The forest was so alive it almost hurt.
Theo stumbled through it, half-drunk on the feel of life pressing in from every side. Trees towered over him like ancient gods. The air smelled of wet earth and growing things. Every step stirred the dirt and fallen leaves, waking small creatures that skittered away in surprise.
It was nothing like the dying world he'd left behind.
There, every breath had tasted like smoke. Here, the air was heavy but clean, filled with the low hum of unseen things — insects, wind, maybe even the land itself. It was beautiful in a way that made something old and bitter inside him ache.
But beauty didn't erase danger.
Theo knew better than to relax.Not when he could feel the threads — thin, fragile strands just under the skin of the world — thrumming and shaking.
They were breaking here too. Slower, quieter... but breaking.
He brushed a hand against the rough bark of a tree, grounding himself, feeling the faintest pull of the Origin Core inside his chest. The Core was awake now, threading thin gold lines into the world around him. He couldn't see them clearly yet — not unless he focused — but he knew they were there. Waiting for him to learn how to use them. Or maybe waiting for him to screw everything up again.
Theo let out a slow breath and kept moving.
It didn't take long before he heard the bells.
Faint at first. Soft. Mournful. They drifted through the trees like the memory of a dream. Something about the sound made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
He followed it.
The forest thinned, revealing a village tucked between the hills. Dozens of simple wooden houses, a few smoke trails curling into the gray sky. People were gathered around the center of the village — a rough stone square — their heads bowed low.
A funeral.
Theo's stomach twisted.
He didn't want to get involved. Not yet. He wasn't ready. He didn't even know the rules of this timeline yet. But the threads here were visible now, stretching from the villagers like silk strands — most of them frayed, some already snapping.
He was too late for some of them.But maybe not all.
He stayed hidden at the forest's edge, scanning the gathering.
That's when he saw her.
A woman, standing apart from the others. Short silver hair. Slim, upright posture. She wasn't mourning like the others — she was watching. Not the pyre, not the people — but the air, the empty space just above them, as if seeing something no one else could.
Theo narrowed his eyes.
A Thread Seer. He hadn't seen one since... gods, it had been years. They were rare even in his original time. Sensitive souls who could glimpse the way fate twisted and danced. Some said they could even pluck at it, in small ways.
The woman's gaze swept the treeline — swept over him.
Theo froze.
For a heartbeat, their eyes met across the distance.
It wasn't recognition exactly. More like... acknowledgment.She knew he wasn't part of this place. She knew he didn't belong.
But she didn't call out.She just looked — steady, curious — and then turned back to the pyre.
Theo exhaled slowly.
Maybe she wouldn't raise an alarm. Maybe she was just as wary of strangers as he was.
Then the ground trembled.
It was small — barely enough to stir the trees — but Theo felt it deep in his bones. Like a warning rumble before a landslide. The villagers stiffened, a few crying out in fear. Birds erupted from the rooftops in black flurries.
Theo reached out without thinking.
The threads around him vibrated wildly. Somewhere underground, something important — some tether holding this village together — had snapped.
It was happening again. Here, in this untouched world, the rot had already started.
Theo's heart pounded.
He could run. Disappear into the woods. Pretend he hadn't seen anything.
But he knew himself too well.
He couldn't turn away. Not again.
He stepped out of the trees, moving carefully but without hesitation. If he was careful, if he was smart, he could maybe fix this before it spiraled out of control. Before it turned into another Collapse.
The woman with the silver hair turned again, her eyes sharp and knowing.
Their fates brushed together — a soft, invisible hum — and somewhere deep inside, the Origin Core stirred in response.
Theo tightened his fists.No more running.It began here.