Lin Xiao stared at the distant light, feeling an inexplicable pull toward it. He started walking, the ground beneath his feet crunching slightly with each step.
The eerie glow of the trees cast long, twisted shadows, and the air was thick with an otherworldly hum, as if the very essence of this place was alive.
As he moved through the forest, the leaves of the glowing trees shimmered softly, swaying in the gentle breeze. Lin Xiao reached out curiously, brushing his hand against one of the glowing leaves. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his fingers.
"What the...?" Lin Xiao thought to himself.
He pulled his hand back, inspecting the fine cut on his palm. A small drop of blood welled up and dripped from his fingers, falling onto the ground below.
The ground trembled slightly as the blood hit the surface, and Lin Xiao watched in surprise as the blood moved, almost as if it was alive, and trickled toward a nearby lake, merging into the waters.
The lake shimmered as if reacting to the presence of his blood. The once-still water began to ripple, faint light emanating from its depths.
Lin Xiao frowned, suddenly feeling uneasy. "That's not normal..." he muttered, glancing down at his palm. But the cut had already sealed itself up, healed almost instantly.
The light ahead of him brightened, and Lin Xiao shook off the unsettling feeling, continuing toward it.
As he neared the source, the forest seemed to shift around him—the trees bent, their glowing leaves forming a canopy above, creating an arched tunnel leading directly to the light. It was as if the forest itself was guiding him toward something, or someone.
"Am I supposed to go there?" Lin Xiao thought, his heart pounding in his chest.
The light grew brighter as he stepped into the tunnel, its warmth enveloping him. He squinted, trying to make out what lay ahead. Just as he was about to reach the heart of the light, the ground beneath him gave way.
Without warning, Lin Xiao was pulled through the light, the world around him dissolving into a blinding brilliance. He felt his body being twisted and spun in all directions, his senses overwhelmed by the sudden shift.
When the light finally dimmed, he found himself standing in a new world—a barren, desolate wasteland with dark clouds swirling above. The air was heavy with the scent of ash, and the ground was cracked and dry, as if it hadn't seen rain in centuries.
"What is happening?" Lin Xiao muttered, looking around in bewilderment. The forest, the lake, and the glowing trees were all gone, replaced by this ominous, lifeless landscape.
A gust of wind kicked up dust around him, and Lin Xiao glanced up at the dark sky.
As the wind picked up speed, Lin Xiao felt a sudden chill run down his spine. He turned around quickly and froze in shock.
In the distance, a massive wave of swirling fog was rolling toward him at an alarming speed. It wasn't just fog—within it, there were strange, dark figures, shapes barely visible, like shadows trapped in the mist.
"No way..." Lin Xiao's heart pounded as he recognized the scene, instantly reminded of disaster movies he used to watch back on Earth—except this was all too real.
The enormous wave of mist was closing in, its size dwarfing everything in its path. Lin Xiao's eyes darted around, searching for an escape. His thoughts raced.
"I need to find that light spot..." Lin Xiao said to himself
He scanned the barren landscape frantically, his pulse quickening. There, not far ahead, the faint glow of a light shimmered through the haze.
Without a second thought, Lin Xiao bolted toward it, his feet pounding against the cracked, dry ground. Behind him, the roaring wave grew louder, the dark figures within it seeming to reach out toward him.
"I have to make it!" Lin Xiao yelled
He pushed himself harder, his legs burning with each stride. The light grew brighter, but the wave was almost upon him. The air around him was thick with dust and swirling ash, and the sound of the wave crashing down threatened to drown out all thought.
Just as the fog was about to engulf him, Lin Xiao leaped with everything he had. His body flew through the air, and he crashed into the light spot. The mist brushed against his injured hand and it absorbed his blood as he narrowly escaped its grasp.
The world around him blurred once more as the light consumed him. The force of the jump sent him tumbling through the light, his breath ragged from the adrenaline. He could hear the wave crashing behind him, the thunderous roar of it swallowing the landscape.
For a moment, there was nothing but the bright, overwhelming light. Then, the ground beneath him solidified, and he found himself somewhere new, safe from the encroaching wave.
Lin Xiao gasped, catching his breath as he lay on the ground, the cold, hard surface beneath him feeling like a welcome relief.
Lin Xiao's chest heaved as he tried to steady his breath, still reeling from the intensity of what had just happened.
He looked down at his hand, the one that had briefly touched the mist. Blood seeped from a fresh wound, the cold air making the cut sting even more sharply. The crimson droplets fell onto the ground beneath him, staining the surface of what he now realized was ice.
The cold beneath his palms seeped through his skin, and the sharpness of it made him shiver. He slowly rose to his feet, scanning his surroundings. The world he'd landed in felt desolate, a frozen wasteland stretching as far as his eyes could see.
Jagged mountains of ice loomed in the distance, casting long shadows across the bleak, white expanse. There was no sign of life—just endless ice and bitter cold.
His breath formed clouds in front of him, dissipating into the still air. Everything was eerily silent, the only sound being the faint crunch of ice beneath his feet.
"Where am I this time?" Lin Xiao thought, gripping his bleeding hand, trying to ignore the pain.
He couldn't see any source of warmth or shelter in sight, and the freezing wind bit at his skin, cutting through his clothes.
The desolation around him felt suffocating, and the vastness of the frozen landscape made him feel like an insignificant speck in a world that had been long abandoned.
The blood from his hand continued to drip, forming small, red droplets on the pure white ice. As the blood pooled, Lin Xiao noticed something strange—the ice beneath the blood seemed to ripple slightly, as though the very surface was reacting to his presence.