The Nightmare Wizard

Screams tore through the air like blades, ripping me from my trance. The ground began to shake beneath my feet, a brutal warning: an army was approaching. Each tremor hammered in my chest, each scream carried the echo of the massacre I had just left behind.

I didn't think.

I didn't look back.

I just ran.

The forest rose before me like a cage of green shadows and whispering branches. With every step, roots tried to pull me down, but I didn't stop. My chest burned, as if my lungs were made of hot coals, yet I kept going. The pain was intense, but not worse than the thought of being caught. Fear pushed me beyond exhaustion.

The trees closed in like the columns of a forgotten temple—wet, tall, ancient. The light filtering through the leaves was gray and dirty, as if even the sun was afraid to witness what was happening beneath the canopy. The scent of damp earth, rotting leaves, and thick sap filled my nose. Insects buzzed unseen through the underbrush, but no birds sang. Only the silence of death remained.

I ran for what felt like hours. My heart pounded with a fury that blurred my vision, my muscles screamed on the verge of collapse. Every step was a desperate prayer to survive.

Thirty minutes later, when the world began to blur into a whirlwind of leaves, sweat, and ragged breaths, a voice echoed inside my head—clear, cold, familiar.

> "Dear user. The body has reached a critical state. Immediate rest is recommended. Collapse imminent in 30 seconds."

I stopped—too late. I tripped over a hidden stone and crashed down hard. Mud swallowed me like a starving beast as I rolled downhill, my body a ragdoll of pain and exhaustion. When I finally stopped, mouth full of dirt, ribs aching, everything was quiet... except for that voice.

That voice.