A sharp breath filled my lungs, and I jolted awake. The darkness, the endless void of stars, and that massive aura... it was gone, replaced by something far more tangible. The cold, hard ground beneath me, the sensation of earth and leaves under my fingers, the scent of damp moss and wood filling my nose.
I blinked, trying to make sense of my surroundings. The sky, once filled with galaxies and swirling energy, was now obscured by towering trees. Their branches stretched high above, thick with leaves, casting dappled shadows on the forest floor. I could hear the rustling of leaves and the distant chirping of birds, the sounds of life all around me.
Where am I?
I pushed myself up, my body feeling heavier than it should, like the strange dream had drained something from me. My chest ached faintly, but when I looked down, there was no sign of the wound, no blood. Just the tattered remains of my shirt, dirt clinging to my skin.
I stood slowly, my legs unsteady at first, but the dizziness from before had faded. As I looked around, I realized just how massive everything was. The trees were unlike anything I had ever seen, their trunks wider than the hover cars back in the city. The leaves above me were so thick that only slivers of sunlight pierced through, casting the forest in a deep, almost ethereal green.
It felt... otherworldly.
"How did I get here?" I muttered, my voice sounding strange in the quiet of the forest. The last thing I remembered was lying in the street, bleeding out after facing down those robbers. Then the dream, that strange aura... and now this.
I took a few hesitant steps, the underbrush crunching softly underfoot. My mind raced, trying to make sense of it all. Was this some kind of hallucination? A dream within a dream? But everything felt too real — the chill of the air, the rough bark under my hand as I steadied myself against one of the trees. This was no dream.
I turned in a slow circle, searching for any sign of where I was or how I had ended up here. But there was nothing. Just the endless stretch of forest, the towering trees, and the eerie silence that pressed in from all sides.
"Hello?" I called out, my voice echoing slightly. No response.
I walked forward, trying to ignore the unease creeping up my spine. Every step I took seemed to lead me deeper into the unknown. The forest felt alive, like it was watching me, waiting for something. My instincts screamed at me to be cautious, but there was no other choice but to keep moving. I had to find some sort of explanation, some way out.
As I walked, my thoughts drifted back to that aura, the one I had seen in the void. It had felt alive, ancient, powerful. And it had chosen me. I could still feel a faint trace of it inside me, like a quiet hum in the back of my mind. Whatever it was, whatever it had done to me, it hadn't left.
What did it do to me?
I paused, placing a hand over my chest where the energy had entered. There was no wound, no pain, but the memory of that immense power flooding into me was still fresh. Had it somehow saved me? Was that why I was here — wherever here was?
Before I could dwell on it any further, a rustling sound broke the stillness. I froze, my heart pounding in my chest. The sound was coming from ahead, beyond a dense cluster of ferns.
I crouched low, peering through the undergrowth, my muscles tense. The last thing I needed was to run into some wild animal or worse, but I couldn't shake the feeling that whatever lay ahead might hold some answers.
With slow, careful steps, I moved forward, parting the ferns to reveal a small clearing. In the center of it stood a figure, cloaked in shadow, their back turned to me. They were tall, their form obscured by the long, flowing robes they wore.
I felt a strange pull toward them, like the aura in my dream was connected to them somehow. My instincts told me to approach cautiously, but something deeper urged me forward, compelled by the unknown force that had brought me to this place.
Swallowing my fear, I stepped into the clearing. The figure remained still, as though they hadn't noticed me — or perhaps they were waiting for me.
"Who... who are you?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly.
The figure turned slowly, and as they did, the shadows seemed to peel away, revealing a face that was both ancient and unfamiliar. Their eyes glowed faintly, like embers in the dark, and they regarded me with an expression I couldn't quite read — a mix of curiosity and something else, something deeper.
"You," the figure said in a low, resonant voice, "have been touched by the Void."
I swallowed hard, my heart racing again. "The Void? What... what does that mean?"
The figure took a step closer, their gaze never leaving mine. "It means you are no longer just a boy. The power that now flows within you is older than time itself."
I took a step back, the weight of their words sinking in. "I don't understand. Why me? What is this power?"
The figure's expression softened, but their tone remained serious. "You were chosen, Jashoo. The Void does not choose lightly. You must learn to control it... before it consumes you."
My mind raced, struggling to grasp the enormity of what they were saying. This wasn't just a strange dream or a nightmare. Whatever had entered me, whatever power I now held, it was real. And it was dangerous.
"What... what happens if I can't control it?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
The figure's eyes darkened, and their voice dropped to a near whisper. "Then the Void will devour you... and everything you hold dear."
A chill ran down my spine as I stood there, the weight of their words pressing down on me.
---
I blinked, my heart pounding in my chest as the figure's words echoed in my mind. The Void will devour you... and everything you hold dear. The weight of that statement was suffocating, and yet, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the figure standing before me.
But something shifted in the air. The shadowed figure that had spoken to me began to flicker, like smoke dissolving into the wind. Its form shimmered and shifted, growing faint. A chill ran down my spine as I realized that this figure — it was familiar, in a way I couldn't quite place.
It wasn't just anyone. It was… me.
My eyes widened as fragments of recognition surged in my mind. The figure, though shrouded in mystery, held a semblance of my own face, my own features. A twisted reflection of my past — or maybe my future.
Is this... me? I thought, panic creeping in. Am I staring at what I'll become?
Before I could say anything more, the shadowed version of myself began to fade completely, leaving only a lingering sense of dread in its wake. The forest felt colder, darker. But just as the last remnants of the figure vanished, a new presence made itself known — one far more terrifying than anything I had ever encountered.
The ground beneath me began to tremble. At first, it was faint, but then the rumble grew louder, more violent. Trees shook, their branches swaying as though something colossal was moving toward me. I turned quickly, my eyes darting toward the source of the disturbance.
From the shadows, something enormous began to emerge.
A creature. No — a monster. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, towering over me, its sheer size dwarfing the ancient trees around us. Its body was like that of a giant wolf, but grotesque, twisted into something far more terrifying. Its fur was black as night, matted and dripping with some unknown substance that reeked of death and decay. Massive claws, sharp as blades, dug into the earth with each step, leaving deep scars in the ground.
But it was the creature's head that sent a wave of cold terror through me.
Six massive horns jutted out from its skull, spiraling toward the sky like dark, twisted spires. Its face was a monstrous blend of wolf and demon, with glowing red eyes that seemed to pierce through me, locking me in place. And its mouth — its enormous jaws were lined with rows of jagged teeth, each one sharp enough to tear through steel.
It was as big as eight elephants, if not bigger. Each step it took shook the earth, the sheer weight of its presence pressing down on me, suffocating. My body froze in place, every instinct screaming at me to run, but I couldn't move. I couldn't even breathe.
The creature's eyes bore into mine, and for a moment, time seemed to stop. Its gaze was filled with a savage hunger, and I knew in an instant — it wanted to devour me. Not just physically, but completely. It wanted to consume everything I was, everything I could be.
The shadow of my future self's words rang in my mind: The Void will devour you...
Was this the Void? Was this what I had been warned about?
The creature snarled, a deep, guttural sound that shook the very air around me. Its jaws opened, revealing that horrible mouth, and for a split second, I could see my own reflection in its eyes — small, insignificant, trapped.
The monster stepped closer, its claws sinking into the earth with a sickening crunch. I wanted to scream, to fight, to run, but my body refused to respond. My chest tightened, my heart raced, and my mind screamed in terror.
This is it...
The creature lunged forward, its massive jaws snapping open, ready to tear me apart. The last thing I saw was its glowing red eyes, filled with a primal hunger that promised nothing but death.
And then... darkness.