The forest was quiet.
Not the kind of silence that scares you…
but the kind that slowly pulls you in.
Calm.
Almost too calm.
There were places between the trees where the darkness felt thicker… heavier.
I avoided looking at them.
Something about them felt… wrong.
Strangely, I didn't feel like running.
If anything… I felt like lying down.
The wet grass beneath my feet looked inviting.
Maybe I could just sleep here.
Just close my eyes and let everything fade.
This whole trip… it's the strangest thing I've ever experienced.
Almost like I've become the protagonist of some story.
And honestly…
I don't hate it.
I've always wanted attention. We all did.
But at the same time…
it's not enough.
It's never enough.
There's always something more I want… something deeper.
I looked around.
The forest felt like an innocent little monster.
Soft.
Quiet.
Patient.
Waiting.
And for some reason…
I wanted to fall for it.
Lu kept walking.
Not because he wanted to+
but because his body had already decided for him.
It was as if something inside him was slowly taking over…
like an unconscious self consuming the real one,
wearing it,
perfectly,
until even the difference disappeared.
A faint glow flickered in the distance.
Fire.
A group of people sat around a campfire, talking intensely.
Their voices overlapped, sharp and restless.
For a moment, relief washed over him.
So there *are* others here…
But then again…
Why haven't I seen anyone else until now?
One of them stood up and walked toward him.
His steps were uneven.
His eyes unfocused.
"Hey… kid…" he slurred. "What are you doing out here this late?"
Before Lu could answer-
"Who are you talking to?" someone shouted from behind him.
Another voice laughed.
"He's drunk. Talking to trees now?"
Lu froze.
The man in front of him was looking *directly* at him.
Wasn't he?
A strange chill crept in.
They… can't see me?
He reached out, grabbing the man's arm-
His hand passed through.
Like air.
Like nothing.
Lu's breath caught in his throat.
The world flickered.
The figures around the fire began to distort.
Edges breaking.
Voices stretching.
The man in front of him glitched, his face tearing apart in fragments before slowly fading.
One by one, they disappeared.
Not vanishing-
but separating.
As if two worlds were being peeled apart,
leaving behind a thin, fragile layer between them.
A layer Lu could still see through.
But not cross.
He ran.
Back toward the resting area.
His mind felt heavy and empty at the same time.
Thoughts wouldn't form.
Everything felt disconnected-
like his own body didn't belong to him anymore.
Then-
Impact.
A tree.
Pain shot through him.
Why…?
Why is this happening?
Why why why-
"Lu!!"
A voice broke through.
Alex.
He was running toward him, breath uneven.
"I've been looking for you! What are you doing here?!"
Lu tried to speak-
but nothing came out.
His chest tightened.
His mind spun.
Then suddenly-
"WHY IS THERE NO ONE ELSE ON THIS ISLAND?!"
The words tore out of him.
Alex froze.
"…what?"
"Why didn't we notice it before?!" Lu's voice cracked. "Why didn't *we* think about it?!"
"Lu, calm down. Didn't we rent the whole island?"
"How can we rent a government island?!"
Alex's expression shifted.
Confusion.
Then doubt.
Lu didn't wait.
He ran.
Back to the resting area.
"What the hell is going on with this island?!"
Everyone turned.
Murmurs spread.
"What do you mean?"
"Have you all not noticed?" Lu shouted. "We are the only ones here!"
Silence.
Then realization.
It spread slowly-
like something waking up inside them.
Something they had forgotten.
People rushed out.
Running.
Looking.
Searching.
Nothing.
No tourists.
No staff.
No one.
Just them.
Panic broke.
In the chaos-
a hand grabbed Lu's wrist.
Zhan.
"Come with me."
Before Lu could react, he was dragged away.
"Ah-! My hand, that hurts!"
Zhan stopped instantly.
"…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
"It's fine but have you-"
"I know," Zhan cut in quietly.
Lu froze.
"…you know?"
"I know why there's no one here."
A pause.
"…why?"
Zhan spoke.
But the words-
never reached him.
Just fragments.
Broken sounds.
Like something blocking them.
"…what? I didn't hear you. Say it again."
Zhan repeated.
Still nothing.
Only distortion.
"…what are you saying?"
The sky split.
Clean.
Like glass cracking.
Three layers.
Reality… dividing.
People- far away, were being pulled into one of them.
Swept.
Erased.
Zhan tightened his grip.
And suddenly-
they were moving.
Not walking.
Not falling.
Sliding into one of those layers.
Everything twisted.
The sky spun-
or maybe the earth did.
Or maybe…
time itself.
Stars and moon began moving backwards.
Faster.
Faster.
Night.
Day.
Night.
Day.
Over and over-
too fast to follow.
They were underwater.
Then land.
Then sky.
Then something in between.
The world changed.
Familiar to half...
and Unfamiliar to other...
the unfamiliar part faded away.
Like it was never meant to exist.
Lu looked up.
A small tree… floating.
His clothes were torn.
His hands-
stained.
Dark.
Blood?
Or something else?
He turned slowly.
And there-
stood a figure.
An old woman.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
And then-
everything went silent.
- end of season 1