With my vision blurred, I felt a firm hand gripping my shoulder. The hold was so secure that, before I realized it, my body lifted off the ground as if I weighed nothing. There was no roughness, but no gentleness either; it was the strength of someone used to carrying things far heavier than me… or people far more damaged.

  He was saying something.

  Or at least, I thought he was.

  I couldn’t make out the words. They were broken phrases, low sounds mixing with the persistent ringing inside my head, as if someone were speaking underwater. For a moment I thought it was just my imagination playing tricks on me, but seconds earlier I could have sworn I heard him clearly.

  He spoke. To me.

  There was no one else around. I had been completely alone for two entire days in that forest… or at least that’s what I believed.

  Pressure touched my lips. Something hard. Cold. Maybe a bottle. Or a vial.

  He wanted me to drink.

  My first instinct was to refuse, but my body didn’t respond. I couldn’t open my mouth. My lips were sealed, my jaw rigid, as if it didn’t belong to me. Not even gravity helped; it was like trying to move a stone using only willpower. And even if I could… why would I drink some strange fluid from a stranger in a world that tried to kill me at every step?

  When I didn’t react, another hand settled under my chin. It held firmly… and pulled.

  My jaw snapped loose.

  The pain was immediate and sharp, enough to force my eyes wide open, though my vision remained completely blurred. I had no time to react. The liquid was already going down my throat—warm, thick, with a bitter taste impossible to identify, like crushed herbs mixed with something metallic. I tried to cough, or at least I tried, but the next thing I knew, my body slammed against the ground.

  This time, I felt the impact.

  I took several deep breaths, as if my body had suddenly remembered how to do it on its own. The air rushed in violently, scraping my throat. Little by little, sensation began to return. The intense pain faded into a constant, heavy ache, but bearable. I could feel the ground against my back again, the roughness of the earth, small stones pressing through my clothes.

  My nose picked up scents I hadn’t noticed before: wildflowers, damp hay, fresh soil after rain. They were living smells. Real. My joints began to remember how to move, as if waking from a long numbness.

  My sight stopped being a chaos of shadows.

  The darkness covering my eyes slowly dissipated, revealing an imposing figure in front of me.

  I looked at him from the ground.

  And I couldn’t help but feel small.

  My eyes opened wider than I thought possible. I lifted my head with effort and, almost by reflex, dragged myself backward without looking away. I didn’t know exactly why; I just felt I had to get away, even if only a few inches. A tree stopped my retreat immediately.

  There I stayed.

  Looking up at him, fear running through my body like a cold that didn’t come from the weather.

  He had a feline appearance. A cat… but not one that could be compared to anything I had seen before. He stood upright with ease, surpassing two meters in height, dominating the space around him with a presence that seemed to fill the air itself. His gray fur, speckled with darker spots, glimmered faintly under the light, as if absorbing the shadows of the place instead of reflecting them.

  A bow worn from use hung across his back. Just above his thighs, he carried a small leather pouch, and at his hips hung two more, each holding a steel dagger that looked ready to move almost by instinct. His clothing was rough, functional: durable fabric, reinforced leather, tall boots, and well?adjusted straps, like someone who had spent far too long away from any kind of civilization.

  A traveler.

  One who doesn’t fear facing the unknown… or who no longer has anything left to fear.

  His face, though distinctly feline, had an unsettling air. His large, steady eyes seemed to examine me completely, as if he were not just looking at my body, but something deeper—something even I didn’t understand.

  I could sense the contained strength in every muscle beneath his fur and, even so, the way he tilted his head slightly or adjusted one of his pouches gave the impression that he was measuring each of my movements, evaluating risks, possibilities… my worth.

  I didn’t know if I should fear him or remain completely still.

  But something in the way he held his bow, in how his daggers rested without urgency, told me that all that power wasn’t there solely to harm. I didn’t understand why, but that feeling mixed with fear, creating a strange pressure in my chest.

  Besides, whatever he had given me… it was definitely working. My mind was clearing and the pain had lessened considerably. I was still injured, but I no longer felt like I was dying second by second.

