Chapter 1: The Forest of Echoes
The late afternoon sun slanted through the dense canopy, scattering patches of gold across the mossy floor. Airi Nakamura trudged behind her friends, Yuna and Kaito, laughing despite the damp chill of the forest.
“This place is huge,” Yuna muttered nervously, brushing a strand of hair from her face. “I swear, it feels like it never ends.”
Airi grinned, adjusting her backpack. “That’s why it’s perfect! No one around, nothing to distract us. Just trees, air… and maybe a little adventure.”
Kaito groaned. “Yeah, adventure. Until we get lost and eaten by a bear or something.”
They pushed deeper into the forest, the sounds of the modern world fading behind them. The air grew heavier, denser, almost charged, though they didn’t notice it yet. Birds flew silently overhead, and the ground beneath their feet seemed unnaturally soft, like it was waiting for something.
Airi paused, noticing a faint shimmer among the roots of an enormous oak. Half-buried under moss and decayed leaves lay the remains of a skeleton, its bones bleached pale by time.
She froze. “Wait… look at this,” she whispered.
Yuna’s eyes widened. “Airi… maybe we should—”
“I want to see it!” Airi interrupted softly, stepping closer. Despite herself, a chill ran down her spine. Something about the bones made the air hum faintly, as if vibrating in response to her presence.
Kaito frowned, taking a step back. “Seriously, we should leave. Now.”
Airi hesitated, her hand hovering just above the skeleton. She could hear it, almost imperceptibly at first — a whisper, soft and distant, like the wind brushing through leaves. The sound seemed to call her name.
“Airi…”
Her pulse quickened. She brushed dirt from the humerus. The hum grew louder, sharper. It wasn’t wind. It wasn’t her imagination. Something in the forest wanted her attention.
“Guys?” she said, her voice trembling. “Do you hear it?”
Yuna’s eyes darted around nervously. “Hear what? There’s nothing—”
The whisper intensified, vibrating through Airi’s chest. Her curiosity and fear collided. She felt… drawn. Despite everything, she reached forward and touched the bone.
Immediately, the world seemed to tear itself apart. Light exploded behind her eyelids, colors twisting and stretching like molten glass. A scream rose in her throat, but the forest swallowed it whole.
When the brilliance faded, Airi opened her eyes.
The forest was still there, yet different. The trees were taller, their bark silvered and etched with faint runes that pulsed softly. Flowers glowed with a light that had no source, drifting faintly above the forest floor. A gentle wind carried whispers, distant but insistent.
And yet… she was alone.
Her friends were gone. The skeleton was gone. Even the familiar moss underfoot looked alien, like it had grown in another age. Her pulse raced as she called out.
“Yuna? Kaito? Are you there?”
Only the wind answered. The whispers grew louder, brushing against her mind like fingers of smoke. She took a cautious step forward. The forest seemed alive, watching, waiting.
Airi’s heart pounded. She felt strange… a warmth in her chest, almost like the forest was responding to her fear and curiosity. Tiny sparks of light danced across her fingers, fading as quickly as they appeared.
She swallowed hard and took another step. The shadows of the ancient trees stretched long and twisting, creating shapes that almost looked like figures watching her. She realized something terrible and exhilarating at the same time:
She was no longer in her world.
And this forest — this strange, humming, glowing forest — was only the beginning.
A shiver ran down her spine as she whispered to herself, “Where… am I?”
The whispers grew louder. This time, they weren’t just calling her name. They seemed to beckon her forward, deeper into the forest — toward something she didn’t yet understand.
And Airi knew, with a sinking and thrilling certainty, that there was no turning back.
