Sera
Suddenly, everything shifted. One moment, Scarlet was clutching my arm, and the next, she was gone. The library, the shelves, the eerie whispers, all of it vanished. I stood alone in the middle of the forest, the towering trees casting shadows that seemed to move and breathe.
"What is happening?" I muttered, my voice barely above a whisper.
The forest was eerily quiet, except for the faint rustling of leaves in the wind. The air felt thick, almost suffocating, as if the forest itself was alive and watching me. I reached for my bag, instinctively checking for the stone. It was still there, humming faintly, its glow muted but steady.
I turned in a slow circle, trying to get my bearings. This wasn't the same forest I had walked through earlier. The trees were older, their gnarled branches twisting like claws toward the sky. The ground beneath my feet felt soft and uneven, and strange, faintly glowing fungi dotted the landscape.