He didn't know how much time had passed.
He didn't know where he was, either.
He only knew that he was still alive.
The voices reached him distorted, as if they were passing through water and dreams at the same time.
He couldn't understand a single word.
Yet there was something in the rhythm... a certain structure... that felt strangely familiar.
He tried to open his eyes.
Nothing.
His body wouldn't respond.
There was no pain, only an uncomfortable heaviness, as if he were sinking into something soft that neither fully trapped him nor let him go.
Then the memories returned.
Fragments.
The forest that was far too silent.
The red eyes.
The feeling of being hunted.
His breathing became uneven.
"What... was that thing...?" he thought.
The question came too late.
Something inside him already knew.
That wasn't a normal animal.
And that forest... shouldn't exist either.
Did I die...?
Then... why am I still here?
A dry laugh escaped his throat.
"Of course..."
His eyes suddenly opened.
Darkness.
A wooden ceiling barely visible among the shadows.
"...It's night."
His voice came out weak, almost broken.
He tried to move.
The pain arrived immediately, shooting through his body like an electric shock.
A muffled groan escaped his lips.
"Damn it..."
He remained still, breathing slowly until the burning sensation faded.
Only then did he look around.
The room was small.
Quiet.
Strange.
Beyond an opening, he could make out a fence and the enormous silhouettes of trees vanishing into the darkness.
He was still in that forest.
A chill ran down his spine.
They brought me here...
The people from the forest.
Why?
Everything was calm.
But it wasn't the forest's kind of calm.
This one actually felt safe.
Until the sound of a door opening shattered the silence.
Soft footsteps.
His body tensed automatically.
A figure approached slowly and sat on the edge of the bed.
Fares remained motionless.
Unsure whether he should react... or pretend he was still asleep.
A warm hand rested on his forehead.
Then moved down to his neck.
The pressure was light.
Precise.
Professional.
The girl lifted her hand and smiled faintly, as if confirming something.
She spoke in an upbeat tone.
He understood none of it.
But she didn't sound dangerous.
Fares opened his eyes completely.
And the first thing he noticed were hers.
Yellow.
They didn't look like contact lenses.
They genuinely glowed.
The girl gently raised a hand.
The stones embedded in the walls began to emit a faint light.
The room slowly brightened.
Fares remained still.
Now he could see her clearly.
Black hair streaked with electric-yellow strands.
Glowing eyes of the same color.
She wore simple clothing, though it looked completely different from anything he knew.
Nothing fit.
Nothing seemed fake.
The girl let out a small laugh when she noticed him staring.
She wasn't mocking him.
She simply found it interesting.
Fares looked away slightly, uncomfortable.
She gently caught his attention and pointed to herself.
"Aida Vronte."
It didn't sound like a sentence.
It sounded like a name.
"Aida..." he repeated slowly.
She nodded.
Then pointed at him.
"You?"
Fares hesitated for a few seconds.
He was still on guard.
But being alone wasn't really an option either.
"Fares..."
She repeated the name carefully, as if she wanted to memorize it properly.
Afterward, she began removing the bandages and pressed leaves covering his body.
Her movements were steady.
Expert.
Fares looked at his injuries.
Closed.
The bruises were still there, but far less swollen.
It didn't make sense.
After a fall like that...
He should have been worse.
"Th-thank you..." he murmured awkwardly.
Aida didn't understand the words, but she understood the tone.
She smiled faintly.
Talking wouldn't help.
Both of them seemed to realize that at the same time.
When she finished, she gathered the bandages and walked toward the door.
Before leaving, she gave him one last calm smile.
Then she disappeared.
Fares was alone again.
The exhaustion still weighed heavily on him.
He closed his eyes.
And fell asleep once more.
...
The morning light streamed through the window when he woke again.
The sky burned with shades of orange.
But he wasn't alone.
Three people were watching him from the other side of the room.
His body tensed before he could think.
Aida was there.
And beside her stood two other figures.
The same ones from the forest.
The first to approach was a young woman.
Bright red hair.
Eyes like blue diamonds.
Not "similar."
They literally looked like diamonds beneath the light.
Her posture was flawless.
Every movement seemed far too deliberate for someone so relaxed.
She smiled faintly.
It wasn't a kind smile.
It looked more like interest.
Beside her stood a tall man with an imposing presence.
He didn't need to speak to command attention.
His eyes looked like liquid iron.
The reddish tone of his hair resembled the girl's.
Fares watched them silently.
Everything still felt strange.
But far too coherent to be a dream.
The red-haired girl approached without the slightest hesitation.
She looked him up and down with shameless curiosity.
Fares felt immediate tension.
Too close.
She spoke.
Her tone was light.
Playful.
But her eyes never stopped analyzing him.
He didn't respond.
The sentence ended with something he did recognize.
"Fares."
He hesitated for a moment before slowly nodding.
The reaction seemed to amuse her.
Then she took his hand as naturally as if they had known each other for years.
"Lyrastrid... Lyra."
Fares pulled his hand away immediately.
Faster than he intended.
The movement happened on its own.
Instinct.
His body reacted before he did.
The closeness.
The unexpected contact.
The unfamiliar surroundings.
Everything inside him was still screaming danger.
"I-I..."
He didn't even know what he was trying to say.
He just needed space.
Lyra watched him silently.
Her expression showed no surprise.
It showed interest.
As if she had just confirmed something.
She placed a hand against her cheek and replied in an almost playful tone.
She wasn't trying to communicate.
She was pushing him.
Measuring him.
Testing his reactions.
And Fares, unable to understand a single word, only grew more tense.
Then—
The man's voice cut through the atmosphere.
Firm.
Dry.
Carrying a clear warning behind it.
Lyra puffed out her cheeks slightly and replied immediately, almost annoyed.
The two exchanged words naturally.
As if that dynamic was completely normal between them.
Aida intervened shortly afterward, saying something brief while pointing at Fares.
Silence followed.
The man nodded once and left the room.
Lyra looked back at Fares.
Her eyes gleamed once again.
Curiosity.
And something harder to read.
Then she raised a hand in a carefree farewell and left after the man.
She had seen enough.
For now.
The door closed.
The silence returned.
Aida picked up a sheet of paper and a pencil before sitting down in front of him.
Fares watched as she wrote symbols that were completely unfamiliar.
Then she looked up, pointed at the page, and slowly pronounced a word.
He didn't understand its meaning.
But he understood the intention.
Aida was trying to teach him how to speak.