Prologue

Leo’s heart pounds in his chest like a frantic drum. His breaths come in ragged gasps, but he forces himself to stay still, hidden deep inside a thick bush. The sharp scent of pine needles and damp earth surrounds him, but beneath it lingers something strange—something otherworldly, unfamiliar.

Up ahead, the harsh voices of men rip through the silence.

“Hey, finde that garçon!!! Er kann nicht weit sein!!!”

Their accented shouts slice the air like knives. The men’s armor gleams unnaturally silver, sculpted and flawless, as if forged by a master artisan. They move with an eerie grace, too perfect, too cold—the kind of beautiful that hides something sinister beneath.

Leo clenches his fists and lowers his head, whispering a prayer.

“Ya… Allah, please give me strength… I need this… Please let me survive this ordeal…”

He moves cautiously, footstep by footstep, inching through the dense forest. The trees tower above him, their twisted branches scratching the sky like desperate fingers. The air smells odd here—a mix of damp moss, burnt wood, and something faintly metallic that sets his nerves on edge.

His stomach grumbles loudly. Hunger claws at him, sharp and unforgiving.

Great timing, he thinks bitterly. Of all days to be trapped in a fantasy nightmare.

But Leo is not helpless. Thanks to countless Boy Scout camps and the wisdom passed down from his grandparents, he scans the undergrowth, identifying the leaves and berries that won’t poison him. A small victory in a cruel world.

Don’t think about the monsters behind you, he tells himself. Focus on survival.

Suddenly, a twig snaps nearby. His breath catches. He freezes, heart racing.

They’re close.

Leo darts through the underbrush, branches whipping at his face. Pain blossoms across his cheek, but he doesn’t stop. He knows that if they catch him—

His thoughts scatter like leaves in a storm.

“What happened here? Where am I?” he whispers aloud, voice trembling.

His vision blurs.

Out of the shadows, a soft, familiar face emerges—Hana Estelle, the girl he loves. She stands bathed in a gentle glow, smiling softly, her eyes shimmering with a mix of hope and sorrow.

Leo’s legs falter. He steps forward towards her, reaching out—

And then the illusion shatters.

The cold, cruel world snaps back.

He’s alone again.

A shiver runs down his spine.

The hunt is far from over.

Leo’s face is smudged with dirt and dried sweat, streaks tracing his sharp cheekbones and dusting the bridge of his nose. His dark eyes, wide and haunted, reflect a world he no longer recognizes. At five feet four inches tall, he’s unremarkable in stature—just an average Asian boy, seventeen years old—yet in this alien land, he feels small. Lost.

The strange, heavy air presses against his lungs as he trudges forward, unsure where he’s going, or why he’s here at all.

Why? His mind echoes the question like a broken record, desperate for answers that never come.

The loneliness is crushing. No friendly voices. No familiar faces. No language he understands. His thoughts spiral into chaos—how should he act? How should he survive?

He’s a pious boy, raised to trust in Allah’s plan, yet even his faith is tested to its limits here.

Kneeling on cracked earth beneath a foreign sky, Leo cups his hands together and prays. The words come instinctively, a lifeline in the vast emptiness.

“Ya Allah, give me strength. Guide me through this darkness. I hold onto You even when my heart trembles.”

Five times a day, whenever the sun and stars allow, he prays. Not out of routine, but from desperate hope—a whisper in the void that someone, somewhere, is listening.

His fingers trace the dirt on the ground, grounding himself, pulling himself back from the edge of despair.

Somewhere deep inside, he clings to the promise that this torment isn’t forever.

But for now, all he can do is walk.

There is no comedy in this world. No joy.
No comfort.
Not even a fleeting smile.
Because he doesn't belong here.

Every breath Leo takes feels borrowed—foreign air, in lungs that only know the sea breeze of Sabah. Every tree he passes is alien. Every sound, unnatural. His footsteps crunch softly on the strange soil beneath him, but they lead nowhere. Absolutely nowhere.

All the knowledge I had…
All the books I read… the debates I won… my SPM prep, my survival badges, even my prayers…
None of it works here.

Leo stands still, the wind brushing past his dirt-streaked face. His clothes are torn from the underbrush, his shirt soaked in sweat and desperation. His black hair clings to his forehead. His lips are cracked from thirst, his eyes raw from fatigue.

Still, he walks—without purpose, without direction.

He walks… because stopping feels like death.

But fate is cruel.

Suddenly, he hears it.
Footsteps—metal scraping rock—voices like thunder behind him.

“Habe ihn gefunden!!! Hé, il est ici!!!”

Panic slams into him like a hammer. They're here.

“NO—” Leo turns, stumbling, sprinting, his legs like jelly. Not again—not them again!

Branches whip at his arms, thorns bite into his legs, but he doesn’t stop. He can’t stop. The world around him narrows into a blur of green and red. Blood trickles down his shin. His chest screams for air.

Survive. Just survive.
Or die trying.

Ahead, the roaring of water grows louder—a waterfall. The crashing sound fills his ears, growing with every frenzied step.

His mind spirals.

I can’t run anymore. I can’t think. I can’t breathe. I—I—

The edge comes into view.

A cliff.

The men’s voices rise behind him. They’re so close now. So close he can feel their breath, their hate, their chains—

“HELP!!!” he screams, tearing his throat raw. “SOMEONE—ANYONE—HELP MEEE!!!”

But no one answers.

Only the rushing water waits below.

This is it.

His feet don’t even pause.

He leaps.

“Aaaaargh!!!”

And then—
SPLASH.

Everything goes dark.

…

When Leo opens his eyes, he’s gasping, choking on air and river water. His limbs are weak, heavy, like lead. He coughs violently and rolls onto his side.

He’s washed up on a riverbank, bruised and shivering. The sun filters weakly through grey clouds above.

Something moves nearby.

A creature—like a bird. No… a beast. Its feathers are dull violet, its beak curved like a scythe. Taller than an ostrich. Its red eyes stare into Leo’s, unblinking.

Leo doesn’t move.
Please… not again…

But the beast only grunts and turns away, disappearing into the undergrowth.

He’s spared… this time.

With trembling legs, Leo stands. He stumbles forward, soaked, broken, and aimless once more.

Until—he reaches the edge.

A cliff.

Beneath it: mist.
Horizon: clouds.
A great nothingness that stretches into infinity.

And there… something in Leo’s heart finally shatters.

He clenches his fists, his body shaking.

“WHY… WHY!?” His voice cracks.

“ALLAH!!! WHY!?”
He roars into the sky.
“I HAD A GOOD LIFE!! I HAD A FAMILY!! I HAD HER…!!!”

He falls to his knees, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“Hana…” he whispers. “Hana, I miss you…”

His voice is hoarse. Empty.

“I’m tired… so tired…”

Leo walks to the cliff’s edge, barefoot on stone. The wind howls around him.

He stretches his arms out… a final prayer in silence.

Just one step.
One—

FWOOOSH!!!

A blinding light erupts behind him. A strange warmth pierces the cold void.
He turns—eyes wide, breath caught—

And sees it.

A green-skinned figure, small but firm, standing beneath the sunlight with a raised hand.

A goblin?

Leo’s vision dims again.

The last thing he sees—

Is that the creature doesn’t raise a weapon…
It raises its hand gently, as if saying:

“Don’t jump.”

And then… everything fades to black.

[Prologue End]