It was getting late, the weather around us was getting colder. This cold wind brought a different kind of chill to the body. In the sky, faint lines of light were moving through the leaves, and the wind was light, but there was also a hint of extreme cold. Everyone was talking about golden fruits, wonderful water. And everyone was sitting around the fire, as if the night would pass peacefully.
But just then—
Although no one noticed, a dark blue color had gathered in one corner of the sky. No clouds, no ordinary sky—it was nothing like that. As if some unknown force was slowly covering the sky.
The surroundings suddenly became silent.
The mountain fireflies, the insects in the bushes, the call of a distant bird—all stopped in a second.
It was as if the forest was holding its breath.
Ayes was adding wood to the fire. She stopped and looked up at the sky.
"Kai… have you noticed that everything around has become silent?"
Kai slowly raised his head and answered,
"Yes… it's like something unusual is happening around. It's not supposed to happen suddenly."
Ayes said, "As happens before the storm. We must be careful."The wind came and stopped slowly at first.
Then…
Suddenly, the gust of wind started blowing in the opposite direction.
The leaves were turning in the opposite direction.
The smoke from the fire was moving downwards, which never happens naturally. Everyone was shocked. Because something they had never imagined could happen.
Habib, the bus driver, said in a worried voice,
"I have never seen this happen in my life… the wind is blowing downwards!"
Fors wrapped the coat more tightly around the baby's body and said,
"This must be something like the strange lightning that day—again."
Everyone froze in fear. Was something like the previous purple lightning going to happen?
Everyone looked at the sky together, but there was no sky to be seen, only the leaves of the giant trees were visible. But the clouds in the sky were creating their own light. First a bluish light, then purple, and finally silver-white. The sound of thunder was heard. Everyone was standing outside the cave. Because the cave was shaking.
Suddenly the sky started to change color as if someone had painted on it with a brush.
And then—something white like a small petal fell on Ayes' hand.
He looked…
His hand started shaking.
"Snow…?!"
Everyone was surprised together.
Kai came forward and said in a surprised voice,
"This is impossible! There is no way it can snow in this forest. We are in a tropical forest!" And with so many giant trees around, the snowflakes would not be able to penetrate the leaves.
Aimi, who had some knowledge of the world's geography, said in surprise,
"The temperature cannot drop from 20 degrees to below 0 degrees in 2–3 minutes!"
But the snowflakes were no longer one—
Millions of particles began to fall from the sky. Within a minute, the entire forest began to turn white.
The dry soil of the earth was freezing and turning into ice.
The leaves of the trees were freezing and hardening.
As if this atmosphere had condensed into a single day of a thousand years of winter.
Rezik shouted
"Brother! It's hard to breathe! Why is the air suddenly so cold?!"
The baby began to cry.
Everyone quickly gathered around the fire, but the fire...
The light is not going out, but the heat is not spreading.
It should feel warm if someone extends their hand,
But even next to the fire, it is as cold as ice.
Kai was skeptical at first,
"It's not fire… something like fire. Is it… magic-tainted fire?"
Habib whispered,
"We may have come to a place that doesn't work like a normal place…"
A deep vibration was heard within the regular sound of the snowfall.
From deep within the forest.
Th… th… th…
As if something huge was walking through the forest.
The snow did not stop, but rather grew thicker.
The heads of the trees were moving—
not with the speed of an animal,
but rather as if under the pressure of some invisible force. The trees were filled with even thicker snow. They all shivered from the cold. A bad thought crossed their minds. Will they be able to return to their homes. Or will they even survive this strange forest? The weather is getting worse.
Niva said in a nervous voice,
"Is that another animal… or something else?"
Melisa widened her eyes,
"It could be something from this forest… we don't know what's in this forest."
Suddenly, a large wildcat came out from behind them. It made no move to attack them. Instead, it ran forward. Then another pair of large ostrich-like birds ran past them. Ayes, Kai, Aimi, and the rest didn't understand what was going on here.
Suddenly, a strange creature appeared above their heads in the snow. In the blink of an eye, the creature was gone.
