I'd been wandering for what felt like an hour, maybe more. Time was impossible to track when the sun filtered through the canopy in a never-ending golden haze. The forest was alive with sound, but it wasn't comforting. Every rustle, every chirp, every buzz made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.
The stick I held was barely more than a glorified twig, but it felt like a sword in my hands. A very sad, floppy sword.
"Alright, Kai. Let's take inventory" I muttered under my breath. "One: You've apparently died. Two: You woke up in a kid's body. Three: You're alone in a magic forest where everything's out to get you. And four: You've started narrating your own life out loud. Great."
I sighed, brushing a low-hanging branch out of the way before it could slap me again.
"Totally fine. People talk to themselves all the time. Especially when they're not hallucinating."
That's when I heard it, deep and steady, like a low growl, only... not aggressive. More like purring. Heavy, powerful, and unsettling.
I turned. Slowly.
And there it was.
The creature stepped out from the trees like it had been carved from shadow and breath. Taller than a horse, it moved with the silent grace of a predator, but its eyes, six in total, glowing faintly violet, watched me without hunger. It had fur so black it seemed to drink in the light, horns curling like obsidian blades from its skull, and long whisker-like tendrils that flowed lazily from its jaw.
"That is... so far beyond 'nope' I need a new word for it."
I took a step back. It tilted its head.
Another step.
It sat.
Like a housecat. A terrifying, eldritch, multi-eyed demon housecat.
It blinked, one eye at a time, and let out a sigh through its fanged maw.
I didn't breathe. Didn't move.
It didn't either.
"You're not... gonna eat me?"
It yawned. I saw teeth. A lot of teeth.
And then it began licking one paw with a massive, serpentine tongue, as if to say, "Relax, human child. I have no interest in biting you. Today."
"Alright. Fine. Be that way."
I backed away slowly, then turned, forcing myself into a fast walk. My dignity didn't survive the next tree root, and I nearly face-planted, but I kept going.
And the beast followed.
Soft steps. No growl. Just quiet, unnerving loyalty.
"Oh no. No no no. You are not my familiar, buddy. Shoo! Go be mystical somewhere else!"
I sped up.
It followed.
So I ran.
My legs pounded against the forest floor as I darted between trees, pushing through branches and crashing through underbrush. My breath came in harsh gasps, and my chest ached like I'd been sprinting for miles.
"Come on, come on, come on!"
Then I saw it: a narrow creek, shimmering like a silver ribbon through the woods.
It wasn't wide, maybe five meters at most, and the water barely came up to my knees. Perfect.
I splashed into the stream, the cold shocking against my skin, and scrambled across to the far bank. Turning quickly, I scanned the trees behind me, Nothing.
No sound. No glowing eyes. No purring.
Just the quiet bubbling of the water behind me and the gentle breeze sighing through the leaves. Birds resumed their singing, and the scent of damp moss drifted in the air again.
"...Did I actually lose it?"
I stood frozen a moment longer, then slumped to the ground, falling backward into the grass with a soft thud.
The sky peered down at me through the trees, blue and wide and uncaring. A few clouds drifted lazily overhead, one of them shaped vaguely like a donut. Or maybe I was just hungry.
"Thank God... I lost it."
My chest still heaved, heart pounding, but at least I wasn't dead. Again.
Arms outstretched, I stared up at the sky and tried to let the silence calm me. But silence had a way of making your thoughts louder.
"What am I supposed to do now?"
No answers came.
The adrenaline was gone, and reality was beginning to settle in. I was alone. Somewhere impossibly far from everything I knew, in a body that didn't feel like mine, with no idea where to go or how to survive.
I touched the scar on my chest again. It pulsed faintly under my fingertips, not with pain, but with... something else. Something quiet. Waiting.
I didn't know what it meant.
"Okay, Kai. Think. You're a kid now. Probably magically resurrected. You're in a fantasy forest with glowing monsters and aggressive foliage. What's step one?"
My stomach grumbled.
"Right. Step one: not dying. Step two: find food. Step three: figure out if I can punch ghosts."
Just as I sat up, something rustled in the nearby bush.
I froze.
It wasn't the beast. This thing was smaller, round, fuzzy, with huge ears and eyes that glowed a soft green. It looked like a rabbit crossed with a raccoon crossed with a stuffed animal.
We stared at each other.
"Churuu!" it squeaked, and then darted off like its life depended on it.
I blinked.
"Cool. The wildlife is cute and terrified of me. That's... progress?"
Pushing myself to my feet, I gave the creek one last glance before turning back toward the forest.
"Alright, Kai. We've got a magical forest, no shoes, and probably PTSD. Let's go find dinner before the demon cat comes back and asks to snuggle."
And so, with sore feet and no real plan, I walked deeper into the forest.