"What… happened?" Markus croaked, his voice scratchy, as he sat up slowly. His eyes darted around the room. Rough stone walls, cold and damp. A single, flickering light buzzed above him, casting eerie, shifting shadows. The whole place looked like it hadn't seen a renovation since forever. Cozy wasn't the word.
"Alright," Markus muttered, rubbing his temples. "Where the hell am I now?"
The floor was just as inviting—hard and freezing. As he stood, his boots scraped against the stone. He wobbled, catching himself against the wall. His body felt like it had been dragged behind a ship.
He looked around. Not much to work with—a rusty metal door, an empty chair that looked one sneeze away from collapsing, and… that was it. No windows. No sound. No sign of life.
"Guess this is my cue," he muttered.
The handle was freezing under his fingers. He turned it. The door creaked open, revealing a long, dimly lit hallway.
He took one step.
SLAM!
The door shut behind him. He spun. "Whoa—what was—" He yanked the handle. Nothing. "Come on!"
Then… stone scraped against stone.
Markus turned back.
The door was gone. Just a smooth wall.
"Nope," he muttered. "This is not a good sign."Markus took a breath.
"Alright, Markus. You've dealt with worse… probably. This is training, right? Gotta get stronger, save humanity, all that jazz. Totally normal," he said to himself, though his voice cracked a little.
He walked forward, each step echoing down the hallway. The air was heavy and damp, carrying a faint metallic tang. The deeper he went, the more the silence pressed against his ears.
"Please don't let my teacher be a nutcase," he mumbled.
A cold shiver slid down his spine.
He froze.
Something was behind him.
His instincts screamed not to look. But curiosity won.
Slowly, he turned—
There, barely a foot away, stood a man.
Grinning from ear to ear.
His wild hair shot up like he'd been electrocuted. His eyes didn't match—one golden, one crimson—and both gleamed with madness. His long coat swayed like there was wind, though the hallway was dead still.
"You rang?" the man whispered.
Markus screamed. A full-on, high-pitched shriek.
"WHAT THE HELL?!"
The man laughed so hard he doubled over. "HA! You should've seen your face! Oh man, that was beautiful!"
Markus backed up, clutching his chest. "W-What is wrong with you?! And what is that smell?! You reek like… old socks and sulfur!"
"Oh ho! A sensitive nose!" the man snorted. "Don't worry, kid. You'll get used to it. Or pass out."
"Who even are you?!"
The man wiped a tear of laughter from his eye. "Name's Malrik Crowne. And I'm your trainer."
Markus stared. "…I'm doomed."
Crowne beamed. "Nah. You'll be fine. Probably."Before Markus could say another word, the entire hallway began to ripple.
The cold stone beneath his boots shimmered like water. The walls warped, the light flickered once… then everything shattered like glass.
"Whoa—wait, what's happening—?!"
Markus stumbled, shielding his face. When he opened his eyes—
He wasn't in the hallway anymore.
Golden grass brushed against his legs. A cool breeze swept past him. He stood in an open field under a twilight sky streaked with deep purples and oranges. Jagged cliffs towered in the distance like sleeping giants.
The change hit him so fast it made his head spin.
Crowne, now standing casually on a hilltop, waved with both hands. "Welcome, welcome! Isn't it gorgeous?!"
Markus turned in a slow circle, taking it in. "Okay… what just happened?"
Crowne skipped—skipped—over to the edge of a cliff. "Come see!"
Cautiously, Markus approached. He peeked over the edge and gasped.
Far below stretched a vast forest unlike anything he had ever seen. Trees pulsed with color—waves of glowing blue and emerald rippled through the treetops like breath. Some trees had crystal-like bark, catching the twilight and refracting it in eerie patterns. The leaves shimmered in every hue imaginable—violet, teal, gold—and they sparkled faintly, as if dusted with stardust. Thick vines curled around massive trunks like serpents, and strange pulses of light blinked in the undergrowth, like the forest had a heartbeat.
"It's… beautiful," Markus whispered.
Crowne grinned ear to ear. "Mars Lunar Forest."
Markus blinked. "Seriously?"
Crowne's smile turned wicked. "But you, my boy, may call it—The Forest of Eternal Horrors and Nightmares!"
The color drained from Markus's face. "You named it that?"
"Technically the locals did. All five of them. Before they got eaten."
"Wait, what?!"
Crowne turned toward him, completely serious now. "Down there are mana beasts. Born from crystal exposure. They're fast, brutal, and really hungry."
Markus stepped back. "So why are we here?"
"To train you!" Crowne said cheerfully. "You need to survive long enough to reach the end."
Markus squinted. "What end?! That thing goes on forever!"
Crowne winked. "That's what makes it fun."Markus stared into the glowing forest below, wind tugging gently at his hair.
"Fine," he said at last, his voice hard with resolve. "If that's what it takes to stop the demons… then I'll do it. I'll survive whatever's down there. No one else should have to go through what I did."
Crowne stood beside him, grinning like a lunatic. "That's the attitude!"
Markus nodded, his heart pounding as he turned toward the steep drop. "So… how do I get down? Some kind of elevator? Rope line? Jump pad?"
Crowne clapped him on the back.
"Nope."
Markus blinked. "Wait. What do you—"
SHOVE.
"—WAIT, WAIT—NO, NO, NO—!"
And then he was falling.
The world dropped out from under his feet. The roar of rushing air swallowed his scream. His arms flailed as gravity yanked him down faster and faster. The cliffs above became distant shadows. The glowing forest below surged toward him like a living, breathing sea of lights.
"HE'S INSANE!!"
Leaves the size of cars blurred past. Glowing vines whipped in and out of view. The forest didn't just glow—it pulsed, alive with strange, magical rhythms.
Above, barely visible now, Crowne leaned over the cliff's edge, waving wildly.
"BONKERS!! ABSOLUTELY BONKERS!!" he shouted gleefully. "EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS DOWN THERE SOMEWHERE! MAYBE! DON'T DIE!!"
Markus wasn't listening anymore.
His eyes widened.
The trees weren't getting closer—they were rushing him.
THWIP!
Branches snapped past his legs. Something glowing zipped past his face like a whip. His shoulder slammed against a limb, sending him into a wild spin.
"GHAAHH—!"
The light disappeared.
Markus plummeted through a thick layer of glowing mist—cold, sticky, and stinging against his skin. He hit something solid—
—and everything went black.