The Forest of Nanananggal

I woke up as a sharp, narrow ray of sunlight fell across my right eye.
“Hmm… uhh… it’s morning already?”

Turning my head, I saw Sora resting against my left shoulder, her head leaning gently against me, both of us sitting with our backs to the cave wall.
“Sora… Sora, wake up. It’s already morning.” I nudged her head slightly with my hand.

“Uhngg… it’s morning already…?” she mumbled, stretching both arms as she half-woke.

“Yeah. And we need food if we want to survive. You stay here, I’ll go get more fish. There doesn’t seem to be any other animals around this area.”

That worried look appeared in her eyes again.
“Hey, why are you making that face? Did something happen to me yesterday?”

“…No… it’s just… so lonely here without—”

I flicked her forehead with my finger before she could finish.
“Oni-chan! What was that for?”

I stood up and brushed the dust from my clothes. “Nothing. Just wait here. I’ll be back soon.”

“But oni-chan! At least wear this shirt. It’s warm enough in here now, I don’t need it.”

“About that…” I scratched my head. “Actually, I don’t feel that cold anymore.”

“Huh? What’s that supposed to mean?” she asked, tilting her head.

“When I went out yesterday, I didn’t notice it right away. But when I came back with the fish, I realized I should’ve been freezing… yet I wasn’t. My body felt like it had adapted somehow. That’s not humanly possible, I know. At first I thought maybe it was adrenaline keeping me going and the cold would hit once it wore off. But even this morning, I feel less cold than yesterday. Almost like it’s fading altogether.”

Sora just listened silently, eyes fixed on me, not even making a sound. It was as if my words had swallowed her whole.

“Hey, don’t overthink it,” I said, forcing a laugh. “I already wasted half the night wondering about it and found no answer. Pointless, really.”

“Oh… I see,” she finally murmured.

“Alright then, I’m heading out.”

This time I carried a sturdy piece of wood and another slim one with a sharp end to use for the fish.

I made my way back to the frozen pond. With no torch to worry about and a better tool to carry them, the task felt easier. Still, I only brought back six fish. Any more and they would just rot.

But when I returned to the cave, I froze for a moment in surprise. Sora was kneeling at the entrance, melting snow into water just like I had shown her yesterday.

“Sora, what are you doing?”

She turned with a smile. “Oh, oni-chan, you’re back. I was making some water, just like you did.”

“Hey, I told you not to go outside. It’s dangerous, and what if a wild animal had appeared?”

“Don’t worry,” she replied calmly. “I only gathered snow right at the entrance. And besides, you said yourself—you couldn’t find a single animal yesterday no matter how far you searched.”

I bit my lip. “That may be true… but danger comes when you least expect it. Even if there were no animals yesterday—”

I stopped myself. Telling her about the broken tree would only frighten her. Maybe hiding it was the right choice.

“…Even if there were no animals yesterday, it doesn’t mean it’s safe today,” I finished.

She tilted her head. “Then… what were you going to say before?”

“…Nothing. Forget it.”

I turned my face away from her and said,
“Anyway, from now on, don’t go out alone. Got that? This forest feels strange… it gives off a creepy, unnatural vibe. And more than that—you don’t know this—but all the trees here look exactly the same, stretching endlessly. I couldn’t even find the edge.”

She nodded in agreement.

“Alright, enough talk. Let’s just cook these fish. I brought plenty—enough to fill our stomachs.”

Sora took the fish from my hands and said,
“Today, I’ll do the cooking. You go and rest, oni-chan.”

“But I can cook by myself, and—”

“No. You. Go. And. R~e~s~t~.”

She cut me off before I could finish.

At last, when I saw that there was no way to win against her stubbornness, I gave up.
“Fine, fine. I’ll rest. But don’t push yourself too hard.”

She pushed me from behind with both hands, guiding me toward the fire as she said,
“Yeah, yeah, oni-chan. You don’t have to tell me that. But maybe you should stop pushing yourself past your limits too.”

I let myself be led to the spot beside the fire.
There, I sat down, leaning my back against the wall.

Sora walked off, turning back once to say,
“Alright, just rest here until I finish the fish.”

I waved at her wordlessly.

Then, I tried to close my eyes for a moment. My gaze lingered on the flickering flames before me. In those wavering tongues of fire, I felt as though I could see myself reflected.

I kept staring at the flames. The dark, charred logs had been burning for quite some time. The fire leaned more toward a pale bluish-red than a bright crimson. I was lost in thought, watching it flicker. But after a while, I realized the heat was pressing a little too strongly against my skin.

