William thought he had grabbed onto something solid, but after he lifted himself into the thick blanket of leaves, he saw that all his hand was resting on were the leaves themselves. His grip on the tree’s trunk tightened exponentially in fear of falling through.

He wrapped his arms around the trunk and reached out with his foot to lightly step on the floor made of leaves, frowning when it felt like it was solid. He dug his fingers into the grooves of the trunk to ensure it wouldn’t slip before using all of his strength to stomp his foot in the same spot.

There was a dull thump from the foot landing firmly on the tightly packed leaves, but other than that, nothing happened. William couldn’t even see an imprint of his boot on the leafy floor. He had no idea how this was possible when that was almost the exact spot where he had climbed into this area. In fact, most of these leaves had nothing supporting them underneath. No thick branches, and now that William thought about it, the leaf floor seemed to just... exist. As if it was separate from the trees themselves.

And speaking of the area, he had been too fascinated with how the leaves acted like a solid platform to pay much attention to his surroundings. Something that infuriated William while also making him wonder when it would bite him in the ass.

He shook his head and focused on examining the surroundings. Much like the forest below, it was surprisingly well-lit, considering there was a ceiling made of leaves that looked identical to the floor. Or was it not surprising because of the similarity? Either way, it would take another climb of twenty-ish meters to reach the ceiling, but he was in no rush to do so.

William noticed that all the trees he had seen below were also here, with their trunks extending past the leafy ceiling. However, there wasn’t much present other than that.

Compared to the forest floor, this place was… dead. Other than the sounds William caused himself by moving his hands on the trunk or his feet stepping on the leaves, it was utterly silent. William swore that he could hear his own heart beating if he paid close enough attention, and it was starting to beat faster.

He tried to shake off the sudden nerves before realizing he might be stuck in this place. If a full-powered stomp did nothing to mark the leafy floor, there was almost no hope of returning to the forest. There was the option to use his Impact Boots, but even if it did work, all it would accomplish was falling to his death.

Before his thoughts could spiral out of control even more, William tried something simple before falling into the rising panic. He simply attempted to retrace his steps with the way he climbed up. William didn’t see how it could work since the spot where he stomped his foot was only inches away from the trunk.

However, his eyes grew wide when his foot sank into the leaves. William didn’t stop to wonder why and carefully climbed down, a broad smile on his face when his whole body was out of that leafy hell. He let go of the trunk and jumped onto a platform-like branch before letting out a strained chuckle.

Whatever that place was, William thought he would rather deal with that Draebern thing instead of having to hear his own panicked thoughts magnified. As silly as it sounded, it heavily reminded him of the void once he stopped being distracted by the floor and took in the surroundings.

He wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his palm and sat down, intending to relax and perhaps get some cultivation in, when he heard a faint, scratching sound that seemed to be getting louder steadily.

The panic that had finally been subsiding suddenly returned with a vengeance. William inched closer to the edge of the platform-like branch and peeked, pulling back immediately before he was discovered.

That damned Draebern had returned. And it was pawing at the branch that had been his bed when he was in a possible coma. William didn’t dare to dawdle with his next decision. He immediately reversed his belief that he would rather deal with the monster than go back up.

William climbed up into the green leaves that covered the forest as quickly as possible while trying to avoid catching the Draebern’s attention. He had been sorely mistaken about how massive the beast was when he had previously seen it, and there was no doubt that it could eat him in one bite.

Thankfully the sound of the monster’s scratching and sniffing was muted the instant his entire body was above the leaves. This time, instead of panicking, William was happy to hear his heart beating rapidly. That meant he was still alive.

After all, what was a little panic in the face of being eaten alive in one bite?

William clung to the trunk for a few seconds as he took another look around, wondering if he should try his luck and stay here for a day or so until the Draebern left. Only then realizing that there was no reason that it couldn’t follow him up here.

He crushed his fear and finally let go of the tree trunk acting as his lifeline, carefully stepping on the floor with no safety. William exhaled when he didn’t fall to his death. Still, he didn’t linger long due to that relief. He had to get away from this spot.

Before that, he used his nails to leave the deepest cut possible, which ended up being a tiny scratch. Still, that should be enough for him to tell this tree apart from others.

William’s first few steps were slow, wary of experiencing a sudden free fall, but when that never happened, the slow steps quickly changed into sprinting. Though, it wasn’t quite an all-out sprint. He was still trying to be mindful of new dangers that might be hidden in this strange place.

Surprisingly, to William’s happiness, there was no danger to be seen. Just an endless green floor, a similar ceiling, and the massive tree trunks that acted like pillars with significant gaps in between.

The only thing that accompanied William was the sound of his own breathing, the slight movement of his feet landing on the leaves, and his rapidly beating heart. It felt like his thoughts were repeating to fill in the complete silence. He didn’t stop until he could sense the fatigue creeping up on him. He moved to the closest tree trunk to lean on and rest.

William took deep breaths, trying to keep it as silent as possible while staring in the general direction he ran from. If that thing followed him up, there was no way it could move about silent enough that he couldn’t detect it. Not with how quiet this place was.

When William could hear nothing that suggested danger was nearby, that should have been enough to finally let his mind rest. However, something was niggling in the back of his mind, warning him that this place still wasn’t as safe as it seemed.

Maybe it was his already present uneasiness at the eerie quiet, but he was quick to accept that feeling and listen to his impulse.

William could either climb back down to the forest or see what could be beyond the leafy ceiling. Both were similar risks since he had no idea what was waiting for him on either side.

He wanted to wait until he recovered most of his stamina, but he thought he caught the slightest of movements in the distance. It wasn’t the Draebern, that he was sure of since the movement came from one of the tree trunks in the distance. William thought it looked a little greener in color compared to the dark brown trees that seemed far more common. Still, at this distance, it could simply be the color of the green leaves that made up the floor and the ceiling tricking his eyes.

That didn’t mean William would stay here and hope he was right that it was a trick. He immediately tried to climb down to the forest, but cursed loudly in sheer panic when his feet met a solid floor. He tried a couple more times to see if there was another spot that would allow him to leave, but they all had the same result.

Since climbing down wasn’t an option, William would see if he would have better luck climbing up. All he knew was that there was no way he would be staying here. Perhaps he could find a better environment to relax until enough time passed.