"What…!?"
The boy's voice came out sharper than he intended.
"Did you just say… eternity?"
The word echoed in his mind, heavy and suffocating.
Eternity.
Not days.
Not years.
Forever.
A chill ran down his spine
.
If this man had truly been here for that long…
…then what about him?
Would he also
"No…" he muttered under his breath.
His hands clenched.
"What about me?" he asked, his voice tighter now. "Am I going to be stuck here too?"
The faceless man stopped walking.
For a brief moment, everything felt still—the forest, the air, even the faint sound of distant wind through the trees.
Then the man slowly turned around.
Though he had no eyes, the boy felt as if he was being looked at directly.
"Possibly," the man said calmly.
The word hit harder than expected.
"Possibly?" the boy repeated. "What does that even mean?!"
The man tilted his head slightly.
"It means exactly what it sounds like."
He took a step closer.
"If we fail to uncover your name…"
A pause.
"…then yes."
"We will remain here."
"Together."
"Forever."
Silence fell between them.
The boy's throat went dry.
Forever.
That word again.
It felt heavier this time.
Crushing.
Why…?
Why does my name matter so much?
He frowned, his thoughts racing.
A name… it's just a word, isn't it?
So why would something like that determine whether he could leave this place?
"Wait," the boy said quickly, trying to keep his voice steady. "Then what about you?"
The man didn't respond.
The boy stepped forward.
"Did you find your name?" he pressed. "And when you came here… did you lose your memories too? Like me?"
Still nothing.
The faceless man simply turned away and continued walking.
The boy stood there for a second, stunned.
"…Hey!"
No response.
His brows furrowed.
Why is he ignoring me?
Did I say something wrong?
Or…
His thoughts sharpened.
…is it because he never found his name?
The idea settled uncomfortably in his mind.
If that's true…
Then that means
He's been trapped here all this time.
Alone.
The boy swallowed.
"…That's messed up," he whispered.
After a moment of hesitation, he followed.
A few minutes later
The forest felt different the deeper they went,
He couldn't explain it clearly, but something about the air had changed.
It was heavier.
Denser.
Like the forest itself was… watching.
The boy kept glancing around, half expecting something to jump out at any moment.
But nothing did.
Only silence.
Then suddenly
The man stopped.
"Look."
The boy nearly walked into him before halting.
He followed the direction of the man's
gesture and froze.
It was the tree.
The same one from before.
But now…
Now that he stood before it…
…it was completely different.
From afar, it had looked massive,
Up close?
It was beyond comprehension.
The trunk alone was wider than anything he had ever seen. Its bark was dark and ancient, covered in patterns that looked almost...unnatural.
He tilted his head back.
Higher.
Higher.
Still higher.
But he couldn't see the top.
It disappeared into the sky entirely.
"…That's not a tree," the boy whispered. "That's a mountain…"
The faceless man raised his hand and placed it gently against the trunk.
For a moment, nothing happened.
Then
The air shifted.
"She," the man said softly, "is called the Mother Tree."
The boy blinked.
"She?"
The man nodded.
"The first tree of this forest."
His hand remained on the bark.
"Every tree you see here… was born from her."
The boy looked around instinctively.
Endless trees.
A forest that stretched beyond sight.
All of it…
From this one?
"No wonder…" he murmured.
No wonder it feels different here.
This place…
It feels like the center of everything.
The boy stepped closer to the trunk, hesitating for a second before reaching out.
The moment his fingers brushed against it,
Something strange happened.
A faint sensation.
Like a pulse.
He quickly pulled his hand back.
"…Did you feel that?" he asked.
The man didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he looked up.
Far above.
"The Mother Tree is not just a tree," he said after a moment. "She is… a witness."
"A witness?" the boy repeated.
"To everything."
The boy's chest tightened slightly.
Everything?
The man continued:
"She was there when the first being was born."
The boy's eyes widened slightly.
"The one you showed me…" he said. "The golden one… Truth?"
The man nodded.
"Yes."
For the first time since they met, his voice carried something different.
Not madness.
Not calmness.
Something quieter.
"He was not alone."
The boy frowned.
"What do you mean?"
The man lowered his hand from the tree.
"In the beginning," he said, "when the Void first broke…"
"She was there."
The boy looked back at the massive tree.
His mind struggled to process it.
This… thing…
Was alive back then?
"When she was first born," the man continued, "she was small. Weak. Insignificant."
The boy stared at the trunk again.
That's… hard to believe.
"Yet time changed her," the man said.
"She grew."
"And grew."
"And continued to grow… until she became what you see now."
The boy swallowed.
A being that grows endlessly…
A tree that has witnessed everything…
A forest that reveals truth…
And a man who has been here for eternity.
What kind of place is this?
His thoughts circled back.
"…Then what about me?" he asked again, quieter this time.
"If she's a witness… can't she tell me who I am?"
For the first time,The faceless man chuckled.
A low, almost amused sound.
"If only it were that simple."
He turned slightly toward the boy.
"The Forest of Truth does not give answers."
"It reveals them."
The boy frowned.
"That's the same thing."
"No," the man said.
"It is not."
A pause.
Then, "You don't ask the right question… you don't get the truth."
Silence.
The boy looked down.
Then back up at the massive tree.
So…
It's not about asking "who am I"…
It's about asking the right way?
His mind tightened.
Then another thought hit him.
"…What if I never figure it out?"
The man didn't hesitate this time.
"Then you stay."
The words were simple.
But absolute.
The boy exhaled slowly.
Then forced a small, bitter smile.
"…Great."
He looked up at the Mother Tree again.
Something about it felt… important.
Not just big.
Not just ancient.
Important.
Like it was waiting.
Watching.
Judging.
"…Then I guess," he muttered, "this place isn't letting me leave anytime soon."
The wind suddenly moved through the forest.
The leaves rustled.
Soft.
But not random.
The boy stiffened slightly.
"…Did you hear that?"
The man didn't respond.
His head was tilted slightly upward.
As if listening.
To something far beyond the boy's understanding.