1 Chapter 1: A Pair of Mismatched Eyes

It was a quiet peaceful day just like any other ordinary day in this godforsaken forest. A forest deprived of life, and with so few of animals that do inhabit it, all vegetation had grown out of control.

During the day, this forest was like a barren desert filled with green.

At night, like the hunting grounds of the shadows and a trap packed with dangers only appearing peaceful and harmless on the outside.

This forest had existed for millions and millions of years. Existing ever since one could care to remember. Whoever goes into this wretched forest was never seen or heard from ever again. Over time, many clueless---and rather reckless---people have tried to go into this forest.

The end result was as expected and was no shock: they vanished. Disappeared. MIA.

Some's family members tried to search for them in vain and, in the end, they too disappeared.

They all never came out of the forest. This preternatural occurrence struck fear into the hearts of every town and village in the surrounding area and beyond, spreading through word of mouth. The widely believed tall tales exaggerating the farther out they spread and dispersed.

Now, this forest and its surroundings are completely empty of living souls, only highly adaptable and the most domineering predators still live here.

On a certain night, the usually quiet forest became eerily silent. As if the fake peaceful blanket covering this forest was forcefully peeled off, exposing it to the cold. Only the faint rustlings of foliage could be heard when listening closely. When blown by the wind, the leaves would make soft swishing sounds and sway to and fro following their own unique tune. Yet never daring to be too loud nor disturbing---as if afraid of angering something. Or rather, someone.

However, no one took note of this uncanny event.

This forest has been a mystery and a perilous zone for such a long time now that no one pays it any more attention than necessary, unless another family's injudiciously witless child had run off into that forest ergo creating the next day's mealtime idle chatter among all folks.

So unbeknownst to everyone, something with a minaciously frigid nature was awakened on that seemingly innocent silent night.

Soon afterwards, the forest went back to its usual enigmatic atmosphere and quietness with occasional croakings from poisonous toads and screeches from nocturnal birds and many other miscellaneous cries assembling into an ensemble performance of suspense and horror.

Low growls incessantly continued throughout the entire night causing chilling shivers to spread across the bodies of those who were asleep all the way till the break of dawn.

With the first rays of the rising sun, streaks of sunlight penetrated through the thicket of tree canopies. Shining their warm light onto the dreary morning forest floor. Moist morning mist drowned the entire forest in thick white, making it hard to see.

In the midst of this enveloping mist, a black-clothed figure could be seen sprawled across tree roots and the dirt ground. Blood could be found on his clothes, coloring his already dark clothes many shades darker. Strangely, all the cut-openings on his clothes did not reveal injured flesh.

Was this young man dead?

Taking a closer look, one could see how his chest was sinking in and rising up repeatedly with a steady rhythm. His shallow breathing resounded gently and feebly in the quiet forest---where even the bugs don't dare to cry---like small wisps of gentle wind. Slowly but surely, the sun began to rise from the east, casting intense rays of light that dispelled the remaining early morning's gift.

Shine. Twitch.

As a stray streak of light peeked through the foliage of the treetop, it descended coincidentally upon the unconscious black-clothed figure.

This streak of light spotlighted the figure's hand.

Maybe because of feeling the foreign warmth after a night of cold, his fingers twitched upon meeting its contrast. Or perhaps he was already ready to wake and the sunlight had served as the catalyst.

Either way, the young man soon opened his eyes, revealing a pair of mismatched eyes. His right eye was light blue while his left was a white-like silver color making it seem almost as though his left eye was blind.

Abruptly opening his eyes, he grunted. Feeling coldness and warmth at the same time traversing throughout his body from the top of his brain to the tip of his toes, he sat up.

Looking around himself, he saw bottomless dark holes between the trees all around him, giving off the feeling of sucking one's soul in the longer one stared into it, unable to be seen through. Surveying his surroundings, a sharp and cold glint flashed in his eyes. With alarm, he cautiously closed his heterochromia eyes and sharpened his intrinsic sensitive hearing to make it reach a new level---not missing a single sound or noise.

Sure that there were no threats around his immediate surroundings for the time being, he opened his eyes. Not lowering his guard at all, he checked his body's condition only to be stunned.

Peeling aside parts of his tattered clothing, he stared at the origin of the bloodstains yet finding nothing there. No wound, no scar, not even a scab.

Checking all his other numerous wounds, he ended up with the same finding for every one of them. Not even a single scratch was found on him to make it seem like he was even remotely injured, only the red stained clothes proved his previous experience true. Miraculously, his body was in perfect condition, apart from the fact that he had just woken up so his movements were still a bit slow and uncoordinated.

Standing up, he jumped to wake up his body that was numb from sleeping unprotected from the cold and the hard ground throughout the whole night and loosen his tense muscles. After a few minutes of stretching, the youth looking somewhere between 17-19 tried to recall what had happened before he blacked out.

With a thoughtful face, he remembered that he had been on a mission.

The trap disguised as a mission had taken his life.

Pressing his lips tightly into a thin line, a menacing light flashed through his beautiful pair of eyes as an explosively dangerous aura exploded out of him that was retracted just as soon as it'd appeared.

Anger and hatred touched his heart and clouded his mind. However, it only lasted momentarily. He would never let those feelings dictate him and cloud his judgement—that would only be a waste of time and effort. He deserved it anyway. He did kill their people. He knew that he would die one of these days as retaliation by those people for all the blood shed on his hands, even though they did deserve to die.

Either way, he didn't think revenge was possible. He had a feeling that he wasn't in the same plane of existence as them anymore if his surroundings had anything to say about it.

After all, he was sure he didn't die in a forest or anywhere near one.

And there's no way his enemies would simply throw him into a forest to be nourishment for the wild animals after they succeeded in killing him.

No. They'd most probably burn his corpse. Dismember him and feed him to the dogs. That's how deep their hatred of him is. Besides, he has no known relatives or family and nor does he even exist in any records, so there's no need for them to worry about being found out.

Additionally, Xing Liyun doesn't remember a forest like this one existing in his world. He was well-versed in his entire planet's geography and landscape, and he had also worked on a global-scale, so he would know if there ever was such a forest in existence. And he didn't, meaning it did not exist which strengthens the notion that he's no longer in the world he was born and raised in.

Furthermore, his sixth sense has never been wrong. And he trusts his instincts and guts more than anything else.

Looking up above his head, he saw a dense mass of leaves and branches blocking the morning sun's appearance.

Only peeks of light sneakily ran through the gaps between.

Angling himself to see the sun's position, or what part of the sun he was able to see in the clear, blue sky, Xing Liyun confirmed the time of day it was and set off to exit this forest.

However, with how deep in the place he woke up at was, it would take at least a week before he can reach the exit and not to mention that he wasn't even near the center area of the forest; this forest was just that large in area.

Taking this time to think, Xing Liyun ruminated about what he was going to do from now on. It's obvious that he was not in his old world and that he knows absolutely nothing about this new world of his.

The reason why Xing Liyun was so calm and accepting about the usually surprising-to-people fact that they have transmigrated is nonetheless because it was a waste of brain power and energy to worry about an unchangeable fact that has already happened. And because it would be more beneficial for him to think about what his game plan should be right now in this new world.

Moreover, it was not like he particularly cared about his old world, he had no more family there anyways. His only family member died when he was 12, and ever since then, he has been alone.

First of all, he needs to find out more about this world in order to truly map out what he is to do from now on.