Luc's eyes blinked open, his vision still blurry. Mist swirled around him, dense and disorienting.

He sat up slowly, feeling the ache in his muscles as if he’d been asleep for ages.

The ground beneath him was damp and covered in moss, and the air carried a strong, earthy scent.

Where...am I?

Luc frowned trying to make sense of where he was.

The last thing he remembered was falling asleep in his own bed.

A glance down confirmed he was still in his black t-shirt and boxer shorts, but that only added to his unease as he realized he had no memory of how he ended up here.

His hands instinctively searched his pockets, and a wave of panic surged as he found them empty—his phone was missing.

Taking a deep breath, Luc tried to piece together what had happened the night before.

He recalled being at home, unwinding after a long day at work, then drifting off to sleep. Yet now, he found himself in the middle of a dense, foggy forest. How was that possible?

Luc slowly stood up. The forest was eerie, with twisted tree trunks and branches that seemed to shift in the fog, almost as if they were alive.

Luc felt a growing sense of unease as he began to walk, knowing he needed to find a way out. But each step through the foggy paths brought with it a nagging sense that something was off.

What if he was lost? What if he could never find his way back home? Luc felt a chill at the idea of being stuck in this strange place. He didn’t want to be stuck in this strange place, alone.

As he moved, his heart raced, eyes taking in the unfamiliar landscape—the twisting branches, the vivid indigo and emerald leaves, the ferns swaying gently in the mist.

"What is this place?" Luc murmured, bewildered by the forest’s strange beauty. He shook his head, trying to make sense of his bizarre surroundings.

He reached out, his fingers brushing against the slick, pulsing leaves of a nearby bush. The texture was unnervingly real. Was this some sort of hallucination?

Am I dreaming?

Luc traced the outline of a mushroom cap, its surface alive with a subtle pulse that felt all too real. The longer he remained in this foggy place, the more he questioned his reality.

He scanned the dense forest again, hoping for something familiar, a clue to where he might be. But there was nothing—only the strange, twisting landscape stretching out endlessly.

"Hello?" Luc called out, his voice feeling swallowed up by the dense foliage. "Is anyone there?"

The words echoed briefly among the trees, bouncing off the gnarled trunks before fading into the thick air.

He listened intently, hoping for any sign of life. But the only reply was the whisper of the wind through the leaves and the distant creak of branches.

He sat down beneath a tree and waited for whatever this was to be over. And waited. Hours passed, and the whole experience started to feel real.

He wasn’t new to anime; he knew what this had to be. He must have been thrown into another world, right? What was it called again? Isekai?

If someone asked which was more likely—that he’d suddenly woken up in another world, or that this was just a dream...

But if it was a dream, why was nothing happening? The entire time he’d been sitting under the tree, nothing had happened. The one thing about dreams was that they never stayed still.

He pinched the back of his hand, wincing at the sting. No, this was real.

His stomach growled, a reminder that he couldn’t just sit there indefinitely.

With a sigh, Luc got up, brushing the moss and strange, glowing leaves from his clothes.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Might as well explore

As he ventured deeper into the forest, his eyes darted from one bizarre sight to another. Trees towered above him, their bark emitting a faint glow. Ferns moved slightly as he passed, almost as if they were alive. A sweet, dizzying scent filled the air.

A flash of color caught his attention.

A strange fruit dangled from a low branch, shimmering between shades of violet and blue. His mouth watered, and he almost reached for it, but caution stopped him. Who knew what effect such a strange fruit might have?

Luc forced himself onward, his bare feet silent on the moss. The forest seemed to close in tighter, mist thickening with each step.

Just as he felt trapped, he heard a faint, melodic sound—running water.

He hurried toward it, the trees thinning out as he reached a small stream. The water was crystal clear, flowing over stones that glowed gently.

Dropping to his knees, Luc drank deeply. The water tasted sweet and pure, more refreshing than any he’d ever had. He splashed some on his face, savoring the coolness on his skin.

