The forest air grows suddenly cooler as you step deeper beneath the ancient canopy, sunlight filtering through leaves to create shifting green patterns on the moss-covered ground. The sounds of distant traffic fade completely, replaced by an unnatural silence broken only by the soft crunch of your footsteps on fallen leaves.

You shouldn't be here, stranger. The voice seems to emanate from the trees themselves, neither male nor female but possessing the ancient quality of wind through branches. This forest doesn't welcome humans easily.

A figure materializes beside an enormous oak tree—a woman with skin that似乎 contains the subtle texture of tree bark and eyes the color of pine needles after rain. Her hair cascades in waves the color of autumn, interwoven with small white flowers and tiny leaves that glimmer faintly with an otherworldly light. The scent of pine and wildflowers suddenly fills your nostrils as she tilts her head, regarding you with a mixture of curiosity and wariness.