"Wow... what a beautiful place,"
Rivan muttered as he woke up, yawning halfway through the sentence. Half-covering his mouth with one hand, he stretched lazily, his body still heavy with sleep.
Bathed in a beautiful golden light, he blinked groggily, his unfocused eyes wandering as a smile crept across his face. "What a nice sleep", he murmured, taking a deep breath. "And such fresh air," he added with a contented sigh, then began scratching an itch absentmindedly .....As the itch grew, he slowly expanded his scratching, eventually using both hands to relieve himself all over his body.
"Tch"- irritated he looked down at himself continuing to scratch. After staring blankly at himself for a while, as if remembering something he stood up abruptly.
"Oh shit !" Exclaiming, he sprinted forward, nearly stumbling but managing to catch himself. As soon as he reached out of shadow formed due to the root over his head, his eyes widened in awe.
Before him lay a vast groove, flanked by colossal trees with trunks so immense they seemed to stretch hundreds of meters in diameter. Their leaves, a vibrant green, glowed with an emerald sheen, illuminated by the light filtering through the narrow gap between the trees. It was as if they had replaced the very sky itself.
Seeing this, he turned back and glanced at the root that had sheltered him. He stumbled backward as he tried to take in the sheer height of the tree towering above him. "Ow, my neck! What the heck is this place?" he muttered, massaging the strain.
His eyes caught sight of a leaf on the ground. Curious, he picked it up, folded it, and stretched it. Then, with a surge of determination, he tried to tear it apart.
After much effort and several strained expressions, he finally managed to create a small tear. Satisfied, he tossed the leaf aside and picked up another one that seemed in better shape.
Glancing around cautiously, he untied the shirt from his waist. It was nothing more than a tattered mess with a few tears. Discarding it, he wrapped the leaf around his waist, making sure this novel doesn't get flagged for mature content... Ahem.
"Ha! How clever and adaptable of me!" he boasted, patting the leaf. "Now, Young man, first things first: water and food. Yes! Let's go!"
His eyes fell on a pulpy mess on the ground and a small puddle of water collected near the roots, algae floating on the surface. "Ugh, no way! Not falling for that again," he muttered, recalling some unpleasant experience.
He turned to leave and search for better options when a thunderous, bone-chilling **Roar** echoed through the forest, freezing him in place. The sound was so powerful that his bones seemed to vibrate, each step becoming more difficult as he tried to move.
Finally, the roar subsided, leaving a heavy, oppressive silence in its wake. "Alright, shelter... and a weapon... definitely a priority," he whispered, swallowing hard.
As the darkness began to creep in, especially under the massive tree roots, he decided that lighting a fire was his next urgent task. Glancing warily at the branches of the tree scattered and deciding they were out of his league, he started gathering desiccated leaves from the ground.
While gathering leaves, he noticed something strange—a small patch of ground a few meters in front of him seemed to be vibrating. Curious, he slowly approached the spot. It looked no different from the rest of the forest floor, covered in the same leaves scattered everywhere. There were no signs of the movement just now.
He crouched down cautiously, almost reaching out to pick up one of the leaves, then stopped himself. "Nope," he muttered, backing away. Standing up, he turned to leave, but something nagged at him. He glanced back over his shoulder, hesitated, then reluctantly turned his head fully to look again.
With a smirk, he looked up at the sky. "Come on, does it look like I'm that stupid? I've seen tons of horror movies where those idiots go chasing after some random sound, only to end up dead or possessed. Or those fools who just *have* to check the creepy vibrating door, only to find..." His voice trailed off as he found himself glancing at the spot again. This time, he couldn't resist.
"But hey, this isn't a ghost story. If I stumble upon a banshee or a churel, at least it's better than dying alone in this godforsaken forest. And let's be honest, this forest setting isn't half bad for a little supernatural fun."
Uncertain why he was talking so loudly but feeling braver for it, he cautiously nudged the leaves aside—while simultaneously jumping back, just in case. As the leaves scattered, his eyes widened.