Darkness consumed everything.
The pain slowly faded, replaced by a deep, quiet emptiness. No sound. No light. Just an endless void. And yet, Athena felt strangely at peace. The weight on her mind dissolved, as if her old world had only been a long dream that had finally ended.
Then—
Whoosh.
A blinding light burst forth from the void—warm and brilliant. Something pulled her body—gentle yet strong—and in an instant, the darkness vanished.
Athena opened her eyes.
She sat up with a sharp gasp, her heart pounding. Her blue eyes blinked against the sunlight filtering through a canopy of trees. The glow was so bright, she groaned and shielded her face with her hand.
"W-what…was happened…?"
Her own voice sounded foreign to her ears.
She looked around—forest.
A thick, green forest with leaves swaying gently in the breeze. She was sitting on soft grass that tickled her skin, still dressed in her school uniform, now smudged with dust.
Suddenly, it all came crashing back.
The blood. The pain. The gunshot.
Reflexively, Athena grabbed her stomach.
But… no wound. No blood.
Just a whole, living body.
Huff...
She let out a long breath. A mix of relief and confusion.
But peace didn't last long.
A rustling from the bushes made her flinch.
From the tall grass leapt a strange creature—like a rabbit, but with bright red fur and golden eyes. It was the size of a housecat, and its body shimmered faintly like glowing embers.
The creature sniffed the air and stepped closer to Athena.
She held her breath and slowly reached out a hand.
But the moment her fingers brushed its warm fur—
Zzaap!
"Agh!"
She yanked her hand back, feeling a static jolt.
The creature made a strange purring sound, then darted back into the undergrowth.
Athena blinked.
"What the hell was that?"
She looked around again. This world… was strange.
The sky was too blue—almost greenish.
The air was too clean.
The trees were too tall.
And the birds chirped in melodies she'd never heard before.
Athena pressed a hand to her forehead.
"The fuck… is going on…?"
Her whisper was swallowed by the calm breeze.
Was this a dream? A hallucination? Some kind of insane prank?
She didn't know.
But one thing was certain—
She was no longer in her world.