Night slowly consumed the Stone Forest.
The laughter that once echoed through the camp had faded into silence. One by one, the students disappeared into their tents, exhausted from the long journey and excitement of the day.
The forest changed after dark.
It no longer looked mysterious.
It looked alive.
The enormous stone pillars stood like ancient watchers beneath the pale moonlight, while cold wind moved between the trees carrying sounds that did not feel entirely natural.
Even the fire near the camp had begun shrinking slowly.
And beneath one of the oldest trees near the edge of the camp—
Arin sat alone.
No tent.
No blanket.
Only silence beside him.
At first, he had thought someone would notice.
Maybe Mira.
Maybe Peter.
Even Yuto.
But time passed.
And nobody came.
Not because they hated him.
But because people become careless when they are surrounded by their own comfort.
Arin lowered his eyes quietly.
The cold wind touched his face gently.
Strangely—
He wasn't angry.
Just empty.
Again.
He leaned back against the tree and looked toward the camp.
Soft lights glowed from inside the tents. Voices and faint laughter occasionally escaped into the night before disappearing again.
A place full of people.
Yet somehow—
He felt invisible.
"The loneliest feeling is not being alone…
it is realizing your absence changes nothing."
Arin closed his eyes slowly.
For a brief moment, he wondered—
If I disappeared completely… would this world even notice?
The thought stayed longer than it should have.
And eventually—
Sleep claimed him beneath the ancient tree.
—
Far away from the Stone Forest—
Inside the royal palace—
Senjonng stood near a massive window overlooking the sleeping city.
The moonlight reflected against the marble floor while guards silently moved through distant halls.
Yet despite the calm around him—
His mind was restless.
He had not seen Arin for days.
And for reasons he himself could not fully explain—
The absence disturbed him.
He turned toward one of his attendants.
"The boy," Senjonng said quietly.
The attendant lowered his head immediately.
"Yes, my lord?"
"Where is he?"
The man hesitated briefly before answering.
"The academy students left for the Stone Forest yesterday."
For a moment—
Silence.
Then Senjonng's expression changed.
Not visibly for ordinary people.
But enough.
Enough for the atmosphere itself to feel heavier.
"The Stone Forest…" he repeated slowly.
A strange shadow crossed his eyes.
Then one word escaped his lips quietly—
"Destiny."
Because among all places—
That forest was not ordinary.
Some places in the world carried history.
Some carried death.
And some—
Carried things that should have remained asleep forever.
Senjonng slowly closed his eyes.
A faint unease rose within him.
As if fate itself had begun moving again.
—
Deep inside the Stone Forest—
Arin dreamed.
But it was not a normal dream.
It felt too real.
Too heavy.
Too cold.
He stood alone beside a black lake beneath a crimson sky.
The air smelled rotten.
The water did not move.
And floating across the surface—
Were heads.
Human heads.
Animal heads.
Eyes open.
Mouths frozen in silent terror.
Arin's breathing became uneven.
"What… is this place…?"
His own voice sounded distant.
Then—
The lake moved.
Slowly.
Something enormous began rising from beneath the black water.
A gigantic figure.
Impossible to fully see.
Its body seemed made from darkness itself, twisting unnaturally as if reality refused to contain it properly.
Arin could not see its face clearly.
Only two glowing eyes staring directly into him.
Ancient.
Hungry.
Endless.
Fear struck Arin so deeply that even his body refused to move.
The creature slowly lifted one massive hand.
And suddenly—
The black lake exploded around him.
Countless hands emerged from the water.
Dead hands.
Rotting hands.
They grabbed Arin instantly.
His legs.
His arms.
His throat.
Dragging him downward.
Arin struggled violently.
But the deeper he sank—
The colder the darkness became.
The gigantic creature leaned closer.
And though its face remained hidden—
A voice entered Arin's mind.
Not heard.
Felt.
"You cannot escape what sleeps within you."
The black water entered his mouth.
His lungs burned.
The dead hands pulled harder.
And then—
Arin screamed.
—
His eyes opened violently.
Cold sweat covered his body.
His breathing was broken and uneven as though he had truly drowned.
Morning light had just begun touching the forest.
The pale golden sunrise slowly pushed away the darkness of night.
And standing near him—
Was Director Yonsai.
The older man looked both confused and concerned.
"Arin?"
Arin blinked repeatedly, still trapped between dream and reality.
Yonsai crouched slightly beside him.
"Why are you sleeping out here?" he asked gently. "And why do you look terrified, my dear boy?"
Arin's lips trembled slightly.
"That… lake…"
Yonsai frowned.
"Lake?"
"And… that black creature…"
For the first time—
True fear appeared in Arin's eyes.
Not fear of people.
Not fear of humiliation.
But fear of something beyond understanding.
Yonsai's expression slowly changed.
"What creature, Arin?"
The morning wind moved softly between the trees.
The forest suddenly felt quieter.
Too quiet.
Arin looked toward the distant woods for a moment.
As if expecting something to still be watching him.
Then he lowered his eyes quickly.
"N-Nothing, Master Yonsai," he said softly.
"Just a dream."
But even as he said it—
His heartbeat refused to calm.
Because deep inside—
He knew.
That thing had not felt like a dream.
And somewhere far beyond the trees of the Stone Forest—
Something ancient had already awakened.