Not a human, not an animal, not a bird—
A giant, ancient, winged shape.
Not more than a second or two.
Habib stammered,
"Oh… was that… flying?" Ayes observed it closely and said,
"I think… it's not just a snowstorm.
It's a sign of some power being activated.
Maybe there's some ancient secret power in this forest…"
Everyone looked at Ayes.
Kai said,
"What do you think—it's connected to that mysterious ancient ruin?" Ayes nodded and said,
"Yes. Whenever it's activated, the environment suddenly changes… lightning, strange storms, now snow…"
As the snow fell, strange sounds came from afar.
The moaning of wild animals.
They were running forward in panic.
A small fawn came out of the snow and fell a few steps—
its body had frozen solid. Ziam observed for a while.
Then Ziam whispered,
"This is not a natural cold… it is sucking the life force."
Everyone was shocked together. Fors said in fear,
"What if every particle of snow absorbs life force?"
After hearing this, everyone quickly covered their hands and feet. Everyone's hands and feet became cold with fear.The snow continued to fall,
the ground was covered in a layer of white ice,
the trees were slowly freezing like crystals,
a soft murmur in the air—like a spell
the light was fading, as if the sun was moving away, the temperature was sinking—minus ten, twenty, thirty…Kai said tremblingly,
"We need to find shelter!"
Now everyone ran into the cave. But...
After entering the cave, everyone thought that at least the place would be warm…
But—
It wasn't warm inside the cave.
Rather, strange rune symbols were glowing on the cave walls.
In golden color.
It was completely warm against the snow.
Ayes whispered,
"These runes… I've seen them before."
Everyone stared. The cave shook.
As if the cave was alive. Slowly, signs of breaking appeared inside the cave. Everyone ran out in fear.
Just then—
A slight tremor.
The ground seemed to move a little. No one could tell if it was the wind or the vibrations of the earth.
Then suddenly—the sound of running with great noise from all sides.
First in the distance.
Then closer.
Closer.
By then, everyone in the group had stopped. Some were holding sticks, some were holding bags, and some were pushing the injured away.
The sound of running was so loud, so strong that it seemed—hundreds, maybe thousands of animals were running in the same direction!
"Everyone, back up! Inside the cave!" Kai shouted.
Ziam said,
"No! If they get into the crowd when we go inside… then we will be even more trapped."
Habib, the bus driver, was injured but gritted his teeth,
"This is not a normal escape… this is panic."
And just then—
A huge deer, about ten feet tall, with golden-brown fur, its antlers unusually extended, like some magical creature.
The deer was running so fast that the snow beneath its feet was flying up.
The deer didn't even look at the man. Far from attacking.
A few seconds later, three wolves appeared.
Not gray, but black, and their eyes were glowing with blue light.
But they too…
ran past the men, as if they were there—but they weren't!
Whispers began to circulate within the group.
"Can't they see us?"
"Are they scared?"
"No group of animals ever behaves like this…"
Now the animals began to arrive in waves.
Large wild boars, wild cat-like creatures, strange winged birds, leaping deer, and even snakes were running away as fast as a sprint.
A woman exclaimed in surprise,
"They… aren't even attacking each other!"
It's truly amazing.
Because wolves, deer, wild cats—they're all enemies!
But here they seem to be moving as one group, with one purpose.
This is not normal wild behavior.
The behavior of the animals running past was even more strange.
Their eyes were filled with fear, panic, and a kind of desperation.
Now they understood why a large wildcat and a pair of ostriches had rushed forward a moment ago.
A huge winged bird flew almost over the group's heads.
The wind from its wings was so strong that the fire trembled and trembled.
The child cried out in fear.
But the bird didn't even look at the child.
It was as if people didn't exist to it.
Ayes said slowly,
"It's… they're running away from something. Something very big."
Melissa shook her head,
"But what? We just came to this forest today. Is there some power here in whose presence all the animals… would behave like this?"
Ziam said,
"Maybe some natural disaster. Earthquake, volcano, blizzard—something like that."
