Chapter Text
The rain had not stopped for hours.
It clung to the windshield in restless streams, blurring the city lights into smears of gold and white as Gusion drove through the empty road alone. Midnight had long passed. The streets were quiet enough for him to hear the uneven sound of his own breathing over the low hum of the engine.
Everything felt distant tonight.
The radio spoke softly somewhere in the background, its voice muffled beneath the storm, but Gusion was not listening anymore. His fingers rested loosely against the steering wheel. Exhaustion dragged heavily behind his eyes, slow and suffocating, as though sleep had been following him for days and had finally caught up.
A red light reflected across the wet road ahead.
He blinked once.
Then twice.
For one strange second, he thought he saw someone standing in the middle of the street.
A figure in red.
Still.
Waiting.
Gusion’s breath caught.
The headlights struck the silhouette fully and the world suddenly snapped apart.
A deafening horn screamed through the rain.
White light burst violently across his vision.
Metal twisted.
Glass shattered.
Something slammed hard into his chest.
Then came the sound.
Not loud.
Not sharp.
Just a horrible crunch buried beneath ringing ears.
The steering wheel crushed painfully against him as the car spun sideways across the slick road. His head struck the window with enough force to split his thoughts apart into fragments of light and static. The taste of iron flooded his mouth almost instantly.
The world tilted.
Rainwater poured through broken glass.
Somewhere nearby, people were yelling.
Or maybe they were far away.
Gusion could not tell anymore.
His body no longer felt attached to him. The pain existed somewhere distant now, muffled beneath layers of numbness spreading slowly through his limbs. He tried to breathe properly, but every inhale felt shallow and wrong.
Warm blood slid down the side of his face.
His eyes trembled weakly.
The storm outside became dimmer.
The flashing headlights around him stretched strangely, melting into long streaks of color that no longer looked real.
Then darkness swallowed everything whole.
No pain.
No sound.
Nothing.
Grass brushed softly against his skin. The feeling of nature gently caressing his cheeks. Gusion’s brows furrowed faintly.
For a while, he remained still.
The air smelled sweet.
Not like rain.
Not like smoke or gasoline or blood.
Flowers.
The wind moved gently through tall grass nearby, carrying the faint rustling sound of leaves overhead. Warm sunlight rested against his face, calm and golden, as though the world itself had exhaled quietly around him.
Slowly, Gusion opened his eyes.
Purple.
That was the first thing he saw.
Endless patches of purple flowers surrounded him, swaying beneath the sunlight in slow waves that stretched far beyond where his eyes could follow. Tall trees towered in the distance, their branches woven together beneath a sky painted in pale afternoon gold.
The light filtering through the leaves looked almost unreal.
Too soft.
Too perfect.
Gusion remained lying there silently, blinking at the sky above him.
His thoughts felt sluggish.
Disconnected.
Then memory struck him all at once.
The road.
The rain.
The crash.
His body jerked violently as panic flooded through him. He pushed himself upright too quickly, nearly stumbling over the flowers beneath him as he looked around wildly.
“What...?”
His own voice sounded strange here.
Too quiet.
Like the world was swallowing the sound before it could fully exist.
Gusion turned in circles, heart pounding harder with every passing second.
There were no roads.
No buildings.
No people.
Only flowers.
Trees.
Sunlight.
An endless forest stretching endlessly beyond sight.
Fear crawled coldly down his spine.
“Hello?”
Nothing answered him.
Not even birds.
Only the distant rustling of leaves.
Gusion’s breathing quickened. He began walking aimlessly through the flowers, their soft petals brushing against his hands and legs as he moved. The deeper he wandered, the stranger the place became.
The sunlight never felt hot.
The wind never felt cold.
Everything existed in perfect balance.
Perfect stillness.
It made his skin crawl.
Hours passed without meaning.
Or maybe minutes.
Time moved strangely here.
Sometimes the trees looked farther away than before.
Sometimes the flower fields seemed endless no matter how long he walked.
At one point, Gusion stopped moving entirely, staring silently at the forest ahead.
He could have sworn the trees had shifted positions.
The realization made unease twist painfully in his chest.
“This isn’t real,” he whispered.
No answer came.
The sky slowly deepened into orange.
Sunset approached quietly, spilling amber light across the endless sea of purple flowers. Shadows stretched longer between the trees while the wind grew softer, gentler, quieter.
And somehow that frightened him even more.
Night felt wrong here.
He did not know why.
But every instinct inside him screamed not to be alone when darkness came.
Gusion swallowed hard and forced himself to keep walking.
The flowers thinned gradually as he neared the forest. Tall grass brushed against his knees while branches overhead tangled together densely enough to dim the fading sunlight.
The deeper he went, the quieter the world became.
No insects.
No animals.
Nothing alive.
Only the sound of his own footsteps.
Then—
Something moved behind him.
Gusion froze instantly.
His breath stopped.
Slowly, he turned around.
At first, he saw nothing except the darkening forest.
Then red appeared between the trees.
