Under a twisted, dark sky, the forest stretched out in a haunting, endless sprawl. The trees, gnarled and shadowy, loomed like silent sentinels, casting long, eerie shadows that danced in the dim light. A cold wind whispered through the dense undergrowth, making the branches sway and rustle like unseen spirits murmuring secrets in the darkness. It was a forest alive with menace, where every step seemed to echo with the threat of something lurking just beyond sight.
Leon, along with Brandon and Liam, moved cautiously through the labyrinth of trees. The forest was a place devoid of life, a place where no birds sang, no animals stirred, not even the faintest buzz of insects could be heard. The silence was unnatural, oppressive. The only thing that hung in the air, aside from the weight of their dread, was the faint odor of decay that clung to the mist like a shroud.
Brandon and Liam, their faces grim, mumbled prayers to the Holy Sun Church, their voices barely audible over the faint rustling of the leaves. Their words were a desperate plea for protection against the unknown terrors of the forest. But Leon? He wasn't praying. He had no faith in the Holy Sun, no belief in the divine forces his companions clung to so tightly. Instead, if one listened closely, they would hear Leon quietly humming under his breath, a tune far removed from the holy chants of Serrian.
It was 'Seven Nation Army'.
Leon had been transported to this world, far from the life he once knew. The prayers of his companions, ingrained in his new body's memory, did nothing for him. They offered no comfort, no clarity. As a transmigration, he could not put his faith in a god he had never known. And so, he turned to something else, something from his past, a simple act of defiance, a reminder of who he was before. He hummed the song of revolution, of unity, over and over, repeating the words that had once given him strength.
He cycled through his repertoire: after 'Seven Nation Army', came 'We Are the Champions', and when that too grew tiresome, he would recite a mantra, a string of familiar words meant to keep his mind sharp and his will unbroken. It was absurd, perhaps even ridiculous, but it was all he had. The mysterious voice that had first warned him about this place had been clear: to survive the forest, he had to keep his mind focused. Any wavering of emotion, any lapse in concentration, would make him vulnerable to the forest's true master, the "devil" lurking in the shadows.
They moved through the maze of trees, turning at obstacles, doubling back when they reached dead ends, but the direction didn't matter. In this twisted place, there was no sense of north or south, east or west. Time itself felt distorted, as if they were drifting in a place where reality and fantasy bled together, a realm where their senses betrayed them.
Leon remembered what the mysterious voice had said ten minutes earlier, by the riverbank.
"I've helped you so many times, how about we make a deal this time?" the voice had asked, its tone calm but with an undercurrent of urgency.
"What kind of deal?" Leon had responded, suspicious but intrigued.
"I'll get you out of here. But you have to promise to help me with something once you're free."
Leon had barely hesitated. "After everything you've done for me, I owe you more than I can count. If it's within reason, and doesn't break away from my moral compass, I'll help you."
"Good," the voice had replied. "Now, about this place…"
Leon's pulse had quickened. He needed answers. "What is this place, really? How do we escape this nightmare?"
"This is what we call a 'spirit field' a distorted reality, one of the tragic fates of mages who lose control of their power in the spirit world." The voice, though distant, had an edge of pity to it. "When the chaotic energies a wizard manipulates exceed their control, it causes a rupture, a rift between the spirit world and the physical realm. That rift pollutes everything around it, twisting reality until the spirit world consumes it entirely."
Leon, who had no understanding of magic beyond what he'd gleaned from the memories of this body's former owner, had struggled to keep up. "You're losing me. I'm not a wizard, and I have no idea how this magic stuff works."
A soft sigh had echoed in his mind. "Of course, you wouldn't. After all, you weren't a mage before you found yourself in this body. You're from… somewhere else entirely."
Leon's heart had skipped a beat. The girl knew. She knew that he wasn't the original Leon.
"You knew all along?" he had asked, his voice betraying his shock.
"Wasn't it obvious?" The mysterious voice had sounded almost amused. "You don't belong here."
A chill had run down Leon's spine. It wasn't just the fact that she knew his secret, but the implication that she could see right through him, possibly even into his memories. Was she reading his thoughts?
"Relax," the voice had reassured him, sensing his unease. "I only know because I inherited the same memories you did, from the boy who once lived in that body."
Now, back in the present, with the dark forest pressing in on him from all sides, Leon couldn't shake the unease that came from being watched so closely. But there was no time to dwell on it. He and his companions had to keep moving, even if it seemed like they were walking in circles.
In this strange, ethereal place, survival depended on keeping your mind sharp and your spirit unbroken. And for Leon, that meant repeating the songs and words of a past life, even as the weight of his new reality pressed down on him like the thick, suffocating mist of the forest.
