The interior of the forest was far worse than the exterior. Even the ground was, pitch black. You could barely see anything inside. Unfortunately for me, my eyes had readjusted to seeing light as the sun rose up, so I couldn’t see much inside. The sun was like a blessing and a curse at the same time.

The trees were quite big, big enough to cloud the sun itself. Not a single ray of sunlight came through. All I heard was the murmur of the stale and stagnant wind. Maybe the wind was telling me something but how would I understand that? However, the smell was anything but pleasant. It was pungent and rancid. It made me want to throw up. I didn’t have anything in my stomach otherwise I’d have thrown up a long time ago. I could feel the chill running down my spine, my blood going cold and of course my face leaking liters of sweat. How in the world did I have so much water left anyway?

Without paying much attention to my surroundings, I continued straight. I don’t know if it was a good idea or not but there was no other way. For some reason, I felt attracted to going straight north. I went straight ahead! Fortunately, nothing was there that attacked me, at least not physically. Mentally? I was dying inside.

I saw dead things at every corner of the forest but they were stagnant. Not even one tried to attack me, as though they couldn’t see me at all. There were plenty of types. Even the bugs on the ground were rotting corpses. When they crawled over me, I shook with disgust.

***

After an hour or so of walking (if you call limping walking than yes I was walking!) I reached the heart of the forest. However there wasn’t any special monster here like the bosses you’d find in fantasy games.

There was a simple half naked, almost worn, white statue of a beautiful woman with wings. Maybe because of my throbbing left leg, my inner desire to see beauty had died at this point for I didn’t feel anything as I looked at the statue. Then again I never had that desire to begin with.

“Welcome, wanderer.” An eerie voice echoed and I felt like that my heart would stop.

“Who…! Who’s there!?” I shouted with my shivering voice. However as l looked at the statue I saw that the statue’s eyes were alive and it was talking without moving its mouth. That felt rather creepy than actual horror.

“Welcome. I am Misrael. An angel tasked to protect this place and all its living.”

The angel spat out those words and to me that seemed rather sketchy. Honestly why would an angel be at such a place. I was at a point where I didn’t even doubt their existence, but why would an angel of all things be in a dark forest filled with undead? If it was an overlord or some kind of large undead, wouldn’t that make more sense? I was glad that it wasn’t the case though.

“Can you tell me what this place is? I don’t know how I got here.” Without complicating things with my useless thoughts, I blurted out the one most precious question that had been bothering me since last night.

“You are in Destoa. This world is called the dark realm. For how you got here is a mystery to me as I don’t know either,” the angel spoke in a matter of fact way.

My whole body was tensed. My adrenaline rush could only last for so long. I was on the verge of collapsing from the backlash of it. “The dark realm!? What is that? Then what the hell am I doing here!”

“Calm down. This world is called the dark realm as even the gods are unable to solve its boundless problems. The mere fact that you can understand me is a miracle in itself. I can only speculate that a being of higher order has summoned you to this realm. And that would also explain why you are still alive.”

I wasn’t prepared to hear that. Should I be grateful that my lifelong wish of escaping into another world had been granted or mourn as the world I was forcefully lashed on to was nothing anyone (Even evil geniuses) would dream of? In any case I was beyond mortified. “That’s a lot to take in! And what do you mean still alive? Do you have any idea what I went through? ”

“I have watched over you from the moment you came into existence in this world. An undead goblin’s teeth have deadly venom. Why do you think you are still alive after all that and even moving no less?” The angel didn’t let me catch a breath.

“Enough of that! How does one get out of such a world and return to their own!?” Ignoring her words, I said what came to mind. I didn’t need a lesson on what kept me alive, rather I needed to know how the hell I’d get out of such a place.

Her voice didn’t have a sense of hesitation. She was talking like there were no worries in the world. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t spot any undead in that area near the statue. “That is not possible. You would require help from a greater entity than me. A god would be a good example.”

“What! How do I ask a god!?” Although this was a stupid question I didn’t know any better.

“I cannot answer that,” she murmured. That was the first time her speech faltered, if only a little.

And so, I went for the next best thing. “How do I get out of this damn forest then?”

“This is the sacred forest of Daine. You should traverse to the north of here. You will come across a human village. Afterward travel to the city of Moire or the forest of the elves. You will find some answers there: one of my kin is near Moire. You have a very arduous journey ahead. I will protect you for as long as you are inside the forest.” Her words were like blessings. It made me feel better, but my heart never calmed down.

Who names such a forest, sacred? And you say that as though it’s not your problem!

Well, it made sense. Why would the angel have a problem with me going through the pain of traveling in this forsaken land? So that’s why those monsters didn’t attack me?

Without my consent, a sigh escaped my lips. ” What do you mean you would protect me?”

“I was placed into this forest for the sole purpose of protecting the people from the undead. However, after five thousand years, my powers have weakened. Thus I cannot keep them blinded in the night but I can still protect you during the day.”

Well, I shouldn’t have expected any better from a few millennia-old angel. Wait, millennia? Thousands of years! Somehow I felt genuine pity. I was here for just a single night and I felt more than just terrible. I couldn’t even imagine what the angel had gone through. “I see. You have my gratitude. So my being alive wasn’t a miracle after all.” Annoyed as I was I still felt grateful to the statue.

“Hurry! In your current condition, you would not last the night and even if you do, you will surely die because of the poison. If you hurry, you might reach the village by noon.” The angel’s voice had a hint of urgency.

I would die even if I survive. That’s reassuring! My head was fuzzy. I couldn’t really feel anything anymore. I wanted to sleep. I wanted to lie down. I wanted to be in my room. But the reality was cruel. “I understand. I would hurry.” I wanted to hurry but my body had different plans. It didn’t even want to take another step.

Her words made my heart skip a beat. It’s not often you hear someone giving a precise warning of the time of your death!

“I will cast a simple blessing on you to heal you. However as my powers are weakened, you won’t be fully healed.”

“Wait, a blessing? Magic exists here then….” I had no idea how I came to that conclusion but I was probably right. It wasn’t a surprise though. After seeing the skeletons and moving corpses, magic couldn’t really surprise me.

“Yes,” said the statue and further shouted, “Go forth light, bless and guide this soul for he too traverses the unknown, ‘Sacred rays’.”

I guess these things have names too. I didn’t say it out loud though.

With rejuvenating light, the intense throbbing diminished but didn’t disappear completely. I looked at my leg and it was somewhat healed and I could even put my weight on it now without getting the feeling to cut it off. The skin was almost sealed but it wasn’t something I could leave alone untreated for long. “Why do all this for me?” I asked.

“Nothing is for free. Maybe one day you will return the favor by freeing me from this curse. My lord and most of my kin are already gone. So, I wish to return by their side.”

I smirked. I newfound stamina was her gift after all. And I wasn’t ungrateful either. “So I’m just, insurance? Very well. If such a time ever comes I shall free you. Goodbye Misrael.”

“That is all that I hope. May the gods be with you wanderer.. And farewell.”