A sweet breeze brushed against my face as I arrived. All around me stretched a field full of colorful flowers, their fragrance mixing with the chirping of birds, soothing the soul. Grass rolled endlessly toward the horizon, inviting rest. Without thinking, I sat down, unable to resist the calm beauty.
The fear and unease I had felt just moments ago when I was teleported here began to fade, replaced by serenity. I closed my eyes, enjoying the wind. Did I come to the wrong floor? This is just a beautiful meadow…
When I saw it—snow-white, soft as a cloud—my heart nearly stopped from its cuteness. A rabbit, with eyes red as rubies. For a moment, I almost forgot why I was here, or even who I was.
"What a sweet little thing you are! My little cotton ball!" I said, hugging and petting it furiously.
A sharp metallic odor curled into my nose, unsettling and wrong. Still hugging the rabbit, I walked down a gentle slope—expecting flowers or maybe water—and instead my body locked in place.
At the bottom of the clearing lay a bear. Or what remained of one.
Rabbits clung to its torn belly, their white fur painted crimson as they burrowed through organs with single-minded hunger. One rabbit lifted its head, intestines dangling from its mouth like dripping ropes. Another tapped insistently at the skull until it cracked open, then eagerly scooped out soft, gray brain matter.
My thoughts scattered. This was no meadow.
This was a place that devoured illusions along with flesh.
"AAAAHHHHHHH!" I screamed with all my strength, unable to make sense of anything but terror.
Then I saw it—on the ground, inside the mouth of a rabbit—my own finger. Reflexively, I looked at my hand. Where my ring finger should have been, there was nothing but spraying blood.
The rabbit gnawed the finger like a carrot, and then its body convulsed. A third leg burst from its side, splitting flesh, followed by another eye and ear sprouting wetly from its head. In seconds, two identical rabbits were standing before me.
Their fur began to darken, patches of black spreading like rot, and their ears grew sharp. Meanwhile, the rabbits that had finished the bear turned toward me. Unlike the others, these had long, hooked claws.
What is this—what kind of hellspawn am I looking at? Aren't rabbits supposed to be harmless, white, vegetarian animals? Since when do you need claws like that to eat vegetables?
Without trying to understand, I flash-stepped away, fleeing desperately. But the rabbits lunged without losing speed, chasing me close behind. With every cooldown, I forced another flash step, sprinting deeper into the forest. The throbbing pain in my legs, the abdominal swelling, the sensation of my lungs expanding as if they would burst every time I inhaled—it all blurred together.
When I looked back, I saw two so-called rabbits, black spots now covering their entire bodies, crashing through the trees. A few seconds later, they leaped toward me, blocking my path. There was nowhere left to run.
I drew my bow and began firing arrows at the rabbits. They dodged the arrows with a speed I could barely follow with my eyes. They attacked with claws sharp as razors.
I used a Flash Step to increase my agility and escaped to the right. I reached for more arrows, but instead saw blood gushing from my arm where my hand should have been. The fingers I'd felt moments ago were gone. I lost my balance and fell to the ground.
They were devouring my severed arm with a rabid appetite, blood dripping from their mouths as they stared at me like they hadn't eaten for days. The rabbits' muscles were tearing, and it looked as if a new head was trying to emerge from their skulls. After the ear-splitting sounds of ripping and tearing, four more rabbits had spawned before me; their sizes were now massive.
I didn't want to be eaten by these creatures. There was no alternative but to flee.
I channeled my mana to my feet for a Flash Step, leaping away to slip out of there. The rabbits must have realized what I was doing and started chasing me. I kept running, ignoring the rabbits bounding nearly two meters behind me.
My foot caught on something, and I found myself choking in the mud. The chaotic sounds of the rabbits were tearing at my ears as leaves fell from the trees. I felt a cold wetness on the back of my head when...
This time, a different kind of warm liquid spilled over me. A few ear-piercing screeches followed it.
The monsters chasing me were dead. Huge logs had fallen on them. There were crossbow bolts scattered over them. Where I had fallen, there was a stretched tripwire. I tried to lift my hand to wipe the mud from my face, but all I could manage was an arm stump still gushing blood where my hand used to be. For a second… my hand. MY HAND!
