"Hmmm… This is strange." Valcroy said to himself, his eyes scanned the dense foliage. He had been walking for a while now, but something felt wrong. It was as if he had made no progress at all, like he was still standing in the same spot where he'd started. The trees looked the same, their towering trunks stretching endlessly upwards, their branches entwined in a web of shadow and light. The forest floor felt familiar, almost too familiar.
His eyes narrowed, suspicion growing. "Am I just imagining it?" he said. His voice barely audible in the quiet forest. His footsteps had been meticulous, and his path clear, yet something tugged at the back of his mind, telling him he was missing something. He walked over to a nearby tree, its bark rough under his fingertips.
