Isaac slowly flickered his eyes open and quickly noticed the warm, soft material beneath him, enveloping his entire body in a soothing sensation that made him crave eternal sleep.
He felt as if he were lying on a cloud, as all aches and muscle fatigue faded away.
Reluctantly, he sat up and surveyed his surroundings. To his surprise, instead of the luxurious mattress he expected, he found himself lying on a bed of intricately woven plants.
The plants seemed to extend endlessly, making it difficult for Isaac to discern where they began or ended.
His attention was immediately drawn to the mesmerising flowers that adorned the vegetation.
The flowers glowed with a gentle, ethereal light and had three small protrusions resembling balls.
Instead of petals, the flowers possessed three triangular leaves that twisted and curled around the radiant blue balls.
Isaac couldn't determine the exact quantity of these unique flowers, as they seemed to blend seamlessly into the vast expanse of the bush.
Perhaps there were more hidden within the infinite depths of the foliage.
Shaking off his initial enchantment, Isaac refocused his thoughts, recalling the memories of his current predicament.
He finally noticed the tall, plain white walls that surrounded him, with narrow pathways snaking through the spaces between them. The bush he lay upon occupied a small clearing that barely accommodated its size.
In addition to the strange flora, Isaac sensed an inexplicable heaviness in the air.
The atmosphere was dense, making it harder for him to take deep breaths. It felt as though he were submerged in a viscous liquid, each movement met with mild resistance.
"Where am I?" Isaac pondered, his mind still clouded by the confusion of his circumstances.
As Orion had mentioned, he had been given a quest—to survive. However, the details of what exactly he needed to survive remained frustratingly vague.
"What am I supposed to be surviving?" he muttered to himself, his gaze fixated on the berries-like fruits hanging from the plants.
"They probably aren't edible. Anything that grows in such a dark and desolate place can't be good for consumption," Isaac reasoned, doubting the nutritional value of the peculiar fruits.
Nevertheless, he couldn't spot any other potential sources of sustenance in his immediate surroundings.
Reluctantly, he plucked a handful of the plants, stuffing them into his pockets.
"I'll only eat them if absolutely necessary," he decided, keenly aware of the scarcity of viable food options.
Just as Isaac contemplated his meagre food supply, something caught his attention from the corner of his eye.
He turned his head swiftly, only to come face-to-face with a figure—a man, or at least something resembling a man.
However, this being was unlike any human Isaac had ever encountered. It stood naked, devoid of any discernible genitalia.
Instead of a head, a giant dark purple sphere loomed where its head should have been.
Isaac was at a loss for words, unsure of how to interpret this perplexing encounter. The creature remained motionless, its unblinking gaze fixated on him from a distance.
Being in an unfamiliar environment, coupled with the sudden appearance of an unknown monster, sent Isaac's heart racing.
Instinctively, he rose to his feet, preparing to flee, his pockets filled with the glowing plants.
But before he could make his escape, Isaac was left dumbfounded, his jaw dropping in disbelief at the sight that unfolded before him.
A colossal tree root, adorned with countless yet-to-bloom flowers, rose menacingly from behind the creature.
It reached unfathomable heights, nearly scraping against the wall as it twisted and writhed in the air.
The creature extended its hand, and simultaneously, the tip of the massive root shot toward Isaac with alarming speed.
Reacting swiftly, Isaac leaped off the bush, sprinting toward one of the narrow pathways between the walls.
He felt the rush of wind as the root narrowly missed him. It didn't take a genius to realise that being struck by something of that magnitude at such velocity would surely result in a one-way ticket to the afterlife.
"All I wanted was wealth! How the hell did I end up here?!" Isaac's internal voice screamed in frustration.
Entering one of the paths between the walls, he found himself in a labyrinth of pathways, covered in moss and vines similar to those in the bush.
The walls, previously obscured, now revealed their true nature as dilapidated structures.
Despite their decay and crumbling appearance, Isaac could discern the remnants of doors and windows, indicating that people had once inhabited this place.
Although Isaac didn't particularly appreciate the plain and mundane aesthetics of the white square buildings, it was evident that they were once home to a community.
Yet, he couldn't afford to dwell on these observations for long, as an unsettling sound reached his ears from behind after turning another corner.
It resembled the chattering of teeth, as if the source was shivering from the cold.
Isaac glanced over his shoulder and was met with a chilling sight—a rat-like creature, but unlike any he had ever seen before.
The rat had countless eyes, identical to a spider, pairing well with the monster's sharp rows of teeth.
Isaac's eyes also caught onto what seemed to be a scorpion tail protruding from the beast's back, its end dripping with a purple liquid.