As the adrenaline started to subside and the pain in my arm began to surface, all I could do was scream as loud as my lungs and breath would allow. I ripped a piece of fabric and used a wooden splinter on the ground to make a simple tourniquet for my arm.
I wiped the blood off my face and leaned my back against a tree, taking in the surroundings. Other than the sickening feeling rising in my stomach, the only thing I could feel was the dull sting of what remained of my arm. I opened the corked potion bottle I got from Victor—the one in the glass flask that looked like pomegranate juice. Lifting the piece of cloth over my stinging wound, I poured the sugary, rotten-fruit–smelling liquid onto my arm.
Without thinking, I drank the little that was left in the bottle. Its taste, just like its smell, reminded me of sweet, spoiled fruit juice. My stomach, already unsettled by the tension in the air, churned even harder, and the liquid burned up my throat as I forced it back down. I swallowed it anyway. The number of potions I brought with me was limited, and it's not like I could reach a shop out here.
Once the pain in my arm eased even a little, I stood up. The moment I got to my feet, my vision flickered with static, and my head began to spin. I steadied myself against the tree, waiting for the dizziness to pass. After the rabbits, the forest was strangely silent despite it not yet being dark. The harsh scent of blood made staying there difficult. I started moving deeper into the woods.
Crouching low, I continued forward, careful not to step on anything, glancing around every few seconds. Eventually, I reached a point where the rabbits' blood scent no longer followed me. That's when I heard faint rustling and immediately dove into a bush.
A deer-like creature stood there, with two majestic antlers, white spots, and black bead-like eyes. The only difference was that instead of a brownish coat, it had a faint greenish fur. It began nibbling at the bushes with its small mouth. At least there was something in this forest that resembled a normal animal. I should go the other way.
"HRRRK–KRRRHHH! … GHHH-RAAAAH! … HNNN–EEEHHH!"
I froze at the sight before me. The majestic creature that had been calmly eating moments ago was now screaming helplessly in agony. A girl—she looked like a young girl—had bitten into its neck and continued chewing as dark red blood poured down.
"…krrr–R R R C C H H…"
The animal had stopped kicking. The red blood mixing with the girl's black blood turned into a muddy, grotesque color. Swallowing sounds echoed every second. This was madness—why make the poor thing suffer? End its pain first, then do your twisted ritual. The metallic scent spreading through the air made my stomach churn again, but I clenched my teeth to stop myself from vomiting.
She wiped the blood from her mouth, though the red streaks left a dull stain on her lips. She brushed off the dust on her long boots and black leather outfit. Her crimson eyes scanned the surroundings before she lifted her head slightly and sniffed the air.
"This is definitely another blood scent," she murmured after sniffing for a few more seconds. "There's a bit of cinnamon in it."
When her ruby eyes locked onto me, a sudden jolt of tension shot through my body, and a cold shiver ran down my spine. Before I knew it, I had thrown myself out of the bushes. I didn't even have the mana for a flash step—just enough strength to push myself forward a little.
The rustling leaves above me were followed by a cold gust of wind behind my back. Crimson glowing eyes lunged at me from the treetops. Her hands looked ready to tear a piece out of me. I dodged her with a backward leap, but I fell to the ground. She landed and sniffed the air again before licking the dried blood from her lips to taste it once more.
She breathed sharply, intensely, and looked at me with the focused gaze of a wolf that had found its prey. I grabbed a stone within reach and threw it at her. It struck her head and split the skin, blood dripping down—but it didn't stop her. She grabbed my arms and pinned me to the ground.
She brought my bandaged arm to her face, sniffed the bandage, and licked it. "Sweet nectar." Her hands slammed mine against the ground more forcefully, and then she began licking my neck. I tried to kick and push her off, but she sank her sharp teeth into my neck.
I felt the blood trickling down and the sting of her bite. I kept kicking with every bit of strength I had left. Like a newborn drinking milk, she greedily gulped down my blood. The strength in my legs faded, the feeling in my missing arm vanished, the pain in my neck dulled… my eyes closed, and my consciousness sank into darkness.