Upon waking up, his mind was blank. He had no recollection of the events that occurred in his 'dream'
His eyes snapped open, gasping for air. Covered in cold sweat, shaking and heart pounding. He looked around, momentarily confused.
'Where am I?' he thought. Liam got up, cautious of his surrounding. He rubbed his eyes, trying to fully awaken. He stumbled around, trying to find his bearing. He grasped a tree, trying to shake out the horrors of the nightmare.
'It was real' he thought.
Something about him had changed.
Liam realized this.
'Everything seems... darker and quieter' he thought.
'An eternal darkness that I will experience the rest of my life. My life will never be the same' he thought. The thought popped into his head, and he whispered the words out loud...
The sun, the celestial medallion, shone bright, radiating it's energy across the forest. Liam felt its power surge through him.
'What am I doing here?' Liam thought to himself and shivered. 'What happened to me last night?'
He felt an ache near his fingertips. The writhing pain came seconds after. Liam screamed in desperation, his whole body working towards alleviating the agony. His eyes widened in horror as he screamed, screamed louder than he'd ever screamed before.
He collapsed on his side and suddenly, all movement stopped. Soon, what's pain and what's not start to blur. He ignores the pain, but not a part of his body moves. Liam knew he wasn't going to die, not here...
Liam heard the noise of someone groaning. It took a few moments to realize it was his.
The pain ceased as quickly as it started. Liam opened his eyes to find himself curled up on the floor. 'What just happened?' Liam thought. It was as if it never happened.
He lifted up his shirt and found himself covered in blood. There were four lines on the top, right part of his torso.
'The scratch is so deep' Liam thought. He didn't feel pain, but he watched as the wounds disappeared, leaving a scar.
''What could this be?'' Liam whispered.
'How did it heal so fast?'
Liam could hear his own heartbeats. It was louder than usual. 'That shouldn't be possible' Liam realized, and stopped breathing.
THUMP!
THUMP!
THUMP!
"What's happening to me?!" Liam shouted, overwhelmed by his situation.
'It will take some time to get used to' Liam said.
'There it is again' Liam thought. The thought popped into his mind, and he said it, without being in control...
'Wolf Woods' he thought, recognizing the cedar trees.
He tried to ignore the constant buzzing in his brain and tried to find a way out of the woods. He felt much calmer knowing that 'Wolf Woods' wasn't far from home.
On his way home, Liam remembered a quote "The ones who stop are the ones who freeze; the victors reach the safety of home because one foot always moves in front of the other in defiance to the wind"
'I have to get moving' Liam thought, starting his trek out of the woods.
'What was I doing here in the first place?' Liam wondered. The question had him mystified. He knew something was wrong, nothing felt the same since waking up.
He was surrounded by a cluster of cedar trees. He kept walking, legs aching. They begged for him to stop, but he knew he will freeze to death if he did...
Time passes...
Liam found a clearing. 'This could be the way out' Liam thought with joy. He had lost all sense of direction ever since waking up.
'It will take time to return' The Liam who wasn't in control said.
As he ran towards it, his eyes caught something. As much as he wanted to go, his curiosity got the better of him.
A large tree stump...
No trees surrounding it, it was a different tree.
'It's not a cedar tree' Liam thought, bemused.
'I swear that this isn't supposed to be here' Liam thought, tilting his head quizzically.
'Only Cedar trees grow around these parts'
He stared at it for a while. Moments later, Liam watched as the tree glowed a faint orange. Before he could react, the tree stump burst into fire. Liam's leapt backwards, startled by the burning tree. He stared, terrified as the flames leapt out.
It took a while before the realization kicked in.
''It's... not burning...'' he whispered.
He circled the tree, like an animal circling his prey. Liam treated the unchanged tree like an enemy. Minutes pass and the tree stays unchanged.
'Am I hallucinating?' he wondered, closing his eyes shut.
Something inside of him forces him to get closer.
'I'm in control'
'I'm in control'
I'm in control'
Liam whispers the words over and over again.
His eyes widen as his hand moves toward the tree. He couldn't do a thing as his body plunged his hand into the flames...