The Forest That Devours Heroes

The first thing Shin noticed was the silence.No… not silence. The absence of life itself.

Leaves rustled above, but no insects hummed. No birds sang. Even the wind seemed to hold its breath, as if afraid to stir the shadows lurking among the twisted trees.
He clutched his stomach, feeling it growls in protest. The castle guards hadn’t fed him before dragging him out to the forest’s edge and tossing him onto the mud like a broken doll. His blazer and shirt were soaked, streaked with dirt and blood from where he’d scraped his elbows trying to stand.
His lips cracked with dryness. His eyes burned, rimmed with tears he refused to shed.

I can’t… die here…

He stumbled deeper into the forest. Gnarled roots coiled over the path like dead snakes. Branches formed clawed shapes overhead, scratching at dying daylight. His polished school shoes were caked in mud now, soaked through. Cold water squelched between his toes with each step.
2 / 10
How long had he been walking? Minutes, hours – time blurred in the oppressive gloom. His breathing came ragged and shallow. His mind felt distant, floating, unable to accept this reality.
“Is this… really happening…?” he whispered to himself.

No reply. Only the rustle of dead leaves underfoot and his own heartbeat thundering in his ears. His foot hit something hard, sending him stumbling forward. Pain shot up as he fell to his knees, scraping them raw on jagged stones hidden under moss.
“Damn it…” he hissed, clutching his knee. Blood oozed down his leg, soaking into his torn pants.
He didn’t rise immediately. Darkness pulsed at the edges of his vision. His body burned with exhaustion. Each breath scraped his throat raw.

Mother…

He remembered her soft hands combing his hair as he studied late at night, her quiet singing in their tiny apartment. The sunlit mornings when she woke him for school, smiling despite her sunken cheeks and weary eyes.

3 / 10“I’m working late today, Shin. There’s instant curry on the shelf, okay?

A memory flickered: her coughing violently in the bathroom while she thought he was asleep. Her handkerchief, stained in red.
He clenched his fists.
I promised to save nom…
Why was he here? In aa world of swords and magic he never wished for, forced into survival when he had his own battles back home. Was this fate’s twisted punishment for daring to dream beyond his limits?
When he looked up, the sight froze his blood cold.
It was a skull.

The cracked, moss-covered remains of a human skull lay half-buried in the dirt, empty sockets staring at him with silent judgement. Around it lay fragments of rusted armour, shattered swords, broken staffs, and shredded robes. Bones jutted from the ground like grotesque flowers – ribcages torn apart, pelvises split down the middle, femurs gnawed at by unseen teeth.
Dozens of skeletons littered the forest floor, tangled with roots and vines. Some still wore the tattered remnants of uniforms – blue cloaks with golden embroidery, cracked badges showing4 / 10the crest of the kingdom. Others wore simpler gear – leather jerkins, hunting knives, traveller’s boots.

They were heroes… adventurers… all of them summoned here…
A chill crawled up his spine. Why did these bones feel so… familiar, as if he had died beside them before?

A hollow laugh escaped Shin’s cracked lips. It felt like his chest would tear open from the bitterness coiling inside.

“Is this what awaits me too…?”
His voice trembled, echoing through the dead forest. He bowed his head, body shaking.
Then he felt it. A tingling sensation at the back of his mind, cold and familiar. It slithered through his consciousness, curling around his thoughts like a snake.
His vision deemed further. The trees seemed to pulse with shadows. The skeletons’ empty sockets glowed faint red, staring into him.

In that darkness, he saw himself.
But not as he was now.
5 / 10He saw his reflection standing tall, draped in black armour that oozed darkness like liquid night. His eyes glowed crimson. The air around him rippled with demonic power.

Who… is that…?

The figure looked down at him, a cruel smile twisting its lips.
> “Pathetic human,” It whispered, voice deep and echoing inside his skull.
“Crawling like a worm… you were never meant for this weakness.”
Shin’s heart pounded against his ribs. He tried to speak but his throat closed.
The demonic reflection raised a clawed hand, touching the mirror-like barrier between them.

> “Remember… why you exist,” it growled, fangs gleaming.
“This world… is your cage. Break it.”
The vision shattered like glass. Shin gasped, chocking on air. Tears streamed down his face without him realising. He curled in on himself, pressing his forehead against dirt, shoulders trembling.
“I… I don’t understand… why me…”
6 / 10For the first time, hopelessness consumed him entirely. He wanted to scream, to curse the gods or whoever orchestrated this fate. But his throat only produced a dry sob.
Suddenly, a sharp cracking noise pierced the silence.

