The Forest That Should Not Exist
Darkness.
Then…
Pain.
A sharp sting pierced the side of my neck.
I instinctively slapped at it.
“Ugh…”
Another sting landed on my arm.
Then another.
A constant buzzing surrounded my ears.
Bzzzz…
Mosquitoes.
Without opening my eyes, I waved my hand through the air in annoyance.
“Five more minutes…”
My voice sounded hoarse.
No one answered.
The buzzing continued.
Another bite.
“…Fine.”
I slowly opened my eyes.
The first thing I saw wasn’t the cracked white ceiling of my hostel room.
It was the sky.
No…
Not the sky.
The sky was almost invisible.
Towering branches intertwined above me, weaving together into an endless green ocean. Only thin rays of golden sunlight managed to pierce through the leaves, painting the forest floor with scattered patches of light.
I frowned.
“…What?”
I blinked several times.
Perhaps I had fallen asleep outside.
Perhaps this was some strange dream.
Slowly, I sat up.
Cold soil clung to my hands.
The smell of damp earth filled my lungs.
Somewhere in the distance…
A roar echoed through the forest.
It wasn’t the roar of a tiger.
Nor a lion.
It sounded ancient.
As if an enormous creature had awakened after centuries of sleep.
The ground trembled beneath me.
My heartbeat stopped.
“…Where am I?”
No answer came.
Only silence.
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I quickly pinched my arm.
Pain.
Real pain.
I slapped my own face.
Smack.
“…Ow.”
The sting lingered.
“This isn’t funny anymore…”
I laughed nervously, hoping someone would suddenly jump out and tell me this was all a prank.
Nobody came.
Instead…
Another roar echoed through the forest.
This one was closer.
Much closer.
A cold shiver crawled down my spine.
Slowly…
Very slowly…
I stood.
Then I looked around.
My breath caught in my throat.
The trees…
They weren’t trees.
They were living mountains.
Each trunk was so wide that even ten houses placed side by side couldn’t surround one completely.
Their roots rose from the earth like giant stone walls before disappearing into the distance.
Their branches stretched so high into the heavens that I couldn’t even see where they ended.
Compared to them…
I wasn’t even an ant.
I was less than dust.
“…Impossible…”
Everything I knew about the world shattered.
Nothing on Earth could ever become this large.
Nothing.
The forest stretched endlessly in every direction.
No roads.
No buildings.
No signs of civilization.
Only nature.
Wild.
Ancient.
Untouched.
Then I noticed something buzzing near my face.
I instinctively turned.
A mosquito.
But it wasn’t normal.
It was nearly the size of my open hand.
Its long needle-like mouth glistened beneath the sunlight.
It stared directly at me.
“…”
“…Nope.”
I ran.
⸻
I didn’t know where I was running.
Forward.
Left.
Right.
It didn’t matter.
Every direction looked identical.
The giant trees swallowed all sense of distance.
Their roots forced me to climb over them again and again.
Sweat soaked my clothes.
My lungs burned.
The enormous mosquito chased me only briefly before disappearing into the forest.
Yet I refused to stop.
Fear was pushing my body far beyond its limits.
Eventually…
I collapsed against one of the gigantic roots.
Panting.
“…This…”
“…This isn’t Earth.”
Saying those words aloud made them feel real.
Not a dream.
Not a hallucination.
Not a prank.
Another world.
Every fantasy novel I had ever read suddenly flashed through my mind.
The chosen hero.
Magic.
Adventures.
Power.
Treasure.
For one brief second…
A ridiculous thought crossed my mind.
“Maybe… this won’t be so bad.”
The forest answered with another roar.
Louder.
Closer.
The smile disappeared from my face.
“…Yeah.”
“I’m going to die.”
⸻
Hours passed.
Or perhaps only minutes.
Time became meaningless beneath the endless canopy.
I chose a direction and began walking.
There had to be something beyond this forest.
A river.
A village.
Anything.
But the scenery never changed.
The same colossal trunks.
The same endless roots.
The same emerald darkness.
It felt as though I had entered a world that had forgotten how to end.
I looked behind me.
Nothing looked familiar.
I looked ahead.
Nothing looked different.
“…Am I even moving?”
The question echoed through the silent forest.
No one answered.
For the first time since waking up…
Fear gave way to despair.
I had escaped one prison…
Only to awaken inside another.
⸻
By the time darkness slowly settled beneath the towering trees…
One thought kept repeating inside my mind.
“If this really is another world…”
“Then why…”
“Of all people…”
“Why me?”
Far away…
Something answered.
A roar so enormous that the very earth trembled beneath my feet.
And somewhere deep within that impossible forest…
Something had noticed me.
End of Chapter 2