Deep in a forest with gigantic trees and a deep blue lake, stood a small camp. A steaming pot rested over a campfire, and a few metres away, a modest tent blended in with the surroundings.
Inside the tent, a young man slept soundly. He was no more than twenty years old, with hair as black as night and skin as pale as the moon. His body writhed in the canvas, as if tormented by a nightmare that was impossible to escape.
After several minutes of restlessness, his eyes finally snapped open, startled and disoriented.
-The crack! -he exclaimed.
I looked around, trying to understand what was happening. I was inside a tent made of a strange brown material, like the tanned skin of some wild creature.
My clothes were no longer my usual pyjamas. I was now wearing black leather trousers, high boots with thick heels, and a helmet stitched in leather, decorated with dark patterns in shades of grey and black.
I left the tent, still confused, trying to figure out where I was... or at least, what kind of dangers were in store for me after I stepped through the rift.
The last thing I remembered was standing in front of a terrifying giant... and then hearing a robotic voice echoing in my mind:
[You survived the... of the...]
-What? What do you mean, survived?
And what was I supposed to have survived? Clearly, that thing crushed me... didn't it?
And what else did it say after that? I don't know... suddenly, a wave of panic engulfed me, like a thick fog clouding my memories.
The only thing that was clear to me was that somehow this was all related to the rift in the sky.
-My mind is shrouded in fog," I muttered to myself.
Trying to calm myself, I took a deep breath and prepared to leave the camp. But first, I grabbed a sword that had been lying next to me when I woke up. I didn't know if it would be useful, but in this world, where guns and firearms reign supreme, some protection never hurts.
The first thing I did when I came out - almost instinctively - was to look up at the sky.
As I suspected, there was no sign of the rift.
Above me stretched a blue sky dotted with white clouds, and beyond, in the distance, a colossal shadow emerged. It looked like a castle suspended in the sky, perched on a gigantic floating platform made of earth and rubble.
I stood for a moment contemplating this impossible silhouette. Then I looked down and saw, not far away, a huge wolf - at least two metres long - lying on the grass. Spurts of blood flowed from its side, and next to it lay what appeared to be its internal organs.
I blanched slightly, putting my hand to my mouth, trying to hold back the nausea. My stomach, empty until then, churned with a mixture of disgust and despair.
I looked away, trying to avoid the scene. Then I saw the pot on the stove.
Don't tell me...
The idea of eating wolf soup was not exactly tempting, but at that moment I could think of nothing else that could appease the hunger that gnawed at my insides.
So, without thinking too much about it, I sat down by the fire and began to eat.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)