Suddenly, the fire feels too hot, almost suffocating.

Without overthinking, I shuffled a bit farther away, and soon the heat eased, letting a gentle calm settle over me. I was tired after fishing, hauling water, and all the chores, though I didn’t want Sora to notice. But of course, she sensed it anyway.

Well, maybe I’ll just take a little nap.

So, from my sitting posture, I prepared to lie down. Turning my back toward the fire, I stretched out flat. I don’t even remember when sleep overtook me.

What woke me was the buzzing of a mosquito.

“Ugh! These mosquitoes won’t even let me sleep!” I muttered, swatting hard near my neck to drive it away.

As I was about to sit up, I felt something resting lightly on my back. Turning my head, I noticed it was Sora’s—her head placed gently against me. She had lain down, feet pointing toward the fire, using me as her pillow. I just watched her quietly.

“Hmm… Oni-chan, did you sleep well?” she murmured.

“Yeah, Sora. I feel much better now.”

She suddenly hugged me tightly and whispered, “Oh, I’m so glad. I also slept really well. Let’s eat the fish now.”

I saw that she had already finished cooking the fish a while ago. Using the same stones we’d collected for fetching water, she had pressed the fish between them to cook.

“Sora, did you actually cook them with these stones?”

She smiled sweetly. “Yes.”

Then she pushed another stone toward me, with three fish laid across it.

“Wow. I never even thought of this… and the smell—it’s so much fresher than yesterday.”

As I took a bite, I said, “Woah, this tastes way better than the ones we roasted before.”

She chuckled, eyes soft. “Hmm. But that’s only because you caught them. Now stop talking and eat.”

So I said nothing more, and we ate together in silence.

I hadn’t even noticed, but by the time I came back to myself, it was already getting dark.
I guess I’d been more exhausted than I thought, because I’d fallen asleep without realizing.

After eating, I just sat down, leaning against the cave wall.
That was all we could do, really.
In this forest, going outside for no reason was nothing but foolishness.

Suddenly Sora spoke.
“Oni-chan… do you ever think about our past?”

Her words pierced through me like a blade.
I’d been avoiding that very thought.
All I cared about now was survival—and Sora’s safety.

“Umm… I’m trying to, but I really can’t remember anything.”

“But Oni-chan,” she continued softly, “don’t you think it’s strange? That only our past memories are gone? We still know things, how to do things… but not who we were.”

Her words were true. I couldn’t deny them.
“Yeah… now that you say it, it’s weird. My brain feels empty of memories, but I know things. Like how to start a fire yesterday, or melt snow into water. I didn’t even have to think about it. It’s unsettling… but also weirdly reassuring, Sora.”

“Hmm…” was all she said.

I sighed. “Okay, thinking about this won’t solve anything right now. We need to focus on how to get out of this forest first. This place isn’t safe. It’s… wrong somehow.”

She only nodded at my words.

“Alright Sora, why don’t you try to sleep now. Resting is important in this kind of situation.”

“But Oni-chan… all I’ve been doing is sleeping and sleeping. I don’t feel like sleeping anymore!”

“You don’t? Then what do you want to do?”

“Oni-chan, let’s go outside for a bit. I can’t stand being in this cave anymore. I really, really want to go out!” Her voice trembled with excitement and frustration.

It wasn’t a good idea for her to go out, not in this situation.
“No, Sora. We can’t. I already told you, this forest isn’t normal.”

But she wouldn’t listen.
“No, Oni-chan, I’m going! I can’t take this anymore, I feel like I’m suffocating staying here!”

I tried to calm her, to make her understand the danger waiting outside.

“No, Oni-chan! No! I want to go. I’m going! Please, Oni-chan, please!”

She still wouldn’t stop.

“Ahh… okay, okay. Calm down. But only for a few minutes, alright?”

Her face brightened instantly.
“Thank you, Oni-chan!”

“Okay then, let’s go now before it gets any darker. This forest swallows light quickly. We’ll have to be fast.”

We stepped out of the cave, the cold air brushing against our faces. Sora walked beside me, her steps light but cautious. I couldn’t shake the strange unease settling in my chest. Something about this forest… it had felt wrong since yesterday, though I couldn’t name why.

Sora’s eyes widened as she took in the view. “Oni-chan… look at those trees,” she whispered, awe lacing her voice. The forest was filled with impossibly tall, dark trees, their trunks stretching endlessly into the sky, branches thick and twisted.

“I’ve never seen anything like this… it’s… like I should remember it, but I don’t. I just… can’t,” she added, her voice trembling slightly.