Habib said slowly,
"I've driven in mountainous areas all my life. Animals do run away before a disaster… but I've never seen one this big, this many running away together."
Kai said,
"I've seen it. Once.
Once—when a large lake in our area burst and flooded.
That's when the animals ran away like that.
But…
They're not afraid of water. Is it ice? Or… something else?"
Now everyone in the group suddenly looks back.
Because the animals don't stop running.
Amidst the unusual ice and cold, a blue light suddenly appeared in the sky.
But it wasn't like lightning.
It was as if some energy flow was stored inside the clouds.
Every few seconds, the light flickered.
The lights entered the gaps between the leaves of the trees, reflecting the blood-red light on the dense snow particles.
Some of the group said in trembling voices,
"Is this… coming towards us?"
"No… the light is steady. But it's getting stronger," Ayes said.
The wind was picking up.
The clouds were pulling to one side.
The snow particles were getting bigger.
It was as if nature was preparing—
before the arrival or collision of some great force. Suddenly the group was stunned.
Because this time a huge carnivorous animal rushed in front of them.
It wasn't a tiger, nor a lion—it was some strange creature like a mixture of the two.
Its body had black stripes, its eyes were red, and its teeth were so big that it was difficult to close its mouth.
Both men and women screamed.
But that creature—
went past the people.
As if they were invisible. The whole group was speechless. 0
As if it had only one thought in its head—
"Survive… survive no matter what…"
Seeing this, a new fear entered the hearts of the group.
Because if even such creatures ran away in fear,
then what kind of danger was coming in front of them? Almost none of the creatures stopped while they were running.
But occasionally 2-3 creatures would look towards the cave for a moment.
That gaze was—
Non-hostile
Not aggressive
Rather… warning.
"It seemed like they were trying to tell us something," Melissa said.
Ayse nodded and said,
"Yes.
Look—the fear in their eyes, and their gaze is pointing towards us.
As if saying—'Come that way… or it will be too late.'"
But where?
Where?
What is the reason for their escape? Neeva said,
"Should we follow them? Maybe they are going to a safe place."
Fars immediately shook his head and said,
"No! We are not animals. Their path can even put us in danger!"
Rezik, the little boy, raised his hand and said,
"But they know everything. Nature tells them. What if… a big danger comes?"
Everyone was silent. They thought for a while. But they did not know what to do.
Their hearts trembled.
In such a situation, a wrong decision meant death.
Just then, the ground shook again.
This time it was clear.
A thud.
The sound of something deep.
The ground seemed to rumble.
The ice above the cave moved.
Snow fell from the tree branches.
The animals started running faster.
One deer ran so fast that a whirlwind hit the man.
Ayse whispered,
"This… is not a natural disaster.
It is some big… animal, force, or powerful being." Habib said,
"The cave is solid. It will keep out the cold. Even if a big animal comes, it won't be able to get in."
Ziam said,
"The cave is very deep. If there is an earthquake, we will be trapped."
Melissa said,
"What if a wave of force comes? Will the cave save us?"
Fars:
"What if I am outside? Can I escape then?"
Everyone was silent.
Human logic was almost useless in the face of such a great signal from nature. A light came out of the sky that blinded them.
The sky began to burst with a mixture of deep blue, silvery white, and faint purple.
The speed of the snow increased fivefold.
The wind began to howl.
The whole group screamed together.
The child cried even louder.
Suddenly a familiar animal appeared. It was a wolf, which they had tied up. It brought its entire pack with it. The pack of wolves stopped in front of Ayes's pack. The pack of wolves was huge. The wolves were very large in size. They must have been about 5 feet tall. They were trying to give Ayes' pack some signals with their paws. The pack of wolves did some damage, they sat down quietly. Ziam said, "Are they trying to tell us something?" Force suddenly said, "Do they want to help us, to follow the group of animals?"
"Why would they help us?" "Come on, let's get on their backs," Ayes said. Mr. Habib also agreed. Slowly everyone agreed. One by one, they climbed onto the backs of the wolves. They were all moving forward together.
