My eyes snapped open to a blinding light.
Cold water clung to my skin, soaking through my ragged clothes. I lay sprawled at the edge of a riverbank, the current lapping gently against my legs. For a moment, I couldn't move. My chest heaved, lungs burning as I coughed up mouthfuls of water.
"What… what am I doing here?" I rasped, my voice raw.
Then it hit me—a sharp, splitting pain erupted in my skull, like someone driving nails into my head. My vision blurred, fragments of last night flashing before me: the bridge… the darkness… and her.
That girl with moonlit white hair and those haunting, wine-red eyes.
I clenched my head and groaned. Was she real?
Or just another cruel dream my mind had conjured to torment me?
But no—my heart wouldn't stop racing whenever I thought of her face. And there was something else… I could swear I remembered falling. The rush of wind. The icy embrace of the river. The darkness swallowing me whole.
Yet here I was, alive. My body ached, but not a single bone felt broken.
"Why?" I whispered bitterly. Why am I still alive when I finally accepted my end?
I tilted my head back and stared up at the bridge towering above me. Last night, I had falled off it with nothing but despair in my heart. For a brief moment, I thought it was over.
But fate—or something far crueler—had decided otherwise.
The first rays of sunlight pierced through the horizon, spilling over the river.
I winced and raised a hand to shield my eyes. Years spent in mostly darkness had made my eyes sensitive to the light. Normally, the sun felt like an enemy—harsh and merciless.
But today…
For some reason, its warmth felt almost comforting.
I dragged myself beneath the shadow of the bridge and slumped against one of its cracked, moss-covered pillars. The sky beyond it was a brilliant, cloudless blue. I hadn't stopped to truly look at the sky in so long. It felt distant, almost unreal.
Six years.
That's how long I've been roaming beneath this same sky, drifting from place to place like a ghost.
If my guess is right, I'm around thirteen now… though there's no one to confirm it. Not that it matters.
Bits and pieces of the world around me have become familiar during my wandering.
This land… it's called Azeria—a star-shaped continent that earned its name for two reasons.
Some say it's because the land itself is shaped like a star when seen from above. Others whisper a more poetic tale: that this place is the birthplace of stars.
Azeria is ruled by the Heath family, though calling it a "ruling family" now is almost laughable.
Once, they were revered as the most powerful family of Sylviopia . But now? The line teeters on the brink of extinction. The current king has sat on the throne for over two centuries. I saw him once, from a distance, when I wandered near the capital last year.
A pale, frail figure, barely clinging to life, a black gem crown crooked on his skeletal head.
The sight of him chilled me to my core.
People spoke of the royal castle as a breathtaking masterpiece of white and black marble—so dazzling it could blind you.
But when I finally laid eyes on it… it was crumbling, broken like a rotting carcass.
Walls split and collapsing. Towers leaning precariously.
Just like the kingdom itself.
My stomach growled violently, pulling me back to the present.
"…Guess I should find something to eat," I muttered, pushing myself up with stiff, trembling arms.
As I stood, something strange caught my attention.
Two thin, black needles had appeared on the back of my right hand—sharp, inky markings pointing in opposite directions. My breath caught. What the…?
I didn't remember getting them.
They hadn't been there yesterday.
And when I turned my hand slightly, the needles shifted, aligning toward something unseen, like a compass finding true north.
A cold sweat broke out along my spine.
"What… are you pointing to?" I whispered, my voice trembling.
I staggered backward, staring at the unnatural markings. My pulse quickened, heart pounding in my chest. They pulsed faintly, as if they were alive.
Then the memory of last night surged through me once more—the girl, her white hair glowing like moonlight, her red eyes piercing through the darkness… and then her sudden fall from the bridge.
I looked at the markings again, a terrible thought striking me.
Could these… be connected to her?
The river's gentle flow seemed to fade into silence. The whole world felt like it was holding its breath.
I clenched my trembling hand into a fist, a mix of fear and determination burning inside me.
No matter what these things were…
I had to find out.
The two black needles etched into the back of my hand pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat beneath my skin.
One of them was barely visible, almost faded, but the other glowed faintly and pointed toward the northeast—straight toward one of the forbidden regions of Azeria.
Temps Forest.
My breath caught as the name rose in my mind. I had overheard whispers of that place countless times during my wandering. A vast, unending wilderness where the trees grew so dense they swallowed both light and sound. Those foolish enough to enter never returned.
Some said the forest itself was alive, twisting paths until travelers lost their sense of direction. Others claimed that time itself warped inside, days turning to minutes, hours to years. The few who staggered back out were broken husks, their minds shattered, their tongues speaking only gibberish.
Temps Forest wasn't just dangerous—it was cursed.
And yet… that was where the needle wanted me to go.
