Akiko fell through the darkness, the cold air rushing past her as she plummeted. Her stomach lurched, and she fought to hold onto her sense of reality. But the sensation of falling seemed endless. She couldn't breathe, couldn't think. The darkness swallowed her whole.
Then, suddenly, the world around her went still.
She landed with a soft thud on the cold, uneven ground. Her body ached, but she managed to push herself up, her eyes scanning the new environment. The world she had fallen into was nothing like the village. It was a place of broken ruins, twisted shadows, and a sky that seemed to ripple and change with every passing moment.
The air here was thick, heavy with an oppressive energy that pressed against her chest. The ground was cracked and barren, the remnants of long-dead trees scattered like broken bones.
"What is this place?" Akiko murmured, her voice trembling. She didn't know where she was, or how she had gotten here, but she could feel the weight of something ancient and powerful pressing down on her.
The cloaked man's words echoed in her mind. You've awakened the darkness.
She had no idea what he meant, but one thing was clear: the world she had fallen into was not a place she could escape from easily.
She needed to find answers. She needed to understand what was happening to her, and why she had been pulled into this strange, forsaken world.
As she stood, her heart pounding in her chest, a distant noise caught her attention—a low growl, like the sound of something stirring in the shadows.
Akiko turned quickly, her eyes narrowing. Whatever was here, she wasn't alone.
Something was watching her.