A moment in time… somewhere.
“Uhuk… uhuk… uhuk—”
My chest felt like it was being squeezed from the inside as water forced its way out of my throat.
I coughed violently, my body curling in pain.
“Ueekk—!”
A wave of nausea rose from my stomach, and I vomited out the river water that had forced its way inside me.
I collapsed, both hands holding up my trembling body.
“Huft… huft… huft…”
My breath was trapped—heavy, hot.
My heartbeat was chaotic—
THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD
—as if trying to break through my ribs.
It took me a few seconds just to confirm I was still alive.
And then—
“Hah!”
I blurted out, my body jolting.
I looked around—and the world immediately tilted upside down.
“Where… is the river?!”
The place I was standing in—or rather, where I had been thrown— was not the riverbank in the mountains.
Not the shallow water that had pulled me in.
Not the voices of my family screaming in panic.
What I saw instead was unfamiliar land.
An unfamiliar sky.
An unfamiliar silence.
“I… I’m sure I was just drowning a moment ago…” I whispered, almost begging the air for an answer.
My body tensed again.
The panic that had just eased came crashing back—harder.
“What is this?!”
My head snapped to the right—nothing.
To the left—nothing familiar.
“Where am I?!”
I turned my body, searching for the river, for voices, for anything recognizable.
Nothing.
“This… I’ve never been here…”
I looked up at the sky—it felt wrong.
I looked down—the ground was foreign.
I scanned the surroundings again, quickly, anxiously, until I almost felt dizzy.
“Where is this?!”
I swallowed hard.
My throat still burned, but fear hurt far more.
“I don’t know this place… I don’t recognize this place!”
Everything felt wrong.
Too wrong.
“No way… I must be dreaming… maybe I’m still unconscious… maybe I fainted…”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
Hoping.
Begging.
Then opened them.
Still here.
I closed them again, harder.
Held my breath.
Opened them.
Still the same.
I repeated it—four, five times—until my knees started to weaken and even my own voice felt unfamiliar.
“No way…” I whispered.
My voice trembled, like it might break.
My last memories:
water dragging me down, my chest burning,
Kak Gavin’s voice screaming, my hands failing to reach the surface…
But this place…
had no connection to any of that.
I stood frozen.
The wind brushed against my skin, but it felt cold and unfriendly.
A creeping sense of dread crawled up my spine, climbing from my back to the nape of my neck.
My heartbeat rose again—wild, unstable.
I opened my mouth, but only a trembling breath came out.
I was alone.
In a place that made no sense.
In a world I did not know.
The first breath I took into my lungs felt foreign—more humid, heavier, more… alive.
My body was still wet.
My heart was still pounding against my chest as if I were still drowning just seconds ago.
But the world I saw when I forced myself to stand— made me go silent.
I was in a forest.
But not any forest I knew.
Trees towered above—too tall.
Their trunks were massive, fully covered in moss, like ancient pillars holding up the sky.
Thick lianas hung from every branch, coiling like giant ropes.
Giant ferns spread their leaves wide, forming natural umbrellas that blocked the ground from direct sunlight.
The canopy was dense—layer upon layer—allowing sunlight to pass only in thin lines, like scattered spotlights piercing through a green haze, dancing with floating moist dust in the air.
I looked up.
Just how… big was this forest?
Sounds immediately assaulted me.
Bird calls I had never heard before—high-pitched tones like echoes of species not yet recorded.
Insects hummed in a rhythm that almost felt electric.
Leaves rustled in the wind, producing a rolling sound like the forest itself was breathing deeply.
All of it was noisy… and yet strangely silent.
A silence that made me realize I was nothing more than a tiny point in the lap of this enormous world.
“…wow…”
The whisper escaped me without permission.
Half awe, half confusion, half fear.
I took a small step forward, without thinking.
The ground beneath my feet was soft—wet soil mixed with decaying leaves.
Every step released an earthy scent that filled my nose—too pure, too strong, like a world that had never known asphalt, exhaust, or humans.
I swallowed hard.
Not entirely because of fear…
but because my mind was starting to process something.
This forest…
felt old.
Incredibly old.
Far older than any forest I had ever seen in tourist areas.
There were no cut trees.
No human traces.
Every corner felt wild, dense, untouched—like nature here had been growing without limits for thousands of years.
I hugged myself, trying to steady my trembling breath.
On one hand… it was beautiful.
So beautiful it made my chest tighten.
But on the other hand…
I had absolutely no idea where I was.
And for the first time since I regained consciousness, a thought whispered in my mind—
This place is not somewhere my family can easily find me.
Anindira took a small step… one… two…
THUD!
She stopped abruptly.
Her body reacted before her mind did—like instinct slapping her into alertness.
“What should I do now?!”
The question echoed in her mind, sharp and piercing, squeezing her chest painfully.
Her steps, once steady, turned hesitant.
Slower.
Fine hairs on her arms stood up—not because of anything supernatural, but because her body realized how small she was in the middle of towering trees that rose like pillars of the world.
The forest remained alive—loud, even.
Birds calling from different heights.
Insects humming within the bushes.
Wind brushing through layers of leaves far above her head, hundreds of meters up, like a distant ocean that never stopped moving.
But because of that…
her unease became clearer.
The forest was not silent.
But she felt… something ahead.
Not something visible—but something felt.
Faint.
Disturbing.
Her chest tightened.
Her breath grew shallow.
Anindira swallowed hard, her body trembling slightly without her noticing.
Her eyes scanned the surroundings, measuring every shadow, every slit of light breaking through the massive canopy above like thin beams marking just how dense this forest truly was.
Her jaw tightened.
A silent war played behind her gaze—instinct struggling against logic that forced her to stay rational.
She paced slightly, restless, like a small animal sensing danger but forced to choose the most reasonable direction.
“I don’t know what’s ahead…” she muttered softly.
“But I also don’t know what will happen if I turn back…”
Ahead of her, faint but steady, was the sound of flowing water.
Not a roaring river—more like a medium stream cutting through an ancient forest.
A river?
Or just a small stream?
“If that really is a river, then there’s a high chance there are settlements…” she thought, forcing her logic to stay upright.
“And even if there aren’t, at least I’ll get water.
I can survive while following it… they must be searching for me right now… until help arrives, I need to survive…”
She closed her eyes, taking a long breath, trying to calm her racing heart—just slightly.
Logic pushed her forward.
Instinct pulled her back.
DID YOU ENJOY EXPLORING THE WORLD OF BEASTS?
If you enjoyed WORLD OF BEASTS: A GIRL FOR THE BEASTS, you might be interested to know that it was my first novel.
But my journey didn’t stop with fantasy.
After WORLD OF BEASTS, I wrote two more novels—each with a completely different world and theme.
MY UNCLE MY HUSBAND
My second novel—a story of criminal suspense, marriage, mystery, conflict, and human relationships.
BRINGING MY WIFE BACK
My third novel—a story of political intrigue, the nation, family life, and redemption.
WORLD OF BEASTS — isekai fantasy and dungeons.
MY UNCLE MY HUSBAND — criminal suspense and marriage.
BRINGING MY WIFE BACK — political intrigue and redemption.
Three novels.
Three story worlds.
Three different journeys.
One author: Biul.
Ready to explore a different world?