The forest stretched past me. Leaves and stray twigs slashed at my face and body but I hardly noticed it. My gaze remained strictly fixed on the path ahead of me. My feet stomped on the ground hard as I ran with all my might.
The crunching of the soil and the sound of small twigs snapping underneath my step was as clear as day against my ears. In my hands, I held a freshly picked fruit from one of the many local trees. Big mistake.
In doing so, I must've angered some sort of forest spirit because if the trees were too shy to move before, now they are too bold. As soon as I picked the fruit off its respective tree, it began to sway as if triggered awake and its branches soon sprung forward like wooden claws attempting to grab me wherever they could in order to tear me apart.
However, even if they did grab me, I doubt they could tear me apart. Very few things could barely dig an inch under my tough skin. My body is not the same as it once was, I've come to realize that much.
I stopped running, having reached the limit of the tree's reach, and turned around just in time to witness an eerie spectacle.
My eyes traced the limb-like movements of the branches as they slowly retreated. Their flexible movements carried with them high-pitched creaks and low groaning. Soon, the thick branches settled back in place, now swaying in the wind as if nothing ever happened. As if it were just any normal tree.
I let out a breath of relief and stared down at my newly acquired price. The fruit in my possession was large and covered the whole surface of my hand. It was a dark red, almost purplish color with a fuzzy exterior. Soft to the touch yet holding within a stiff undertone.
With a grin of contentment, I brought the crop up to my face and eagerly took a bite. My teeth easily sunk into its soft interior, causing a drop of its juices to trickle down my chin. The overwhelming assault on my taste buds caused by the sweetness of the ripe produce stirred something within me and without meaning to, my face lit up with satisfaction.
I was weary of eating anything foreign at first but eventually, that feeling dissipated. Its presence became something insignificant when my hunger grew too great.
It's been two days since my tangle with that aggressive hound. All my wounds were miraculously healed on the spot. My skin, now more pristine than ever, was left with no scarring whatsoever. I would have almost made myself believe I hadn't gotten injured at all if it weren't for the fact that I bled.
At first, I assumed that I couldn't be any more dead than I already was but the truth is I can still feel pain and I still suffer through struggle, so that means that I am very much still alive and I can very much still die.
That day, I came to the conclusion that a change had occurred, and the more time that passed the more I realized my body was undoubtedly different. I now exhausted slower and could run for longer. My strength had increased, all my five senses had drastically amped up, my overall physical body had been toughened, and I seemed to have finally put on some weight.
This was all great news, it meant that my condition wasn't affecting my body anymore. I was healed. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to be happy at the thought. Not right now. This wasn't over just yet. This was only the beginning.
At the start of all this, I was told I would go through a series of trials that would grant me the power to change my destiny.
Is this a part of that power, an enhanced body? If so, what other power lay waiting for me to claim in this trial, and what more with the ones soon to come? How many trials are there? I am already healed and, with my current self, I am better than the normal person. If I surpass all the trials, what will I become?
I pushed all these questions to the back of my mind as my current priority was to keep myself alive. My new body demanded sustenance, constantly. As a reminder, my stomach never failed to knot. However, this cursed forest is so damn dangerous. If it weren't for my newly enhanced senses and body, I would've most definitely succumbed to death and failed the trial.
Since I've not come across any hollowed individuals, I don't know what the consequence of failure is. Not to mention, I need to find a way to pass the trial. I've found no clues or indications of what I'm supposed to do, or where I'm supposed to go.
If the challenge of this trial is anything remotely similar to the last, it is going to be a real pain. More so than it has already been. The previous had something to do with envy, is this one of a similar nature?
Who knows. All I know is that this forest is just as, if not more, hungry as I am. Numerous times have I been almost devoured whole or lulled to sleep by strange scents.
Despite not knowing what to do, I knew for a fact I could not sit idly by. So, I decided to move. Currently, I am heading in a specific direction, not sure if it is north, east, south, west, or anyplace in between.