  I stayed calm.

  I was almost sure he wouldn’t hurt me.

  If that had been his intention, he wouldn’t have bothered speaking to my corpse.

  “Are you going to stare at me like that all day or what?”

  He spoke.

  The gray cat spoke.

  And he did it in perfectly understandable Spanish.

  The shock hit harder than any wound.

  “N-no…” I stammered. Even though I was almost sure he wouldn’t hurt me, my nerves didn’t cooperate. “Why… why did you help me?”

  He raised a brow, clearly puzzled by the question, as if it weren’t something people usually asked.

  “Do I need a reason?” he replied, uninterested. “I just saw a pathetic animal on the brink of death that needed a potion.”

  The animal… was me?

  I swallowed, feeling a slight burn in my throat from the liquid he had forced me to drink.

  “I thought I was alone,” I muttered, my tone sad and pitiful even to my own ears.

  “All the more reason to be curious.” A light chuckle formed on his lips, ruffling his whiskers. “Your stats are worse than mediocre, and yet you’re still alive in this place.”

  I didn’t understand what he was talking about.

  Beyond the nest of worms and the creature that had watched me while I was paralyzed on the ground, I hadn’t seen any obvious danger… though, thinking about it, maybe that only proved how little I understood about this world.

  “Though it might be because of that strange skill you have,” he added, watching me with greater interest.

  Stats? Skill?

  At no point had a game window appeared when I arrived in this world.

  What a scam.

  “Excuse me, Mr. Cat…” I began cautiously, weighing every word. “What do you mean by that?”

  His expression changed instantly.

  “Did you just call me… a cat?”

  A murderous look emerged in his eyes. At the same time, sharp claws slid out from his fingers with a dry sound. Panic hit me full force, lashing through me like a whip. I thought he would slit my throat right there, without further explanation.

  The only thing I could do was bow my head and slam it against the ground in a desperate gesture.

  “I’m very sorry, sir!” I said, raising my voice without quite shouting. “I have no idea about anything that’s happening here. I just asked.”

  My body trembled.

  In my mind, I prayed and begged not to die.

  “You don’t have to do anything,” he said suddenly. “Lift your head.”

  I obeyed, still shaking. I felt my pulse in my throat and a faint tingling in my hands. I looked straight at his face as he crouched in front of me, closing the distance without stopping his analysis.

  “What is it that you don’t know?”

  The question hit me in a strange way. I didn’t know where to start.

  “Absolutely nothing.”

  His ears twitched slightly, as if that answer confirmed something he already suspected.

  “Where do you come from?”

  “I came from deep in the forest. I walked for two days.”

  Saying it made me aware of how absurd it sounded. Two days wandering in a place I barely understood… and I was still alive.

  “Do you at least know what I am?”

  Each word I spoke made my voice crack a little more, as if my body still didn’t accept that I was talking to… that.

  “No…”

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  He clicked his tongue with a dry sound and stood up fully. In his eyes, I could see something like frustration mixed with a hint of disbelief.

  “Get up. You can do it now, right?”

  I nodded almost imperceptibly.

  I tried.

  I placed one hand on the ground and the other against the trunk of the tree behind me. The rough bark dug into my palm, giving me a firm reference point. My body responded slowly, as if every muscle had to remember its function from scratch. The pain was still there, but no longer that unbearable stab from before; it had turned into a dull, constant pressure that warned me not to push too hard.

  Even so, I managed to stand.

  My legs trembled, but they didn’t give out. Exhaustion was what bothered me most now, a heaviness running from head to toe, as if I were carrying an invisible load. I took several deep breaths until I could remain on my feet, even halfway.

  “Good,” he said, watching me carefully, as if assessing whether I would break at any moment. “Take that branch over there.”

  He pointed with one finger to the side. I followed the direction of his hand and saw a thin branch lying among the damp grass.

  “That will keep you standing,” he continued. “It’s more resistant than it looks.”

