Drip… drip… drip…
Cold beads of water slid down Yuri's forehead, cutting a delicate path along his skin before falling to the earth beneath him.His eyelids fluttered, trembling like they resisted waking. When they finally parted, the world that greeted him felt impossibly calm—so calm it was unsettling.
Birdsong drifted through the air, bright and melodic.Yet the sound struck him like a foreign language, something distant and unreal. It chilled him more than any scream.
Light—soft and filtered—broke through the canopy above. Rays spilled between the intertwining leaves and branches, scattering across his face. Their warmth pressed gently against his skin, clashing strangely with the frigid breath of half-melted snow clinging to the air.
Yuri pushed himself upright with a groan, rubbing the side of his head. His thoughts were blurred into a dull haze.
He stood slowly, his legs moving before his mind could catch up. He began to wander—aimlessly, wordlessly—into the vast expanse of the forest.
The trees towered over him like ancient guardians.Their trunks were thick and moss-draped, their branches sprawling endlessly overhead. Greens of every shade shimmered in the shifting light, vibrant and unreal—too vivid, too alive. The air held the scent of dew and blooming things. Everything felt like a fever dream carved into reality.
His mind drifted, clouded and disjointed.He walked.And walked.And walked.
Through diamond-clear springs that sparkled with prismatic light…Down weathered stone stairs carved into the roots of colossal trees…Across arched stone bridges suspended over waters so pure he could see the very pulse of life beneath their surface…
Over and over, he wandered—until—
A single misstep.
His foot slid on a slick patch of moss.
SLIP—
He tumbled into the creek, the cold water exploding around him in a burst of icy shock.
The moment the current closed over his skin, it hit him.
Every sense roared awake.His lungs seized.His eyes snapped wide.
He bolted upright in the water, gasping, breath stuttering and uneven. His gaze darted wildly as adrenaline ripped through him.
He looked down—and froze.
In the crystal surface of the creek, he saw his reflection staring back at him.
"I… I'm…" he whispered. The words died before they could form.Confusion crashed over him in a dozen violent waves—fear, shock, horror, relief—each emotion clawing its way up at once.
He staggered upright, blinking rapidly, trying to make sense of himself.
His clothing…All black.A hooded jacket.A cloak layered with white fur at the edges.High boots with matching trim.Gloves that wrapped his fingers in tight, secure fabric.
And in his right hand—He realized he had been gripping a blade.
A sword.Dark.Cold.Broken cleanly in half, as though something unimaginably strong had snapped it like twigwood.
He stared at it, baffled.Yet a strange understanding hummed beneath his confusion—an instinctive certainty that every piece of this attire belonged to him. As if it were not worn, but remembered.
His attention drifted back to the water.
The creek widened as it flowed deeper into the forest. He followed it, letting the sound guide him forward. The air grew clearer, the light brighter, the world vaster with every step.
And then—He reached the edge.
Yuri stopped dead in his tracks.
His breath caught.His heart lifted painfully.
There, before him, was a waterfall so magnificent it felt like it had been carved from a dream. Waves of liquid light cascaded over the cliff, sparkling with every shift of the sun. Mist rose in shimmering veils, catching on his cloak like strands of floating glass.
He stepped closer—and the world unfolded below him.
Forest stretched endlessly in every direction, not on the ground, but floating—an ecosystem suspended in the sky, held aloft by unseen forces. Waterfalls spilled like silver ribbons from the floating landmass, cascading down to vast green plains far below.
The mainland glowed with life—soft luminous flora, rolling fields that shimmered like fabric caught in wind. Everything breathed. Everything pulsed gently, almost like a heartbeat.
Yuri stood at the precipice, tears suddenly welling in his eyes.It was too much—too beautiful—too far removed from the hell he had come from.
He wiped at his cheeks with his sleeve, overwhelmed.
"Heaven?" he whispered to himself. "Am I… dead?"
It was possible.But somehow—he doubted it.
He looked down again, studying the waterfalls that plunged from tier to tier. How was he supposed to get to the land below? How could anyone navigate this impossible place?
He tapped his chin thoughtfully.
Yet for reasons he couldn't explain—couldn't even begin to understand—he felt no fear.
Not a whisper of it.
He stepped to the very edge.Wind rushed past him, cool and bright, tugging at his cloak.
He stared down at the drop—several levels of cascading waterfalls beneath him.
And without hesitation—without even the ghost of doubt—
He jumped.
The wind roared past his ears, slashing at his skin like needles of ice. His cloak whipped wildly behind him as the world blurred into streaks of color.
He gazed at the reflection forming on the rushing surface below—
And saw it.
His right eye darkening—the pupil turning a stark, glowing white.
His expression didn't falter.Not even for a second.
Instead, a grin—bold, sharp, almost arrogant—spread across his lips.
Now he understood.Now everything fell into place.
"Bring it on," he said.
And he plunged toward whatever waited below.