I nodded silently, a chill crawling up my spine. The sun seemed to dip lower in the sky far too quickly, almost as if the day itself had been forced to hurry. Shadows stretched unnaturally. Snow began to fall suddenly, and an uncomfortable wind blew from west to east. The warmth we should have felt was almost gone.

“Sora… we need to go back. Come, follow me,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “It’s enough outside for now. We can’t stay out here any longer.”

But when we tried to return to the cave, something felt… wrong. No matter which way we went, the path seemed unfamiliar yet somehow familiar, as if the forest itself were rearranging around us. We couldn’t reach the cave, even though we had barely gone a little distance—and I had even been this way yesterday. Yet now, it didn’t lead anywhere.

I stopped and turned to her, unease making my voice tight. “Sora… I don’t think we’re heading back the way we came. We’ve… we’ve been going in circles.”

Her eyes widened in fear. “Circles? But… how? We were just… just here!”

I swallowed hard, glancing at the endless dark trunks surrounding us. Every direction looked the same. Every step we took seemed to bring us back to where we’d started.

Then suddenly I remembered that broken tree. I couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow these two separate events were connected, even if it didn’t make sense. That sensation kept creeping over me again and again, sending shivers down my spine.

“Sora, get on my shoulder,” I said, lowering my body. She nodded without a word. I caught her legs tightly and started to run, carrying her on my back. I didn’t know what the right choice was—my mind could think of nothing but running, running as fast as I could. But no matter how far I went, we seemed trapped, moving through the same area over and over again.

Then I heard a noise a little ahead—a sound so unsettling, eerie, and unidentifiable that it made my heart skip a beat. I followed it cautiously, keeping Sora close. To my shock, from a distance, I noticed the same broken tree.

What? How is this possible? How is the tree here? Wasn’t it in the opposite direction?

I was still thinking when a cracking sound echoed through the forest. I leaned forward slightly, keeping us hidden behind another tree. What we saw next stole the air from our lungs. Words failed me. Every instinct screamed to run, yet our bodies were frozen, overwhelmed by a terror that clawed up my spine.

I saw a human-like figure whose body was covered in dog-like hair, and from its back sprouted large, grotesque wings. It was clawing at a tree, its hands bristling with long, sharp, penetrating nails that scratched deep grooves into the bark. The creature radiated pure rage, as if someone had done something unforgivable to it.

But what was truly terrifying was what happened next—its torso split apart. The lower half remained writhing on the ground while its upper body rose into the air, wings beating furiously. Both halves moved independently, as though the creature itself had been torn from its own soul.

It flailed wildly, as if searching for something to destroy or punish.

Seeing this scene, Sora let out a scream so loud it pierced my ears, and I collapsed onto the ground. She stumbled behind me, wrapped her arms around my neck, and buried her face into my chest.

The creature turned its gaze toward us. Then it smiled—a horrific, deranged grin that revealed teeth long and sharp, made for piercing flesh.

It kept coming—slowly, deliberately, as if mocking us. I tried to gather my strength, but my body wouldn’t obey. With one arm I held Sora tight, with the other I clawed at the ground, dragging myself backward. But my limbs felt like stone, useless and heavy. The closer it came, the faster my heartbeat pounded, so loud it felt like my chest would burst. My breath grew shallow, ragged. I was frozen in terror, so horrified I couldn’t even scream.

It came closer, step by step. Blood poured from the torn halves of its body—its torso dragging on the ground, its upper half hovering with those monstrous wings. The gore streamed down like rivers, glistening under the dim moonlight. As it approached, the insides of its body—organs, veins, pieces of flesh—shifted and squirmed, becoming more and more visible. The whole sight grew more grotesque, more unspeakable, like a nightmare come alive.

And its smile… it kept growing, stretching wider across its face, until it felt like my heart would stop. I couldn’t take it anymore—the horror, the stench, the sight. My throat burned, and at last I screamed:

“Stop! Stop coming near us! What—what are you?!”

I don’t even know why I tried to speak to it. I didn’t think; I just shouted, not knowing if it could even understand me.

And then, it stopped.

Its head twisted suddenly at an angle no living thing should be able to move. The sound of cracking bone echoed in the night.

Then it roared—a deep, ear-shattering roar, like a thousand voices screaming at once:

“Naaaaa—Naaaaanaaaaaaannggggallllll!!!” it bellowed, a scream so loud and drawn-out it shook the trees around us.

It was so terrifying, chaotic, and unnatural that, without even realizing it, I planted my feet and started running as fast as I could, even though I knew running probably wouldn’t change anything.