"..?"
When Lapsus woke up, he found himself in the middle of the unknown… To say the obvious, he at least recognized that he was in some forest… torn clothes barely holding themselves together by small threads of fabric… and a non-stop headache that felt like a pipe going through his temple.
But for Lapsus right now, none of that mattered, for he was exchanging glances with something far more frightening than the state he woke up in.
'Face down, now…'
Was it his instinct speaking? No, it couldn't be, for he felt it… a whisper in his ear, calm yet decisive, and he had no choice but to follow it. In just the blink of an eye, Lapsus made his first motion since he woke up, and it was none other than an act of fear from whatever that thing was.
Those red glowing eyes sent shivers through Lapsus' spine, making him unable to move until that whisper came; the giant wooden creeping vines and branches attached to it took the shape of a humanoid giant. Even though the leaves attached to the boughs created a sense of relief for the watcher… it was easily dismissed as nothing but a trap meant to deceive the wanderer by the glowing red eyes that were nothing less than surreal and what was scarier than anything else...
"You… bad… die…"
The three words were spoken in a language Lapsus understood clearly—something never expected from a beast, let alone a voice that made the leaves of the surrounding trees tremble..
Following those three words, a wooden limb—no, a thorn—grew out from under the glowing eyes and was shot toward Lapsus, who just happened to dodge it by following the whisper he heard at that moment..
"..!"
Although it was a simple movement of leaning forward, for some reason each joint and muscle of Lapsus' body screamed, while the tree beast was busy pulling out its thorn that was stuck to the tree behind.
Why am I so rigid? And what's that thing? Lapsus thought as he tried to catch his breath with his face facing the damp soil, the ground that stood like a dirty spot, even though the area was grassy, the ground around Lapsus was barren to say the least ,.. A beast? But it is nothing like the rabbit thing from the forest—
'Sprint forward, under the armpit.'
Lapsus' thoughts were cut by the whisper again, the hot yet soft breath near his ear—even though none other than him and the tree beast were there—made him question his sanity. But Lapsus had nothing to do other than trust that voice, so he followed it.
He launched forward, taking the little opening under the tree beast's armpit and ran with all his body. Even though each muscle screamed and each joint pained him, Lapsus didn't have the luxury to rest and think, because his life was at risk from the pulsating walking wood.
Uncle Aurel never said that beasts could speak!!No, I have no time to complain about his teachings…
As he finally grasped his momentum, Lapsus took a couple of deep breaths and tried to make sense of his current situation.
Right now, I am lost inside a weird-looking forest…
Nothing was weird about the forest except one thing: the trees, with their eerie height and thickly-leafed branches, made it nearly impossible for sunlight to reach the ground. Even though it was midday, Lapsus found it hard to tell due to the shadows taking hold.
Okay, I understand a little. It is the forest Papa transferred me to… but why!?
"Is he trying to kill me!!!?"
No, I am just panicking… When I reached the forest… something crawled up my mouth… and I slept… so everything happened yesterday…
Lapsus was able to conclude his location and the time using very simple methods, yet he couldn't get rid of the doubts.
But something feels wrong… Why is it that my steps feel far lengthier than usual…? And this pain in my eyes…
Lapsus couldn't help but rub his temple, trying to ease the pain he felt in that area, as if a rusty metal rod had gone through his temple… his eyes were agonized.
'A branch, watch out.'
Lapsus' session of thinking was interrupted by the whisper once again; this time it warned him about a branch coming his way. But Lapsus dismissed the warning with a little laugh and a wave of his hand.
This branch is set too high to hit me… like I still haven't even reached Mama's height… nothing to worry—
"Eh…?"
Suddenly, the view of the ground flipped for Lapsus into that of a bright blue sky.
Such a beautiful sky…
As his laugh turned to shock, Lapsus' back collided with the ground. Running with that fast momentum, any small obstacle could make you fly into the sky, and the branch Lapsus' neck bumped into made him do a failed backflip.
'I told you, watch out.'
This is no time for this kind of attitude… and what is wrong with my sense of distances, when did I get this tall? Thinking so, Lapsus tried to stand back on his feet but—
'Don't. Stay laid.'
A giant tree passed over Lapsus' eyes; his breath stopped for a second as he imagined being hit by it… if it wasn't for the whispers, he would have died by now.
'Now stand up and run toward the beast.'
What?
'Trust me, just follow my lead.'
"..." Lapsus was hesitant at first… No matter how he saw it, running toward that beast could only lead to his demise. He tried to rub his hair to think a little.
When did it get this long? A question popped up. And my right hand… didn't I lose it? Another question popped up. Even in these lethal moments, his thoughts drifted, making him unable to focus.
please.. live
The words echoed inside Lapsus shattering all the thoughts, a voice of a father he never truly tried to understand or love and the words of a father who never truly understood his son yet he loved him
No… I said I would change, so be it… He dismissed every thought he had—he didn't want his confusion to be a barrier in these moments.
Papa sacrificed himself and asked me to live, find Luna, meet people and watch the blue star
With a voice tainted by determination, Lapsus muttered
"Alright… I will trust the voice."
He stood up and focused on the beast that was taking off another tree, getting it ready to shoot at Lapsus.
'As you should. Now sprint forward.'
what is it with this smug tone..?
