For a long moment, the forest stayed silent.
Arin was still sitting on the ground where he had fallen. His breathing slowly calmed, but his heart still pounded hard in his chest.
The giant monster was gone.
The image of those glowing red eyes refused to leave his mind.
The fairy hovered quietly in front of him, staring.
Not in fear.
In shock.
Arin rubbed his shoulder where he had crashed into the rock.
"Ow… that really hurts."
The fairy suddenly flew closer and grabbed his face with both tiny hands. Her eyes examined him carefully.
"Are you some kind of spirit?"
She squinted at him.
Arin blinked.
"What?"
"Or a dragon pretending to be human?"
She gasped suddenly.
"…What?"
"Wait… are you a legendary hero who lost his memory?"
Arin gently removed her hands from his face.
"I'm just a human."
The fairy frowned.
"That's impossible."
She crossed her arms.
"Humans don't scare Dreadwolves."
Arin thought about the strange silver light that had appeared from his chest.
"I didn't scare it on purpose."
"Well, you did," she said.
She flew upward and landed on a nearby glowing branch. The soft light from the leaves surrounded her like moonlight.
"Anyway," she said, "we can't stay here."
Arin slowly stood up.
"Why?"
She pointed into the dark forest.
"That monster might come back."
Arin immediately agreed.
"Good point."
He looked around again.
Everything still felt unreal.
Glowing trees surrounded him. Floating lights drifted through the air, and strange flowers shimmered along the ground.
And the tiny fairy sitting on a branch.
If this was a dream…
It was a very detailed one.
The fairy jumped off the branch and flew beside him.
"You should come to my village."
"You have a village?" Arin asked.
"Of course we do."
She puffed her cheeks proudly.
"We're not wild insects."
Arin chuckled slightly.
"I didn't say that."
The fairy placed her hands on her hips.
"My name is Liora Moonwing."
Arin nodded.
"I'm Arin."
"I know," she said.
"You told me."
Arin blinked.
"…When?"
"You shouted your own name while running from the Dreadwolf."
Arin rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
"Oh."
Liora giggled.
"Come on, human."
She flew ahead, glowing faintly in the dark forest.
"This way."
Arin followed.
As they walked deeper into the forest, the strange lights around them slowly grew brighter.
More glowing plants appeared. Tiny creatures peeked at them from the branches above.
Some looked like birds made of light.
Others were tiny animals with shimmering fur.
Arin couldn't stop staring at everything around him.
"This world is crazy."
Liora looked back at him.
"Crazy?"
"In a good way."
After about twenty minutes of walking, the forest suddenly opened.
Arin stopped.
His mouth slowly fell open.
What he saw next made him stop completely.
A village built inside giant glowing trees.
Wooden houses were built along the trunks and branches. Bridges made of vines connected the trees high above the ground.
Soft lights floated everywhere.
Hundreds of tiny fairies flew through the air like colorful stars.
Laughter and music filled the night.
Arin whispered in awe.
"…Wow."
Liora smiled proudly.
"Welcome to Silverleaf Village."
Arin slowly walked forward.
Several fairies immediately noticed him.
Then everything stopped.
Music stopped.
Conversations stopped.
Wings stopped fluttering.
Dozens of glowing eyes turned toward him.
A giant human standing in the middle of their village was definitely not normal.
One small fairy gasped.
"IT'S A HUMAN!"
Suddenly the entire village exploded into noise.
"WHAT?!"
"Humans are real?!"
"Why is it so big?!"
"Does it eat fairies?!"
Arin quickly raised his hands.
"I do not eat fairies!"
Liora flew in front of him.
"Everyone calm down!"
She pointed at Arin.
"He's harmless!"
One old fairy with long golden hair slowly flew forward.
Her wings were larger than the others, glowing with soft green light. Her calm eyes made the entire village fall silent.
The entire village grew quiet again.
She examined Arin carefully.
Then she spoke in a gentle voice.
"So… a human has arrived in Lunareth."
Arin nodded nervously.
"I guess so."
The old fairy smiled kindly.
"My name is Elder Sylvara."
She floated closer.
"You look very lost."
"That's an understatement," Arin said.
The elder chuckled softly.
"Come."
She gestured toward a large glowing tree in the center of the village.
"You should rest."
Arin hesitated.
Then he asked the question that had been burning in his mind.
"Is there… a way back to Earth?"
The village grew quiet again.
Elder Sylvara's expression slowly became serious.
After a moment, she answered.
"Perhaps."
Arin's heart jumped.
"Really?"
"But the path between worlds," she continued softly, "…has been closed for thousands of years."
Arin's hope dropped like a stone.
"But," she added, "something strange happened tonight."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"A power awakened in the forest."
Arin felt his chest tighten.
The elder continued.
"A power Lunareth has not felt in a very long time."
She paused.
Then asked quietly,
"Tell me, human… was that power yours?"
Arin didn't know how to answer.
But far away…
Deep within the dark lands of Lunareth…
In the darkness, two enormous eyes slowly opened.
A deep voice spread through the ruined throne room.
"So…"
"A human has finally arrived."
And the Shadow King smiled in the darkness.