Compared to the thing with the sphere head, this seemed vastly more terrifying. Where Isaac could feel the sphere headed thing to be eerie, giving him goosebumps and making his hairs stand, this creature outright made him want to scream in terror.
Isaac froze, unconsciously taking a few steps back as the beast prepared to pounce.
Only, before it could, it suddenly stopped in place, its upper body being yanked back as if its feet were glued to the ground.
Isaac noticed the large, yet smaller than before, greenish blue root wrapping itself around the rat at great speeds, coiling around it like a snake capturing it's prey.
It wasn't long until the rat dropped to the ground, unable to move, completely wrapped as the unbloomed flowers lay before its long snout.
In the blink of an eye, the flower rapidly bloomed, letting out a puff of gas. Despite the darkness, Isaac could tell the gas was deeply yellow in colour with green specs.
The rat snorted the gas, inhaling it through it's mouth and nostrils.
In the next second, the beast fell into an uncontrollable spasm. It started to drool, letting out an ear piercing screech.
It wasn't long until Isaac heard loud thumping, quickly noticing the rat's stomach bloating, occasionally expanding vigorously, as if something was trying to break out.
Isaac had long come to his senses.
Despite being curious about what the yellow pollen was capable of, he wasn't planning to stay.
Especially after seeing a second sphere headed creature appear from opposite the rat with its hand raised.
Isaac ran, looking away and trying find somewhere to hide, ignoring the grotesque sounds of what sounded like flesh being relentlessly ripped apart.
'Does that thing eat people?'
He wondered, thinking about what misery the rat was going through.
Was the pollen responsible for this? Was the sphere headed thing indulging in the rotten meat of the rat?
Isaac was asking too many questions, hyperventilating with the countless horrors around him.
As he ran, he quickly ran out of breath, paired with the already dense atmosphere that tired Isaac out after a few seconds of running, there wasn't enough oxygen in his body.
Without thinking, he slightly glanced back, looking at the now far rat.
He instantly noticed the pool of blood as limbs stuck out of the rat's stomach, the rat unmoving.
But most terrifyingly, the rat's head was…gone?
'What the fuck…'
The limbs flailed as much as they could, desperate as they largened the hole on the abdomen of the rat. Soon, a large dark purple sphere slowly emerged from the rat, as if the rodent was giving birth.
Isaac had seen enough.
As adrenaline coursed through his veins, he quickened his speed, turning a corner and stopping as another sphere headed creature stood before him.
He wasted no time in turning another corner and running with all his might.
However, after running a minute, he once again came face to face with another one.
'How many are there?'
Perhaps it was the one sphere headed monster he had seen the first time, or maybe this place was littered with them, either way, Isaac was lucky those things didn't seem to know how to run.
They relied on the roots and vines to do their dirty work.
He didn't know how they would instantly know of his presence, walking toward him before he himself even saw them.
Perhaps it was the vines and plants covering every inch of the ground and most of the walls, crunching and making loud noises as he ran, or maybe that sphere was like a radar.
Other than theories, Isaac didn't know what to think.
As a Con Artist, he was accustomed to gathering facts and evidence in order to execute his mission to the best of his ability.
He wasn't used to being dumped into an unknown environment where he knew nothing. It was infuriating. He felt powerless.
It was only until he turned a corner where he spotted another square white building, however, unlike the others, it seemed to be in good condition.
Where the majority of the buildings were covered with moss, vines and countless other plant life, as well as the deterioration and crumbling that made it seem like they had been abandoned for centuries, this one almost had no moss and only one large hole in one of its walls.
Despite Isaac noticing there weren't any doors or windows, he entered quietly, keeping his guard up.
Upon entering the room, he found it to be as boring as the outside.
It was one big empty open space, devoid of anything but slight dust and a few pebbles.
But he didn't mind this. It made it easier for him to watch his surroundings.
Especially since it was dark and quiet, he could hide more easily.
Of course, he was assuming whether the sphere headed monsters actually had eyes to see things with.
Finding no danger in the large room, he walked to the far end of a dark corner, sitting down and facing the one entrance, watching it intently.
He tried to calm his breathing.
He was currently sweating heavily and his lungs felt like they were on fire.
He gagged a few times but swallowed whatever came up. He didn't need a horrid stench leading whatever horror that was out there to him.
He swiftly emptied his pockets, holding the plants with the berries in his hands.
The berries hummed slightly, glowing and lighting the dark corner slightly.
Placing them down, he noticed something on the wall.
Because the light from the berries was illuminating his immediate surroundings, he was able to spot something he couldn't before.
"Carvings?"