Nathanael ate a snack bar he got from his satchel. This air around him caused him anxiety, which increased when thinking of what could happen to the two hanging high up along the cliff.

“One, two, three, four, five.”

It was the forest. He couldn’t understand it. There was something here that didn’t make sense. Despite the sun being out, he couldn’t see far in front of him. This fog that shouldn’t be there, felt too unreal. His breathing and footsteps crunching the snow beneath him were loud, only because there was no other sound to be heard. Nathanael thought this place to be better than the plains of snow, but he realized it was rather similar.

The trees felt the same. Their distances from each other were indistinguishable. And their thickness and height were too identical. The only difference was the carvings Nathanael made on every other tree he passed by.

“One, two, three…”

Bushes. There were none. Nothing except snow and pine trees. You could call it the plains of snow, but with the only addition of twigs and bark.

Thoughts were more audible, every word clear and focused. So many bad thoughts. Every horrible event he could think of. He couldn’t get them away and bring in something better. It was too hard, the forest made it hard to think.

“-four, five… Ugh, I already hate this place,” Nathanael said and took the last bite of his snack.

How long have I been walking? Have I already passed the crystal Seth told me about? It shouldn’t take too much time walking this distance, right?

He breathed out hot air. The visible steam flew up, then quickly dwindled away. His past the same. Once he had memories, then nothing due to some circumstance he couldn’t know.

Even with this eerie presence filling the air, it was quite peaceful. Like the crystal cave, this too could have this aura. But in this condition, peace wasn’t the thing he could feel at this very moment. Only anxiety and stress. He tried to dismiss those two haunting emotions but to no avail.

“One, two, three, four, five,” Nathanael kept saying after every five trees. He didn’t know why he counted them only to five, but he knew he wanted to keep up with this rhythm, to flee from those thoughts he didn’t want to think.

“One, two, three, fou– huh?”

Something changed. The scenery became different. The endless snow and trees were still there, but now on the ground started to appear slight glints. Nathanael crouched down and took a good look. He wiped off some snow and revealed small crystals.

Seth told me to avoid glowing crystals. Thankfully, this one isn’t. Then I guess I’m safe?

It was stuck inside the ground, he tried to pull it out, but decided against using his much-needed stamina on this. He left it be, but he now knew he was getting closer.

They were similar to the cavern. They felt lifeless, even when they were just minerals of the earth, they had an odd ambiance of death. There was no sound, yet their faint tones of glimmering and sparkles were there, and also the tones of icicles breaking.

Just an imagination, there was no such sound to be heard.

Nathanael walked some distance further, then…

Found you.

The trees were always the same, the distances from each other as well. In front of him was supposed to be yet another tree, but this time it was the large crystal he had been looking for.

No other oddity around. Just this lone, large mineral, surrounded by trees and small entities of itself. Crystalline tendrils grew out from it and entered the earth, likely then splitting inside the ground to then reveal themselves as the small crystals Nathanael has seen.

The core of the shard had roots going in a specific direction, where that lead he didn’t know. Perhaps to continue towards another identical shard.

There was another detail to this shard and the smaller ones, and that detail was that they were broken. Small pieces of itself strewn about, fragments which made it once whole. Some of the tendrils were off and loose, shattered within the snow. It was a dying crystal.

He walked with caution, but as soon as he noticed a chest laying beside the crystal, Nathanael started to sprint for the first time since entering the forest. The sense of fulfillment filled him with relief. He made it.

There was a lock. But it was broken and on the ground. Inside was nothing but cold air. There wasn’t anything there. Completely empty of storage. Only wooden surfaces. Not a clue of what was once here.

That feeling of joy dissipated quickly as it came. His smile faded. His head was lowered. And sorrow filled him.

Footprints of other people covered the ground, and it led somewhere into the forest. Someone was already here, and they took whatever was inside. Nathanael wasn’t the first. These tracks were almost covered in snow.

He didn’t know how he missed those tracks. Perhaps his view was mostly directed to the chest, which made him not notice them. Seeing what first didn’t matter. Except he wouldn’t feel that false relief if he saw the tracks before.

Nathanael didn’t have time to stare at the emptiness of the chest, he needed to find whatever he came here for. And those tracks are his only trace.

Seth said I shouldn’t meet others, but they likely have what I need.