  I bent down carefully and picked it up. As soon as I leaned part of my weight on it, I noticed it didn’t bend or creak as expected. It was firm, solid—almost too much for something so thin. I used it as an improvised cane and felt my balance improve immediately.

  “I want you to try to make a campfire,” he added. “It’s almost night. Just wait here and don’t move no matter what.”

  I didn’t ask anything.

  I just nodded.

  There was something in his tone that didn’t invite questioning.

  I slowly turned to gather some dry leaves and fallen branches nearby. The branch worked perfectly as support; any kind of wood in this place seemed to have skin of steel, as if even nature had hardened to survive.

  When I turned around to say something else, to ask him anything…

  He was already gone.

  There was no sound. No footsteps moving away. No branches breaking.

  Only his footprints remained marked in the damp soil and a sudden gust of air hit my face, lifting leaves and dust around me.

  I swallowed.

  “Great…” I muttered to myself, not knowing whether to laugh or worry more.

  What choice did I have?

  I started gathering dry leaves, small branches, and everything I found on the ground. It was practically the same thing I had done the first night I spent in that deadly forest, only this time there was much more material available. The environment seemed to cooperate, as if the place itself offered me what I needed… or as if someone had already been there before.

  Night didn’t take long to arrive.

  By the time I finally managed to light the campfire, the sky was already dyed in purple and orange tones. That hypnotizing sunset appeared again, slowly fading to make way for darkness. The shadows stretched among the trees, and the forest began to emit deeper sounds, more alive… or more dangerous.

  The fire crackled, and for a moment I felt almost safe.

  A gust of wind lashed my face.

  “I thought you wouldn’t even manage that. But it’s fine.”

  I turned around, startled.

  He was there again, as if he had never left.

  Before I could even vocalize a response, he blew softly. A bubble of water came out of his mouth, floating in front of him. At the same time it inflated, he slipped a hand into the leather pouch and pulled out some strange herbs, with irregular shapes and dull colors. He introduced them into the bubble without it breaking.

  I stared at him, unable to decide whether I was witnessing magic or some kind of technique I couldn’t comprehend.

  “If I’m not mistaken, this is a wound from earth corvids.”

  I assumed he meant the worms that attacked me. From the way he spoke, he seemed to have plenty of experience in these lands. Still, I had no idea what he was saying, so I just looked at him with obvious confusion.

  He sighed, long, like someone resigned to explaining the basics.

  “They’re earth worms that usually stay below the surface and attack anything with vitality,” he explained. “Sometimes the queen, Jaws, goes out hunting on her own when she’s gone too long without feeding.

  Even though she can survive up to a year without eating.”

  A year.

  A chill ran down my spine.

  “Well…” I said cautiously. “I fell into a trap underground where those worms attacked me, and during the fall one of that ‘queen’s’ teeth pierced my shoulder.”

  His expression changed instantly. His eyes widened in surprise… and something closer to horror.

  “How the hell did you get out of a corvid nest and with the queen right there?”

  “It wasn’t that deep,” I replied, shrinking a bit. “And there weren’t many of them. In fact, you found me like that because I got out just in time, before that huge thing swallowed me alive.”

  He didn’t stop looking at me as he refocused on the floating bubble, but now he did so with a different attention.

  “Those things dig dozens of meters underground… if not a hundred,” he said. “The corvids attack from all directions and suck your insides until there’s nothing left to take. The queen eats the remains, bones included. She consumes the mana left in the near-corpse and swallows you alive. They almost always end up buried and die suffocated.”

  He paused.

  “And you’re saying… it wasn’t deep?”

  “Y-yes… I think.”

  “That skill of yours must be very good,” he murmured. “Its name can give an idea of what it does, but even so… it’s rare.”

  There he said it again.

  “Hey,” I intervened, gathering courage. “You said I have a skill, but I don’t know what you mean.”

  He looked at me again, with the same confused expression I must have been showing.

  “Don’t you have an appraisal seal with you?”

  “What’s that?”

  He frowned, visibly annoyed now.

