The sky was as black as night, covered by dark clouds and fog. Layers of gray clouds congregated with no intention of dispersing.
No signs of sunlight could be seen in this pitch-black sky.
An occasional dark-red bolt of lightning flashed across the dark sky. They intertwined with one another and cast a light on the ground.
The grayish-black ground was cracked and desolate. It went all the way to the horizon, rough and undulated.
The mountain range was carved into the land like a huge scar. The endless grayish-black forest seemed to spread to the end of the world.
This entire world exuded a kind of darkness, dark yet mysterious and lacking any breath of life.
The thick gray fog veiled the black forest, making it sinister and full of danger.
Flashes of crimson lightning struck the earth like poisonous pythons, splitting the huge trees into two right from its waist.
The huge tree that was struck started giving off green smoke. However, it didn’t light up in flames. The green smoke disappeared after a while, leaving the burnt half of the deadwood on the ground.
Moving closer, one could see that the ground was covered with all kinds of plants in weird shapes and sizes. Countless giant trees dotted the forest, covering the sky with their crowns. These trees were all exceptionally big. Many adults were needed to hug the trunk of the trees. Their leaves were flourishing with no gaps in between. The thick roots broke through the soil and crawled on the ground like huge pythons.
Thick vines intertwined with one another while plants and mushrooms in weird shapes and sizes filled up the forest ground.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Occasionally, one or two strange creatures would dart out from behind the plants. They sized up their surroundings cautiously before disappearing into the shadows between the plants once again.
These plants and creatures were used to the dim environment in this dark world. Hence, their skin was dull too. They were either in lifeless white or gray. Also, their growing mechanism was vastly different.
In a certain part of the forest, a little black creature was motionlessly lying among the thick bushes that looked like palm leaves. Its eyes flickered dimly as if it was waiting for something. It was extremely patient even though it had laid there for half a day without any gains.
Suddenly, a black shadow dashed out from the bushes.
The small creature lying in the bushes moved abruptly. Its actions were smooth and skilled like a young leopard. It darted out at almost the same instant.
But…
Splat!
It fell into the mire at the side. It wasn’t because the ground was too slippery. It was because its two small legs… were numb!
The black shadow that scurried out of the bushes was a small-sized dark green creature that looked like a lizard. It was stunned when it saw the fish-lip creature that fell into the mire. Then, it smirked and disappeared into the forest.
It wasn’t stupid. It could tell from the fish-lip creature’s gaze that it wanted to have it for dinner. This was the perfect moment to run away!
The little creature struggled to climb up from the mire. It pounced forward unwillingly, but it didn’t manage to catch its dinner.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})It muttered something in frustration before climbing up from the ground. Then, it crouched down and limped towards a part of the forest, disregarding the mud on its body.
It was very careful all the way. Also, it was vigilant, so it could always evade the dangers in advance. Finally, it arrived at a hidden hole.
The hole was situated below a huge tree. There were many plants and wines covering the entrance, making it hard to notice.
It cleared its traces and smell before lifting the bushes and crawling into the hole. This was its small home, a place where it could evade the storm and dangers outside. This was the only place that gave it a sense of security.
The hole was quite big. There were many passageways leading to various safe locations. Even if one hole was discovered, it could escape through other exits.
It had spent a long time slowly digging and constructing this home and was extremely satisfied with its work. However, it was starting to wonder if it should move houses.
Two days ago, an outsider had barged into its home. However, it couldn’t understand how this big creature had entered its home through that small hole.
Even the most flexible animal it knew wouldn’t be able to squeeze its body into its home without leaving traces around the entrance.
It had checked all the holes. There was no sign of damage. Hence, it didn’t understand.
It was still hesitating and didn’t run away immediately or kill the big creature that invaded its space because that big creature seemed to be dead.
It couldn’t feel any vitality from that big creature. Also, the big creature’s body was full of blood and wounds. In his world, no one could survive such a serious injury. It could only be eaten.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})But that big creature looked similar to it, so it couldn’t eat it.
The little creature climbed into the cave through the hole. A black figure was curled up at the bottom of the cave. Its eyes were closed, and there was no movement. It looked dead.
The little creature squatted beside the black shadow. It lifted its hand and poked the black figure’s butt. It muttered, “Why isn’t the body decomposing? It’s so big. If I drag it out, I’ll damage the entrance.”
It frowned in frustration and sighed loudly. Although it was vigilant, it wasn’t experienced. The current situation had exceeded its understanding. Therefore, it couldn’t decide what to do.
“What if it’s still alive? Maybe I should move… but I’ve been searching for two days and haven’t found a good place to hide. If I leave now, I might get eaten at night.” Fear appeared in its eyes as it recalled something frightening.
Feeling lost and anxious, it stood up and circled the big creature twice. Then, it kicked the creature angrily.
“It’s all your fault.” It was still furious, so it gave the creature another kick.
Bang!
The silent black figure suddenly moved after this kick. He slowly opened his eyes. His pupils were pitch-black, but they were giving off a bright glow.
The little creature had only seen such a bright glow in the night sky before.
But, its heart was filled with fear. A chill ran down its spine.
It stepped back quietly, pasting its back tightly against the corner of the cave. It tried to hide its body in the shadow and inched towards the entrance of the cave.
Unfortunately, reality never followed one’s wishes. The two bright pupils accurately landed in its direction.
