Darkness.

All around was complete darkness.

Except for a small area lit up by something that Adam could not see.

Adam was standing in the middle of this circle where he could not see what was lighting the area but could feel the ring "weakening."

Unsure of the meaning behind this feeling, Adam shifts his focus back to the current predicament, and he looks around to see no one.

"Hello?" he called, but no answer came.

Looking at the darkness, he slowly starts to feel as though he's being watched.

Fear starts to set in.

Adam looks around to see anything in the pitch black, but nothing is seen outside the light circle. It is as though everything has completely vanished, and the only thing left of existence was him.

Under stress, Adam started thinking about his situation.

'Where is this?'

'Actually, how long have I been here?'

'How did I get here? I'm dreaming, right?'

Not remembering how he got here made him conclude that this was a dream.

'What is this dream-'

In front of him, out there in the darkness where nothing seemed to be living, two light spots appeared. They seemed to be the eyes of something staring at him, right outside of the bright circle.

Adam was terrified, too scared even to speak.

The more he looked forward, the more he felt that the eyes were part of a silhouette standing outside the light circle, two meters away from him, appearing without notice.

Adam could not look away, but he noticed that the light was shrinking in the corner of his eyes.

'Not good!'

Adam reflexively started stepping backward but hit something.

It was solid as a wall.

Before he could even react, whatever was behind him grabbed his shoulder.

Adam was desperate, but under that pressure, he also felt something inside him was awakening. It was an odd feeling, but out of desperation, Adam called out to this entity inside him.

The next moment, a pale golden light appeared and slowly covered his vision. Adam was feeling a lot more comfortable than before.

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But soon, Adam was beginning to make out the shape of a spherical object inside the light. Adam could feel that it was giving out the pale gold light.

What happened next…

Adam will wonder about it for a long time to come.

The spherical object started to skyrocket in size, while its light became brighter and more golden.

Adam did not know how long it took for the object to reach its max size, but comparing the original size to the final one, Adam truly believed it would be like comparing an ant to the sun.

*gasp*

Adam woke up and quickly lifted himself.

Looking around, it seems he is not in a dream anymore, but it's still not his room or any place he was familiar with.

The first thing he noticed was a light orb right beside where he was sleeping.

Looking at it, he felt a sense of connection, as though it was a part of him.

The light orb gave out a glow that had a feeling of warmth to it.

'But where is this?'

All around him were dead trees, and the ground dried and sandy.

He could not see too far because there was a shadowy fog obscuring his vision. He estimated the distance he could see was only about 100 meters.

Looking up, Adam saw the sky was clouded entirely by shimmering yellow clouds, still visible despite the persistent dark fog, and was able to brighten up this dead forest marginally.

He also noticed a faint light dome surrounding 5 meters away from the orb and himself, as though this luminous veil was keeping the shadowy fog out.

'It's somewhat similar to the dream.'

Remembering the dream and the "thing" that stared him down, he became more vigilant of the outside forest separated from him by the thin dome of light.

Scrutinizing the foggy forest, he noticed movement even though it was unclear and could make out someone dawdling.

His first instinct was to call out, but he quickly stopped himself. He was completely unsure of his situation and didn't know what dangers may befall him if he made the wrong decision.

Looking at the human figure slowly moving closer and closer.

Adam was expecting to make out more features of the figure, but there was nothing.

Adam realized that the "person" walking to him was not human, but a creature in a vaguely humanoid shape that was black all over and was "dripping" a dark mist every time it moved. If Adam had to describe it, the best description he could come up with is that it looks like if a person's shadow on the ground stood up and started walking.

He felt that the misty creature and the surrounding fog were of the exact origin. It was as though the beast in front of him was the condensed version of the mist.

And the eyes…

'It's the same.'

Adam recognized the eyes of the creature were the same ones he saw in the dream.

Adam became more on guard against the creature about to reach the edge of the light dome. But to his dismay, there were no nearby sticks or anything else to use as a weapon.

However…

*sizzle*

The moment the creature touched the circle of light, a sizzling sound rang out, and it shirked back.

Adam was delighted to see this but was still focused on the creature's actions and did notice it made no sound of agony, nor did it seem in pain.

The creature stood there for a while before starting to dawdle in a different direction.

Adam was relieved but was still on alert.

He could see other shadowy figures moving about in the forest from time to time.

'It seems they are moving aimlessly.'

From how the other shadows were moving, he guessed that the creature that got close to him only came by chance.

It seems no other creature is moving in his direction so that he can have a moment of respite.

"phew'

"Just what is going on?"

looking to the outside forest, he's unsure if it's a wise thing to go out and explore it. He looks at the light orb in the center of this "safe" area. He suddenly had a feeling that the dome was projected by this orb and was keeping the dark fog and the shadowy creatures out.

He goes to touch it; he dares to do so because of the "warm" feeling he got from the light. Otherwise, he would be much more hesitant.

*bang*

A sound jolted adam's mind when he touched the smooth ball, and the light on the ball started to morph and change. Adam's vision was also being encompassed by the transforming light coming from the orb, as though he was being sucked in.