A figure stood motionless beneath the fading sunlight. He remembered he was the only living soul who lived in this endless bliss. Gusion’s stomach tightened. The man wore a red kimono dark enough to resemble spilled wine beneath the shadows. Black fabric covered the lower half of his face, hiding everything except his eyes.
Or what should have been his eyes.
Gusion stared harder. His vision blurred strangely whenever he tried focusing on them directly, as though something invisible distorted the space around the man’s face. The sight unsettled him immediately.
The stranger stood completely still among the flowers, his black hair shifting softly with the wind.
Watching him.
Gusion took an unsteady step backward.
“Who are you?”
The man did not answer.
His silence felt calm rather than threatening, but somehow that only made everything stranger.
Gusion’s pulse hammered painfully in his throat.
“Where am I?”
No response.
The figure tilted his head slightly instead.
Like he was observing him. Studying him.
The setting sun painted soft gold across the red kimono, catching against the dark fabric mask covering his face. Up close, he looked almost unreal beneath the fading light, like something woven directly from the forest itself.
Not human.
Not entirely.
Gusion should have run. Every logical part of him screamed to run, but exhaustion weighed too heavily through his body now. Fear had slowly burned itself numb over the long endless hours of wandering. And strangely, the man did not feel dangerous.
Unsettling.
Yes.
But not cruel.
The wind moved quietly between them.
Gusion glanced toward the darkening trees around him before looking back at the stranger again.
Night was coming fast.
His throat tightened slightly.
“I don’t know where to go.”
Still nothing.
The masked man stared at him for a long moment before finally turning away.
Gusion blinked.
The stranger walked slowly deeper into the forest without a word.
For a moment, Gusion remained frozen.
Then panic surged through him again.
“Wait.”
The man stopped walking.
Gusion stared at the darkening woods ahead before swallowing hard.
“…Can I come with you?”
Silence.
The wind rustled softly through the trees overhead.
Then the stranger continued walking.
Not rejecting him.
Not accepting him either.
Just moving forward.
Gusion hesitated only briefly before following after him.
The forest dimmed steadily around them as sunlight disappeared behind endless branches overhead. Purple flowers gradually gave way to narrow paths lined with moss-covered stones and pale roots twisting through the earth.
The stranger never once looked back to check if Gusion was still following.
Yet somehow, his pace remained slow enough for him to keep up.
The silence between them stretched strangely peaceful.
Uncomfortable at first.
Then merely quiet.
Gusion found himself watching the red fabric shifting gently with each step ahead of him. The kimono sleeves brushed softly against tall grass while loose strands of black hair caught beneath the evening wind.
He still could not see the man’s eyes properly.
Every attempt left his vision distorted.
Blurry.
Like trying to remember a forgotten dream.
“…I’m Gusion,” he said quietly after a while.
No response came.
But the stranger slowed very slightly.
Gusion stared at his back.
“You really don’t talk, huh?”
The wind answered for him.
Strangely enough, that made Gusion laugh softly beneath his breath.
The sound disappeared quickly into the forest.
Ahead, faint golden light finally appeared between the trees.
A small wooden house rested quietly beneath the darkening sky, half-hidden beneath vines and overgrown flowers. Warm lantern light glowed gently behind paper windows, illuminating the surrounding garden in soft amber hues.
Gusion slowed.
Relief hit him so suddenly it almost hurt.
The stranger stepped toward the house calmly before sliding the door open.
Warm light spilled across the ground between them.
For the first time since waking in this impossible place, Gusion felt the tightness in his chest loosen slightly.
The masked man stood silently by the doorway, waiting.
Gusion looked at him carefully.
Even now, standing this close, he could not fully understand what he was seeing.
The black mask concealed almost everything.
The blurred eyes felt distant.
Unreachable.
Yet beneath all the unease crawling through his body, another feeling slowly began taking shape.
Comfort.
Small.
Quiet.
Dangerous.
Like warmth found in the middle of nowhere.
Gusion stepped inside. Behind them, the forest swallowed the last traces of sunlight whole.
The inside of the house was warmer than Gusion expected.
Soft lantern light flickered quietly against wooden walls, casting long amber shadows across the floor. The air smelled faintly of old wood and something herbal he could not recognize. Everything inside looked strangely untouched, as though nobody had lived there for years and yet every object remained perfectly in place.
The masked stranger slid one of the paper doors shut behind them.
The sound echoed softly through the silence.
Gusion stood awkwardly near the entrance, unsure what he was supposed to do now. His exhaustion had settled heavily into his bones, but the unfamiliarity of everything around him kept his body tense.
The stranger moved soundlessly through the room before kneeling near the corner of the house. He reached for a folded mattress resting neatly beside the wall and carried it toward Gusion.
No words.
No expression.
He simply held it out quietly.
Gusion blinked before slowly taking it from his hands.
“…Thanks.”
The man dipped his head slightly.
That was all.
Gusion watched him carefully while setting the mattress onto the wooden floor. Up close, the silence surrounding the stranger felt even stranger somehow. Most people filled silence naturally with movement or breathing or unconscious sound.