Now the forest was completely empty.
But the sky…
It was shaking in such a way that it felt like—
**Something was coming down.
Or waking up.
Or being freed…**
All of them—deer, huge birds, strange horned creatures—
were all heading in the same direction, but not once did they attack the group of people.
It was as if no matter how ferocious the creatures of this world might be at other times, no one was an enemy to anyone at this moment.
Melissa said—
"These… it's not like there's a predator-prey relationship. Instead… they're calling everyone!" Ayes felt a strange mixture of fear and curiosity welling up in her chest.
Everyone was riding on the backs of wolves—a scene they had never imagined. Behind them was a vast forest, ahead of them a vast white fog… and beyond the fog there was something—
But what was it, none of them could quite understand. Ayes held the wolf's neck tightly. His body was still shaking with soft pain—the cosmic lightning that had flowed over his hand had left a mark somewhere deep in his blood. Sometimes his fingertips tingled, as if he himself couldn't understand what was happening inside. Kai sat on the back of the wolf next to him and said,
"Do you understand? Where are these—I mean the wolves—taking us?" Ayes didn't answer.
The fog was slowly breaking before his eyes, and something yellow was gradually becoming clear.
Yellow…?
Why yellow in the fog?
Then—suddenly the fog disintegrated.
And a scene unfolded before them that stunned the entire group.
A vast, endless desert.
A sea of sand.
Golden waves across the horizon. Such a desert could not exist in the middle of a forest—it was not natural at all.
Forest after forest, ice after ice, even after all the terrible creatures, suddenly a vast desert—
It seemed to defy the laws of the world. The air here was warm.
The sun was shining overhead—but the sunlight was unusually still.
As if the sun was stuck in some part of the vast wheel of the sky.
Neither advancing nor setting. Niva narrowed her eyes—
"Is this the sun of our time? Or is it different from this world?" Melissa raised her hand to her head and said,
"This sun… is not moving."Habib, who was the oldest and calmest in his age, took a deep breath and said—
"Not only is the sun… the place is different. This sand is not ordinary."Ayes got off the wolf's back.
The sand crunched softly under his boots.
It wasn't like ordinary warm sand—
it was alive. As if each grain of sand was slowly vibrating, shimmering golden in the sunlight.
In half an hour, he reached the middle of the desert. In the middle of the sand stood a stone altar. "There are only ten minutes left until sunset," Aimi said.
On the altar were two giant statues with strange designs—curved lines, shiny runes, a crescent moon shape, and a large crack in the middle. They looked like they were guarding this huge altar. More giant animals and birds were coming from all sides. As if this huge altar was their refuge. They all got off the backs of the wolves. They nodded their heads in gratitude to them.
Ayes and the other 18 people all passed the two giant statues. They entered. In the middle was a huge statue of a woman with a sitar in her hand. There were many more statues beside her. The huge statue of the woman was so crafted that it looked like it was a statue of a goddess. In addition, there were many ancient inscriptions around. They were looking at the inscriptions and paintings.
Golden light was coming out of the crack—
Light, but vibrant. Ayes felt the electricity in her hand reawaken.
As if the energy within her body was responding to that light.
Niva whispered in surprise—
"This place… this light… is it a source of energy?" Melissa said—
"It's an ancient ruin. Maybe thousands of years old."
Habib slowly shook his head and said—
"These creatures come here for a reason. They come here to take shelter during storms… or to conserve energy." Pain gripped Ayes's hand again.
The wolf stood to the side,
and looked at the crack and growled softly—
as if warning him. Thousands of creatures stood around the altar—
No one was making noise.
No one was fighting.
Everyone was still. Ayes stepped forward and looked at the altar.
The golden light coming out of the crack was slowly glowing.
As if waiting for some great power to be released. A deep roaring sound came from the desert, as if something terrible was coming.
All the animals raised their heads at the same time.
This was a sign—
the arrival of something. Ayes caught his breath.
Kai whispered—
"Here… something is coming!"