Everything was calm.
Too calm.
At first, we didn't notice it. We just kept walking along the glowing path drawn by the map, believing that as long as we followed it, nothing bad would happen.
But the deeper we went, the more the world around us began to change.
The forest grew darker.
The trees became taller, their branches twisting unnaturally, blocking even the faintest light from above. Their trunks were so wide that three people together couldn't have wrapped their arms around them.
And the silence…
It wasn't natural.
No birds.
No insects.
No rustling leaves.
Even the wind had disappeared, as if this place itself was holding its breath.
Lucas slowed his steps.
"…This is worse," he muttered, glancing around uneasily. "I don't like it when nothing happens. When monsters show up, at least you know what to hit."
I didn't answer right away.
Because I felt it too.
That strange pressure again.
Not danger.
Not exactly.
It was like being watched by something we couldn't see.
Something patient.
Something ancient.
Waiting.
We continued walking, but now every step felt heavier. The ground beneath our feet was darker than before, almost black, and slightly soft, like ash mixed with soil.
Lucas tried to laugh.
"Maybe we should've stayed back there, huh? Train a little more. Punch some trees. Break our arms again. That was safer."
Still, I said nothing.
My eyes were fixed on the map.
Because something was changing.
The glowing line had started to move.
Not just pointing forward.
Reacting.
The paper in my hands became warm.
Then hot.
The light spread outward from it, flowing onto the ground like liquid, forming a clearer path between the trees—as if guiding us somewhere specific.
"…It's leading us," I said quietly.
Lucas leaned closer, staring.
"Well… we did say we'd follow it. No turning back now."
We walked again.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Each sound echoed too loudly.
Even our breathing felt intrusive.
Time became strange.
Maybe minutes passed.
Maybe hours.
There was no way to tell.
Then—
The light stopped.
Just like that.
The glowing path ended in the middle of the forest.
No road.
No destination.
Nothing.
Only an old stone standing there… like it had been waiting for centuries.
We froze.
The stone was taller than us.
Dark gray.
Covered in cracks and moss.
But unlike everything else in the forest, it didn't feel abandoned.
It felt intentional.
Placed.
Lucas whispered,
"…You see that too, right?"
"Yeah."
We slowly approached it.
Every instinct told me to be careful.
On the surface of the stone, there was a single carved symbol.
It wasn't a letter.
It wasn't a drawing.
It was something else.
A mark we had never seen before.
And yet—
It felt familiar.
Like a memory we didn't remember living.
Lucas hesitated.
"You think… this is magic?"
I didn't know.
But before I could answer, he reached out anyway.
"Only one way to find out."
The moment his fingers touched the symbol—
It shined.
Not brightly.
Not violently.
Just a faint pulse of light… like a heartbeat.
And then—
The forest behind us moved.
We heard it.
Branches twisting.
Roots shifting underground.
A deep sound, like stone grinding against stone.
We turned around instantly.
And felt our blood run cold.
The way we came from…
Was gone.
No path.
No footprints.
No opening between the trees.
Only endless darkness.
The Black Forest surrounded us from every direction now, thicker than before, like it had closed its jaws.
Lucas swallowed hard.
"…Zeus."
"Yeah."
"I don't think we're allowed to leave anymore."
I stared at the place where the path used to be.
There was nothing there.
It wasn't blocked.
It wasn't hidden.
It simply no longer existed.
The realization settled slowly.
This wasn't a trap.
It was a test.
We weren't brought here by accident.
We were brought here on purpose.
I turned back toward the stone.
The symbol was still glowing faintly.
Waiting.
Watching.
Lucas exhaled shakily and rubbed the back of his neck.
"…You know," he said, forcing a grin, "this really feels like the kind of thing Akira would do."
That name…
For a moment, the fear eased.
Akira's voice echoed in my mind.
If you wish to grow — then struggle.
If you wish to learn — then endure.
I clenched my fist.
We were scared.
Of course we were.
We were still just kids.
Kids who had lost too much.
Kids who didn't even understand this world yet.
But we had already decided something.
We wouldn't run anymore.
I took a step forward.
The air felt heavier.
The forest seemed to react.
Watching.
Judging.
"Then let's not waste time," I said.
Lucas stood beside me.
He didn't joke this time.
Didn't complain.
He just nodded.
And together—
We stepped into the unknown.