Chapter 431

The forest was quiet, too quiet. No birds, no rustling leaves, nothing. It was just the sound of footsteps on damp earth and the occasional snap of a twig. Max had been told not to come here. Everyone knew about the Song of Cosmic Pines. The elders warned people to stay away, but he had to see it for himself. He had to know.

His boots sunk into the wet soil, the scent of pine and dampness strong in the air. There was something off about the way the trees loomed over him. They seemed to stretch higher, their branches thick and twisted, like hands reaching down. Max tugged at his jacket, shivering despite the warmth of the sun filtering through the thick canopy above.

"Stay away from the Pines," his grandfather had warned him, his voice gruff with age. "They'll take you, son. You hear that song, and you won't return."

Max had laughed. Old superstitions. Nothing more. But the forest felt different now. There was a hum in the air, faint but unmistakable. Something... ancient. The deeper he walked, the stronger the pull became, like a force urging him forward.

Then he heard it. The first note was soft, barely perceptible, but it stopped him dead in his tracks. A shiver ran down his spine as the song grew louder, clear now, but distant, as if it were being sung by something far away. But it wasn't a voice, it wasn't human.

He stopped, his breath caught in his throat. The forest had changed. The trees weren't just trees anymore. They were watching him. He looked around, but nothing seemed out of place, yet everything felt wrong. His pulse quickened as the song grew louder. It was pulling at him, tugging at his mind.

He took a step forward. Then another.

The path twisted in unnatural ways, the trees curving like they were forcing him to follow a path that wasn't his own. The air grew colder, and the song, if it could even be called that, wrapped itself around his thoughts. It wasn't a melody. It was a compulsion, a command.

Max's legs moved of their own accord, his feet carrying him deeper into the forest, despite every instinct screaming for him to turn back. But the song... it had him. It was beautiful and haunting, something he couldn't resist. It promised answers, things he didn't even know he was looking for.

"Max..." A voice called out, but it wasn't from the song. It was a voice he recognized, a voice that shattered the illusion for a moment.

He whipped around. The trees stood still, the forest silent. There was no one there.

"Max..." It called again, only now it was softer, more distant. His name was slipping away, as if the forest itself was taking it from him.

He stumbled back, his heart racing. The trees pressed in on him, bending lower now, their branches like fingers curling towards his face. Something was wrong, horribly wrong. The song, it was too loud now. It filled his mind. The forest was alive, and it wasn't trying to help him. It was pulling him in, and he didn't know if he could escape.

Max tried to run, but his legs wouldn't obey. His feet kept moving, dragging him further into the darkness of the trees. The song consumed everything. The air was thick with it, and his body felt heavy. He tried to scream, but his voice didn't work.

And then, he saw them.

Shapes, figures, men and women, standing motionless in the distance. Their eyes were vacant, their bodies stiff. They didn't move, didn't acknowledge his presence. Just stood there, like statues, like... like they were waiting.

Max staggered forward, his eyes locked on them, his mind numb. He reached out to one of them, a woman with long dark hair, her face pale and empty. He touched her shoulder, and she didn't react, didn't even blink.

He turned to look around, realizing how silent it had become, despite the song still echoing through the trees. His heart thudded in his chest, panic rising in his throat. Something was wrong with them, something was wrong with everything.

He shook the woman, harder this time. "What happened to you?"

Her head turned slowly, mechanically, until her eyes met his. But there was nothing there. No recognition. No warmth. Just emptiness.

"They took me," she said, her voice a monotone. It was almost a chant. "They'll take you too."

Max stepped back, his breath coming in shallow gasps. His legs were frozen, his whole body heavy as if something was holding him down, pressing against him. He couldn't escape.

"Who? What took you?" he demanded, his voice trembling.

"They took us all," she replied, her lips not moving as she spoke, her eyes still wide and empty. "They'll take you too."

Max stumbled back, panic flooding his chest. His gaze darted around, the figures closing in. The woman's voice echoed in his mind, repeating over and over again, like a drumbeat.

"They'll take you."

Max couldn't breathe. The trees, the figures, the song... it all crashed over him, suffocating him, drowning him in its pull.

"NO!" He shouted, but it was too late. The world around him began to shift, bend. His feet weren't on solid ground anymore. The forest was swallowing him whole, pulling him into its depths.

He tried to fight it, to break free, but the darkness closed in. The trees stretched higher, their branches reaching out for him, and the song wrapped around his mind like a chain.

The last thing he saw before everything disappeared was the woman's empty eyes, staring at him.

------

The years passed.

Max had disappeared, just like they said he would. He was swallowed whole by the forest, lost to the song. The village spoke of him in whispers, as they always did with those who disappeared. They warned their children to stay away, to never listen to the song. But Max was never mentioned by name again.

------

A hundred years later, the village was the same. It never changed.

And then, a man came from the woods.

His face was young, too young for his eyes. His clothes were ragged, torn from the forest, but his eyes... they were empty. Just like the others.

He wandered into the village, and no one noticed him at first. It was as if he had always been there. The elders spoke of him in low voices, but none of them dared to say his name.

He walked to the center of the village, his eyes blank, his movements mechanical. He stood there for hours, not saying a word. Not looking at anyone.

And then, he began to sing.

It was the Song of Cosmic Pines.

The villagers froze. The song was familiar, like an old memory that they couldn't place. The air thickened, and the trees seemed to lean in closer.

The man's eyes remained empty as he sang, his voice a hollow echo of something long forgotten. The villagers felt a pull, a compulsion to follow, but no one dared to move.

They knew what would happen if they did.

Max's face flashed in their minds, and they remembered the warning.

But it was too late. They had heard the song. And they would never return.