The forest did not sleep.
It breathed.
Aric Veyra realized this the moment he stepped away from the shattered stone altar. The air itself seemed alive—heavy, watching, judging. Every rustle of leaves felt deliberate, every shadow too precise to be random.
His heart still hadn't slowed.
The glowing symbols from moments ago were gone, yet their echo remained—etched into his mind like a brand burned beneath the skin.
[System Initializing…]
The words appeared again, floating calmly before his eyes, as if mocking his panic.
Aric clenched his fists.
"I'm not dreaming," he muttered.
Dreams didn't hurt this much.
Dreams didn't make the world feel sharper—as if reality itself had been turned up a notch. He could hear things now: insects crawling beneath bark, distant wings slicing through the fog, something large shifting far beyond the trees.
Then—
[Welcome, Bearer.]
The single word made his spine stiffen.
Bearer.
Of what?
[You have entered your First Trial.]
[Objective: Survive.]
The forest reacted instantly.
The ground trembled, not violently—but purposefully. The fog thickened, curling inward like fingers closing into a fist. Paths he had walked moments ago vanished behind walls of twisted roots and thorns.
Aric spun in place.
"Survive what?" he shouted.
The system did not answer.
Instead, the silence broke.
A low, guttural sound rolled through the trees—deep, wet, hungry.
Aric froze.
Something moved between the trunks ahead. Tall. Too tall. Its outline bent unnaturally, limbs stretching and retracting as if unsure which shape it preferred.
Then two crimson lights opened in the darkness.
Eyes.
Not animal eyes.
Aware eyes.
[Trial Enemy Detected.]
[Classification: Unknown.]
[Threat Level: Fatal.]
Aric's breath came fast.
Fatal.
That word slammed into his chest harder than fear.
"Okay," he whispered hoarsely, backing away. "Okay… think."
Running was instinct—but instinct screamed that turning his back would mean death.
The creature stepped forward.
Moonlight revealed patches of blackened flesh, split and stitched together like something rebuilt from nightmares. Its mouth opened sideways, unhinging far wider than should have been possible.
It smiled.
Aric's body moved before his mind could catch up.
He ran.
Branches lashed his face as he sprinted through the forest, lungs burning, legs screaming. The ground dipped and rose unpredictably, roots grabbing at his feet like traps.
Behind him—
THOOM.
Each step of the creature shook the earth.
Too fast.
Too close.
Aric felt something surge inside his chest—hot, desperate, violent.
[Warning: Bearer is experiencing lethal stress.]
[Emergency Synchronization Initiated.]
Pain exploded through his veins.
It felt like lightning crawling under his skin, rewriting him from the inside out. His vision fractured—numbers, symbols, paths overlapping the world.
Suddenly, the forest changed.
He could see lines—routes of movement, weak points in terrain, moments where the creature's balance faltered.
Possibility.
[Ability Unlocked: Instinct Thread (Passive)]
[Effect: Heightened survival perception.]
Aric skidded to a halt near a ravine, spinning just as the creature lunged.
Time slowed.
He felt the opening.
Aric jumped—sideways, not back.
The monster overshot, claws scraping stone as it roared in fury. Part of the cliff collapsed beneath its weight, dragging it down into the misty depths below.
Silence returned.
Aric collapsed to his knees, gasping, shaking, alive.
Barely.
[Trial Progress: 1% Complete.]
He stared at the floating text, disbelief slowly turning into something else.
Resolve.
"So this is how it works," he whispered. "Survive… and become stronger."
The forest did not disagree.
Far away, unseen by Aric, ancient eyes opened—watching the boy who had taken his first step into a game older than worlds.
And for the first time in a very long time—
The Codex stirred.