The girl's voice seemed to catch the tension in Leon's silence. "I've been watching you closely since we started this journey," she began, her tone calm but slightly amused. "It wasn't hard to figure out that you and the boy who originally owned this body are quite different. Your behavior, your decisions, they're all out of sync with who he was. You've got your own quirks, your own way of thinking. That much is obvious."
Leon felt a flicker of unease. Was he that easy to read? His mind raced, wondering just how much she had figured out.
Sensing his discomfort, the voice softened. "I know what you're thinking. Don't worry, I'm not here to pry any deeper. In my current state, I don't have the strength to read your soul, even if I wanted to."
Leon let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. That's… good to know, he thought, though there was still a lingering doubt in his mind. Whether she was telling the truth or not, it wasn't like he had a choice but to trust her for now.
Sure, he didn't have any deep, dark secrets, he was just an average office worker back on Earth, after all. But the fact that he was a transmigratior, inhabiting someone else's body in this bizarre world, was more than enough to make him wary. There were things he'd rather keep hidden. After all, who doesn't have embarrassing memories or awkward moments they'd prefer never see the light of day? Some things were worse than just social faux pas, they were the kind of personal history no one wanted exposed.
Trying to shift his focus, Leon steered the conversation back to the problem at hand. "So, this cursed land… is it really as endless as the stories claim?"
The girl's voice carried a note of reluctant confirmation. "Well, the legends are filled with exaggerations and half-truths, but unfortunately, this place is even more dangerous than the stories let on. You'd better hope the wizard who created this spiritual field wasn't too powerful in life. If he was… you're in deeper trouble than you think."
Leon's heart sank. The way she said it made him feel like they were walking into something far worse than just a haunted forest.
"The chaotic energy that's corrupted this area," she continued, her tone more matter-of-fact now, "has been here for ages. It's warped everything; the land, the sky, even time itself. Nothing makes sense here. Directions are meaningless, and no matter where you walk, you're just going in circles through twisted space. Normal people have no chance of getting out of this kind of place."
Leon swallowed hard. "So… we're trapped."
"Not just trapped," the girl corrected, a hint of weariness creeping into her voice. "Flying won't help either. If you try to go too high and get close to the Chaos Sea projection in the sky, you're just asking for death."
Leon grimaced. "Great. So, we're stuck on the ground with no way out. And let me guess, this place is crawling with monsters, right? The kind that love to eat lost souls like us?"
The girl laughed softly, though there was no humor in it. "It's not exactly like that. Creatures sensitive to magic usually avoid places like this. And if there are any beasts that do wander in here by accident, they don't last long. Most of them end up dying just like any other unfortunate soul; becoming one of the undead, trapped here, unable to find peace."
"Undead?" Leon latched onto the word. "Killed by what, exactly?"
"The spirits who came before you," the girl explained, her voice dropping into a more serious tone. "The ones who died here and can't move on. Their souls can't return to the Dead Sea to rest, so they wander this cursed place, driven by whatever twisted remains of their former selves. And yes, they'll attack you if they sense you."
Leon didn't know what the "Dead Sea" was, but from the way she described it, it sounded like a place of eternal rest or maybe something like reincarnation. Either way, being stuck here, forever wandering as a restless spirit, sounded like a fate worse than death.
"Wait," Leon said, frowning. "You said the undead are bad, but not the worst thing we could run into here. What could be worse than that?"
The girl's voice grew somber, almost as if she was reluctant to explain. "There's something else lurking here. Besides the undead, there are… demons."
Leon stiffened at the word. "Demons? You're serious?"
"Spiritual demons, to be precise," she clarified. "They aren't the kind of creatures that belong in the physical world. Normally, they can't reach us. But this place… it's different. The spiritual field acts as a bridge between the spirit world and reality. The chaotic energy here has weakened the barriers, allowing demons to slip through, in a limited way."
Leon's blood ran cold. "So they can get to us."
"Yes," the girl confirmed. "In this corrupted space, they can project themselves, hunting for what draws them the most; emotion, desire, and the strong will of intelligent beings like you. That's what makes this place so dangerous. The more your spirit fluctuates, the more they'll notice you."
Leon's mind reeled. A place where demons could sense and feed off your emotions? He had been relying on his old world's songs and mantras to keep himself focused, but now he understood how critical that was. If his emotions slipped, if his thoughts became too chaotic, he'd be like a beacon to those demons, practically inviting them to come after him.
"So… what do we do?" he asked, his voice quieter now, his earlier bravado fading.
"We keep moving," the girl said, her voice steady. "And we keep your emotions in check. The more you can focus, the safer we'll be."
