"When everything was finally starting to get better… why now?No… I can't die.I don't want to."
The boy tried to move, unable to fully understand what was happening to him. His legs wouldn't respond. The sounds around him reached his ears muffled, as if he were underwater. Each breath was shorter, shallower; every attempt to call for help broke into incomplete words, into groans he barely recognized as his own.
Helplessness tightened around his chest like a knot.
"Mary… I'm sorry…I can't anymore…It hurts…"
Why now?Why when everything was finally starting to get better?
This damned world had never been fair.Not to anyone.
A metallic taste filled his mouth. A thick red trail slid from the corner of his lips and dripped onto the rubble, mixing with older stains. He couldn't turn his neck; all he could see was the pool growing, soaking into dust and shattered concrete.
The warmth of the pole against his back began to fade.
It wasn't relief.It was worse.
It was his body shutting down.
The noise of the world faded into a distant murmur, as if a glass wall separated him from everything. He tried to think of something—of someone—but his thoughts slipped away, dissolving into nothingness.
Darkness closed in from the edges, like a curtain falling.
And then, simply, everything ended.
After a few minutes, the boy felt grass beneath him.
The pain was gone, distant, like a forgotten memory. The crushing weight had vanished. He felt cold.
Why doesn't it hurt anymore?Did the rescue team arrive?But… what about Mary?
His thoughts were sluggish, his mind numb, but gathering what little strength he had left, he opened his eyes.
What he saw left him stunned.
He was lying on grass, staring up at the sky. Trees towered around him, so tall he couldn't even make out their canopies.
"No…" was all he managed to say.
"Where am I?" he wondered as he awkwardly pushed himself upright and sat down.
His eyes searched desperately for something familiar—anything that resembled the rubble of what had once been his neighborhood.
There was nothing.
Only trees.Bushes.Grass.
Everything was unnaturally large.
"W-why are the trees so tall…?" he thought, slowly turning around, trying to understand.
This isn't funny…Where is my family?My dreams?Everything I was about to achieve…My neighborhood, the hospital…Mary…
He grabbed his head tightly.
"This isn't right…" he murmured. "And how the hell did I even get here?"
He tried to stand.
That was when he felt it.
His body was different.The gravity was different.
He stood up with difficulty, losing his balance more than once, until something made him freeze.
"H-how…?" He looked down. "Am I… naked?"
That explained the cold.
Without wasting time, he began to walk clumsily, forcing himself to adapt to a body that didn't quite feel like his. He headed toward a nearby bush whose leaves were at least four times larger than his hands.
He had barely walked a few meters when he fell face-first into the ground.
"Ouch…"
He tried to get up. Fell again.
"Sh—" he muttered, stopping himself just in time.
Frustrated, he clenched his teeth and took a deep breath.
This time he managed to stand, moving more slowly, measuring each step, as if the world itself might knock him down again at any moment.
After what felt like an eternity, he finally reached the bush. He crouched awkwardly and grabbed a few leaves.
That was when he noticed it.
The leaves were bigger than his palms.
He froze, staring at them as if expecting them to shrink. He closed his hand, then opened it again.
It wasn't an illusion.
A chill ran down his spine.
"No…" he whispered. "This doesn't make sense."
He let the leaves fall slowly, as if the simple contact had told him something he wasn't ready to accept.
What is this place…?Since when do bushes have leaves this thick?
He didn't know why that thought crossed his mind.
Looking around again, he noticed something else: the forest was far too quiet. It wasn't peace. It was an uncomfortable absence, as if something had decided to remain silent.
It made him nervous.
Logically, I should wait for a rescue team…But I've never heard of a place with trees this big.
He kept moving, carefully, watching his footing.
And… this doesn't feel like my body.
The thought never fully formed.
A sound cut through the air.
It wasn't loud.It was close.
His body tensed before his mind could react.
"W-who's there…?" he whispered.
He turned.
The color drained from his face.
His eyes widened. The air caught in his throat. His legs refused to move, as if the world itself had forced him to stop.
In front of him stood a figure.
It was a deer.
But not like any he remembered.
