Deep within the woods, a teenage boy crawled low to the ground, forcing his way through the underbrush. Branches tugged at his clothes, thorns raked his palms, leaving faint lines of blood. The crawl was miserable, but Mars kept going.
"Pain is gain," he muttered, the words awkward on his tongue, as though he'd stolen them from someone else's memory.
Aside from his dark hair—which stood out against his dark-toned skin—there was nothing particularly unusual about him. Except, of course, for the map clutched in his hands.
So far, Mars had managed to steer clear of the dangers that could've killed him outright. Just minutes ago, he'd barely escaped a creature that looked like a grotesque cross between a bear and a deer. The map had proven more helpful than the beautiful woman who'd given it to him—though he supposed that wasn't saying much.
She'd sent him to find a key. No further explanation, no clues—just the map.
At first, Mars had protested.
A key? Somewhere in a forest this size? Ridiculous.
And worse—he couldn't even read the thing.
But once she'd explained the map's strange properties—how it could guide him on its own—Mars grudgingly accepted. She'd promised him more answers if he succeeded.
A win-win. Or so he thought.
Here's what he'd managed to piece together from her cryptic ramblings:
This forest was part of a region called Nuran, serving as a natural border between the Kingdom of Lilly and a neighboring settlement, Induria. From what little he knew, Induria mostly produced weapons and supplies for Lilly's wars.
The capital of Nuran—confusingly also called Lilly—was under the rule of a queen. From the woman's tone, Mars guessed the queen wasn't exactly popular. Civil war simmered across the land, mistrust hanging in the air like smoke.
If Mars had to guess, the queen's reach stretched farther than most realized. Spies. Informants. Soldiers hidden in plain sight.
But where did the woman fit in?
A rebel?
A double agent?
Or just another wanderer, like him?
He didn't know. She clearly thought he didn't "deserve" to know yet. But that didn't stop his imagination from running wild.
Maybe the queen had powers that let her control minds.
Maybe she was watching him right now.
Mars shuddered.
The woman had also warned him about mutated beasts roaming deeper in the woods. "Weak," she'd called them. "Even a rabbit could outrun them."
Assuming the rabbit was normal.
Eventually, Mars pushed through a final curtain of branches and stepped into an open space.
Something about the clearing made his skin crawl.
The towering trees around it seemed… fake, like flimsy props holding up a stage. The air felt thinner here, quieter, as though the forest itself was holding its breath.
He glanced at the map. Its surface had gone blank again, leaving only yellowed parchment.
Mars sighed, tucking it away before stepping forward.
The clearing was unnaturally clean—no bushes, no fallen branches, just grass.
"Strange," he murmured, taking another step. "Guess I didn't need to read the map after all."
He began to search, brushing through the grass. Insects scurried away from his feet. Nothing. No footprints. No clues.
But the feeling didn't leave.
It felt like the ground itself was watching him.
Then he saw it—
A glint in the far corner.
Mars crouched and brushed the grass aside. A single shard of mirror lay half-buried in the dirt.
At first glance, it seemed normal. But when he lifted it, he realized it reflected nothing—only endless, lightless black.
Exactly like the windows of the cabinet.
Sunlight streamed weakly through the canopy above, striking the shard—but no light bounced back. It was swallowed.
"This is the key."
Mars stared at it, waiting for something to happen. A flash of light, a sound, a shift in the earth.
Nothing.
He smirked despite himself. "Can't wait to see her face when I show her this."
Then he pictured her expressionless stare and sighed.
"She won't care. Figures. Waste of a pretty face if you never bother to smile."
The shard felt heavy in his hand, its smooth surface somehow infinite.
Mars turned and left the clearing. The strange pressure lifted the moment he passed the treeline.
The map in his hand lit up, faint golden lines sketching a new path—leading him back toward the cabin.
This route was different. Thicker, more difficult. He pushed through brambles, waded through a shallow pool that soaked him to the knees, and emerged shivering.
"She better keep her end of the deal," he muttered.
But what if she didn't?
Mars wasn't sure how strong the woman really was. Strong enough to be confident, that much was clear.
Just in case, he had a plan:
Run. Keep the shard. Keep the map. Figure things out himself . He had the mystical map in his hands, surely the town the beautiful woman talked about would appear here if he set his mind onto it .
Money?
No—that sounded ridiculous. Money, if he remembered correctly, wasn't worth trading away his only lifeline for.
He grimaced. That sounded ridiculous too… but it was true enough.
Perhaps the dark shard—the key—would be a far better bargain. There were always other ways to earn coins, even if they were slower, riskier.
His gaze wandered back to the forest towering ahead of him. The place had to be either heavily restricted… or simply unhuntable. Mars leaned toward the former.
He wouldn't blame anyone who turned back at the sight of this place. The trees loomed like pillars of an ancient cathedral, their shadows twisting together until the path itself seemed to vanish. Step too far off the trail, and you wouldn't just lose your way—you'd lose yourself. But that wasn't the point. The real eye catcher were the plants . But what caught his attention most were the plants. Rare species thrived here, some of them probably valuable even outside Nuran. Quality didn't matter—just having them could mean something.
"I need a plant," he thought grimly, scanning the forest floor.
Those thoughts stayed with him until he recognized familiar landmarks—tree markings, grooves in the earth, things he hadn't noticed the first time through. His awareness sharpened as an oppressive energy pressed against him the closer he got.
Finally, the clearing came into view.
The cabinet was still there, just as he'd left it.
Mars quickened his steps, forcing himself through the heavy atmosphere until he stood before it.
No sign of the woman.
Then—
The map wrapped around his finger shivered.
A new path lit across its surface.
This one was different.
It was leading him to its former wielder.