Chapter 4 — The Forest That Doesn't End
The crack in the air pulsed one last time—bright enough to erase everything around Leo.
He felt the ground vanish from under his shoes.
A sharp wind cut across his face like he had stepped into a storm that existed between moments.
He reached for Max but felt nothing except empty air.
Then… silence.
A silence so deep it felt alive.
After what felt like a single heartbeat, Leo's feet touched solid ground again.
He opened his eyes slowly.
A warm orange glow filtered through twisted branches above him. The air smelled faintly sweet, like wild fruit mixed with something old—something forgotten. The trees around him were tall and strange, their trunks bending in curves that should not have been possible. The leaves shimmered with colors that changed whenever he tried to focus on them.
For a moment, Leo just stared.
Morning light struggled to push through the thick canopy, breaking into thin golden lines that danced across the moss-covered ground.
He whispered, breathless, "Max… we're not home."
Max turned around in a slow circle. His face was pale, his eyes wide.
"Yeah… I-I think this is still the Nothing Forest. Or… something deeper inside it."
Leo didn't answer. His mind was racing. The strange cracking light, the pull, the fall—it all felt unreal. But the moss under his feet, the warm air, the distant sound of flowing water… that was real.
"Leo," Max said quietly, "where's Ella?"
Leo's heart dropped.
They both spun around, searching the area.
No footsteps.
No voice.
No sign she had even been there.
Leo felt heat rising in his chest.
"What if she didn't fall with us? What if she's still on the other side?" His voice cracked.
Max placed a hand on his shoulder. "She's smart. She's strong. Ella doesn't panic. She's probably looking for us right now."
Leo nodded, but a knot stayed in his chest.
They stood in silence for a moment, listening to the forest breathe. The air was warm, almost comforting, but something in it felt wrong. Like the forest was watching them.
Max finally said, "We should move. Staying still won't help."
Leo took a deep breath, gathered what courage he had, and stepped forward.
And the forest reacted.
The ground trembled beneath the moss, almost too softly to notice. The trees swayed even though no wind blew. Somewhere deep inside the woods, a low hum vibrated through the air.
Leo froze. "Did you feel that?"
Max nodded. "Yeah."
Another hum, this time a little louder.
Max swallowed. "Leo… this place is alive."
Leo didn't know what to say. But he felt it too.
The Nothing Forest wasn't just a place.
It was aware.
They walked carefully between the trees, staying close together. Each step made the moss shift under their shoes, as if it was reacting to their weight. The forest floor was warm, not cold like any normal forest in the early morning.
Max pushed aside a giant leaf that glowed faintly. "Leo, look at this."
The leaf changed color the moment he touched it—from green to deep blue, then to shimmering silver.
Leo whispered, "It reacts to us."
Max nodded. "Everything does."
The deeper they walked, the stranger the forest became.
The trees were taller.
The ground was smoother.
The air hummed like a quiet voice hidden in the wind.
And then they heard it—
A whisper.
Faint. Soft. Almost like someone speaking underwater.
Leo stopped. "Did you hear that?"
Max didn't answer, but his eyes widened again.
The whisper came again, this time clearer.
Not words.
Not a language.
Just a presence.
Leo stepped forward slowly.
The whisper followed.
Max grabbed his arm. "Hey—don't wander off. We don't know what that is."
But Leo couldn't shake the feeling that the forest was trying to show them something. The whisper wasn't threatening. It felt more like a calling.
"We have to find Ella," Leo said, forcing his voice steady. "If this… whatever it is… can help us, we follow it."
Max hesitated, then finally nodded.
They kept moving.
Suddenly, the ground dipped slightly, forming a small slope. At the bottom was a pool of crystal-clear water, glowing faintly like liquid stars. The surface reflected the trees above—but the reflection didn't match the real forest.
Leo leaned in. In the reflection, the trees were darker. Taller. Their branches were reaching upward like claws.
Max stepped back. "Okay, no. Nope. That's creepy."
Leo felt a strange pull again, like the same force that dragged them into the crack.
But softer.
Gentler.
"Maybe this is how we track Ella," Leo whispered.
Max didn't argue, but the uneasiness on his face said everything.
Leo dipped his fingers into the pool.
The water rippled with silver circles spreading outward. The moment his skin touched it, his vision blurred.
He saw something.
A silhouette.
A girl running through the forest.
Ella.
"Max!" Leo gasped. "I saw her! She was here! She's alive!"
Relief washed over Max's face. "Where is she?"
Leo looked again, but the pool had gone still, reflecting the forest normally.
The vision was gone.
"I… I don't know," Leo whispered. "The pool just showed me. Like it wanted me to know she's okay."
Max breathed deeply, calming himself. "Then we keep going. Maybe the forest isn't trying to hurt us. Maybe it's guiding us."
Leo nodded, even though his heart still raced.
The feeling of being watched hadn't left.
They continued deeper.
Leaves rustled, even though there was no wind. Shadows moved slowly on the ground, shifting in ways that didn't match their steps. Strange glowing butterflies floated around them, lighting the way like tiny lanterns.
Leo whispered, "Do you feel like… something is pushing us forward?"
Max exhaled. "Yeah. Almost like—"
Before he could finish, the ground shook slightly. A long crack of glowing energy appeared ahead of them, stretching like a thin line of light across the forest floor.
Leo felt his chest tighten.
"That's the same energy that brought us here."
Max nodded. "And it wants us to follow."
Leo took a step closer, his heart thudding heavily.
The crack pulsed.
Once.
Twice.
As if responding to him.
Max said quietly, "Whatever's happening, Leo… it started the moment you entered this forest."
Leo swallowed hard.
He knew Max was right.
Something in the forest reacted to him specifically.
He didn't know why.
He didn't know how.
But the forest was calling him.
And whatever was about to happen next…
their real journey had just begun.