Chapter Text
You spawn in a world unfirmiliar to you, a soft beating in your hand the first sensation that greets you. A heart. A human heart. Strangely, you are not disturbed by it. It's not like it made a mess of blood on your hand, or gave off an uncomfortable mushy feeling. Instead, it was warm, warm and strangely comforting to you, like it was meant to be there. Safe, in your safe grasp.
You force your eyes away from the beating heart and instead at your unusual surroundings. The trees around you glow with a enchanting red, reflecting the leaves colours', the trunks winding down and spreading on the ground in curly roots on the grassy surface. Above you the sky was as dark as night, except with no moon nor sun in sight. And ahead of you? A path. Worn and wear; traveled on many times before despite its abandonded surroundings. Your feet guide you forward, steps falling with a gentle crunch on the dirt-gravel path.
After seemingly seconds your surroundings morphed, or maybe you just hadn't noticed with your eyes glued to the path. Scared of tripping over roots, maybe? The trees around you still the same, with varying details. The slight swirl patterns on the black bark, the increasingly large roots that grew in intricate designs on the grass surrounding the path, and the slow forming of wood before you. You notice you are on a dock, at the edge of a wide, endless river. Ahead of you it curved up over the middle, forming a humble bridge. You're torn from your thoughts as a soft splashing in the water start from your left, drawing your attention. As your eyes adjust to the darkness, aided by the environmental glow of the trees, you see a huge figure emerge from the darkness.
Their skin is transparent, giving you an inside view of their organs, replaced with a gentle autumn scene, trees similar to the ones surrounding you curling and transforming to fit in her body, leaves and wind seemingly replacing the blood in her veins. Her head was made up of an iridescent glow and leaves, swirling as she looked at you and kept trudging through the deep river water with ease. She stepped over the bridge without a second thought and continued on her path, not sparing another glance at you. She was beautiful. He was beautiful? It was beautiful. You eventually snapped out of your trance after the being had walked far out of your sight, and continued on your destined path. The heart continued to beat steadily in your hand, the only thing you were certain of at this point, that it would keep beating, because even the basics of the sun and moon have abandoned you. The bridge creaks under you as you step hesitantly to the other side, letting out a breathe you didn't know you were holding in after the bridge proved to be able to hold your weight. After turning towards the path ahead of you, you were met with a heavy fog that seemed to consume anything more then an arms length surrounding you.
You took in another deep breath.
And stepped into the fog, the density of the air suddenly making your limbs weigh on you a little more, making your travels noticeably more tiring. Will you stop? Succumb to the weariness that goes past just exhaustion? Or will you continue along this path destined for you, and fulfill your future goals? ..
You keep moving. Why would you stop if you had already come this far? Why become a statistic?
The fog becomes lighter and lighter as you continue down the path, the trees thinning out to reveal a clear opening, holding a grandiose tree in the center.
It's leaves are pink like a child's ears on a cold day, its bark thick and holding secrets of the past with its age. And at the base, the roots diverge from the center to reveal a door, old, worn and wear, similar to the path you just trekked on. The frame of the door seems to be enveloped by time and the tree, the doorknob itself obscured by moss and vines. The path leads you here. This is your destination, but is it your end? The roots around you seem to glow with golden engravings etched into the surface, a testament to all those who were here before you. Taking a closer look, you notice names and wishes, hopes and dreams carved into the old oak surface, words that beckon for a chance to be true, to be worth something more then a meaningless fantasy. On a root nearby lays an old dagger, the handle made of refined jade and into the handle, your name is dusted in gold. The blade itself holds a swirly pattern similar to the bark of the forest, the edge meticulous sharpened to cut with ease.
You feel an obligation to take it with you. It's yours is it not? Your name, here, at this time with you. Does it make it yours? Or does it belong to who made it?
You pick up the blade with a gentle grip, flipping it over and testing it's feel in your hand, before standing up and looking over the endless roots. People were here. Individuals like you, like your friends, family, teachers, co-workers, classmates. All unique in their passion and motivation, maybe even on the same path as you.
You turn towards the door. This is the start is it not? You can leave this windless land and step into the beginning. And maybe your hopes won't just be written here, but they'll be fulfilled.