I stared at the marking, trembling slightly. My life had always been meaningless, nothing but endless wandering and the cold grip of guilt around my throat. But now, for the first time, there was… direction. A purpose.
Even if it led to my death.
I clenched my fist, feeling the needle's strange pulse beneath my skin.
"If going there will help me understand what happened last night… if it can lead me to her," I whispered, remembering the girl with moonlit white hair and those wine-red eyes, "then I'll go. Even if I never come back."
My stomach growled violently, breaking the moment. I let out a bitter laugh.
"Fine, fine. I'll eat first, then walk to my death."
Across the riverbank, clusters of mango berries clung to thorny bushes. The small, pale-orange fruit had a sour, tangy flavor that most people spat out in disgust, but I had lived on them for years. In a kingdom on the verge of ruin, no one spared kindness—or food—for a homeless orphan like me.
I waded through the icy water, gathered a handful of berries, and bit into one.
The taste was as awful as ever, but familiar.
When you're starving, flavor doesn't matter—only survival.
I chewed slowly, staring at the forest in the distance. The dark silhouette of its treetops seemed to loom higher with every glance, as if it were watching me.
For the first time in my life… I'm looking forward to something, I thought, the realization startling me.
Maybe this—just maybe—could give my meaningless existence some small purpose.
I stuffed a few extra berries into a ragged cloth to carry with me, then began to follow the glowing needle.
The walk was harder than I expected.
The closer I drew to the Temps Forest, the more the world seemed to change.
The air grew heavier, thicker, until it felt like I was breathing through water. A strange silence settled around me—no birdsong, no rustling of leaves, only the rhythmic crunch of my footsteps. My own heartbeat sounded unnaturally loud in my ears.
I had thought the forest was far away, but after barely two hours of walking, I stood at its edge.
It wasn't just close—it had been waiting for me.
The towering trees rose like ancient pillars, their trunks gnarled and blackened, their branches tangling together to form a canopy so thick that almost no sunlight reached the forest floor. It was like staring into the mouth of some enormous, living creature.
My legs trembled. Fear surged through me, sharp and raw.
For six years, I had never feared death. I had walked alone in darkness, my feet bleeding, my heart hollow.
But now… now that I wanted to live—just enough to chase the truth—I was terrified.
I closed my eyes and took a slow, steady breath.
No turning back. Not this time.
When I opened my eyes, I stepped forward. The forest swallowed me whole.
I didn't get far before the first sign of its curse revealed itself.
After only a dozen steps, I turned back to glance at the entrance… and froze.
The path I had walked moments ago was gone.
Behind me, there was nothing but a wall of trees, endless and identical, their twisted branches reaching like skeletal hands.
A chill ran down my spine. My throat went dry.
That's when I heard it—a voice, soft and melodic, yet carrying a weight that made my knees buckle.
"We have a rather young one today."
I spun around, heart pounding.
"Who's there?!" My voice cracked with panic. "Show yourself!"
The silence stretched for a heartbeat… then the trees moved.
From between their trunks, a figure emerged—a woman, so breathtakingly beautiful it was almost painful to look at her.
Her hair was a cascade of molten gold, glowing faintly in the dim light. Her eyes, a deep, unsettling amber, seemed to pierce straight through me. She wore a flowing white dress that shimmered like mist, and from her back sprouted vines, writhing and curling like living creatures.
Before I could react, she vanished—and in the next blink, she was standing directly in front of me.
I stumbled back, my breath catching in my throat. Her presence was overwhelming, suffocating, like standing at the edge of a cliff with the wind ready to hurl me into the abyss.
Her gaze locked with mine, and in that instant, I understood one thing clearly: she hated me.
Her voice dripped with venom as she spoke.
"So, you've come seeking power… or perhaps control."
She tilted her head, a cruel smile touching her lips.
"Tell me, child—did you come here to claim a Draid? If so…" She spread her arms, and the vines behind her hissed and coiled, "then try to capture me."
I froze, confusion and terror warring inside me.
"Draid? I—I don't even know what that is! I didn't come here for that!" I shouted, my voice shaking.
Her smile vanished, replaced by a glare so sharp it felt like knives pressing against my skin.
"Liar," she hissed. "You reek of destruction. I can see it in your hands. Wherever you go, ruin follows."
I stumbled back further, memories of blood and fire flashing in my mind—the night my parents died, the orphanage reduced to ash. My breathing turned ragged.
For the first time, I realized something terrifying.
Maybe… she wasn't wrong.
The vines shot forward, wrapping around the trees, shaking the ground beneath my feet.
"Leave this forest," she said, her voice echoing through the darkness.
"Or it will consume you whole."
And in her eyes, I saw not just hatred, but something worse—recognition.
Like she had seen me before.