A gasp tore through Giri's throat, his lungs burning as they filled with air.
"Air... I'm breathing?"
His eyes fluttered open to darkness. Rain pelted his face, each drop like ice against his skin. The ground beneath pressed cold and wet against his back, mud seeping into his clothes.
Dark clouds churned overhead, their depths illuminated by brief flashes of lightning. The downpour created sheets of water that limited visibility to mere feet ahead.
Giri's arms trembled as he pushed himself up. His head spun, the world tilting and swaying around him. A damp, earthy smell filled his nostrils, mixed with something else - something burnt.
He looked up. Beside him stood a tree, its trunk blackened and smoking despite the rain. Wisps of gray curled upward into the storm, the wood still smoldering from a direct lightning strike that must have happened moments ago.
"What... where am I?" His voice came out hoarse, barely audible over the storm's fury.
Thunder cracked overhead as Giri struggled to his feet. His legs wobbled, shorter and weaker than he remembered. The rain continued its assault, plastering his hair to his forehead.
"Help!" The call tore from his throat, higher and thinner than his normal voice.
"Help! Is anyone there?" His words echoed across the empty landscape, swallowed by the storm's fury.
He froze. That voice - it didn't belong to him. The pitch, the tremor, everything about it felt wrong. His hand flew to his throat, fingers touching unfamiliar skin.
Giri looked down at himself. His arms were thin, lacking their usual muscle. His hands appeared smaller, softer. Even standing upright, the world seemed larger, taller, more imposing than before.
His heart hammered against his ribs as understanding dawned. This wasn't his body. This was the body of a child.
The tunic he wore hung loose and damp, its fabric scorched black in places. The pattern of burns matched the lightning-struck tree beside him, as if the bolt had passed through him on its way to the ground.
His programmer's mind raced, trying to make sense of it all. The lab. He'd been in the testing lab. The chair, the neural interface headset, the searing pain of electricity coursing through his system.
"The VR connection," he whispered in that strange, young voice. "It must have..."
Vertigo swept through Giri's head like a whirlwind. His small hands grasped the charred bark, fingers digging into the rough surface. The texture scraped against his skin - each ridge and groove crystal clear, each splinter a tiny needle of sensation.
"This can't be happening," His child-like voice quavered. "Games don't feel like this."
The memory of the pod flashed through his mind - the searing electricity, the convulsions, the moment his heart stopped. A cold deeper than the rain seeped into his bones.
"Quit!"
The command echoed through the forest, lost in a roll of thunder.
"Logout!"
Rain streamed down his face, each drop a pinprick of ice.
"Exit!"
His voice cracked, desperation rising.
"Aeona, terminate!"
Nothing changed. No menu appeared. No loading screen. Just endless rain and darkness.
Giri's fingers flew through familiar gestures - swipes, pinches, taps that should have triggered interface windows. He pictured commands in his mind, willing them to manifest. But the forest remained stubbornly, terrifyingly real.
Thunder boomed closer, the sound vibrating through his chest. Lightning split the sky, illuminating the sea of trees stretching in every direction. For a moment, Giri glimpsed his reflection in a puddle - a young boy's face stared back, eyes wide with fear.
"This isn't right," His hands trembled as he tried another series of gestures. "There should be UI elements, menu options, something!"
But there was only rain, thunder, and the growing certainty that this was far more than any game he'd ever created.
Giri remained motionless, raindrops sliding down his skin in icy rivulets. Each drop sent a shiver through his small frame, the cold seeping deeper with each passing moment.
He lifted a trembling hand to his face, wiping away the mixture of rain and cold sweat. His fingers brushed against smooth skin, free from the familiar indent his glasses usually left on his nose. The world around him stood in sharp focus - each leaf, every branch, the intricate patterns of bark on distant trees. Details he hadn't seen without assistance since middle school.
"I can see," His child-like voice wavered. "Everything's clear."
The implications crashed through his mind like waves. Different body. Unknown location. The lightning strike. His heart stopping in that lab. None of it added up to anything good.
