After hours of pacing and quiet calculation, Kai made his decision.

There was only one thing that mattered.

     Get home. At any cost.

He stood in the center of the small cabin — the one he’d woken in, confused, covered in bile — and scanned it one last time.

He packed everything of value into a worn satchel: the cloak, the sharper of the two blades, dried berries he’d foraged earlier, and the strange books — even if he didn’t plan to read them yet.

He left behind the vomit. The cold floor. The fear.

     I don’t know what’s possible in this world.  

     But I do know this — I have to survive long enough to find out._

He stepped out into the forest.

Tread light. Stay alert.

He didn’t know if this world was full of people, monsters, or nothing at all.  

The thought that it might be empty— that he might be completely alone — made his stomach twist.

His steps faltered for a moment.

    What if I’m the only one here?

His face paled.

Then he shook it off.

   One step at a time.

He leapt onto the first tree in sight — a clean, fast movement that surprised even him.

He barely touched the bark before vaulting to the next.

And the next.

Muscles that had learned to move under pressure now moved with purpose.

He moved for hours. Swift. Silent.

The cloak flapped at his back like a whisper.

By late afternoon, the light shifted.

Kai landed near a sloped hillside covered in roots and moss — and spotted a shadowed hollow cave beneath it.

   A cave.

He checked the entrance first — standard habits.

Scouted for movement. Sniffed the air.

No scent of death. No bones. No traps.

Just quiet.

He stepped inside, blade drawn.

It was cramped, narrow at first — but opened slightly deeper in. The air was cool and dry. The stone walls curved naturally, with ridges and small hanging roots like draped curtains.

He set down his pack and exhaled.

Then he saw it.

Along the edges of the cave — soft light.

Not fire. Not reflection.

Fauna.

Tiny bioluminescent petals clung to the walls like ivy.  

Some glowed deep violet. Others bright green.  

Little orbs of soft pink light floated lazily above a puddle in the far corner, gently pulsing like breath.

The rocks were layered with natural crystal — reflecting just enough light to make the whole cave shimmer faintly.

Kai crouched down, running a finger across one of the glowing plants.

It didn’t recoil.

It leaned toward him.

   What _is_ this place…

he muttered, almost without meaning to.

He stepped back out toward the cave entrance and looked up at the sky.

Dusky orange poured between the treetops. Birds circled high. Insects buzzed. A streak of something — not a comet, not a bird — cut across the upper atmosphere like a soft ribbon of flame.

    This world is alive.

And for the first time since he arrived,  

Kai didn’t feel like it was trying to kill him.

Not yet.

He sat at the mouth of the cave, watching the light dim.

He would travel further tomorrow.

He would find people. Answers. A path home.

But tonight, he would rest.

Not because he felt safe.

But because he’d earned it.

Hours later...

The cave had gone completely still.

No wind. No distant buzz of insects.  

Just the soft rise and fall of Kai’s breath, slow and even.

Then—

His eyes snapped open.

He didn’t dare move.

Didn’t sit up.  

Didn’t speak.

But his entire body had gone rigid — like something heavy had landed on his chest.

Sweat beaded across his forehead instantly.

     What is this…?

He couldn't explain it — but it felt like a **weight**, pressing into his lungs. Not pain. Not physical.

Just _presence.

Like something massive was standing right over him.

Watching.

Waiting.

---

He sat up slowly, hands already tightening around the hilt of his blade.

But the cave was empty.

No footprints. No shadows.

Just the soft glow of the cave flora, dimmer now. Almost flickering.

He looked toward the entrance. Nothing.

But every part of him screamed.

    Something’s here.

Something ancient. Something I shouldn’t be near.

His breath stilled.

And then… he felt it.

Not on his skin. Not in the air.

**Inside.**

Deep. Low. Like **a vibration running through his bones**.

A hum — the kind a predator makes not by sound, but by existing.

His fingers twitched.

His heartbeat slowed instinctively, the way it used to before — when silence mattered more than breath.

     I’m being hunted.

He stood, one smooth motion.

Cloak pulled over his shoulder, blade drawn.

Still no movement.

Still no noise.

But the feeling stayed. Like **being under a mountain that hadn’t decided to fall yet**.

He backed toward the cave entrance.

One step.

Another.

---

Suddenly, everything snapped back into motion.

Wind. Insects. Distant birds.

The hum vanished.

And just like that — the pressure was gone.

---

Kai didn’t lower his blade.

He didn’t sit back down.

He stood at the edge of the cave until the first hint of sunrise crept through the treetops.