The Safe Zone dissolved around us, and we stepped into a forest that smelled like rotting flowers.
The trees were wrong. Their bark had a wet, organic texture, like muscle tissue wrapped around bone. Thorns the size of daggers grew from every branch, dripping a syrupy amber sap that hissed when it hit the ground. Above us, the sky was choked with a canopy of briars so thick that only thin shafts of sickly green light penetrated through.
A system window materialized, its borders adorned with twisted roses.
『Floor 21: The Fable of the Sleeping Beauty's Thorn』
『Main Scenario: Awaken the Slumbering Princess』
『Objective: Pierce the thicket of thorns, slay the dragon, and bestow the awakening kiss.』
『The Story: A kingdom cursed to eternal slumber. Only true love's kiss can break the spell.』
『Warning: The thorns remember. The sleepers dream of you.』