He took out his notebook and flipped to the first page, still all empty, there he wrote in the middle, “crystal”. And he put down the four cardinal directions around it. The south is where he came from. These footprints were going to the southwest. He put down another note, the roots from the crystal were going between west and northwest.

He put down his notebook and started tracking the unknown.

It was snowing. And because of the snow, Nathanael needed to act fast to find them. He couldn’t know for sure how far they are now. The snow was already falling before he entered the forest. They might have found the crystal just as he started walking.

Another crystal found. The chest was empty as the other. The footprints now moved to the west. He made a line in his notes, and a dot to connect the shacks in his map. The root of this crystal now moved between north and northwest.

He continued to follow, another similar structure was in sight. The distance was the same, the same amount of trees passed until finding the third empty chest. The footprints now moved to the northwest. the roots to the north northeast. And there he continued on.

Another line, and another dot. The distance never changed. They were moving to the north now. But this time he didn’t follow, he was going to try something he would perhaps truly regret. If he was wrong, then that would be the end of two people he knew since waking up in the plains of snow.

“I feel like I’m running out of time. I need to try this.”

Nathanael knew Seth used the mountains as landmarks to find his way around. But here he only had the trees. Yet those trees were going to help him.

After taking his first glance at the trees when taking his steps into the forest, he noticed something. Not only were they similar in thickness and height, and also the distances from each other, their outer layers were all the same. Every single tree had the same features, the same twigs, branches, and bark. And they all looked in the same direction. Making it easy to use them as compasses.

Questioning this odd phenomenon was something he didn’t want to try and ask about. It was just too unreal. Thousands upon thousands of the same exact tree. It couldn’t be real, yet here he was, using them as his compass and landmarks.

Seth said he couldn’t tell me how to navigate the forest. Did he not know that these trees were all the same? If he did know, then why keep that a secret? Perhaps he really didn’t know about it, he did say he hasn’t explored much of the forest…

Perhaps Nathanael didn’t even need to use the trees, because the direction he was going to wander towards, was where the roots were going as well. Between east and northeast, they went. Those crystalline roots. Nathanael had his map, from what he has seen, there should be four other crystals, creating an octagon shape. If he walked across this octagon, he would meet the furthest crystal from his position and hopefully find an untouched crate, or perhaps the other people who came here first.

“Where do these roots go? They all must meet somewhere in the middle, perhaps a bigger version of themselves? A much bigger version that I haven’t seen?”

The clock ticked. If he continued to follow the track, he wouldn’t make it in time to save the others. This was his only option, and not exactly a bad one either.

“If I’m right, then why do these crystals make this shape? How do they make this perfect shape in the first place? They aren’t organic, they are minerals. Lifeless crystals. Just rock and stone. An oddity…”

He finally started moving again. Into the unknown, following the crystalline roots, following his living compass’s. Nathanael started to sweat from his rising anxiety.

The crystal’s root was broken. It was no longer connected to whatever was in the middle. There were short moments that the crystal couldn’t be seen, as it was sometimes underground, like a snake, or a worm, moving in an odd wavy way. Or when it had missing ends, and nothing was on the ground to indicate where the other part of it was. Those were the times he really needed to use the trees.

He nearly decided to go back when he didn’t see the root for a while, but then calmed down and continued once finding them again. The disappearance of the root continued for a while. But eventually, it started to look more intact the further he went.

The snowfall started to escalate. The cold began to increase. Perhaps that was his way of knowing how much time he had. The colder it gets, the further down the sun goes. And once the lit skies fade, the star would stop heating up the plains of snow.

He didn’t bring anything with him for the night, because he would only be heavier. He hoped he would get what he needed before dark. And to hope to get it without meeting others. Nathanael couldn’t know if the people were actually bad or good, he couldn’t risk it. He needed to do this alone.

There was still this fog that disrupted Nathanaels’s vision. It wasn’t outside the forest, only here inside. Never fading. Never on any days would it dissipate.

The snow-covered ground still had small pieces of crystals coming from the earth. Some cracked, others still intact. The tendrils beneath likely cracked as well.

Lifeless. All dead.

Nathanael began to feel tired. Or he has been tired since finding the second crystal shard. Now he has started to really feel his legs wanting to take a break. But even as he huffed and puffed, he continued on.

Finally, after a much longer track than between two crystals, he made it.