Its size was unnatural, far too large to be real. Its antlers weren't elegant or branching—they were thick, twisted, more like those of a wild goat. Muscles shifted beneath its skin with unsettling tension, as if every step could tear the earth apart.
Its eyes…
They were red.
They didn't shine with curiosity.They shone with something older.
Each breath from its snout was heavy, oppressive, as if the air itself was tainted by it.
It wasn't an animal.
It was a predator.
And it was looking at him.
His skin prickled all at once.
It wasn't a thought.It was an order.
Run.
His body moved before his mind could catch up. He bolted between the trees, not thinking about direction or distance. The uneven ground betrayed him immediately—one wrong step, his weight off balance, and he crashed face-first into the dirt.
The impact knocked the air out of him.
He crawled for a second, gasping, but adrenaline forced him up. There was no time for pain.
He ran again.
Behind him, the forest broke apart.
He didn't need to look.He could hear it.
Each step of the creature was heavy, deliberate, far too close. Panic filled his chest as he pushed his clumsy body beyond its limits. He slipped between massive trunks, dodging roots, scraping arms and legs in a desperate escape.
"No… no… this can't be happening…" he thought, without slowing down.
The sound behind him changed.
Closer.Slower.
As if it wasn't in a hurry.
He turned sharply to the right, without thinking, and the forest suddenly opened before him.
A river.
The water was so clear he could see the bottom… or what wasn't the bottom. The current vanished into a dark depth where large, slow, unnatural shadows moved.
They weren't fish.
The idea of jumping in died instantly.
He turned back and ran into the forest again. His legs burned. Air barely reached his lungs. The creature was still behind him, walking at first… until it decided to speed up.
The sound changed again.
He tried to glance back to gauge the distance—and in that moment, his foot slipped.
His ankle twisted at an unnatural angle, and he lost his balance.
He didn't fall immediately.
The ground collapsed beneath him, and he slid down the edge of a low ravine—more a sudden break in the terrain than a deep fall. He rolled downhill through loose dirt and stones, unable to stop himself.
The descent was short, but violent.
He slammed sideways into a half-buried rock. The impact stole his breath and left him motionless, his body on fire, his senses scattered.
He tried to move.
He couldn't.
Above him, something stopped at the edge.
The forest fell silent again.
"Why me…?" he thought, breathing raggedly. "I just got here… and now this…"
The animal advanced without haste, completely confident. Each step made the ground crunch beneath it. Its red eyes never blinked.
"I… I don't want to die like this… but…"
The words died in his throat.
The creature stopped right in front of him. It opened its mouth—too wide, too deep—a jaw closer to a lion's, packed with heavy, wet teeth. Hot breath washed over his face.
Then it happened.
The ground roared.
A mass of iron erupted violently from below, tearing through the earth as if it had never been solid. It wasn't an elegant spike or a perfect spear—it was brutal, irregular, savage.
The metal pierced the creature from bottom to top.
Its jaw froze inches from his face.
Blood dripped in thick drops onto the ground—and onto him.
The body trembled once… and went still.
The forest fell silent again.
The boy, injured and unmoving, could only stare.
Blood continued to flow, thick and heavy, sliding down the metal and soaking into the earth. The scene before him was grotesque, unreal, as if the world had lost all logic.
He had no time to think.
Voices.
They were coming closer through the trees. It wasn't a language he recognized; the words carried harsh, unfamiliar sounds, a rhythm he couldn't decipher.
What just happened…?Who are they…?Why did that come out of the ground…?
Figures emerged from the vegetation.
First, he saw a tall man with silver eyes and reddish hair. His presence was imposing even from a distance. Beside him walked a girl with diamond-like eyes, her red hair shining unnaturally as it caught the light.
They were speaking to each other.
He couldn't understand a word.
He tried to move. His body didn't respond.
"H-help…" he managed to whisper.
The world grew heavy.
His eyelids gave in, and the last thing he saw was the glow of those strange eyes—before sinking into darkness.
Postscript
This is not a heroic beginning.
This boy is not a chosen one.He was not prepared, and he doesn't even understand where he stands.
Sometimes, to survive, he will have to dirty his hands.
If you wish to continue, do so knowing this:
Nothing here is simple.Nothing is fast.And nothing is free.
This is IGASCAL.