Dawn's light crept over the horizon, brushing against the leaves of a lone tree. Its brethren stood lifeless—husks of what once thrived. No longer would they whisper the secrets of this forest. The blood of countless eons of battles still stained their bark, seeping deep into the wood. Despite the desolation, the skin of these trees pulsed with something disturbingly alive. This place, once nameless, now bore a title whispered in fear: the Crimson Forest.
Its inhabitants had regressed into twisted remnants of their former selves. What once were people now fused with the crimson bark, their armor—soaked in blood—serving as their coffins. Bodies contorted, spirits trapped, they remained prisoners within the wood. The fauna, twisted and perverted, fed the land with their own decayed flesh, while the flora, once harmless, had become deadly enough to obliterate entire battalions.
Lost souls, beware.
Those who wander these cursed lands may encounter IT—a being that defies all names given to IT. Some call IT a god, but be warned... IT is not.
Long ago, a mighty warrior sought the secrets of these lands. His blade was an extension of himself, his body honed to perfection, his will unshakable. Nothing had ever stood in his way and lived to tell the tale—until now. When he returned, he was but a husk of a man. His eyes were empty. One cannot gaze upon infinity and hope to come back unscathed. His body withstood the journey, but his mind came back broken. He muttered in broken phrases, speaking of things no mortal should know. Those who looked upon his ruinous state abandoned their own quests, their courage crushed beneath the weight of his silence.
IT has no true form, yet IT manifests as a slender figure wrapped in bloodied bandages—woven from human hide. IT stands by the lone living tree, but at times, IT is seen wandering the forest's edge. To gaze upon IT is to teeter on the precipice of madness. If IT spots you, run. Pray you never see its face, for where eyes, nose, and mouth should be, there is only infinity. And infinity has no mercy. IT will consume your soul, and your mangled body will nourish the forest.
Yet for all its horrors, IT is not the worst this fractured world has birthed. Far from it…
A civilization once thrived here. Now, it lingers in limbo, caught between creation and oblivion.