It stood taller than the others. Much bigger than a little shack. It looked larger than the ones from the crystal cave, meaning it was larger than Seth’s house. Parts of it were shattered, but still intact. Its eight roots all went into different directions, all going to the crystals surrounding it and creating the octagon. The snow that covered around it had crystals beneath, little to no frozen grass or dirt. Medium and small ones surrounded the primary crystal, creating walls and making it harder to go to the center. But it wasn’t a maze at all, just blockers that made you go around them.

Nathanael saw its height and saw it breach the trees above. That made him wonder why he couldn’t see the crystal from the cliff. Too far away perhaps? There was no fog above, but there was that odd distant abstraction he saw everywhere he looked, that had been going on for a while.

He didn’t come to explore this giant crystal, only to pass it. But he couldn’t help to think this mineral looked familiar. Then his mind came to remember it, he flipped open his satchel and drew out Etta’s pictures. He searched through them, until finding one in particular.

“Did the picture always look like this? No, it was different before…”

That picture has changed. Once a black mass, a void with tendrils flowing towards a small shivering girl. Eyes all staring, a frame that seems to expand forever. But now the void looked to be a crystal. And the tendrils being the roots going in all directions. Yet the eyes were still covered in ink, a puzzle yet to be solved. Those eyes made Etta cower, but Etta herself said she didn’t know what they were.

Is this the place she has been before? If so, then her home shouldn’t be far. I hope it isn’t.

He put away the papers and continued on. But a second thought hit him.

Do her family really live around here? This doesn’t really look like a great place to live. And there are others out there, people who get supplies from chests that are likely for their journey…

Journey to where? Or are they like Seth, living out in their own homes, with their own routes they always take? Why live out here, but not in the city? Do they like it around here? I guess it’s peaceful…

He shook his thoughts away. “Stop thinking, Nathanael, and keep moving. Don’t waste any more time.”

Walking by the giant crystal made him stop once again, not because of another thought, but because of something he saw.

There was a slight open sliver on the side of the crystal. He only noticed it due to the glow emitting from the inside of it. A faint blue glow, blinking at random intervals.

No crystal has glowed before. Just this small crack. And the words of Seth reminded him not to come close, and to put on the mask immediately.

Yet there was no threat. Nothing to indicate it would be harmful. It was only a dying light.

Curiosity got him, he wanted to just quickly investigate it before continuing.

“Do I put my mask on?” he asked himself, and took it out and took a good look at the thing. “The goggles are all scratched and blurry from old marks, I can’t see through this well.”

He didn’t put it on and left it by his side. The blue blinking light called to him. And Nathanael got closer. His eyes ventured towards that split in another realm, a blue world of wonders. Nothing in his memories flared, it was completely new. Everything about the crystals is new, also the crystal cavern. These minerals act like plants and trees, sending their roots to grow. To get as much energy they could to survive.

But this crystal was dying. Only a single spark, a single beat for its heartless lifeline. Perhaps it glowed in all colors of blue. A beautiful dance in its vibrant hues. A living art.

Nathanael peered through, trying to see whatever caused the blinking gleam. He saw little to nothing, which made him go even closer. Time was running out, yet he wanted to see, to know anything more about these crystals. To know why they are like this, why their odd tendrils go in all directions, why they act like the living green. Why are they so beautiful?

His breathing quickened. Something unseen came out of the open slits. His eyes widened once he felt something off, but he still didn’t fall back. He didn’t want to walk away, he didn’t want to.

Breathing became hard. A long-lasting inhale, taking in all the air he needed. It felt normal, nothing out of the ordinary. The same smell of the forest, but with a hint of something otherworldly. He wasn’t sure what it was, and he didn’t care. All he wanted was to take long breaths and not walk away. Stay here and enjoy this fragrance. There wasn’t anything else he needed to do. Breathing was his lifeline. He needed to inhale and exhale. If not, he dies.

The crystal gave him the loving air. The last few from its inner self. Such a rich and sweet aroma.

Nathanael’s eye stung, this sharp and sudden pain made him blink and face away from the opening.

“Wha… huh? What happened? How… long…?”

His awareness awoke. Whatever made his thoughts wander off faded away. But there was still something odd.

His head hurt, it was a painful headache. His eye twitched, and he held with one hand along his throbbing skull. His vision became more blurry, more abstracted after every second. There was no fog to be seen, his vision couldn’t pass that far, only towards the end of his palm.