I retraced my steps and managed to figure out, more or less, what way the hound had come from when it found me and decided to make me a target. I've been slowly making my way over for the past two days, not sure what I'll come across but at the same time hopeful about finding something, anything that will give clues regarding this strange forest.
On the way, I always try to gather as much food as I can, mostly fruits and other produce that I can get my hands on. However, they are not filling and it is not nearly enough food for the amount of energy I burn through the day. The main reason why my body hasn't given out yet is because it can do a lot with little sustenance so now I need less rest and sleep, meaning I can travel longer with more ease.
However, I'm still human, I do need my beauty sleep and for that, I just sit down and close my eyes. There's not much to it, I don't need much rest, and when I do I end up waking up several times amidst my sleep.
With my amped-up senses, my body seems to respond to anything, especially when I sleep. I feel constantly uneasy. I can hear the trees creak and feel them shift, unsure if they are being aggressive or simply moving with the wind. Eventually, those little moments of sleep accumulate up to the point where I don't feel the urge to sleep anymore.
On the third day, my fleeting feelings of determination and hope were once again rekindled by the sight of a distant, towering silhouette. A mountain. One I couldn't see before due to a gigantic wall of clouds that covered the horizon, not to mention the towering trees and their dense leaves that barely made it possible to see the sky. Eagerly, I headed toward it, having no better alternative.
As I walked, no thoughts ran through my mind. Somewhere along the way, I developed this habit of losing track of the reality around me and simply allowing time to pass. Unless something catches my attention or I need to risk my life to pick some fruits.
The further I walked, the more the fog lifted and the more I was able to see the mountain clearly until it was revealed in its entirety. It was large, just like any other mountain, with many pointy and rocky protrusions and a snowy top. I stopped before reaching the base, deciding to sit down and take a rest.
Another thing I learned throughout the past three days is that it is better for me to sit and wait, allowing my body some moments of respite instead of sleeping. Of course, it would be way better if I slept but I haven't had a single moment of proper relaxation or a full night of sleep all to myself thus far and at the moment, that is exactly what I am doing.
I sit on the soft, cold soil, listening to the sound of nature around me. Nothing different has changed, there is still the same sound of rustling leaves and the swoosh of the wind. Scattered shadows littered the floor before and around me. I stared blankly at these large interconnected webs of dancing silhouettes of darkness when all of a sudden the sound of a twig snapping made my ear twitch. My eyes widened. In a sudden, almost reflective move, I stood up and hid myself with my back to the trunk of a thick tree. Not the best hiding place but it was the closest I could reach.
I peeked over the edge and stared out into the distance, where two presences pressed against my senses as if demanding to be noticed. In the next moment, a large animal, injured and frightened, ran past the spot I was sitting in mere seconds ago. Two long, lanky legs held up its round furry body and its long neck stretched the creature's head. The end of one of its short wings was torn off, causing blood to drip down and be dried up in the soil. Despite its beaten and bloodied state, the creature had a long, chitinous beak, most likely able to break through flesh and bone easily.
A few paces behind it was another, more predatorial-looking animal. It stood on four legs with soft paws that almost muted its footsteps against the soil. Yet, those paws were armed with sharp claws at each of the creature's toes. The creature's snout was gnarly and its bared fangs dripped with saliva. The fierce hunger and wild nature of both beasts was palpable even from where I hid.
Neither of them noticed me though. Both were occupied following their own animalistic priorities. The large walking bird was injured and valued its life so it fled. Even if it saw me it would have most likely ran straight past me. It would have been a blessing even, for it to come across me and use me as a distraction so that the four legged beast would switch its vicious thirst toward me. However, that didn't happen. Both creatures simply left as quickly as they came.
I remained in my spot, letting my guard down for only a second to relieve myself in a moment of relief. Within that time window, the tree I was hiding behind shifted. Branches snapped open with an ominous creak and sprung forward faster than I could react, wrapping themselves around my figure like a wooden rib cage.