A sharp gasp tore from my throat, harsh and painful, as if my lungs were working for the first time in my life.
My entire body trembled. I slowly opened my eyes and looked up at what I thought would be a ceiling—but… there was no ceiling.
No blinding ambulance lights.
No terrified faces staring down at me.
Instead—
The sky.
A strange, vast sky, gray with a reddish tint.
"H… where am I?"
The words left my mouth hoarse and fragile, barely audible even to me.
I tried to move… but my body didn't respond right away.
I leaned on my elbows and sat up, every movement accompanied by a strange sensation.
I looked at my hands.
They were clean.
Unnaturally clean.
No blood.
No scratches.
No broken bones.
No trace of the impact that should—logically—have turned me into a lifeless corpse.
With trembling confusion, I reached for my chest and felt my heart.
It was still beating.
Normally.
But… how?
The last thing I remembered clearly was the truck crushing me completely.
I was certain.
No—more than certain.
I knew, with undeniable certainty, that I had died.
I stood up hesitantly.
I expected my legs to give out, to collapse, to feel dizzy or weak… but none of that happened.
The ground beneath my feet was smooth and black. I lifted my gaze.
Before me stretched a vast, endless plain—flat land broken only by shattered stone pillars scattered randomly, some leaning at odd angles, others completely collapsed. I looked in every direction.
Before speaking aloud, I wondered quietly:
"Am I dreaming? Will I wake up if I stab myself?"
I didn't wait. I actually did it, trying to force myself awake from this strange place. The pain was sharp and real—but nothing happened. I didn't wake up.
I frowned, staring at my hand, and muttered again in a hesitant voice,
"So… am I really dead? Is this the afterlife?"
I swallowed hard, the weight of the thought pressing down on me. It was far more terrifying than I expected. I tried to calm myself and think rationally. I couldn't jump to that conclusion so easily.
Maybe this was an extremely realistic dream.
Or maybe I was still in a coma, and my mind had created this place.
Yes… that made more sense.
A temporary explanation I could accept—for now.
I stood there without moving, observing my surroundings, then thought to myself:
If this is just a dream or a temporary state, then there's no harm in exploring. At the very least, I'll understand what's happening to me.
But another question immediately followed: where to?
There was no clear path. Every direction looked the same. After a brief hesitation, I chose a random direction and started walking.
The place around me was strange.
Sometimes I saw the ground move—slow, unnatural movement.
I saw strange shapes walking in the distance…
The thought of approaching them crossed my mind, but I stopped myself immediately.
I continued walking slowly, thinking:
What a realistic dream… There's no way this is real, right?
I hadn't gone far when a faint sound reached my ears. I stopped instantly.
Did I really hear that?
Or was my mind starting to invent things?
It wasn't a sound I could ignore. My heart began to race, yet curiosity pulled me forward.
Just one look… then I'll go back.
I started moving toward the source of the sound cautiously.
If this is a dream, it can't hurt me.
And if it isn't… then I'll know the truth.
Each step felt heavy, hesitation filling my mind.
Should I get closer? Or turn back now before it's too late?
But my feet kept moving.
I saw it.
Something enormous, moving slowly.
A monster.
Its body was massive—a horrifying mass of flesh and bone, covered in thick skin. Its eyes glowed with a strange color. Its head… was a grotesque mixture of a wild beast and broken human features.
A cold shiver ran through my body, my thoughts scattering:
Run… stay calm… don't move—
But my mind betrayed me.
My body froze in place, an uncontrollable tremor spreading through my limbs. Then its large ears moved… toward me.
It noticed me.
It didn't do anything.
It just stared.
That gaze alone was enough to steal my breath. Then it slowly opened its mouth, revealing sharp, blood-stained teeth.
In that moment, only one certainty remained inside me:
I'm going to die.
It began to advance. One step… then another.
I screamed silently inside myself:
Run… run…
But my feet were rooted to the ground.
Suddenly, it was right in front of me.
Shhh—
I jumped away at the last moment and crashed to the ground as a terrifying sound of destruction echoed behind me. I turned in horror to see its teeth embedded in the rocks, crushing them into mere fragments.
If the rocks couldn't withstand it… what would it do to me?
That thought slipped into my mind just before I ran.
I ran.
I ran with everything I had, fear driving me forward. But the monster was faster.
And in a single moment… it pounced on me.
I felt its teeth sink into my shoulder with overwhelming force. I collapsed under its immense weight, the air violently forced out of my lungs. I tried to scream, but the sound died in my throat, turning into a hoarse, barely audible moan. I tried to move, to push it away, to do anything… but my arms were useless.
My breathing choked, and my vision began to shake. The gray-red sky blurred, merging with the shadow of the monster looming over me. A warm, sticky sensation spread across my chest and arms, and I knew—without needing to see it—that blood was flowing freely.
I tried to resist one last time.
I pushed with my trembling hands, struck, scratched—but it was like trying to stop a mountain with bare hands. The monster made no sound. It didn't roar or show anger. It acted with chilling indifference, as if this were nothing more than an ordinary act.
As time passed—and I don't know how much—my vision slowly darkened. My sense of the world around me faded, until everything disappeared…
And then I realized—
I was dead.