The Whisper of the Cracked Forest
The forest was unusually silent that night.
Leo, Max, and Ella walked through the trees with casual steps, talking about random things, but something in the air felt… wrong. The wind carried a strange coldness. The leaves didn't move. Even the insects were quiet, as if the whole forest was holding its breath.
Ella touched her arm.
"Why does it feel like the temperature dropped?"
Max shrugged. "Maybe the weather's changing—"
He stopped.
Because the ground under their feet vibrated.
A deep crack spread slowly across the soil, like something inside the earth was waking up. The line glowed faintly—first white… then purple… then a deep black light that didn't look real.
Leo stepped closer, frowning.
"Guys… have you ever seen a crack glow?"
Max grabbed his shoulder. "Bro, don't go near it. That doesn't look normal."
But Leo's curiosity pulled him forward. The crack pulsed, like it was alive. Each pulse echoed inside his chest, as if something hidden in the darkness was whispering his name.
Then the trees around them began to change.
Their bark twisted into strange shapes. The branches stretched unnaturally long. Something like dark vines uncurled from the cracked ground and wrapped around roots and leaves, moving on their own.
Ella stepped back. "This… this is not natural."
Max swallowed. "This is cursed."
The crack spread faster, zig-zagging across the forest floor like lightning. The glow intensified until it looked like a river of shadows.
Leo tried to move, but—
A force suddenly pulled him forward.
Invisible. Strong. Hungry.
"Leo!" Ella screamed.
Leo slid across the ground as if dragged by a giant magnet. The wind roared. The vines rose like snakes, trying to wrap around his legs, Max's arms, even Ella's feet.
Max grabbed Leo's hand.
"Hold on, bro! I'm not letting go!"
But the force grew stronger.
A voice echoed from inside the crack—
Deep. Ancient. Calm.
"Curiosity leads the worthy."
Leo's eyes widened.
"Did… you hear that?"
Ella shook her head, trembling. "No… it spoke only to you."
The glow burst upward like a pillar. The vines snapped back. The ground shook violently.
And from the center of the crack…
A gate formed.
It wasn't physical. It looked like a tear in reality, swirling with silver and black energy. The force pulling Leo grew stronger, but this time he fought it.
"We're leaving!" Max said.
They ran—pushing through branches, jumping over roots, ignoring the shaking ground. The forest behind them writhed like it was alive, but eventually the pulling force faded, and everything went quiet again.
They reached the edge of the forest, breathless, confused, scared… and strangely drawn back at the same time.
Leo looked back one last time.
The crack had already closed.
As if nothing happened.
---
Morning.
Leo woke up with a strange feeling in his chest—as if the forest's voice was still whispering to him. He sat up, rubbed his head, and looked around—
But his room…
didn't feel like his room.
Everything looked the same, but the air was heavier. The light felt different. As if someone had touched every object and changed it by 1%.
Then Max and Ella entered his room.
"Bro," Max said, "you look pale."
Ella nodded. "Did you sleep well?"
Leo tried to smile.
"Just… weird dreams."
Max stopped.
"Leo… what is that?"
He pointed at the wall.
Leo turned slowly.
And froze.
A photo frame hung on the wall that wasn't there yesterday.
A photo of Ella.
Smiling.
But not their Ella.
Her hair style was different. Her clothes were older. And next to her, in the photo, stood another Leo—same face, same eyes… but completely different aura.
Ella stepped closer. "Who… who is that? Why am I wearing clothes I don't own? Why does that Leo look like you but not you?"
Leo touched the picture frame. His heart pounded.
"I didn't put this here."
Max opened Leo's drawer.
There were more photos.
Ella with that other Leo.
Max with that other Leo.
Pictures of moments that never happened in this universe.
Ella whispered, "Leo… I feel like I knew this place… but also not."
Leo closed his eyes.
"The forest. The crack. The gate. I think… that thing we saw yesterday didn't disappear."
Ella shivered.
"So you think the gate followed you?"
Leo nodded slowly.
"No. I think… it opened here."
The moment he said that—
A cold wind cut through the room.
They turned.
The wardrobe door creaked open on its own.
Inside, the shadows twisted—
And the same gate from the forest appeared, swirling silently, glowing softly, like it was calling them.
Ella stepped behind Leo. "No… no way…"
Max stared. "Bro… do we run, or do we fight, or do we… enter?"
Leo felt no fear this time.
Only curiosity.
Deep, burning curiosity.
"The forest tried to drag us," he said. "But now the gate opened on its own. It's not attacking."
Ella whispered, "It's waiting."
Max clenched his fists. "Then let's understand what's happening."
Leo stepped toward the gate.
The light wrapped around him gently, not forceful like before. It felt warm, familiar—as if someone had opened a door for him.
He took a deep breath.
"Whatever this is… we face it together."
Max smirked. "Always."
Ella grabbed Leo's hand. "We're with you."
And the three of them walked into the gate.
The world bent.
Colors twisted.
Sound faded.
They fell into an alternate reality—
A place where another Leo lived, where another Ella existed, where choices were different, where destinies were changed.
And the truth behind the Nothing Realm…
waited for them there.