As the ripples settled, he leaned in to see his reflection. The face staring back was his, but subtly different.

A young man with black eyes and short black hair. But what really shocked him were his features—they seemed sharper, more defined

Luc traced the contours of his reflection with a trembling finger, trying to make sense of the familiar yet changed face staring back at him. Unease settled in his stomach as he slowly stood up.

He needed to find a way out. Maybe the stream would lead him to civilization. With one last look at his reflection, he stood and followed the water.

Hours passed as Luc walked beside the stream, his bare feet growing numb. The mist kept swirling around him, making it hard to see. Still, he kept going.

Catching his breath, Luc felt a shiver of unease. There was an unsettling quietness in the forest. No birds, no insects—just the stillness of the forest.

Luc swallowed, his throat dry. He looked through the dense foliage for any sign of movement or life but found nothing.

Is there not a single living creature here?

Shaking his head, Luc pushed on. He must be letting his imagination get to him. This was just an unfamiliar forest.

Still, the longer he walked, the more uneasy he felt. There was something oddly familiar about this place. This pulsing trees and thick mist gave him a vague sense of recognition. Had he been here before?

He stopped, staring at a huge tree with bark that rippled like liquid metal. Without thinking, he traced the patterns with his fingers.

A shock of recognition hit him. He knew this tree. He couldn’t explain how, but the feeling of familiarity was strong. His eyes widened as he looked around, seeing his surroundings.

Luc clenched his fists, fighting off rising panic. He couldn’t lose himself now. Taking a deep breath, he broke a low-hanging branch, stripping it down and drawing a smiley face on the bark—a trail marker, like those in survival movies.

With his marker in place, Luc squared his shoulders and continued following the stream. He would find a way out. He had to.

The mist clung to Luc, thick and heavy, but he kept moving. His steps were slow and deliberate, each one carrying him further into the silent, eerie forest. The thought of being trapped here was unsettling, but he didn’t let it take hold. He couldn’t afford to.

Luc kept walking, the strange forest seeming to stretch on endlessly. The thick mist blurred his vision, giving everything an otherworldly feel. He couldn’t shake the deep unease that settled in his gut.

Minutes turned into hours as Luc followed the stream, his bare feet growing numb. The eerie silence felt suffocating. There were no signs of life.

Then, through the mist, something familiar appeared

What the…a tall and imposing tree with a carved face in the bark. Luc’s stomach sank.

He recognized it immediately. This was the same tree he had passed hours ago, the same twisted smile staring back at him.

A sense of dread settled over him. Despite following the stream, he had ended up right where he started. Luc wiped the sweat from his forehead, his eyes scanning the clearing for an answer that wasn’t there.

But there was no mistaking it —this was the same tree he had marked hours ago. Luc's breath caught as he realized the horrifying truth: he was trapped in this cursed forest.

His fingers brushed the bark, feeling the rough surface beneath the carved face. Panic started to rise as he looked around, searching for any sign that might lead him out of this maddening loop. But there was nothing—just the same unending forest and the mist that refused to lift.

Luc's heart pounded as the full realization of his situation hit him. He was trapped, caught in a place that didn’t seem to follow the rules of the world he knew.

He sank to the ground, the damp moss cool under his knees. His breath came in shallow. This place, this forest, it felt like a nightmare he couldn’t wake from.

This couldn’t be real.

I have to wake up. Luc! You need to wake up!

He squeezed his eyes shut, willing himself to wake up, to be anywhere but here. But when he opened them, nothing had changed. The forest still surrounded him, and the mist still hung in the air, heavy and thick.

How long could he survive in this place? Days? Weeks? The idea of spending forever trapped in this forest, endlessly wandering, was terrifying.

A shiver ran through Luc as he forced himself to take a deep breath and stood up again.

He couldn’t give in to the fear, not now. There had to be a way out, and he would find it. He had no other choice.