Forest of Souls

A forest, dense foliage, and a cyan-colored sky aura formed an immense labyrinth in which a young man, desperate and in search of an exit, ran at great speed without knowing his direction. He realized that he couldn't escape, despite running for weeks, yet he felt no fatigue, thirst, or hunger, only an immense desire to escape from this place that seemed infinite. During this time, he heard the sound of insects, birds whistling, and a cold and violent breeze hitting branches and leaves. Time was static, with no twilight, only a faint glow in the distance between the trees, which couldn't be distinguished as its source, but illuminated everything. His memories of how he had arrived here were blank, but he made a great effort to remember something, and he managed to recall his name was Sherek.

About 100 meters away, he saw a small clearing where the light was much stronger and thought,

"Could this be the way out? Or will it lead me elsewhere? Where will I appear?"

He said this as he ran without stopping, getting closer and closer. His heart raced, he felt excited but also somewhat fearful. As he approached and stood in front of this strange and blinding light, he stopped. Everything was white. He extended an arm and got lost in what seemed to be a very dense mist in front of him. He was afraid to continue, so he turned around and noticed the long and giant labyrinth he had been running through for so long.

"How much time has passed? Hours? Days? Weeks?"

Suddenly, his body began to be pulled backward by a magical force, back into the labyrinth. Sherek panicked, he didn't want to go back, but he had lost control of his body. He could only watch as he moved backward and backward, away from the light that seemed to come from a very dense mist, the light he had been running towards. He screamed loudly in his despair and tried to regain control of his body, but it was useless. He could only forcibly move a few fingers while walking slowly backward along the path he came from. He saw flowers and large bushes around him, among them a strange plant was starting to approach him. It was a red plant with small thorns that slowly moved and extended toward him, but he could do nothing. After several steps backward, his body stopped and he fell back onto the grass. He looked at the sky and noticed small stars behind the gigantic cyan aura that covered this entire labyrinth. Sherek thought,

"Am I dead? Is that light the end?"

After a few seconds, he regained control of his body and touched the ground, but he felt something strong beginning to entangle him. The plant was now completely on top of him. In addition to the thorns, it had large roots coming out of the ground where he lay. He tried to escape, but it was futile. He was completely covered, the roots took hold of his body quickly, entangling his legs and arms. They started to lift him slowly so that he could only look at the sky and its magical aura. He could barely breathe and started to bleed in parts of his body due to the thorns. With the little he could see between the roots, which also obstructed part of his view, he noticed a kind of gigantic stone covered in flames getting closer to him. He became frightened, screamed, and called for help, but this meteorite slowly approached, and an intense heat filled the atmosphere. The sky drastically changed its beautiful cyan aura to a black color with blood-red clouds. It kept getting closer and closer, and now the immense flames could be seen. Sherek closed his eyes, waiting for his end. He just wanted it to be quick, without pain.

After a couple of seconds, he feels nothing, the heat dissipates, but now there is no sound and everything has suddenly normalized. He opens his eyes with some fear and confusion and notices that the sky is cracking as if it were a giant glass. It breaks and gigantic pieces of the sky fall and disintegrate upon touching the ground, leaving only a dark infinite void. The roots begin to loosen a bit and he manages to move a little, taking the opportunity to break them all and free himself. He stands up and looks for the light through which he plans to escape, but it no longer exists. The pines, palm trees, and oaks start to deteriorate until only dead and rotten trunks remain. The bushes and flowers wither, and the lush green grass turns into dry soil. The sky is now completely dark. Out of nowhere, he feels a cold and powerful breeze, so strong that it begins to drag him. He loses control once again, as this breeze is a huge blizzard, almost like a tornado. Sherek now flies through the air, screaming in desperation. But once up in the sky, he looks down and notices the corpses of children, animals, soldiers, kings, and elders. But in his mind, there is only one thought: "Will I end up like this?" The breeze keeps pushing him and he ends up falling into a haystack that was inside a cemetery. As he gets up, he realizes that he is in the bedroom of a cabin. His heart beats rapidly, but he feels a sense of calm as he finally recalls a memory about this cabin: it was his home.

He is completely baffled and says, "Wow! What a nightmare! I felt like weeks went by in that madness. Well, I finally managed to wake up. I'll have to find something to eat, as I'm quite hungry now." Sherek checks his pantry and only finds some rotten bread and an old cheese with several worms. He throws everything away and decides that it's best to go outside and get some fresh air. As he steps outside, he notices that he is near a lake. He prepares to search for provisions on his horse, along with an old cart. He knows that the ideal thing would be to fish for something to eat, but he considers that the best option is to gather firewood early in the morning, as fishing will take more time. On the way to the forest behind his house, he sees a cluster of flowers on the green grass that he doesn't remember seeing before. He approaches and notices that they are mostly red flowers with some orange ones, which catch his attention. He picks a few to plant in his garden and continues on his way.

After chopping wood for a few hours, the sun shines brighter. Sherek sees the morning sun and assumes that it is almost noon. With large drops of sweat on his face, he throws all the wood he gathered onto his cart and heads towards a store to sell some and get some bait for fishing. He easily remembers the way to his destination and once in the store, he strikes up a conversation with the vendor. He notices that the vendor has a surprised attitude, despite being somewhat expressionless.