So Lapsus did. He sprinted forward, focused on one thing only: to get out alive from this situation, even if it meant facing death itself. In this moment, all he focused on was the dream his father entrusted him with—but it would all go to nothing if he died. His mother and father's sacrifice would be meaningless if he let himself die, so he launched his body forward to face it.
'Don't run in a straight line, confuse the beast.'
And so he did, confusing the giant beast.
'The tree's momentum is diagonal. Hide behind a tree and crouch.'
And so he did, though he was struck a little by the impact of the shot hitting the tree he hid behind.
'Don't laze around. Close the distance before he takes off another tree.'
He obeyed, closing the distance between him and the beast, forcing the beast to forfeit shooting another tree and instead attack him directly.
'Stop. It will strike with its hand. Don't move until I say.'
Lapsus stood there, watching the giant wooden palm coming down slowly to strike him like a mosquito.
'Not yet…'
Each millisecond that passed made Lapsus' pulse grow faster, yet he didn't move an inch because he trusted the whisper's instructions.
'Now. Jump right and climb before he pulls it back.'
And so Lapsus did, climbing the giant hand and running through it to reach its head.
'Enough contact was made through the years. Take a breath and feel the little spark in your throat… let it move to your hand.'
Lapsus got confused by her words, and that little confusion cost him his chance. The giant, standing high above the ground—high enough to kill whoever had the bad luck to fall—moved its hand abruptly. That momentum was enough to throw Lapsus off it like a fly. While he was falling, the beast clenched its other hand and threw a blow, catching Lapsus straight as he fell—a fist bigger than him came into view.
"..."
Lapsus' breath halted, but the whispers didn't accept such a development.
'Do as I said and strike the hand.'
As the voice said?
He was confused—the explanation was too brief to be sufficient—but it was all he had. He closed his eyes deeply and felt his body; a little spark, out of place, was roaming in his throat. He guided it to his right hand, and it followed the thought. Now the spark was in his right hand.
I don't know why, but my hand feels heavy… Was it to strike, like the whisper said?
Following the command, Lapsus clenched his right hand into a fist, the black spark taking the shape of a black sphere, and at that moment, intentional or not, he shouted:
"D Strike!!"
His fist collided with the beast's fist.
"..!"
Suddenly all the surroundings were engulfed by a black, suffocating fluid substance before instantly shrinking into a sphere the size of an ant that stood between the beast's hand and Lapsus.
Then, followed by a deafening cry, it exploded, throwing Lapsus away. The beast was left with nothing but a single glowing red eye that faded as it stood with nothing—every piece of it was no longer there, as if erased by a rubber.
--------
"haaa.."
When Lapsus woke up, he found himself lying on a running stream. He took a deep breath as water entered his nostrils, then he coughed a little before pulling himself together, and his first thought was—
Where are my clothes!!?
When he woke up, Lapsus found himself naked—well, except for the small cloth covering his crotch—now the stream had taken it. He was totally naked.
"Noo! Give me my dignity back!!"
Lapsus screamed, but the tide had already stolen his only shards of dignity.
'No need to act this dramatic, you were born naked.'
Even so, I cannot lie down like animals…
'What was it with that D Strike… it was so stupid.'
"Hehe… I think I was succumbed by the moment…"
'Don't do it again… I have never gotten such embarrassing second-hand embarrassment.'
Okay, stop it now… it is infuriating.
'Whatever, now check your face… there is a little reflection in the water.'
Lapsus fully trusted the whispers, so even if it asked for trivial things, he would abide. So he checked his face, only to be shocked.
"I look… older."
My hair is longer… too long, as if it's been years since the last time I cut it… I look skinnier, like I've never eaten before… and my face looks much more refined, like I've lost a bit of my child innocence…
Even though he didn't lose all the innocence that once held his facial expression, Lapsus was still shocked to see how different he looked from what he perceived to be yesterday… but something stood out compared to the other changes.
My eyes… black…
His once golden irises had lost their color as if their light was stolen; they were now dyed black.
'Alright, that's it.'
What do you mean?
'I will no longer make contact with you.'
"Huh!? But why?"
'As my last advice, do not let the whispers take over you.'
Wait? What whispers? There are other—
"…"
There was no response, and for a second, silence stood still along side the sound of the stream before they arrived.
'hkiakd.f&mùiv.'
A series of incomprehensible voices started whispering to Lapsus; they were different from the hot yet soft breath the previous one had… they were sharp, and they only made the pain in his eyes stronger.
"Argh!!"
Lapsus couldn't take it, for the whispers grew each second. He grabbed his head to calm it, but to no avail… He slapped himself, but to no avail... He slammed his head into the ground until his forehead bled, but to no avail… He screamed, ran, bumped, slipped and fell, stood up and ran again, but to no avail…
'ugvajzkefgiumavzoblvaj.fk'
"Argh!!"
The whispers were incomprehensible, but something was certain about them… they coveted Lapsus' body; they wanted to take control.
And Lapsus couldn't let that happen, so he walked, trying to find a solution—but they played with his fear.
'They are watching you', suddenly the whisper spoke comprehensibly.
"What!!?"
'Their eyes… your failure… they are watching.'
Lapsus panicked, his eyes grew, his irises shrank, and with a trembling voice, he screamed—
"What are you? Why are you watching me!?"
He looked back and forth, but the feeling of eyes staring at him grew with the whispers, and it was at that moment Lapsus stepped into a trap.
"..?!"
In the next moment, Lapsus was hanging upside down.