Legs began to tremble, one knee fell to the ground, touching the soft unknown material.

“…?”

No cold. No feeling of that low temperature. It suddenly vanished along with his fading vision. Yet, though his eyes turned abstract, he could see what was close to him, and he saw the ground.

There was still snow and crystals, but also something… gruesome.

They pulsated red from their decaying white. An intertwined web of rot and fester, spanning long distances. Parts and insides of entities unknown. Broken, brittle, fractured structure, all sticking out like spikes and sharp poles. Red and blue liquid ran down like veins from the crystal, pumping out whatever the source was. The air, foul and disgusting, a scent no one could handle.

Nathanael didn’t breathe any longer. He clutched his nose and held tight, that aching pain still lingering in his head. He was finally fully aware of the situation, and he could see normally. Though you couldn’t exactly call this new scenery normal.

“What is going on? W-w-what is this?!”

He walked backward, away from the crystal. Yet the ground was endless of that grisly disgust. He tripped and fell, all that red and blue splashing below him, covering him with the color and liquid.

Shuddering and quaking, he shook his hands to get rid of the muck. Nathanael managed to stand up with his legs, but he didn’t have the courage to move them after that.

Fear and terror were all he had in his mind. Nausea filled him as well, and his stomach churned. He had his hand against his mouth. His eyes were wide and twitching. There was no controlling it, he expelled his last meal. The sight and stench were too much.

Strands of flesh held the living ground together, a tether to keep everything from separating. Arms reached out from between the earth, something humanoid but inhuman showed itself. Naked and slender, long claws, no face but a mouth with only fangs. It was covered in red and blue gore, a living nightmare coming to life.

“…!” Mute. Unable to get any words or thoughts. Nathanael froze. Too afraid, too terrified to even run from whatever the hell that was.

A moment ago it was peaceful with nothing but snow and the crystal. Now this scene destroyed that calmness with its gore and filth. The atmosphere turned red with hints of blue, little to no white around.

It screamed. That monster with an ear-shattering screech. More of itself appeared, more hands coming from the intertwine of flesh. They surrounded Nathanael, all sounded their own shattering voices.

“Stop! Get away! Leave me alone!” Nathanael yelled, holding as hard as he could against his ears. He crouched and screamed.

The horrors walked closer. They didn’t run, they wanted their prey to suffer before the end. All tall and no slouching, all the same with their own bodies filled with their own slaughter.

Tears filled his eyes. The sound was too much. For the first time since his eyes opened in this land of white, he heard the opposite of quiet. So loud, so loud. Never has his ears heard something so loud, so agonizing.

“Don’t come closer! Don’t come closer!”

He flailed about on his knees, both hands hard on his ears, his eyes closed.

Nathanael wanted to wait until it was over. To wait for this nightmare to end. To wake up and see Etta, and perhaps even the old man, still inside the house. He wanted to see the plains of snow, something far away from the forest of hell.

A dream. This was just a dream. The terrors in his mind. Hands reached with sharp claws. A head with no face, only a mouth. Naked, covered with blood and gore. Intestines, limbs, flesh, bones, hearts of all creatures of the unknown, filling the plains, cavern, forest. The air foul, red and blue mist, red and blue rivers. An odd combination that the crystal created from its mineral roots.

Wake up! Wake up! Just a nightmare! Just a dream! How could this be real?! Nathanael! It’s just in your mind!

His eyes opened, but everything was still there. He faced the ground, and there he saw the mask. Even as he felt the pain in his ears, he reached with both of his hands towards it. He put it on, but didn’t put on the straps.

A long deep breath. His eyes were closed. Another gasp. Another inhale and exhale. No pain in his ears. Another gulp from the filters. No longer wet. Another. Another. Just keep breathing. Another breath. Remove all that taint. Fix your lungs, your mind.

This isn’t real. Just an imagination. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe in the filters, not the air around. Breathe. You have to breathe.

No sound to be heard.

Time ticked. No thoughts on how long he sat there. Though he breathed in the filtered air, he couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes. Still shaken. Still terrified. So, so scared.

“I… can’t…” He cried. His face was a mess of tears and sweat from this stress and anxiety.

He couldn’t move and stayed there for a while. A too long while.