(Theme: The Forest That Shouldn't Exist)
Light stabbed through Kaito's eyelids—soft, green, and unfamiliar.
His eyes flew open.
How am I alive?
His hand shot to his chest, breath hitching. His fingers found only smooth skin beneath the shredded remains of his shirt.
Why aren't there any injuries?
Panic and confusion tangled in his chest. He forced himself upright, dizzy from the rush.
Where… am I?
A world of impossible forest stretched in every direction. Tower-thick trees glowed softly from within, their trunks pulsing like veins. Bioluminescent moss carpeted the ground in electric blue. Neon pollen floated through the air, shimmering like strange snow.
The air felt alive—watchful.
A flash burned through his mind—
[VISUAL STATIC]
Mary's face—blood at the corners of her mouth, that fragile, fading smile.
Her body shielding his. The explosion swallowing the excavation site in white fury.
Her voice—"Kaito… do not cry… none of this was your fault…"
KRA-KOOM
His breath shuddered out. His hands—too clean. No scars.
A metallic scrape snapped him alert.
"Hey, you."
Kaito twisted, heart hammering.
A girl stood half-hidden in ferns that glowed like embers. Black armor clung to her like liquid metal. Goggles flickered with data streams. A jagged device in her grip shrieked alarms.
[SCREECH-BLIP! SCREECH-BLIP!]
She scanned him, frowning.
"Are you going to breathe or just stare at me?"
The scanner flashed:
[RADIATION LEVELS: LETHAL]
[DRAGONBLAZER SIGNATURE: NULL]
[BIOLOGICAL ANOMALY DETECTED]
Shadows moved—soldiers emerged. Armor sealed, rifles charged.
"Identify!"
No—not again.
"On your knees! Now!"
Kaito bolted.
FWOOOSH
Moss sparked beneath him. Vines lashed his arms, sap stinging his skin.
"Code Brown! He's running!"
Branches whipped his face. His lungs burned. He darted between glowing roots, mind racing.
For a heartbeat, his eyes flicked upward—
A black figure. Perched high on a massive branch. Still. Watching.
What is that?
No time. He tore forward, deeper into the jungle.
Then—SLAM
A weight crashed into him. He hit the moss hard, air blasted from his lungs.
Shit. They caught me.
The girl stood over him, visor cold, unreadable.
"Restrain him."
The soldiers pinned him to a tree with flex-cable. The bindings hummed faintly, tight around his chest and arms.
While they scanned and barked orders, Kaito worked at a jagged knot of bark. The cable frayed. Pain bit deep as he twisted—
—and slipped free.
He vanished into the jungle once more, breath ragged.
Then—the light dimmed.
A shadow fell over him. Immense. Swallowing the glow of the forest.
Kaito stumbled, dread forcing him to look up—
A dragon.
It blotted out the triple suns. Massive beyond reason. Its molten scales dripped slag. Lightning veined beneath its hide. Heat rolled from it, warping the air.
ZZZAAK-KRACKLE
Molten eyes found him.
A roar split the world—
GRROOOAAAAAAA
Kaito stood frozen. Prey beneath a god.
ORION'S NOTE: "Uh-oh…somebody's about to have a very bad day~" :D