Leon nodded, though the weight of her words hung heavily in the air. Demons, undead, corrupted lands… This was a far cry from his life as an office worker on Earth. But now, in this twisted realm, his survival depended on more than just keeping his cool. It was a matter of keeping his very soul intact.
Leon listened in silence, absorbing the girl's words. After everything he'd seen in this strange world; magic, goblins, and creatures that defied logic; he wasn't exactly surprised by the mention of demons. If anything, he had come to expect the unexpected. Still, this situation felt more dire. Here they were, stuck in a place where demons from another realm could sense them, and there seemed to be no easy way out.
His mind churned as he tried to grasp the severity of their predicament. This cursed land, where neither escape nor sanctuary seemed possible, was filled with threats beyond his ability to handle. Demons, undead spirits unable to reincarnate… none of these were things he knew how to deal with.
The girl's voice, calm but serious, cut through his thoughts. "If you want to avoid being targeted by the demons, you must control your emotions and your will. Especially forget about unnecessary desires and greed. In a place like this, any shift in your emotional state makes you visible to them. The more erratic your thoughts and feelings, the more you'll stand out."
Leon nodded, though unease crept into his mind. Control his emotions? Here? That sounded easier said than done.
"You have to avoid intense feelings like fear, panic, and anger," she continued. "The stronger your will and the calmer your spirit, the harder it will be for demons to notice you. Keep yourself steady, and they'll have a much harder time tracking you."
The suggestion was simple, but the implications weren't lost on Leon. "And if someone believes in a god?" he asked, thinking about his companions.
The girl's voice softened, almost encouraging. "If you have a god you believe in, prayer can help. Faith can anchor your mind and spirit in a place like this. Believers tend to be more resilient when they invoke their gods for protection."
Leon glanced at Brandon and Liam walking beside him. Both of them, devout followers of the Holy Sun Church, were silently mouthing prayers to their god, Saint Sol, and the revered Prophet Ilaril. They had their faith, their rituals, something tangible to cling to in the midst of this nightmare.
But Leon? He was from Earth, a modern man, an atheist who had never put stock in divine beings. What could he rely on? His rational mind, which told him to keep calm, now felt like a fragile defense in the face of supernatural threats. He couldn't help but feel like he'd be lighting up like a beacon in the spirit world, with his emotions and modern anxieties swirling like neon lights in the dark compared to the simple, unwavering faith of his companions.
"So you're telling me," Leon ventured, trying to keep his voice steady, "that if we just keep our minds clear and stay calm, we'll make it out of here safely?"
The girl's voice held a note of dry amusement. "No. I'm telling you how to survive long enough to avoid getting torn apart by demons. If you want to escape this place entirely, you'll need more than just a calm mind. You'll need something to guide you out."
Leon frowned. "What do you mean?"
"There's only one way to break free of this spiritual field," the girl explained. "I'll need to teach you how to craft a ground spirit lamp. It can act as a temporary guide to pull you back into reality. But I need materials to make it, and you'll have to gather them from this cursed forest. Without it, there's no way you're getting out."
Leon's stomach sank. "Materials? In this place?" He swept his gaze over the bleak, twisted landscape. "What could possibly grow or exist here that you need?"
The girl paused, thinking. "Well, finding something like a Patis crystal is probably out of the question," she mused. "But I can work with more common materials. Pyroxene flint, river sandstone, eucalyptus poplar wood… These can be found in forests like this, even in corrupted ones. We'll have to wander a bit, keep our eyes open. The real challenge is gathering everything we need before time runs out."
Leon felt a glimmer of hope. It wasn't much, but at least they had a plan. "Alright. And what's the last piece we need to activate this lamp?"
The girl hesitated before answering, her voice dropping to a serious tone. "The last piece is a soul; a dead soul, trapped in this place. It has to be one that longs to leave, that's desperate to go home."
Leon froze. "A soul?" He felt a chill crawl down his spine. "You're saying we need to find a soul of someone who died here?"
"Yes," the girl replied, without any hint of doubt. "The final activation requires the energy of a soul that's been bound here for too long. One that still yearns for release. It's the only way to create a link strong enough to tear through the spiritual field and return you to the real world."
Leon's thoughts raced. A soul… Where would they even begin to find something like that? And more importantly, what would it mean for them to use it?
The thought of disturbing a lost spirit made his skin crawl, but as the wind howled through the trees and the eerie rustling of unseen forces echoed around them, he realized he had no choice.
If they wanted to survive, they would have to face whatever this cursed land held, undead, demons, and lost souls alike.
"Alright," Leon finally said, his voice quiet but resolute. "Let's find what we need. We don't have much time."