I kept walking.
The forest was quieter now, calmer. No monster cats in sight. Just the occasional chirp, rustle, or wind brushing against the canopy like fingers sliding over harp strings. Somewhere in the distance, a bird let out a call that sounded suspiciously like a human scream. I chose not to dwell on that.
"If I pretend everything's normal, maybe the forest will respect it" I muttered. "Just a kid on a lovely nature hike. Totally fine. Totally not magically resurrected."
But even I could feel it, the air had shifted.
There was something beneath the calm, like a current beneath the surface of a still lake. A presence. Faint, Subtle, Calling.
I followed it.
The trees thinned, and the light grew stronger until, finally, I stepped through a curtain of vines and...
Found it.
Ruins.
Massive stone walls jutted out from the forest floor like broken bones. Half-buried by earth and time, the structure stretched wide and low, its entrance framed by crumbling pillars wrapped in moss and age. Vines strangled the stones, but the craftsmanship, what was left of it, was sharp, elegant, ancient.
I approached slowly, eyes wide. My footsteps echoed faintly across cracked stone tiles. Small creatures darted away into the shadows, and I could feel the pull again, stronger now.
A hallway, partially collapsed, stretched deeper inside. Carvings lined the walls, spirals, symbols, and what looked like runes or a language I didn't recognize. But it wasn't threatening. It was... familiar.
I reached out, fingers trembling slightly, and brushed my hand against the wall.
A deep, hollow sound echoed.
The stone groaned.
And then...
CRACK.
The wall gave way under my touch.
"Oh come on!"
Dust exploded into the air as a hidden alcove collapsed inward, revealing a staircase that had been sealed off for gods knew how long. I coughed, waving the dust away, and peered inside.
At the bottom of the steps, nestled in a stone cradle, was a single object.
A book.
Bound in leather that shimmered like dragonhide, its cover was marked by a spiral symbol glowing faintly with silver light. The pages looked untouched by time.
Something about it pulled me forward, like gravity, or fate.
I knelt, reached out, and...
Touched it.
The book responded immediately. The spiral on the cover pulsed once. Then again. I opened it.
The first page was filled with strange writing, runes that shimmered like ink caught in candlelight.
"...What the hell is this?"
Then the letters moved.
They lifted from the page like smoke, spiraling upward. I stumbled back, but they were already in motion, spinning around me, dancing in the air before diving toward my left arm.
I screamed.
It wasn't pain. It was... fire and ice and lightning and confusion all at once.
The runes etched into my skin, wrapping around my shoulder and spiraling down to my wrist like ink from a celestial quill. Glowing softly, like tattoos made of moonlight.
"What the, What is this!?"
Then came the pressure.
It slammed into me like a storm. A wave of invisible force burst from my body, exploding outward. Dust and leaves and broken chunks of stone flew into the air, blasting from the ruins in all directions. The stone pedestal crumbled. Birds screamed and fled the treetops.
I fell to my knees, clutching my head.
Headache.
Blurry vision.
My heart pounded. My breath came in sharp, uneven gasps.
What was happening to me?
What were these letters? What had I just activated?
"What... what did I just do?"
The ruins were silent again. The forest watched. The magic in the air had changed. It now hummed around me, soft, electric, as though I was something new.
Or something old reborn.
I looked at my arm. The glowing runes pulsed in time with my heartbeat.
And I was very, very afraid.
The pressure wave had faded, but my heart hadn't caught up. I was still breathing hard, arm glowing faintly with otherworldly script, chest tight with adrenaline and a rising tide of what the hell just happened.
The book lay in pieces behind me, its magic apparently spent. Or maybe passed on. Into me.
I flexed my left hand. The glowing runes shimmered across my skin, subtle now, like something half-asleep beneath the surface. My fingers tingled with warmth, like I'd just dipped them into sun-warmed water. A quiet hum pulsed at the edge of my senses.
"Okay" I whispered, pushing myself to my feet. "Let's not think too hard about the fact that ancient tattoo magic just turned me into a walking time bomb. Let's just... breathe. Focus. Get a lay of the land."
And what better way to do that than by climbing?
The tallest part of the ruin, what remained of a half-collapsed tower stood about twenty feet high, with jutting stones like steps from a forgotten time. The surface was rough and covered in moss, but the structure looked sturdy enough. Probably.
"Alright, Kai. You've died once already. What's a little reckless climbing?"
I began to ascend.
To my surprise, it felt... easy. My hands gripped more firmly than they should have. My footing was sure, my balance light. I moved quickly, almost instinctively, like my body knew where to place itself before I did.
And then, with one final pull, I reached the top.
The view was...
Forest.
Endless forest.
Green treetops stretched in every direction, rising and falling with the land like waves on a leafy ocean. No towers. No villages. No smoke. No signs of life. Just nature, unbroken and vast.
"Well. That's either really peaceful... or really bad news."
I sat there for a moment, wind brushing through my hair, letting the silence sink in.
Then the stone beneath my foot gave out.
"Oh come o..."
I slipped.
I crashed down, slamming through a cascade of crumbling stone. My feet hit a wall halfway down, ricocheted, and I tumbled through the air like a sack of badly thrown potatoes.
The world spun,
WHUMP.
I landed hard, feet first, knees bent, on the mossy ground.
I froze, braced for the pain.
But there was none.
No sharp sting. No broken bones. Just... a soft thud. Like I'd jumped from a stair and landed wrong. A bit jarring. Nothing more.
"Huh?"
I looked down at my legs, expecting something out of alignment or at least a heroic limp.
Nothing.
"That... didn't hurt?"
I bounced slightly on my heels, testing my weight. Not even a bruise.
"Okay. That was cool. And also terrifying. Did I just... become a ninja?"
I spun around and struck a pose, hands out like I was ready to vanish into smoke. It felt appropriate.
"Shadow Step Kai. Forest Shinobi. Avoider of death. Discoverer of ancient book tattoos."
The trees were unimpressed.
Still, the rush of what had just happened lingered like static in my veins. I felt different. Stronger. Lighter. Like my body had caught up with something my soul already knew.
I didn't understand it yet. But I could feel it building, this connection to whatever force had chosen me.