Chapter 123: Shutting Down the System
The world around Liora twisted the moment the white light swallowed them.
She felt her stomach lurch, her ears ringing as if she were falling through water or space itself had unraveled and stitched itself back together without warning. Her head spun and her eyes clenched shut from the blinding flash. Her feet had no ground to stand on, only weightless air and the dizzying sense of movement.
Then followed by sudden stillness. The air grew cold and her boots touched earth again.
When Liora opened her eyes, she froze.
The sterile white walls of the hospital were gone. In their place loomed towering trees with thick, gnarled trunks. Their leaves formed a suffocating canopy above, so dense that no sunlight could seep through.
Everything was dim. The ground was covered in thick fog, so dense it coiled around her ankles and muffled the earth beneath her feet.
Liora’s breath caught in her throat.
She took one step forward, then another, slowly turning in place as her surroundings came into focus. Every shadow felt like it was watching. Every tree leaned inward, as if listening. Her fingers itched and her hand went to her sword on instinct. Why did the forest look like it was alive and ready to swallow her any time?
"What the hell..." she whispered. Then suddenly realization dawned on her that she had been transported.
"Teleportation..." she murmured, her voice tight. "Is this the real teleportation... He... really dragged us all here in just a blink of eyes?"
Her heart dropped as another question popped in her mind. Why? Why bring her and Eli?