To awake, you have to open your eyes.A lovely breeze blows across the face.Short, deep-black hair, just above the forehead, sails gently with the wind.
THE MAN finds himself standing in the sky — a bird's-eye view of a soft green forest glade, circled by thick bushes and lush trees. The breeze flows again, in harmony with laughter — a very comforting laughter.
Bright red strands of hair dance with the wind.
THE MAN calms — to his last bone and muscle — a peaceful surrender...Until, in the very next second, a chill grips him.
He remembers.
The horror that could happen here.
It has happened before.But why… is it happening again?
He wonders.
The girl — radiant, carefree — laughs without restraint at the sight of an abnormally large frog sitting before her. She cannot stifle her amusement for even a moment, oblivious to the grave threat that creature hides within.
And so, the next hour in this glade becomes the first piece of a massive puzzle.
Mesmerized eyes — charming hazel eyes — gaze deep into deep, dark, woody pupils on a young face dressed with even more beautiful laughter… and even brighter red hair.
A boy, of similar age, fixes his gaze on the girl of the glade.But then, a glimpse of something ugly — a plot — falls upon his eyes.
In a sudden rush, the boy dashes forward.The frog tries to step away, but it turns out — the boy was not after it.
He leaps — tackling the girl.Both fall to the ground, flat — the boy on top.He quickly creates some space between them.
Flustered and embarrassed, the girl commands,"Get OFF of me! Who even are you??"
The boy, under a similar chaotic swirl of emotions, retorts,"Stay PUT! I'm trying to save you here!"
The frog, however, enjoys this unexpected blessing — both prep time and distraction — and accepts it with glee.It wrings out its tongue — long, slick, dripping with a deadly beverage known to man as POISON.
THE MAN, desperate to intervene, holds out his index finger and thumb.Between them, a glowing paper plane of light forms.He launches it.
But instead of stopping the scene, the plane — as fast as light — passes right through the frog…and the boy…and the girl…and the ground.
Somehow, none of them notice.No one inside the glade sees it.
Now, THE MAN is truly terrified — not of what's happening inside the glade, or even outside it…
…but of what is happening within him.
He realizes what this place is.
The hardest test of all:
THE TRIAL OF THE PAST.
And in this trial, THE MAN is powerless.He appears only as an illusion — unseen, unfelt by any of the five senses.
"Come on, where are you!?" he cries out loud, as if calling to someone.
The frog flings its tongue.
The boy shields the girl with all the courage and manhood he can muster.
THE MAN screams...The boy screams...The girl screams...
But silence conceals all.
Then —a resounding thud.The frog's tongue halts mid-air, frozen in an arc —struck square in the face by the hilt of a sword.
The blow launches the oversized creature flying backward, crashing through the underbrush.
Hair sails — deep black hair.Eyes so dark you could lose yourself in them.
A third figure now stands over them — seemingly the same age as the stunned pair lying on the grass.
There's no arrogance or menace in him. Just a calm presence…and the faintest trace of a smile.
THE MAN, breathless, finally stops shouting. He watches, silent.
The dark-haired boy looks down at the pair — and with a playful grin, says:
"I don't even want to know what decisions put you into that situation."