His gaze drifted to the scorched tree beside him, its trunk still smoking despite the downpour. The pattern of burns traced a path downward, matching the blackened marks on his tunic. The evidence painted a grim picture - this body, this child, had been struck by the same bolt that scarred the tree.
"Two deaths," The words slipped out in a whisper. "Mine in the lab, and..."
He couldn't finish the thought. His programmer's mind raced through the possibilities, each more unsettling than the last. Whatever had happened in that testing pod, whatever went wrong with the neural interface, had somehow trapped him here - in the body of a child who'd met a tragic end.
"This isn't a game," His fingers curled into fists. "This is…something else entirely."
Giri's mind shifted into problem-solving mode, pushing aside the panic and confusion. Standing here wouldn't provide answers - he needed to move, to understand what happened.
His eyes scanned the surrounding area. The hill's elevation offered a vantage point above the dense forest below. Through gaps in the trees, the land sloped downward in gentle waves, creating natural paths between the trunks.
A flicker of movement caught his attention. Through the curtain of rain, a column of dark smoke rose above the treeline. The sight stood out against the storm - smoke shouldn't rise in such a downpour unless...
"Someone's maintaining that fire," His young voice carried a note of determination. "Where there's smoke, there's people."
Giri took his first step toward the smoke, and pain shot through his leg. His muscles screamed in protest, each movement bringing fresh waves of agony. His lungs burned with every breath, as if they'd forgotten how to function properly.
"This body," He gasped, steadying himself against a tree. "The lightning must have..."
The memory of the testing pod's searing pain flashed through his mind. Compared to that moment of death, these aches felt manageable. He pushed away from the tree, forcing his small legs forward.
"One step at a time," He muttered through gritted teeth. "Just like debugging - break it down into smaller problems."
Each step down the hill sent jolts through his weakened body, but Giri pressed on. The smoke remained his beacon, a promise of answers in this strange new reality.
Through the curtain of rain, a howl pierced the air. The sound vibrated through Giri's small frame, a mix of high-pitched keening and deep bass that made his teeth rattle. His heart skipped - this wasn't the call of any natural predator.
"Crap!" The word burst from his lips as he forced his aching body to move faster, ignoring the stabbing pain in his chest.
The hillside fought against every step. Wet leaves and mud made the ground treacherous, while fallen branches reached out like grasping fingers to snag his tunic. Moss-slicked rocks threatened to send him tumbling with each careful placement of his feet.
Giri's breath came in sharp gasps as he crouched behind a dense bush, peering into a small clearing ahead. His eyes widened at the sight before him.
"Is that?... No way."
A creature crouched over its prey, tearing into flesh with savage intensity. Its form resembled a wolf, but everything about it was wrong. Coarse, matted fur covered its body, while bony spikes protruded from its neck in a grotesque parody of a mane. Each spike looked razor-sharp, designed for rending flesh. Below it lay the remains of some small, four-legged animal.
"Poor thing."
The creature's head snapped up, its snout twitching as it sampled the air. Giri's heart froze.
"Oh no."
It took a step forward, eyes narrowing as they fixed on his position.
Lightning split the sky, a brilliant flash that turned night to day. Thunder cracked simultaneously as the bolt struck the creature dead-on. Sparks exploded outward, accompanied by wisps of smoke. The beast's body went rigid, convulsing before collapsing to the ground.
"Did it... die?"
Giri didn't stay to find out. He scrambled backward, nearly losing his footing on the wet ground as he turned to flee. His feet carried him toward the distant smoke column, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the fallen creature.
"Let's not do something rash right now. Just keep moving."
Recognition dawned in Giri's mind as he fled. That creature - he knew exactly what it was. He'd spent weeks perfecting its design, tweaking every detail from the bone spikes to the matted fur.
He'd created it.
Giri's feet tripped onto solid ground, the abrupt stability beneath him a sharp difference from the perilous forest floor. A dirt trail lay ahead, meandering through the trees like a brown ribbon.
The smoke rose ahead, where the path curved around a bend. His body tensed, ready to follow that direction when something else tugged at his mind. A memory, but not his own.
