Consciousness trickled back to you slowly, a dense, acrid fog roiling in the depths of your mind, so impenetrable that even your name momentarily eluded your grasp. Overpowering this confusion was an all-consuming agony, a pulsating inferno radiating from the core of your being and igniting every nerve into a searing blaze. The pain was so much more than you had ever felt before, you had broken a bone once when you were younger and this was far worse. Your body spasmed with every thump of your heart, each thump springing forth a new moment of pure pain.


    It was only as the pain lessened after an unknown amount of time that you were finally able to crack your eyes open. Bright, unfiltered sunlight burned into your eyes making you flinch and close them again. With some careful squinting, you were able to readjust your overly sensitive eyes to the bright morning of…


    A forest?


    Gone was the cocoon of your room, the dozens of blankets you''d collected and hoarded over the years. Instead, you found yourself enveloped by dense, twisted-looking trees that you did not recognize at all. As far as you could see, which wasn''t very far, there was none of the normal straight-trunked oak that you were familiar with, instead, the trunks of this forest twisted and twirled on themselves as if they were dancing to some unseen beat.


    A shiver ran down your spine as you stared out at the unfamiliar landscape, ''where the fuck are you?''


    The pain was now a dull, nagging throb, akin to the aftermath of a strenuous workout, a universal ache that stretched from head to toe. However, the mental fog remained, a thick veil obscuring your memories, making you feel lost in your own mind. Attempting to remember anything about yourself was like grasping at smoke, elusive and intangible. But you refused to be an empty shell, a husk devoid of identity.


    Marshaling your will, you plunged into the depths of your mind, resolute in your mission to unveil its secrets. As the pain flared, like a supernova exploding in your consciousness, the fog began to dissipate. Memories emerged, fragments of a life lived. You remembered your family, your adorable little sisters with their infectious laughter, and your loving parents with their comforting presence. Your life is… painfully average in a lot of aspects, and anybody who might have looked at it might have called you a boring person. That was fine though, you were okay with being boring as long as you were happy.


    That was all though, everything else remained hidden behind the fog, and every attempt to clear it was met with intense pain. It wasn''t enough, you still couldn''t even remember your name but it would have to do for now.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    What you focused on instead was the clear stream that you only now noticed a few feet away from you. It burbled gently and enticingly with water that looked like heaven itself, Iwantedit, badly.


    You heaved, forcing your aching body onto your stomach and without even a moment of hesitation to consider how much it would hurt you started crawling your way towards the stream. To your incredible concern, your legs were numb, feeling as if you had just slept on them and they refused to move. You had to use your hands to drag your body towards the stream and when you took that first sip of water it was like a wave ofecstasycrashing against the still radiating pain!


    With each gulp, the pain receded, like a rising tide ebbing away, as if the water was washing away the invisible acid gnawing at your existence. Relief washed over you as feeling began to slowly return to your legs and with a sigh of contentment you gently laid yourself on the surprisingly comfortable grass. You weren''t sure how long you laid there but eventually, your legs felt tingly and you got up to stretch them out and ensure you hadn''t been paralyzed or something.


    That''s of course when you noticed a small abnormality in the timid blurry reflection of the water. Your face looked… smooth and clean,fartoo clean.


    "Wha…" Your question stopped short as yourfar too high-pitchedvoice came out. Your breath began to come in shorter and shorter bursts, your mind whirled with confusion as you tried to make sense of what the fuck was going on with you. Shaky hands rose and curved along the smooth unrefined jawline that you now had.


    Your legs failed you and you crashed into the forest floor as what exactly was happening began to set in. And at the same time, a boiling pot of anger was added to your confusion.


    Your emotions raged within you like a maelstrom as possibilities floated through your mind, a desperate attempt to make sense of whatever the fuck was currently going on. Was this the work of extraterrestrial beings? Or had you somehow stumbled into the plot of an Isekai novel? The notion of a cosmic anomaly transporting you to a fantastical realm while simultaneously reversing your age seemed preposterously far-fetched.


    A strange high-pitched groaning sound echoed throughout the forest and you along with the normal forest noises fell silent. One tense moment passed on the next as neither you nor anything else in your vicinity was able to force yourselves to move, fear licked at the back of your mind as you tried to convince yourself that whatever that was it probably was more scared of you than you were of it.


    The spell over you was eventually broken as the noise began to return to the forest. The chirping of birds, the rustle of grass from small critters. It made you glance around, hoping that seeing something familiar would put your mind at ease but the dense twisted forest offered no clues about what creatures lurked within it.


    You sighed, gazing at the small stream and deciding that getting out of this place sooner was better than never.