  “How are you walking through the forest of Sylvaena, not knowing you have a skill, with stats almost below a normal person, and without weapons?” he examined me from head to toe. “Are you really from this world?”

  The question hung in the air.

  I felt the weight of his words fall over me harder than any wound. My throat dried. It wasn’t just curiosity in his gaze; it was a mix of suspicion, disbelief… and caution.

  I didn’t know how much I should say.

  I didn’t even know if telling the truth was a good idea.

  But being honest with myself, I had nothing to lose.

  If I lied now, if I tried to pretend I understood something about this world, sooner or later he would notice. And if that happened when I was alone, injured, or in the middle of something worse… I didn’t want to imagine it.

  I swallowed.

  “No…” I finally said, in a low voice. “Not really.”

  He froze completely.

  His hands, which had been around the floating water bubble, stopped in the air. The sphere had already changed color, slowly turning pink, as if reacting to something invisible I couldn’t perceive.

  An uncomfortable silence fell between us. I could hear the crackling of the campfire, the distant murmur of the forest, and my own heart pounding hard in my chest.

  “I wasn’t asking that seriously,” he finally said, stunned. “Are you serious?”

  Maybe I looked like an idiot.

  Or maybe something like this had never happened before and he didn’t know how to react.

  I didn’t look away.

  “I am.”

  He said nothing more.

  The liquid bubble finished changing color. Without warning, he undid the improvised bandage I had made with my shirt and directed the substance straight at my shoulder.

  The cold night air brushed the wound before the liquid covered it completely.

  “This will help with the poison.”

  “P-POISON!?” I exclaimed, unable to contain myself.

  “Of course,” he replied calmly. “Besides the queen’s venom, who knows what else you might have gotten infected with.”

  The bubble expanded slightly when it touched my skin. I felt an intense tingling, followed by a cold sensation that seeped deep into the wound, as if something invisible moved inside, cleaning.

  “The bubble will help clean the shoulder,” he continued. “The medicine goes in and tries to cover as much as it can, while impurities come out and remain trapped in the water. I don’t know much about herbalism or medicine, but I know these roots and herbs will at least help control whatever they did to you.”

  He paused, watching the liquid change tone.

  “In a place like this, knowledge is more important than skills.”

  I watched the fluid move, darkening in some areas. Seeing my own blood mix with that strange substance churned my stomach, but the pain was clearly decreasing, almost miraculously.

  My breathing stopped being so heavy.

  “You seem experienced…” I murmured. “How old are you?”

  He looked at me sideways, doubtful. By his appearance he seemed young, but the way he moved, his strength, and the way he spoke said otherwise.

  “Thirty-two.”

  I blinked.

  “Wow… I thought you were only a few years older than me,” I admitted. “I’m barely seventeen.”

  There was a brief silence.

  I realized too late how strange it had been to ask his age before his name.

  “By the way…” I added awkwardly. “What’s your name?”

  This time he didn’t hesitate.

  “Rhaz,” he replied. “That’s my name.”

  He said it naturally, without emphasis, as if it weren’t particularly important.

  “It’s a good name,” I said.

  “Not really,” he corrected me. “Names like mine are common. Only some variations change.”

  He removed his hands from my shoulder. The bubble was now full of a greenish fluid mixed with dark blood.

  “How do you feel?”

  I moved my shoulder carefully. First a little… then more.

  I expected pain. It didn’t come.

  “I can move it,” I said, surprised. “I thought I had already lost it.”

  “You still need a healer,” he replied. “There are internal wounds I can’t treat. And the queen’s venom doesn’t disappear easily; it’s more corrosive than lethal. The lesser worms weaken you until you’re immobile.”

  He watched me for a moment, evaluating how I held my body weight.

  “But now you’ll be able to walk enough.”

  “Thank you…” I smiled, sincere. “Really.”

  He returned the smile, brief, almost imperceptible, more in the eyes than the mouth.

  “By any chance,” I asked, “do you have a map?”

  “No.”

  The answer was instant.