"What is this?"
Images flooded his consciousness - this same path on sunny days, the earth warm and dry. The rhythmic thud of multiple footsteps, voices chattering and laughing. His small legs moving in sync with others, a sense of belonging washing over him.
The feeling hit him with such force that he had to steady himself against a tree. These weren't his memories - they belonged to this body, to the child whose form he now inhabited. Yet they felt as real as his own recollections of coding late into the night or visiting his mother.
"I've walked this path before," He whispered, then corrected himself. "No, this body has. Many times."
Safety. That's what these phantom memories whispered. This path meant protection, community, home. The feeling settled into his bones with absolute certainty, as natural as breathing.
"Almost there," The words came unbidden to his lips, driven by instinct rather than conscious thought.
His feet moved forward, following the dirt path with surprising surety despite his exhaustion. Each step felt familiar, guided by muscle memory that wasn't truly his. The smoke grew closer, and with it, the promise of answers.
Through the curtain of rain, Giri crested a small rise in the path. His breath caught at the sight before him. A wall stretched across his field of vision, but not the kind he'd expected. Thick logs thrust outward at sharp angles, their points gleaming wet in the dim light. The construction reminded him of defensive fortifications from medieval games, but the scale hit differently in person.
The barrier towered over the two guards stationed at its gate, their forms barely visible through the downpour. Their weapons glinted as lightning flashed overhead, catching the metal of their blades.
A voice cut through the storm from above. "By the gods - look there!"
Giri's legs trembled, threatening to give out. His vision blurred at the edges as exhaustion crept in.
"Wait, it's him!" Another voice called out, closer this time. "Someone tell Mari, we found him!"
One of the guards broke away from his post, boots splashing through puddles as he rushed toward Giri. The rain traced rivulets down his leather armor, metal plates reflecting the stormy sky above.
Giri tried to focus on the approaching figure, but his eyes refused to cooperate. His body felt distant, disconnected, as if floating away from his consciousness. His knees buckled.
Strong arms caught him before he hit the ground. The guard lifted him with surprising gentleness, cradling him against a rain-soaked chest. Giri had no strength left to resist, his small form feeling oddly weightless as darkness crept into the edges of his vision.
The guard's steady stride carried Giri through the village gates. Rain drummed against wooden roofs and cobblestone paths as they moved deeper into the settlement. Through half-lidded eyes, Giri caught glimpses of the buildings - solid structures of timber and stone that spoke of permanence and protection.
They passed the village square where a massive bonfire defied the downpour. Orange flames danced skyward, casting flickering shadows across the gathered crowd. Giri's blurry vision fixed on a hooded figure near the flames, their hands moving in practiced motions. The patterns triggered recognition in his mind.
"Vel!"
The voice cut through the rain like a blade, clear and commanding. Giri turned his head toward the sound, his neck protesting the movement.
A woman rushed toward them, her blonde hair tied in a practical knot that didn't quite contain all its strands. Her dress swirled around her legs - yellow and white fabric moving with a familiar grace that tugged at something deep in Giri's consciousness. He'd seen that style before, designed outfits just like it for his game's characters.
Her face bore the sharp lines of worry, but something about her features sparked recognition in Giri's mind. Not his memories, but this body's - a deep, instinctive knowledge that bypassed conscious thought.
The guard lowered him into her waiting arms. She pulled him close, her warmth seeping through his rain-soaked clothes. The contact felt right, natural, as if his small form belonged there.
Following that gut feeling, that bone-deep certainty, Giri whispered: "Mom?"
Her expression softened, tears welling in her eyes as she held him tighter.
"Vel! Where have you been?" Her voice shook with emotion. "I've warned you about going near the Whisperwind Glade. You've had me worried sick! Your father's already gone out looking for you."
The world began to fade around the edges. Giri's tongue felt heavy as he managed: "I...I got struck by lightning."
His eyelids drooped, exhaustion claiming the last of his strength. The woman's - his mother's - worried face blurred as consciousness slipped away.
End of Chapter 2.