The world around Isono was no longer the cold, silent city she had left behind. Instead, she stood in the heart of a forest unlike any she had ever seen—towering trees with silver-veined leaves stretched toward a sky that shimmered with an eerie, violet hue. The air was thick, almost alive, and the ground beneath her feet pulsed faintly, as if breathing. Strange flowers bloomed in impossible colors—crimson petals that seemed to pulse with a heartbeat, vines that coiled and uncoiled like living things.
She took a cautious step forward, her instincts screaming at her to turn back. But it was too late. The moment she moved, the forest seemed to shift around her, the trees bending slightly, as if watching. A low hum filled the air, and Isono's heart pounded in her chest. She wasn't alone.
Then, the mist came.
It rose from the ground like a living fog, curling around her ankles, then her knees, her waist—slowly, silently. It was cold, but not in the way of winter. It was wrong. It carried no scent, no sound, but Isono could feel it pressing against her skin.
She turned, trying to find an escape, but the mist thickened, obscuring her vision. The trees around her seemed to close in, their branches twisting into shapes that almost looked like hands reaching for her. And then, she heard it—a sound like that of a snake, coming from somewhere just beyond the fog.
She froze.
Then, from the mist, it emerged.
It was not a creature in the way she understood. There was no form, no shape, just a presence—something vast and unseen, moving with unnatural grace. The mist coiled around it like a living cloak, and as it stepped closer, Isono felt the air itself shudder.
She ran.
Her feet pounded against the earth, her breath ragged, her heart hammering in her chest. The mist pursued her.
She didn't know how long she ran—minutes, hours, maybe longer. But eventually, she collapsed against a tree, her body trembling, her mind reeling. The mist had stopped.
But the silence that followed was worse than the chase.
She was alone. And something was still watching.
Then, the creature within the fog emerged.
A massive white snake—its body as wide as a tree trunk, its scales gleaming like polished bone—slithered through the mist, its eyes glowing with an unnatural light. It moved with eerie grace, its presence