At that mont, everything was still a complete mystery to . Then, out of nowhere, a wild thought shot through my mind like lightning: what if I really had gone back in ti? I know how that sounds—completely insane—but considering we were dealing with an anomaly, maybe it wasn’t as far-fetched as it seed.
And yet, sothing still didn’t add up. If I hadn’t actually gone back in ti, then why did everything feel like it had reset to the beginning? Every detail around scread familiarity, but the weight in my chest told that sothing was fundantally different.
Why do I think that? Pure instinct. Sothing deep inside kept insisting that whatever was happening wasn’t just a simple rewind in ti—or at least, not just that. The more I thought about it, the more distorted the whole situation felt, like there were hidden layers lurking just beneath the surface.
In the end, the strangeness only grew stronger, and I felt that if I kept overthinking it, I’d lose myself in that tangle of possibilities. So, I took a deep breath and shoved the thought to the back of my mind—for now, at least.
But the mont I pushed those thoughts away, another quietly ford in my head, as though it had been whispered into existence by the trees around . My eyes scanned the forest, following the lazy sway of the leaves in the gentle breeze. A faint shiver ran down my neck—not out of fear, but uncertainty: (So... where was I supposed to go now?)
Thankfully, I didn’t have to wonder for long. Not that so magical path appeared before , showing the way—nothing that convenient. Instead, after standing still for a few seconds, I simply started walking aimlessly, letting my feet choose the direction for .
Sothing inside said that if I just kept exploring the forest, sooner or later, sothing would happen. The wet leaves crunched under my bare feet with every step, and the air, thick with sap and earth, almost seed to invite deeper in.
For the record, I had these thoughts about thirty minutes ago—which ans it’s been exactly thirty minutes since I started walking. And in all that ti, nothing really happened... except for the constant sound of the wind, making the leaves rustle like an endless whisper. The rightful source is novelFirｅ
Even so, sothing still felt off. For a while now, a strange sense of urgency had been gnawing at the back of my mind, like the very air around was trying to hurry along.
For so reason, I felt like I had left sothing behind—sothing that shouldn’t have been forgotten. But the more I tried to grab hold of the mory, the more it slipped away, like sand running through my fingers.
It wasn’t like I had truly forgotten it... it felt more like sothing I was never ant to rember in the first place. Strange, I know, but that’s exactly what it felt like—as if a shadow lingered just beyond the edge of my awareness, silently watching .
Either way, I tried to ignore the feeling, but the more I focused on it, the more it pushed not to keep going—or at least, not along the sa path I’d chosen before. Before I even realized it, my feet had already strayed from the original trail, leading down a completely different path, almost as if they had a will of their own.
With every step, the trees grew farther apart, slowly opening into a small clearing. Moonlight broke through the forest canopy, bathing the area in soft silver light and casting long shadows that seed to dance around , as though the very forest itself was watching.
I couldn’t say exactly what brought here. Or rather, technically, it wasn’t even who chose to co here—my own senses had guided , like sothing beyond my will was pulling the strings. The reason behind it was still a complete mystery, and that only made the unease in my chest grow heavier.
Either way, there wasn’t much else to do but look around. I took a deep breath and decided to investigate the place. That’s when sothing broke my train of thought. A sharp, wet, revolting sound—like flesh being torn apart—cut through the silence, repeating over and over until it was impossible to ignore.
If I’m being honest, that sound had been there since the mont I realized I was in this forest—always present, lingering. It had been so clear it almost felt like it was echoing right next to , as if sothing had been following step for step. And yet, I kept trying to ignore it, convincing myself it was all in my head—maybe just a trick of the mind brought on by the suffocating silence all around .
But this ti, when I turned toward the noise, my eyes finally made out a few shapes—grotesque, dog-like anomalies, all huddled around a single point on the ground, as though sothing had drawn them there.
I can’t explain why, but a chill ran down my spine, and before I knew it, my feet were already moving on their own, carrying toward the pack. It was like sothing invisible was pulling forward, whispering silently that I had to see this up close.
It was strange... the closer I got, the stronger that feeling beca, creeping through like a slow, unpleasant shiver. It was almost like nausea—sothing that genuinely caught off guard. Ever since I beca an anomaly, my body had all but stopped reacting to anything unusual.
This was the first ti, in a very long ti, that I had felt sothing so physical, so uncomfortable... a raw, almost suffocating sensation that reminded I was still capable of feeling anything at all. Maybe that’s why it was so disturbing—it wasn’t just discomfort, it was a reminder of sothing I thought I had lost forever.
Either way, as I drew closer, the wet, tearing, chewing noises grew sharper and sharper, like sothing was ripping apart flesh just a few steps ahead. Each squelch made my stomach twist.
Soon, a strange sll began to fill the air—thick, tallic, almost suffocating. There was sothing disturbingly familiar about that sll, like an old, unwanted mory, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t place it.
