Darkness.
Endless darkness.
A darkness so deep it's unfathomable. Like the darkest black found in the universe with not a drop of colour. So dark it seems to obsure light.
Along with the darkness, a slight smell of blood. Small but nauseating. Hard to notice but impossible to ignore. With a silence that stretches on.
Never-ending.
A memory surfaced within the darkness. A memory of bitterness and pain. A memory of hoplesness and despair. A memory filled with hatred. Hatred for the world and self.
The smell of blood getting stronger and stronger. And the memory seems to get more vivid. As if to leave an imprint on the soul. To forever remember the feeling. The desperation. The longing. The loathing.
A light flickered in the darkness. So small it was obscure. But in a place of extreme nothingness, it was particularly bright.
A hand stretched out. As if to capture that light for itself, wanting to grasp it. Desperate for a touch of hope. Only for the small flicker to disappear.
A low sound sounded in the silence. Like a small trickle of water. Followed by a soft sigh. So quiet it was almost not noticeable. The sinking feeling of hopelessness engulfs the darkness. Almost making the sound seem like an illusion.
A cool feeling spread throughout the body, awakening the senses. Eyelashes flickered. Forcing the closed eyes to open. Rays of light illuminate the darkness as if to chase it away.
A blurry face came into view. Focusing on the clear blue sky in the background with clouds. The man's line of sight focused on the blurry face that now appeared clear. A beautiful face was seen. Cold and aesthetic, with a sense of otherworldly beauty. Clean and pure, with a sense of distance.
The light gold eyes stared at the man, with vague concern in their depths.
The man sat up slowly and Jìang XiángShèn backed away staring at the man in a daze. An overwhelming sense of familiarity clouding his mind.
The man looked at Jìang XiángShèn with slight bewilderment. He knew he went back in time. To the time when he was hunted by the cultivators sent by the empire and was chased to this mystical forest where no man would dare go. But in his previous life, there was no Baby Orpeal Beast and no strange cultivator.
He looked at the strange cultivator, confusion in his deep eyes. He glanced at the man for only a second before turning his head away and slowly getting up. Jìang XiángShèn backed away and stood up unsteadily, his phoenix shaped eyes cloudy with bewilderment.
The man looked up at the bright blue sky with partially any clouds, watching the flying beast soar and screech, his eyes flashing with contempt. He turned around with a flick of his sleeve, and headed back towards the direction XiángShèn had come from.
Jìang XiángShèn paused in surprised, and unconsciously followed the man who saved his life. Half-way through, the man turned his head, his deep obsidian eyes staring at Jìang XiángShèn startling him out of his mind.
He forced a smile on his wooden face, looking awkward and unusual, and stopped walking, looking at the man who had come to a stop facing him.
"I'm XiángShèn Surname Jìang"
The man nodded slightly and introduced, "Dì Xié Liàng".
"Dì Xié Liàng.... eh?"
'Wait did he say...? Bu, isn't Dì Xié Liàng the name of the protagonist of the novel I just finished? No No No. It's just a coincidence. Yes! That's exactly it! There's no way I ended up into a novel I created with the protagonist named Dì Xié Liàng whose going to destroy the world. It's probably another place with a man with a similar name. Yes that's right!'
Jìang Shèn wonders in a daze.
The man, Dì Xié Liàng, stared at Jìang XiángShèn's reaction, carefully recording it in his mind.
'He doesn't seem like those cultivators who want to kill me... unless this reaction is a trick'.
Dì Xié Liàng stared at the spaced out Jìang XiángShèn, turned around and continued walking.
The sound of footsteps startled Jìang XiángShèn out of his inner turmoil and he hurried his footsteps after the man.
He got transported into a forest he doesn't know, with trees and beasts far larger and different from the one on earth, plus him running for his life and feeling the water and the breeze can acertain he's not having some hallucinations or dreaming. The only human he's seen so far is the man who came to rescue him, so following him is his only option.
'Maybe he knows how to get out of here... '
"Where are we?", Jìang XiángShèn asked abruptly and emotionlessly, shattering the silence between the two.
Dì Xié Liàng glanced at the unperturbed Jìang XiángShèn, who seems oblivious to the man's slight irritation, and stared at him with slightly watery phoenix shaped eyes, giving a sultry allure that made his heart seem to skip.
Dì Xié Liàng turned his head swiftly, his brows furrowed. He placed his hand at his chest, feeling his steady pumping heartbeat, thinking it was an illusion. His brows relaxed, and he spoke in a light gentle tone he didn't notice.
"We're in the Lost Forest"
The air seemed to freeze, a cold breeze blowing over Jìang XiángShèn's neck, causing him to shiver.
He swallowed, the sound loud in the quiet forest. "You-you just said, Lost Forest?"
Dì Xié Liàng glanced at him and slightly nodded.
Jìang XiángShèn's face paled, his body swaying slightly as if he could be blown away by the wind at any second. The scenery adding a kind of sinful beauty.
Lost Forest.
He said... lost forest.
His name his Dì Xié Liàng, and where in a place called 'Lost Forest'.
But isn't this the place a bunch of cultivators chased the protagonist of my book to after the king put out a reward for killing him?
This couldn't be that much of a coincidence could it?
Then if it's not, and I transmigrated into my book, then doesn't that mean...?
Jìang XiángShèn looked up from the ground, his gaze focusing on the man walking Infront of him, the look in his eyes complex.
'But if that's true, then... what am I supposed to do now?