But him—
He felt almost ghostlike.
Like the house itself had shaped a body from shadows and fabric and placed it gently in front of him.
The stranger walked toward another folded mattress placed near the opposite side of the room before lying down silently beneath the dim lantern light. The red kimono pooled softly around him while loose strands of black hair spread across the pillow beneath his head.
Within moments, stillness returned completely.
Gusion remained sitting upright on his mattress.
Watching him.
The black mask still concealed the lower half of his face, unmoving even now. It looked almost fused into the darkness around him. Gusion tried once again to focus on the stranger’s eyes, but his vision blurred strangely the moment he attempted it.
His head hurt faintly.
Like something inside him refused to see clearly.
Gusion finally looked away first.
“…This place is insane.”
No answer came.
The lantern flame flickered gently.
Outside, the forest remained unnaturally quiet.
Gusion laid down slowly against the mattress, staring at the ceiling overhead. The exhaustion in his body begged him to sleep, yet his thoughts remained restless beneath his ribs.
Nothing about this place made sense.
The flowers.
The silence.
The endless forest.
And him.
Especially him.
Gusion closed his eyes briefly, but sleep never came.
Minutes passed.
Or hours.
Time felt wrong here, as if it didn't make sense. Heck, did time even existin this realm.
Eventually, he sat up again carefully.
The stranger had not moved at all.
Gusion glanced toward the paper doors quietly before standing from the mattress. His footsteps remained soft against the wooden floor as he slowly slid the door open just enough to slip outside unnoticed.
Cold night air brushed against his skin instantly.
The garden behind the house stretched quietly beneath silver moonlight. Purple flowers swayed softly across the grass while pale light filtered gently through the endless trees surrounding the clearing.
It should have been beautiful.
And it was.
But something about it made loneliness ache painfully beneath Gusion’s chest.
He walked slowly into the grass.
The earth beneath his feet felt cool and soft as he lowered himself beside the flowers quietly. Above him, the night sky stretched endlessly dark.
No stars.
Gusion frowned slightly.
Not a single one.
Only darkness.
The realization unsettled him more than it should have.
He looked around again.
No insects chirped beneath the grass.
No owls called through the trees.
No distant animal sounds echoed through the forest.
Nothing.
The world felt completely empty except for him and the strange masked man sleeping inside the house.
A small chill crawled down his spine.
“…Seriously, where am I?”
His voice disappeared into the silence immediately.
Gusion reached down absentmindedly and plucked one of the purple flowers from the grass beside him. The petals felt soft against his fingers as he lifted it toward his face.
He paused.
There was no scent.
Not even the faintest trace.
The flower smelled like nothing at all.
His brows slowly furrowed.
“…What?”
Then suddenly—
The petals began to darken.
Right there in his hand.
The vivid purple color dulled rapidly, fading into gray while the flower itself curled inward unnaturally fast. Gusion stiffened in shock as the stem shriveled between his fingers. A second later, the flower crumbled apart completely. Dust scattered softly into the wind.
Gusion stared at the remains frozen in silence.
His pulse quickened slightly. The empty feeling inside this world suddenly felt much larger.
Much colder.
He looked down at the other flowers surrounding him.
Endless purple beneath the moonlight.
Perfect.
Untouched.
Waiting.
A strange unease twisted through his stomach.
For the first time since arriving here, Gusion genuinely wanted to sleep. Not because he was tired, but because being awake in this place suddenly felt wrong.
Very slowly, he stood up.
The grass whispered softly around his legs as he walked back toward the house. Lantern light still glowed faintly behind the paper windows, warm against the endless darkness surrounding the forest.
Gusion slid the door open quietly before stepping back inside.
The warmth returned instantly.
For a moment, he simply stood there silently.
Looking at the stranger sleeping nearby.
The masked man had not moved from before. His breathing remained soft and nearly impossible to notice beneath the dim lantern glow. One arm rested loosely beside him while dark hair spilled messily across the pillow beneath his head.
He looked peaceful.
Too peaceful.
Gusion found himself staring longer than intended.
Was he even human?
The thought appeared suddenly and refused to leave.
Everything about him felt wrong in subtle ways. The blurred eyes. The silence. The impossible calmness. Even his movements felt too smooth sometimes, almost detached from the world around him.
Like he belonged here.
Unlike Gusion.
Gusion stepped a little closer unconsciously.
The black mask hid almost everything, yet somehow it only made him more curious. What kind of face existed underneath it? Why hide it at all? And why did Gusion feel this strange pull toward someone who had not spoken a single word to him?
The masked man remained motionless.
Sleeping.
Or pretending to.
Gusion exhaled quietly through his nose before finally turning away.
“…I’ll figure you out tomorrow.”
The words came out softer than intended.
He returned to his mattress slowly before laying down again beneath the lantern light. This time, exhaustion dragged him under almost immediately.
Outside, the endless field of purple flowers swayed silently beneath the starless sky.