He froze.

From between the blackened tree trunks slithered a pale shape. A serpent – but unlike any he’d seen before. Its body was thick as a tree trunk, covered in translucent scales beneath which purple veins pulsed like liquid lightning. Worse were its eyes – dozens of them dotted its head and neck, each blinking wetly and oozing dark fluid that dripped onto the forest floor with a soft hiss.
Fear gripped Shin’s chest so tightly he couldn’t breathe.
The creature’s eyes swivelled in unison, locking onto him. Then, with a guttural hiss that vibrated the ground, it lunged.

“AH-!”
He dove aside just as its jaws snapped shut where he’d stood. Splinters of wood and torn moss scattered into the air. The serpent reared back, its many eyes glaring with cold hunger.
Shin scrambled backward until his spine hit a tree trunk. He looked around desperately for something – anything. His shaking fingers closed around a fallen branch. He gripped it like a spear, raising it between himself and the monster.
7 / 10
“Stay… stay away…!”
The serpent lunged again. He thrust the branch forward with all his strength. The impact sent a shockwave up his arms. The wood splintered uselessly against its scales. The creature’s head knocked him sideways, sending him sprawling across the mud. Pain exploded in his ribs as he landed hard.
Tears blurred his vision. His chest burned with each ragged breath.

I don’t want to die… not like this… not here…

The serpent reared back, its eyes glowing a deep poisonous purple. It opened its jaw, revealing rows of needle-like teeth dripping venom that hissed as it hit the moss.
It lunged.
Instinct screamed in his mind.
Move!
He rolled sideways, narrowly avoiding the bite, but the creature’s tail whipped around and struck his leg. He felt something crack. A scream tore from his throat as agony shot up his bone.
He fell face-first into the mud. Cold water seeped into his mouth, bitter with rotting leaves and blood. He coughed and retched, tears streaming down his face.
8 / 10
I can’t… I don’t want to… I...
Images flashed in his mind – his mother’s tired but gentle smile as she handed him breakfast, the warm smell of miso soup filling their tiny kitchen. Her cracked hands patting his head after long study nights. The blurred view of cherry blossoms outside his classroom window as he sat there, daydreaming about saving lives as a doctor someday.

“I… I have to… go back… to mom…”

The serpent’s shadow fell over him. He turned weakly, watching its massive fangs drip purple venom onto the moss beside his face.
His vision dimmed. Darkness crept in at the edges. His body trembled, but his arms wouldn’t move. His leg burned with sharp, electric pain.
Is this how I’m going to die…? Summoned to another world only to become food…?
Suddenly, a faint red glow pulsed beneath him. The ground itself seemed to tremble. A deep humming noise vibrate3d up his bones.
The serpent hesitated. Its eyes swivelled, searching for the source.

9 / 10Then, from the mossy forest floor, lines of red light carved themselves outward in jagged patterns, forming a glowing glyph beneath the creature’s coils. The letters twisted and shifted like living brands of molten metal. The air filled with the smell of scorched earth.
The serpent screeched, its body thrashing violently. Smoke rose from its scales as the glyph’s light intensified. Its eyes exploded into purple mist, its flesh tearing apart in showers of black blood.
Shin lay there, trembling, staring blankly as the monster dissolved into nothingness.
The glyph faded slowly, leaving only scorched moss and cracked earth. The silence returned, but it was different now – deeper, heavier, as if the forest itself was holding its breath.

He forced his eyes open, blinking back tears. His gaze fell upon a moss-covered stone nearby. Under layers of grime and blood splatter, he saw faintly glowing symbols – the same twisted letters, the same ominous red glow. Something deep within him stirred at the sight – a cold, gnawing familiarity that terrified him.
With immense effort, he crawled towards it, dragging his broken leg behind him. Up close, he realised it wasn’t just a stone. It was the broken edge of an archway, half -buried under roots and earth. Beyond, it yawned a darkness so absolute it swallowed the dim forest light completely.

10 / 10A cave? Ruins?

He didn’t care. His body screamed in pain. His vision blurred and darkened with every heartbeat. Blood tricked down his forehead from a gash where he’d hit a tree branch.
He dragged himself forward a few more inches before collapsing entirely. His cheek pressed against the cold moss; he stared blankly into the abyss ahead. The smell of blood and earth filled his senses, pulling him deeper into unconsciousness.

Please… someone… help me…
Just before darkness claimed him entirely, a faint whisper brushed against his fading consciousness:

“Return… to who you truly are…”

His mind went silent.
And in the quiet void, a single crimson eye flickered open, far beneath the surface of his soul.