place."

In an instant, the comforting warmth of the purring creature against Vex's palm was replaced with a searing pain in his wrist. He yelped, his hand jerking back as he stared in disbelief at the puncture wounds left by the tiny, ferocious beast. Its piercing eyes narrowed, and it bared its mouth full of bloody fangs, growling menacingly at him. The small creature seemed to transform before his eyes from a harmless curiosity to a vicious predator.

The gremlin clung ferociously to Vex's hand, its sharp claws digging into his flesh as it greedily lapped at the blood that flowed from his wrist. Each lick was like a tiny razor, reopening the wound and causing fresh waves of pain to shoot through Vex's arm. The creature's long, thin tongue darted at lightning speed, leaving a trail of saliva and blood in its wake.

Vex's initial reaction was to stare in horrified disbelief, paralyzed until he watched something writhing beneath the gremlin's matted fur. Regaining his senses, he swatted and clawed at the creature with frantic desperation, trying to fling it off his body. The gremlin squealed and hissed, its sharp claws digging into Vex's skin as it fought to hold on. Seeing the grotesque movements under the creature's skin made Vex's stomach churn and his heart race with fear.

With a panicked grunt, Vex changed tactics and slammed the gremlin against the trunk of the closest tree, knocking it off his wrist. As the creature came loose, Vex could feel the razor-sharp claws tearing their way out of his skin, leaving behind deep and bleeding gashes across his wrist and hand. In a continued panic, he kicked the disoriented gremlin several feet away, where it landed on the forest floor with a sickening thud.

The gremlin immediately doubled over in agony, its body convulsing as it expelled hundreds of tiny red orbs in every direction. Each marble-like object tore away a chunk of the gremlin's fur as it flew off, leaving behind patches of bare, pink skin. As the creature continued to shrink, its grotesque appearance only intensified.

With a resounding thud, one of the red marble ricocheted off Vex's body and landed on the ground. As it rolled to a stop, the small sphere quivered and shook until a tiny claw sliced through its smooth surface. From within emerged an incredibly small yet fully formed creature—a fuzzy ball with sharp claws and shining eyes. With an insatiable hunger, the newborn gremlin wasted no time devouring its shell, growing noticeably larger with each bite.

In a terror-filled daze, Vex took off, running into the inky darkness of the woods. The Shadowlings followed behind, struggling to keep pace with their comparatively long-legged summoner. Branches snapped, and leaves rustled underfoot as they raced deeper into the unknown depths. As Vex's high-pitched screams echoed through the trees, the chaotic chase sent the rogue Shadowling into brief fits of silent laughter as it struggled to follow along at the ludicrous pace.