And of course, those creatures—things only vaguely resembling dogs—that seed to be feasting on sothing on the ground, weren’t completely oblivious to . The instant they noticed , they all froze at once, as though a single thought had passed through a shared mind. Then, slowly, they rose to their feet, their skeletal silhouettes standing out starkly against the dim light.
It was at that mont that I realized sothing even more grotesque: their bellies split open in a jagged cut that started just below the chin—if you could even call that thing a chin—and ran all the way down to where, on any normal creature, the genitals should have been. The gash pulsed faintly, as if it were breathing, and a wet shine caught the little light in the room.
An instant later, the cut tore unnaturally wide, ripping open to both sides as though the flesh itself had a will of its own. From within erged a seemingly endless row of yellowed, brittle teeth, so of them coated with a dark sli that glistened under the dim light.
A putrid, suffocating stench poured out, the sll of rot so strong it felt like it was sticking to my throat. And then, at that exact mont, the teeth moved in perfect unison and shot toward , as if the entire creature had been hurled forward. Still, to my own surprise, I felt no panic at all.
On the contrary, a strange calm washed over , as if my body already knew what to do. Maybe it was because, deep down, I rembered perfectly well the first ti I ever saw one of these things—and how, despite the horror, I made it out alive.
I was terrified—more than I ever thought I could be. One of those things ripped my arm off in a single, brutal motion, without hesitation, and devoured it right there, in front of my eyes. The whole ordeal filled with a deep disgust, a sickening feeling that seed to corrode my insides.
At that mont, in the midst of terror and pain, I swore to myself that I would never set foot on the forest floor again. Those trees beca my only refuge, and I was determined never to climb down from them.
In the end, I realized I didn’t need to eat or drink to stay there. I could remain suspended at the top of the trees for as long as I wanted, watching the world below like a forgotten ghost. And yet, sothing made climb down.
I don’t rember exactly what it was—maybe a distant sound, a sll that cut through the air, or so inexplicable sensation crawling down my spine. I’m not sure. But whatever it was, it was enough for to feel no fear. On the contrary, there was a strange confidence guiding , as if sothing was calling to the ground.
Either way, I forced myself to push those thoughts aside and focused on what really mattered. The creatures were already dangerously close, their presence almost tangible, but to be honest, I still didn’t feel afraid.
Compared to what I faced back then, I’m imasurably stronger now. My Alter Ego, if it wanted to, could wipe them all out with a single blow—and that certainty gave an oddly calming feeling.
Yeah... with that single thought, I waited. I waited. I waited. But nothing happened. No smoke appeared to attack or protect . No spark, no sign. Only then, with those massive teeth drawing closer—so close I could feel the creature’s hot, rancid breath—that I realized sothing strange.
Up until that mont, I hadn’t really paid attention to it, but now, with death nearly brushing against my face, a chilling thought cut through my mind like a blade: (By the way... why can’t I feel my Alter Ego?)
Yeah... the mont that thought crossed my mind, my body reacted before I could even process what was happening. Almost instinctively, I raised my hand in front of , as if that gesture alone could shield .
The very next instant, a brutal force clamped down on my arm. I felt sothing hot and slimy swallow my hand whole, and when I looked ahead, my stomach dropped: rows of teeth clenched tight around my arm, squeezing with a pressure that felt like it was trying to crush the bone.
The sight lasted no more than a mont. The next thing I knew, a monstrous force yanked my entire body forward, and before I could react, my arm was torn off with savage strength. The severed limb fell straight into the beast’s maw, where it was chewed with a wet, revolting crunch.
As always, there was no pain—only that unsettling, ghostly sensation that sothing that was once part of had simply ceased to exist.
My trembling eyes drifted down to where my arm should have been. There was nothing—just raw absence. A fleeting thought crossed my mind, cold and sharp as a blade: (Why does this feel like déjà vu?) The question echoed inside my head, cold and detached from the urgency of the mont: (Either way... it should regenerate soon.)
Holding on to that thought, I waited. The seconds dragged by in an almost unbearable way, but nothing happened—my arm didn’t grow back. My regeneration had always been instant, nearly imperceptible, kicking in within fractions of a second from the mont I first awakened this power.
Honestly, since I first gained it, I couldn’t rember a single mont when it had failed or even hesitated to work. But now... now sothing was wrong. Not only was my flesh still gone, but my Alter Ego—that ever-present force, always ready to manifest—was completely silent, as if it had been torn out of entirely.
At that instant, a strange, disturbing thought cut through my mind like a shard of ice. As absurd as it sounded, I couldn’t shake it off. With every passing second, the idea beca more real, almost tangible.
I wanted to deny it, laugh at it, but considering everything that was happening, there was no other logical explanation: (Could it be...? My powers... are gone?)
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