The deeper I ventured into the forest, the more I began to feel the environment around me gradually changing, as if I were crossing invisible boundaries separating a familiar world from a strange one.
The trees were no longer as they had been at the beginning; they grew taller and more twisted, their trunks unnaturally warped, their branches stretching at sharp angles, while their leaves glowed with a faint light—not strong enough to illuminate the path, but enough to make the scenery unsettling and uncomfortable to look at.
Even the air had changed. It was no longer light as I was used to; it became heavy and suffocating, entering my chest with difficulty, as if every breath required extra effort.
I felt as though an invisible pressure surrounded my body from every side, slowing my movements and making even standing itself exhausting.
With every step I took forward, my feet seemed to sink slightly into the ground—or at least that was how it felt—as if the gravity here was harsher, gripping me and pulling me downward without mercy.
Despite that, I continued moving forward, driven more by fear than anything else.
I walked for only a few seconds before the place around me changed completely.
Suddenly, everything began to glow with a faint light, and the scenery transformed into something beautiful.
The air became pure and comfortable, flowing smoothly into my chest, and I felt as if a wave of pure energy swept through my body. It felt slightly lighter, as if the heavy burden pressing on me had temporarily disappeared.
I continued walking cautiously, enjoying that strange sensation, until my eyes fell upon a strange sight…
At a short distance away, I saw two trees fighting.
One of them was a completely blood-red tree, its trunk, branches, and leaves all a dark crimson color, as if it were drenched in blood. The other was a completely black tree, so dark that it seemed to swallow the light around it.
I was far enough away from them, but the intensity of their battle completely changed the environment around them. The ground they were fighting on was clearly divided; half of it was covered in red, like a sea of blood, and the other half was pitch black, lifeless, as if rot had consumed everything there.
Without realizing it, I took two steps back, then hurried to hide behind a nearby tree.
The thought of taking advantage of their fight crossed my mind, just as I had done before with other monsters. But the more I focused on their battle, the more fear filled my chest instead of excitement.
I said to myself clearly: this is something I cannot fight… even if it were in its weakest state, it would kill me with a single blow.
While I was lost in my thoughts, both trees unleashed an attack unlike anything I had ever seen in my life. The red tree gathered all of its leaves, which shimmered with a terrifying blood-red glow, before launching them all at once toward the black tree. At the same moment, the black tree did the same, releasing dense black leaves like a swarm of arrows.
The two attacks collided in the air, and the area erupted with an invisible force. It was a long-range attack, wide in scope. One of the red leaves fell beside me, snapping me back to my senses immediately. I quickly lifted my head and looked ahead, only to see a massive number of black and red leaves heading straight toward me.
I didn't think. I turned and fled from the place at full speed, escaping with everything I had. The leaves fell beside me one after another, piercing the ground and trees mercilessly. Suddenly, a black leaf struck the branch I was holding in my hand. In an instant, the branch turned completely black and began to rot at a terrifying speed.
I threw it away immediately and looked in its direction as I watched it decay and crumble completely within seconds. The sight alone was enough to make my heart pound wildly with terror.
I said to myself: I must not let any of them hit me… a single strike would be my end.
I swallowed hard and continued running forward without stopping, until a massive cliff appeared in front of me. I stopped abruptly and looked down. The height was enormous, terrifying—enough to kill anyone who fell from it.
Then I looked behind me. The black and red leaves were still advancing toward me relentlessly.
I had no other choice… I jumped.