Chapter 1: The Awakening
Jin's eyes flickered open, his breath shallow, throat dry, and his head spinning. He lay on a patch of cold earth, the scent of pine and dampness heavy in the air. His limbs felt heavy, as though they had been asleep for far too long. Slowly, his fingers curled into the soil, the coarse dirt scratching at his skin, grounding him in this strange place.
His chest tightened. Where was he? The last thing he remembered… was nothing. There were flashes, images that came and went too quickly to hold onto. A burning light, shouting voices, and a figure in the distance, but everything felt distant, as though it belonged to someone else.
Jin sat up, the world tilting around him. His vision blurred for a moment before it snapped into focus—trees. Thick, twisted trees that seemed to stretch endlessly into the sky, their branches clawing at the heavens. Their roots twisted and curled beneath the earth like serpents, gnarly and ancient. A low, ominous wind whispered through the leaves, carrying the scent of something wild. He could hear the distant cries of unseen creatures, the rustle of movement just beyond the shadows.
He staggered to his feet, hands pressed to his aching head, and forced himself to focus. His heart thudded heavily in his chest, adrenaline stirring through his veins. Something was wrong. Something was missing.
Why was he here?
His hands brushed against his ragged clothes, a simple tunic now torn and stained. His fingers lingered on the worn fabric as his gaze shifted to the ground, where strange, unfamiliar markings marred the earth. Lines of deep crimson streaked the dirt, like dried blood. But it didn't make sense—he didn't remember any injury.
Where was his family?
The question struck him like a knife. His mind churned, desperate to recall something—anything—but there was nothing. He couldn't even recall his own name for a moment, the thought slipping through his mind like water through a sieve.
A shadow flickered at the corner of his vision, and Jin's body reacted before his mind could catch up. He spun, his heart pounding, his body moving with an instinctual swiftness that startled him. There, at the edge of the clearing, a large shape moved. A creature. Its eyes gleamed from the dark, watching him, its muscles rippling beneath its matted fur. A beast, something that didn't belong in any forest Jin had ever heard of.
For a heartbeat, everything stood still. The creature's breath came slow and steady, its chest rising and falling like the calm before a storm. Jin could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise. His heart thudded louder, but this time, it wasn't out of fear—it was something else. Something primal, something deep within his bones.
Without thinking, his body moved again, faster this time, his legs carrying him forward as if the earth itself were urging him on. He didn't know how or why, but his instincts were clear: Run. The moment he turned, his muscles burned with a sudden surge of speed, his legs pumping as he raced through the underbrush, dodging the low-hanging branches with unnatural agility.
The creature followed. He could hear its claws scraping the ground, the sound of its snarls and growls growing louder behind him. His pulse raced, adrenaline surging through his veins like wildfire, but it wasn't enough to outrun it—not at first. His breath came ragged, his legs screaming in protest, but then—a strange, sharp tingling sensation coursed through his limbs.
And then, it happened.
Jin's body surged forward, faster than before. His feet barely touched the ground as he darted through the trees, each step carrying him farther than the last. He felt… stronger. The beast behind him was still closing in, its heavy steps reverberating through the ground, but now, Jin was gaining ground.
His heart pounded in his chest as the power swelled inside him, an unnatural force that surged through his veins like a second heartbeat. He didn't know how or why, but it felt right. The forest around him seemed to blur, the air crackling with tension, as if the very world itself was responding to him.
He darted around a large oak tree, narrowly avoiding the beast's jaws, and something snapped. The air around him shimmered. In an instant, a burst of energy shot through him, and with it, his feet lifted off the ground. He leaped, soaring higher than he ever thought possible, and landed behind the beast with a sickening thud.
The creature turned with a roar, its eyes wild with rage, but Jin was already on the move again, his feet carrying him effortlessly as if the forest itself were guiding him.
His mind raced as his body moved on its own, but in the back of his thoughts, there was a single question that gnawed at him:
What was happening to him?
The burst of energy—the feeling of raw power surging through him—was unlike anything he'd ever known. It was as though something deep inside him had awakened.
The beast lunged again, but Jin didn't hesitate. His body moved before his mind could even process the action, a reaction born from something deep inside him, something that felt both foreign and familiar.
With a final, powerful twist, he thrust his arm out, palm open, and a force surged forward from his hand—unexpected, unbidden. The beast staggered back, howling in pain, but Jin was already running, the power surging through him like a flood. His feet carried him over the earth with a speed that defied logic, and the beast didn't stand a chance.
As he slowed, his chest heaving with the exertion, the forest seemed to settle around him. The beast lay unmoving in the shadows, and Jin's breath came in shallow gasps. His body trembled, not from fear, but from the strange energy coursing through him.
He didn't know what had just happened, nor did he understand why his body had reacted the way it did. He didn't even know where he was or why he was here. But one thing was certain: he wasn't the same.
The Dark Forest had just claimed him. And for the first time in his life, Jin could feel the stirrings of something much more ancient within him. Something his family had hidden. Something the gods had feared.