Chapter 1: Voices
Darkness.
That was the first thing Kai knew.
Not the darkness of night.
Not the darkness of closed eyes.
Something deeper.
Something endless.
A void stretching infinitely in every direction.
There was no ground beneath his feet.
No sky above him.
No sensation of a body.
Only darkness.
And voices.
Faint at first.
Distant.
As if carried by a storm from somewhere impossibly far away.
"Help us..."
"Run..."
"Save them..."
"Monster..."
"Hero..."
Kai tried to speak.
No sound came out.
The voices continued.
Growing louder.
More numerous.
Thousands of whispers overlapping each other.
Men.
Women.
Children.
Some crying.
Some screaming.
Some praying.
"Please..."
"Don't leave us..."
"Murderer..."
Kai froze.
The word echoed differently from the others.
Sharper.
Closer.
As if someone had whispered it directly into his ear.
"Murderer."
His chest tightened.
Why?
He didn't know.
The voices continued.
"Kai..."
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Gentle.
Familiar.
For a brief moment he felt warmth.
Comfort.
Then it disappeared.
"Kai..."
The darkness began to crack.
Thin lines of light spread across the void.
The voices became distorted.
Broken.
Fading.
The world shattered around him.
And Kai opened his eyes.
Sunlight blinded him.
He immediately raised an arm to shield his face.
The sudden brightness stung.
For several seconds he simply lay there, breathing heavily.
The scent of earth filled his lungs.
Grass.
Leaves.
Fresh air.
Slowly, his vision adjusted.
Towering trees stretched above him.
Their branches intertwined high overhead, creating a natural canopy through which rays of sunlight pierced.
A forest.
He was in a forest.
Kai sat up.
His muscles ached.
His body felt weak.
As though he had been asleep for a very long time.
He looked down.
Bare chest.
Torn pants.
A ragged piece of cloth hung from his shoulders, barely resembling a cape anymore.
He frowned.
"What..."
His voice sounded rough.
Unused.
He swallowed.
"What happened?"
No answer came.
Only silence.
Kai looked around.
Trees.
More trees.
And even more trees beyond that.
No signs of civilization.
No roads.
No houses.
Nothing.
He tried to remember.
Anything.
His family.
His home.
His age.
His face.
Nothing.
His mind was empty.
A vast blank space where memories should have been.
Panic threatened to rise within him.
Who was he?
Why was he here?
How did he get here?
Nothing.
Then a single word surfaced from the emptiness.
Kai.
He blinked.
Kai.
The name felt familiar.
Comforting.
Like a fragment that had somehow survived a shipwreck.
"Kai..."
He repeated it quietly.
"That's my name."
At least he hoped it was.
It could have belonged to someone else.
It could have been a nickname.
A title.
Anything.
But it was all he had.
For now, it would have to be enough.
Kai stood.
His legs wobbled slightly before stabilizing.
He glanced upward.
Blue sky peeked through the canopy.
A strange feeling settled over him.
Despite his confusion.
Despite his fear.
One thought felt certain.
He needed to move.
Standing still would accomplish nothing.
Perhaps somewhere beyond the forest there would be answers.
Perhaps someone would know who he was.
Or perhaps not.
Either way, he couldn't stay here.
Kai took a step forward.
Then another.
And began walking.
Hours passed.
Or at least he thought they did.
Without a watch or any memory of time, it was difficult to tell.
The forest seemed endless.
Every direction looked identical.
Massive trees.
Twisted roots.
Dense undergrowth.
Yet something felt strange.
The silence.
There were no birds.
No insects.
No distant animal calls.
Nothing.
A forest should have been alive.
This one felt dead.
Not physically.
But spiritually.
As if every living creature had abandoned it.
Kai slowed his pace.
A chill crawled down his spine.
His instincts screamed that something was wrong.
Unfortunately, he had no idea what.
Then he saw it.
A campfire.
Or rather, the remains of one.
The ashes were cold.
Partially scattered.
Nearby lay a broken wooden mug.
Kai crouched beside it.
People.
Someone had been here.
Recently.
The realization brought unexpected relief.
At least he wasn't alone in the world.
He continued forward.
A short distance later he found wagon tracks.
Then footprints.
Several of them.
Heading deeper into the forest.
His pace quickened.
The first signs of civilization.
The first clues.
Hope stirred within him.
Until the smell hit.
Kai stopped.
The odor was unmistakable.
Even without memories.
Even without experience.
His body recognized it instantly.
Death.
Rotting flesh.
His stomach twisted.
The smell grew stronger with every step.
A swarm of flies buzzed somewhere ahead.
Instinct told him to turn around.
Curiosity pushed him forward.
Slowly.
Carefully.
He moved through a cluster of bushes.
And froze.
A body lay in a clearing.
Or what remained of one.
The man appeared middle-aged.
Traveler's clothes.
Leather boots.
A cloak stained dark with dried blood.
Deep claw marks covered his torso.
Parts of his abdomen had been torn open.
Several organs were missing entirely.
Flies covered the wounds.
Kai felt bile rise into his throat.
He stumbled backward.
For several moments he simply stared.
Unable to look away.
Unable to comprehend what he was seeing.
Someone had done this.
Or something.
The silence of the forest suddenly felt much more threatening.
Eventually, Kai forced himself to approach.
The dead man deserved at least that much.
Near the body rested a leather satchel.
Kai carefully opened it.
Most of the contents had been ruined by blood.
Maps.
Travel documents.
A small pouch of coins.
And a sealed letter.
The parchment itself was surprisingly intact.
Written neatly across the front were several words.
To His Majesty,
King Akshay of Yggdrasil.
Kai stared at the name.
Yggdrasil.
The word meant nothing to him.
Yet it was the first proper name he had encountered since awakening.
He carefully folded the letter and tucked it into his pants.
Perhaps this King Akshay could help.
Or perhaps someone looking for the messenger would.
Either way, leaving it here seemed wrong.
As he prepared to leave, something caught his eye.
A small identification card partially hidden beneath the corpse's arm.
Kai reached down and retrieved it.
Most of the writing had been smeared.
Only one name remained legible.
Elrick.
"So your name was Elrick."
The forest remained silent.
Kai lowered the card.
He didn't know the man.
Didn't remember him.
Yet seeing a name somehow made the death feel more real.
More human.
"I'm sorry."
The words escaped before he realized it.
Then he stood.
There was nothing more he could do here.
He turned and began walking once again.
Leaving the clearing behind.
Leaving Elrick behind.
The forest swallowed the scene almost immediately.
Minutes passed.
Then came a voice.
Soft.
Barely audible.
"...save me..."
Kai stopped.
Every muscle in his body tensed.
He slowly turned.
Nothing.
Only trees.
Only shadows.
The forest stood silent.
Watching.
Waiting.
Kai swallowed.
"Who's there?"
No answer.
Not even an echo.
Yet he was certain.
He had heard it.
A voice.
A plea.
A cry for help.
And for the first time since awakening, Kai felt truly afraid.
Somewhere within the endless forest, something was calling to him.
And he had no idea whether it wanted to be saved.
Or whether it wanted him.