  “I don’t need one,” he added. “I guide myself by instinct… and by my skill.”

  I sighed.

  “I still don’t understand any of that.”

  He looked at me for a few seconds, as if deciding whether to keep explaining or let it go.

  “Are you hungry?”

  He didn’t let me answer.

  “I got venison. It would be a fatal mistake to say no. It’s exotic meat that not many are lucky enough to try.”

  He changed the subject in a second. I didn’t know if he was being kind, if he was already tired of answering questions, or if he was simply hungry and needed a break. I didn’t want to insist, so I just nodded and followed him.

  “O-okay,” I stammered. “Only because I haven’t eaten meat since I arrived.”

  He seemed impressed again, as if everything I said confirmed some idea he had about me. He didn’t comment further and focused on preparing the food. When he brought his hand near the leather pouch hanging from him, it emitted an intense glow. From inside he pulled out a huge piece of meat.

  I still didn’t understand how something like that could fit in there.

  I expected him to also take out a pot or some kind of pan, but instead he took a metal rod and pierced the meat from side to side. Then he held it over the fire, letting it cook slowly.

  Fat began to drip, crackling over the flames.

  I knew I shouldn’t expect great culinary talent. I felt a little bad for having thought that, maybe because of his wild appearance. But he seemed like a good guy. I liked him, even with the little interaction we had.

  Even so, my past lives told me not to trust so easily.

  I never listened to them. Not even knowing everything that came after.

  “You only ate fruits all this time, right?”

  “That’s right.”

  “I imagine they were lythras or corvales,” he continued. “They grow in abundance and satisfy both hunger and thirst. If you hadn’t found them in the dead zone of the forest where you were, you would have died. There are no drinkable water sources here.”

  “There were quite a lot…” I said. “You mean the green and brown fruits? I almost died trying to figure out what could be eaten and what couldn’t.”

  “You’re worse than a novice.”

  He shook his head in disapproval, though a light laugh slipped into his expression. In the end, he was still a feline.

  In a few minutes, the meat took on a soft brown color and gave off an intense aroma that made my stomach contract hard. Rhaz tore the piece, leaving part skewered on the rod like a skewer, and offered it to me. I thanked him before taking a bite, but by then he was already devouring his.

  It was rough. He almost seemed not to taste anything.

  It was supposed to be something exotic. To me, it was like pouring caviar into a glass of water and drinking it in a single gulp.

  It was funny, because I had never tasted caviar.

  I was barely blowing on the meat so I wouldn’t burn myself when he had already finished his. The fat hadn’t even stopped crackling over the fire. I didn’t know if his entire species ate like that or if that was simply his way: fast, efficient, without distractions.

  “Done,” he said, wiping his hand with the back of his wrist. “I needed fuel to keep going. Now then… you can ask me whatever you want. I’ll gladly answer.”

  My mind was still elsewhere when he finished arranging the food. I was still processing everything he had told me earlier, but I nodded with a nervous smile.

  “Well… don’t regret it. I’m going to ask absolutely everything that comes to mind.”

  One corner of his mouth lifted.

  “Challenge me.”

  I took a breath.

  “What is this place? What world am I supposed to be in?”

  “Starting strong,” he replied, settling beside the fire. “Fine, I’ll give you a summary… as short as possible.”

  He leaned slightly toward the flames, and the orange light outlined the feline features of his face.

  “Right now you’re in ARKHE. A world divided into seven continents, separated by vast and dangerous seas. We’re on the western continent: Virelia. Think of it as the domain of trees. Here nature rules over everything else. Beasts are abundant, wildlife… and things you’d rather not encounter.”

  He gestured vaguely toward the darkness of the forest.

  “It’s a territory where many races coexist without strict restrictions. There’s no central monarchy like in other continents. What exists is the Continental Council, which represents Virelia and handles external relations, agreements… and conflicts.”

  He paused briefly, making sure I was following.

