The deeper Arjun walked into the forest, the darker everything became.
The tall trees blocked most of the moonlight, leaving only thin rays of silver light on the ground. The air felt colder here, and the silence of the forest was strange and heavy.
Arjun stopped for a moment and took the old map out of his pocket.
The red line on the map showed a narrow path that went straight through the forest. At the end of that path was the mysterious red circle.
"That place must be somewhere ahead," Arjun whispered to himself.
He looked around.
The forest looked endless.
Every tree looked the same. Twisted branches stretched across the sky like dark claws. A soft mist slowly moved between the trees, making the forest look even more mysterious.
Suddenly
Crack.
A dry branch snapped somewhere behind him.
Arjun quickly turned around and pointed his torch into the darkness.
"Who's there?" he asked nervously.
No answer.
Only silence.
For a few seconds, nothing moved.
Arjun slowly let out a breath. "Probably just an animal," he said, trying to calm himself.
But deep inside, he felt something strange.
It felt like someone was watching him.
He turned back to the path and continued walking.
After a few minutes, something unusual caught his attention.
On one of the large trees, there was a strange symbol carved into the bark.
Arjun stepped closer and shined his torch on it.
The symbol looked ancient — a circle with three sharp lines crossing through it.
His eyes widened.
"That symbol… it's on the map too."
He quickly unfolded the map again.
Yes.
The exact same symbol was drawn near the middle of the path.
Which meant one thing.
He was going the right way.
Suddenly, a cold wind rushed through the forest.
The leaves rustled loudly.
And for just a moment, Arjun thought he saw something move between the trees.
A shadow.
Tall.
Fast.
Arjun's heart began to pound.
"Who's there?" he shouted again.
But once again, the forest answered with silence.
He tightened his grip on the torch.
Something wasn't right.
He looked down at the map again.
According to it, the place marked with the red circle was very close now.
Just a little deeper into the forest.
Arjun swallowed nervously.
Part of him wanted to go back home.
But another part of him — the adventurous part — pushed him forward.
"This might be the biggest discovery of my life," he whispered.
With slow and careful steps, Arjun walked deeper into the forbidden forest.
What he didn't know was that the secret hidden inside the forest…
had been waiting for him.
And in the darkness behind the trees
something was quietly following him.