Kael steadying himself as he climbed out of the rocky slope. His legs ached from the chase, his side still recovering from the impact earlier. He planted his hands on the damp earth, taking a slow breath as he pushed himself upright.

His body, although better, was still a bit sore.

It wasn’t just the fall or the chase, but everything the level up, the fight, the strange pull he had felt before collapsing. It all left him feeling drained.

Still, there was no time to rest yet.

And that meant he needed to move.

Kael tilted his head up, eyes scanning the sky above the forest canopy. The light filtering through the towering trees had taken on the golden hues of dusk, casting long, jagged shadows over the uneven terrain.

It’s getting late. His fingers flexed against his side. He didn’t have long before nightfall.

A creeping sense of unease settled in his chest. If this forest had creatures like the Wildhorn buck, he didn’t want to be caught out in the open after dark.

He needed to find somewhere to rest for the night.

Kael turned slowly, trying to get his bearings.

The forest stretched in every direction a wall of trees, roots, and tangled underbrush. Each direction looked identical, equally dense, equally unfamiliar.

No signs, no landmarks, no trails.

Just a maze of ancient trees reaching endlessly into the sky.

He hesitated. Which direction should he go? He clenched his jaw. Did it even matter?

With a quiet sigh, he chose a direction and started walking.

As he moved deeper into the forest, he let his focus shift to his surroundings.

The trees were immense, towering higher than anything he had ever seen. Some stretched hundreds of meters into the air, their bark rough and thick, their roots breaking through the earth like the bones of some massive beast.

Keal remembered his mother telling him when he was in high school, after being sent home for the millionth time getting in a fight with the other students, not that anyone cared why the fights always started. She told him that she had learned on the discovery channel that there is a theoretical maximum height for trees. The bigger and taller they get the harder it is to get water to all its branches. If he remembered that correctly it should be around 100 meters. She always rambled on about things she had seen or learned whenever there was something serious to talk about. Choosing to instead try to pretend it never happened. As if that would one day make it so.

Keal refocused, noticing that the most unnerving part was the subtle blue glow running through them. Faint streaks of pulsing light ran through the bark, like veins under the skin, shifting just beneath the surface. The glow wasn’t bright, more like an afterimage, but so subtle it was easy to miss if he wasn’t looking closely.

Then there were the leaves.

The ones still attached to the branches had a faint shimmer, barely noticeable. But the ones that had fallen lost their glow completely, turning into normal, lifeless foliage.

Kael bent down and picked up a dry leaf. Why? Was there something in the trees themselves that kept them infused with what made them glow, is it essence?

Did they lose their energy the moment they left their source?

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This world isn’t just bigger. It’s… different.

More than just a landscape change. The very biology of things had shifted.

A flicker of movement caught his eye.

Kael stilled, his eyes tracking toward the branches above.

A bird sat perched on a thick, low-hanging limb, its head tilted slightly as if watching him.

At first glance, it looked like a normal sparrow.

Small, feathered, nothing out of the ordinary.

But then he noticed the size.

It was three times larger than it should have been.

Its feathers had an almost iridescent sheen, reflecting a subtle shimmer of blue light from the surrounding trees. It turned its head, watching him with sharp, intelligent eyes before flitting off into the canopy.

Kael released a slow breath.

Then, his gaze dropped to the forest floor.

Something scurried past his boot a beetle, the size of his fist.

Kael took a reflexive step back. "Yeah… people who hate bugs would absolutely lose their minds in this place."

His lips twitched in amusement, but the thought lingered.

Even the small creatures were different.

If something as harmless as a beetle had tripled in size…

What had happened to the predators? Kael continued walking, choosing not to contemplate more about that train of thought.

His boots pressed into damp earth, the forest growing darker with every passing minute.

He kept his eyes peeled for anything that could serve as shelter. A cave? No luck. A hollowed-out tree? Not in sight. A rocky overhang? Not a damn one in sight, not that it would be much but better than nothing at this point.

Damn it.

He had been moving for what felt like an hour, and there was still nowhere to hide.

The shadows stretched longer, creeping through the undergrowth. The air carried a faint chill, the warmth of the day fading into the cold of the approaching night. Luckly it was a cold morning when he went out for his hunt, and had taken on a good jacket, and a worm pair of sucks. It was meant to snow soon; it was that time of year but looking at this environment it didn’t look like that was happening yet.

His hands clenched at his sides.

This isn’t good.

Then he saw it. A massive tree had fallen, its trunk resting at an angle against another.

It was huge, thick enough that he could have fit an entire room inside the width of its trunk.

And most importantly it was climbable, difficult and dangerous, but climbable.

Kael approached, running his hand along the rough bark of the tall tree. Like the others, it pulsed faintly with blue streaks, glowing softly in the dimming light.

This will work. If he could climb up to one of the larger branches, he could get off the ground, away from whatever creatures hunted at night. It was as good as it would get for him before nightfall, and it was better than the alternative.

Kael hoisted himself up, using the rough grooves of the bark for grip. The climb was awkward, but his arms were strong enough to keep him moving, the physical routine he kept for all these years, even when he started living in the wilderness alone, paid off here well.

After a few minutes, he reached a thick, sturdy branch, wide enough that he could rest without immediately falling off.

Kael leaned back against the tree trunk, catching his breath.

Then, he looked up. So high in the tree, he could get a better look at the sky without it being hidden away by the trees.

The night sky stretched above him, clearer than anything he had ever seen before.

Without light pollution, the stars were sharp, vivid, endless. Constellations he didn’t recognize scattered across the darkness, unfamiliar yet mesmerizing. Living in God knows where he was used to getting some nights with beautiful sky, it was one of the things he liked to do and enjoyed. But it never was this clear, not even close.

But it was the moons that truly caught his attention.

And yes, moons as in plural, 3 to be exact.

One massive and pale silver, dominating the sky.

The second was smaller, reddish, partially hidden behind the first.

And the third is a faint blue shadow, barely visible in the distance.

That’s new. What happened to our moon? Are these the other worlds? Can’t be we were shown them merging with earth. So perhaps these new moons belongs to those other worlds?

Despite everything that had happened today, the chaos, the danger, the uncertainty, this moment was beautiful.

For a second, he let himself enjoy it. As the night settled in the forest as a blanket.

Then the sounds began.

Somewhere deep in the forest, a low howl echoed through the trees.

It was distant, but not distant enough for his liking.

A moment later, something growled. Another howl, closer this time.

Kaels body went tense.

The forest had been quiet before. Unnaturally so. But now? It was as if it was coming alive.

Kael forced himself to relax. He was off the ground. That was the best he could do for now.

He shifted slightly, adjusting against the bark. His tiredness and today’s exhaustion creeping in. He closed his eyes, letting out a slow relaxing breath.

Just a little rest. Just enough to stay alert.

Then a rustle. His eyes snapped open.

Something moved far below.

Kael stayed perfectly still, ears straining, trying hard not to make a sound.

More movement.

Something was down there.

Hunting.

And Kael could only hope it wouldn’t look up.