Have you ever met someone new in your life? A new person that somehow entered your vicinity and made it into your comfort zone?
In this world, a lot of people may misunderstand or never truly grasp the importance of having someone else other than yourself.
Especially when you're in dire need of help, other people can accompany you.
Friends, if you want to call it that way.
Yet for some people, they're alone in their lives. For reasons beyond their control.
These people often fall into their own depression, their demise of loneliness.
With nowhere else to look at, they fall.
But then, a certain someone you've never really known comes walking right into your little performance.
That someone helps you, comforts you, and in the end, fixes you up and gets you back to your feet. A miracle among miracles.
And for a moment, you forget their anonymity and simply thank them for what they've done.
Well, at least for the vast majority of people.
You see, this someone could be anyone, and that anyone could do anything to you, including the opposite of helping you.
That's why stakes are raised when it comes to new people you have yet to know; their danger purely hypothetical. But never a fantasy.
Kayn knew this well, as he had learned from the mistake of trusting others who never deserved his trust.
He was still feeling high. High in his own head about the words he dared utter.
Reign Supreme.
It didn't leave his head for some time as he breathed the air around him.
But he calmed down, knowing that it might be too early to get too high in expectations.
Looking into the far sky of above, it was clear as day that he was in another place, in another world.
He knew enough that standing here in the middle of a forest would get him nowhere.
If he wanted to follow those words that were told to him, he better get moving.
"Only if I had a map. Maybe a compass. Or maybe..."
He squinted his eyes, looking for the sun. Looking for east.
On his far right, the light was still high in the sky, still bright enough to make it seem like an afternoon.
"If that's east, then this is north."
He pointed, getting ready to follow northward to wherever it might take him.
But he had to keep in mind that he was now living in another world, standing on an Earth that isn't Earth.
Who knows? Maybe the sun rises from the west.
And so, he began his journey of walking.
The forest that surrounded him was quite dense, making him maneuver every now and then, but this never led to a problem.
"This forest is quite large. Does this world have no infrastructure?"
Relating it to his previous world, there is a possibility where this one might not be as technologically advanced as his.
But that also leads to another possibility. One where things are a lot more.. different.
"Magic. A world of magic could be no surprise, that's for sure."
Especially after confirming that he would be granted such a power, such a possibility seems definite.
If that ever existed back on his previous world, things would be far different than how they were.
Such thoughts filled his head with ideas and scenarios. Thinking about just what type of magic this world dealt with.
Time passes, and the sun has already seemed to move on its way, the sky turning a tint of orange.
"What a hassle. It's already been so long. When's the end of this forest?"
Kayn was becoming rather impatient; his arrival into this world had not been as pleasant as he thought it'd be.
Possibilities still lie ahead of him, difficulties yet to be known, so many things are already about to unfold.
And one of them includes discovering new people.
"Would there be races in this world? Creatures beyond what I've known? I don't really know. But let's find out."
A hint of curiosity was in Kayn's eyes, almost forgetting that he was in another world.
He continued on to walk and walk through this vast forest, hoping to find something new or perhaps get out of it and see new places.
It felt almost endless, but he knew he had to keep going.
The trees, the bushes, the grass, all of it seemed to repeat itself over every few thousand steps.
It was getting perpetual, but he endured it.
Amidst his walk, he heard something beyond his own footsteps.
"Hmm?"
He looked back on his trail; the path he took was empty. Nothing was there.
Just the same trees he went past.
"Must've been the wind."
Is what he thought. But the forest was too dense for any wind to come and rustle the bushes, so something was beginning to become suspicious.
For what felt like countless hours, he traveled throughout the forest, but you know what was off?
There were never any signs of living creatures in this forest. Not even insects.
The lack of animals in what seemed to be a healthy forest, made everything just a little more... sketchy.
It doesn't make sense at all for that to be the case, because ecosystems must exist for nature to thrive.
But here he was, walking through the same forest that was empty.
And so when he heard that noise of something else, he was almost caught up in his own wonder. Looking about in his surroundings.
"Just what was that? I know I heard something. Footsteps of sorts."
He was trying to deduce his suspicion, still in confusion of his current situation.
But after a moment, he took a deep sigh, seeing nothing around him resemble anything.
He turned back around to continue walking, before he—
"Who are you? What are you doing here?"
He first caught a glimpse of a silhouette, undeniably another person's.
The figure stepped forward, the light filtering through the trees revealing a woman dressed in a dark robe.
The edges of which seemed to absorb the surrounding shadows. It clung to her frame, dark yet almost alive.
Shifting with every motion as if the fabric itself were woven from the night.
Kayn rubbed his eyes, as he took another glance at this woman.
Her hair, long and velvet-red, cascaded down her back like a river of blood.
Dark stripes marked her cheeks, sharp and purposeful against her pale skin, giving her an almost primal look.
Her presence was nothing he had ever felt before, after being alone in this forest for so long.
He made direct eye contact with her, knowing this was the perfect opportunity to have a little chat with someone of this world.
Her eyes, gleaming with an almost unnatural glow, reflected a sharp intelligence, watchful, calculating, yet filled with a quiet intensity that kind of annoyed him.
Standing right there in front of him, she persisted in her question a little further.
"Answer me."
Her voice was like a butterknife. Sharp as it cuts the smooth air.
But, Kayn stood there watching her, still silent as he considered her question.
He could tell her his identity, but what would he gain from it? And at the same time, he can't really answer the question of what he's doing here, if he's actually just lost.
"And why should I comply with someone I've never met before?"
Kayn said. He knew enough to take precautions in where he was, especially in a place like this.
But still, he needed to know where he was, what to do, and where to go next.
As she heard this, a tiny flame ignited in her sight, annoyed rather over his incompliance.
She took a breath, gathering her nerves before she thought of anything else.
"Look. You're in a forbidden area. This place is not only off-limits but is also dangerous. I don't know how you got here, but you need to explain yourself."
She spoke up in a stern voice, still eyeing at him with that expression of seriousness.
Forbidden area? Dangerous? He was beginning to piece a few things together here.
If this place really was that big of a deal, then it would make sense for there to be nearly no creatures or animals at all within this vicinity.
But it still didn't make sense that this place was dangerous. Or what makes it forbidden in the first place?
He still had questions left unanswered, and he'd only become more confused by the minute.
So, his best bet is simply to de-escalate things and respond to her.
"Alright, chill. My name is Kayn Adams. Just to tell you, I had no say in why I was transported here, and I never knew this place to begin with. What makes it so dangerous anyways?"
For some reason, she ignored everything else he said, and only heard the part of his question.
"Y-you don't know why you're here? Much less, what this place is?"
At that moment, she stuck with the thought of whether he was just clueless, or something else entirely?
Lost in the middle of a forest within another world, Kayn just so happens to find himself face-to-face with a person of this world.
And now he's been informed that where he stands is forbidden.
Just where the hell was he? And more importantly, who was she?