  “The entire continent is connected by the Ancestral Tree Lythaen, which rises at the center, in the kingdom that bears its name. It’s a sacred tree. It gives life to Virelia’s flora and maintains the natural balance. It’s said it can grant eternal life… and that its mere presence protects these lands.”

  The fire crackled between us.

  “When other nations collapse, Lythaen will be the last thing left standing. It was a gift from Ga?ra, the mother goddess of nature. Many come here just to ‘evolve’ their skills, because the number of monsters and challenges, both above and below ground, is absurd.”

  I let out a weak laugh.

  “It sounds too incredible… was that the summary? It felt super long.”

  “Believe me,” he said without offense, “I simplified everything as much as I could. ARKHE isn’t a place you explain in two sentences. What else do you want to know?”

  I stared at him, stunned. Monsters, ruins, a vast magical world… and I had barely taken a bite of meat.

  “I know,” I said. “You mentioned something about my skill and a seal. Explain that.”

  He nodded with a thoughtful grunt.

  “That’s more complex. The appraisal seal isn’t a skill, but a tool. It’s obtained through a special tattoo placed on a hand. It’s expensive, but essential for explorers or those seeking to join the Order of the Assigned. It allows you to analyze your own skill more clearly. Without it, you’d only have vague intuitions.”

  I listened without blinking.

  “Unique skills are used as a basis to evaluate those who enter those guilds. It’s not rare to have one… but it’s not common either. They’re personal. They’re shaped according to personality, intentions, physical and mental capacities… and other factors scholars still don’t fully understand.”

  He pointed at me, without touching me.

  “Yours is called Anima Sylvae. The seal translated it as ‘The Soul of the Forest.’ I don’t know exactly what it does, but I’d bet it’s the reason you’re still breathing. These skills don’t have defined limits. They can evolve… though no one knows how or when.”

  His eyes reflected the fire.

  “Magic is like the ocean: vast, deep… and almost unknown.”

  I tried to engrave every word into memory.

  “And the Order of the Assigned?”

  His expression hardened slightly.

  “It’s a worldwide organization of warriors certified by their strength or skills. They contain threats, explore, protect, gather dangerous resources. They also accept commissions. They’re bound to nothing; they choose missions and deliver results. They’re divided into ranks, from Awakened to Anchors. A boring system… and overrated.”

  He clicked his tongue.

  “They think they’re heroes for hunting gray wolves. When something real emerges from the ocean… they disappear.”

  “From the ocean?”

  “Creatures of the depths never stop evolving. No one knows why. That’s why vestiges are almost never seen anymore.”

  He smiled faintly.

  “And yes, I know you were going to ask what those are.”

  I let out a nervous laugh.

  “Vestiges are those who broke their mortal limits after receiving blessings from primordial concepts. Those concepts are avatars of the gods who shaped existence. If one favors you, it can bless you. It doesn’t make you a god… but it breaks your ceiling.”

  The fire crackled, throwing sparks.

  “Blessings always have conditions. Goals. Offerings. Rebuilding temples. Fulfilling wills. Each continent holds at least one concept. Here, they say Ga?ra’s avatar rests in ruins beneath Lythaen.”

  I brought a hand to my head.

  “Now I’m dizzy…”

  He let out a soft laugh.

  “You’re young. To understand all that, you’d have to become much stronger. Besides… you’re a weakling.”

  “Wow. Thanks for the motivation.”

  His laugh was more natural this time.

  “You should sleep. Tomorrow I’ll tell you the plan to reach the nearest village.”

  I tensed.

  “So… you’re coming with me?”

  “Of course. Would you rather I leave you here for a dragon to split you in two?”

  “No… I thought you’d just give me directions.”

  “No way. I don’t abandon someone defenseless in the forest. Besides, I already finished what I came to do. You’ll be safe. Sleep.”

  I lay down on the ground still warm from the fire.

  “Will you stay there all night?”

  “For a while longer.”

  I closed my eyes.

  Maybe I shouldn’t trust so fast.

  But he saved me.

  He spoke to me honestly.

  And for the first time since I arrived in this world…

  I’m going to trust someone.

  Just this once.