World of Equa

Cael, initially stunned by what had just happened, slowly began to realize the predicament he was in.

He had been transported to a different world — the world of Equa, to be precise. A world where people had supposedly been appearing ever since the invention of the first nuclear bomb — or so the rumors claimed.

This was a world where magic existed and could be harnessed by both people and monsters.

Some had greater talent than others, but one thing was certain — everyone could use it to some degree.

What Cael couldn't understand was how this had happened. Before transportation, one was supposed to experience symptoms like hallucinations or nausea. He had felt neither.

That can wait for another time, he told himself. He needed to find shelter first. This world was teeming with monsters that would kill him without a second thought just so they could survive.

These monsters possessed abilities granted through prolonged exposure to the natural mana in the air, and it was common for them to share similar powers.

That was one of the reasons he needed to find shelter — only then could he start investigating what kind of creatures roamed this part of the world.

But then, he noticed the fruits hanging from the branches in front of him. One looked like a hybrid between an apple and a pear. It had a strange purplish hue with shades of blue. The tree it grew on had twisted branches, as if trying to wrap around themselves.

The tree to his left had spikes protruding from its base and stood about 20 meters tall, making Cael feel like an ant. Veins hung from its branches, almost inviting him to climb and grab a handful of its walnut-shaped fruit.

Saliva began to pool in Cael's mouth. He had never seen such a diversity of trees — nor their crops. Something deep inside urged him to pick one.He hadn't eaten in days, and only he could describe the desperate desire welling up inside him.

It felt as if the forest itself was calling to him — telling him to pick, to taste, to lie down on the cyan-colored grass and rest for the first time since he was born.

As he took a step toward the tree with the twisted branches, he noticed something peculiar.A thought that had been bothering him since the moment he arrived here — something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Maybe it was the fact that he hadn't shown any of the usual symptoms of dimensional travel.

Or perhaps it was that he hadn't had a single moment of rest since entering this world.

Whatever it may be, it can wait till I've stuffed myself full, he muttered, craving the overwhelming sensation of eating until he couldn't anymore. Oh, how euphoric that would feel.

The closer he got, the more details he could make out — the subtle color changes of the pear-apple hybrid, the texture of the yellow leaves which, like the branches, twisted into spirals — downward or upward, depending on how you looked at it.

But all of that became background noise to Cael, drowned out by the forest's ever-growing pull.

The closer he came, the stronger it became. Soon, he wasn't even in control of his own body.Every fiber of his being had agreed on one thing — he had to taste that fruit.

Once he was at arm's length from the most appetizing-looking fruit he could find, he stopped. His eyes started to turn hollow. The kind of emptiness you find when looking at a dead animal — a body with no soul, no consciousness.

The tree started moving. At first, its leaves rustled, making you believe it was caused by the wind by how harmonious it looked. But then the branches began moving.

They started to move in a fluid-like motion, like the waves of the ocean, slowly finding their way to Cael's arms, pulling them towards the tree.

The once dark-red pigment of the bark began to shift to a more abysmal black, ready to swallow even the most brilliant of light.

But then something even more terrifying happened — the bark began to crack open, parts of it shattering in the process, causing hundreds of splinters to fly into the air.

After a good chunk of the bark stopped splitting, a harrowing sight could be seen — or rather it couldn't be seen because the tree was hollow, its insides covered with sharp teeth, capable of ripping through even steel.

Cael, still being pulled by the branches, was struggling inside. It felt like something else had taken charge and he could only watch from the sidelines as his body was being dragged to its inevitable death.

He could still control his body though, but only a limb. Even then, he had to muster all of his willpower just for it to change its trajectory slightly.

All he could think of was how unlucky he was right now. Most people were stranded somewhere close to civilization — maybe they had to fend off a few beasts to get there, but most of them made it out in one piece.

That couldn't be said for him though. He would be considered lucky to make it out alive — give or take a few limbs, if not all of them.

His brain was working overtime to find a solution — there had to be one.

That's because every power came with a cost in this world — even beasts couldn't escape from this rule.

Maybe it was how long it could take possession of its prey, he thought, but quickly dismissed the idea as it wouldn't matter. One, because there were only a few meters between him and his gruesome death, and second, even if he was able to escape from this one beast, there were still a dozen or more beasts with the same kind of powers waiting for him to step into their trap.

He believed he was royally screwed this time, as there was no escape. My luck finally ran out, he thought to himself.

"Well, it was a good run while it lasted… What am I saying? It was horrible. All because of the scumbags who left us rats alone in the slums, making us fight for food they threw away without a second hesitation," he said to himself, rage boiling up inside him.

"But at least I won't be dying in the slums, where those savages will be selling my body in the black market to some weirdo who collects body parts," he muttered to himself, finally making peace with his cruel death which was only seconds away from him. He began to close his eyes using the last bit of mental energy he had, so he didn't have to witness his scrawny body being torn into shreds.

But then everything stopped.