Chapter 1: The beginning of Ouroboros
When I was a young boy, I loved to explore an old forest nearby with my friends. The forest had a sense of peace I didn't realize at the time. Most of the trees were old, most of them on the ground waiting for bugs to call it's corpse home. Everything had a routine, trees would grow and die. Insects would create a home in the dead tree. A new tree will grow from the old.
The cycle gave anyone exploring the forest peace, it was a natural wonder. If you got lucky you may even see a deer or a rabbit. It was a beautiful place to be. There were no monsters to get you, no bandits or thieves. It was a forest straight from a fantasy, almost completely safe.
That was the case until a fire started, a raging inferno that destroyed the cycle. It consumed everything, the bugs, the trees, the peace. It made people living nearby move away in fear, fear that it will consume them next. The fire lasted many days, many days of staying home and the smell of smoke.
The heat of the fire could be felt all over the village, even though it was mid fall it felt like the start of summer. Many people tried to slow it down with water from the well, but the water would only turn to steam before touching the fire. Some were stubborn and kept trying, others gave up immediately. The well was already worn down, and with the constant use made it finally collapsed.
Without water from the well everyone had to move. The days after that were rough, my mother was crying constantly. The house was passed down from her close friend, given after her death. She was trusted to protect it, but now all she can do is wait for it to be destroyed and eaten like everything else. Everything possible was packed up to leave. Mother didn't want to leave even a speck of dust behind, and it seemed she got what she wanted. But everything comes with a cost.
A large storm appeared from no where. It fought the fire's consumption with its own. flooding made all roads unusable for wagons, anyone that hasn't left yet never will. Now you were either blistering from heat or shivering from the cold, there was no in between for those left behind. Until then I was very fortunate for my house to still be standing far away from both problems. Many others were already homeless and sleeping outside. My mother was branded a witch for our untouched home, blaming everything on her.
She tried to reason with the angry mob, but they didn't listen. They would never listen to someone that burned and drowned their families. Even my friends went against her, and the son of the witch would get worse treatment. They killed my mother first, tied her to a fence post and tossed he into the flood. She struggled with all her might wiggling the bindings and trying to free herself. She bobbed in the water, then sunk. I can hear her screams to this day, the loud gurgling could never be unheard.
I was next, they wouldn't leave a witches son. I ran into the burning forest trying to escape. They chased me to the forest's edge, but stopped when the heat was too much. They knew I was going to die, and were fine with it. I looked back to them, seeing them smile with satisfaction. I kept running until they were out of sight, and I assume they went home to wait out the disaster.
I felt the heat all over, it was unbearable. But I had to keep running, if I went back I would almost certainly die. So I kept going, with my mind burning along with my body. Everything hurt, I wanted my mom. I wanted her to grab me and bring me home, home to a nice meal and my bed. I wanted to cry, but my eyes couldn't produce any tears. My mouth was dry, I wanted clean water to drink.
The ash covered my feat, causing cuts and blisters pain. Pain that parents would comfort you about and tell you "it's how you know it's working." The forest was bright red, almost white from the heat. I stopped running to look around, the trees and bugs I knew the cycle of so well being destroyed right in front of me. I wanted to not see any of it, for it all to disappear and wake up from the terrible nightmare. But I never did wake up, the nightmare didn't end.
I couldn't stand anymore, my legs collapsed and I fell to the ground. My legs were numb from heat and exhaustion. I looked up up to the dark cloud filled sky, hoping that the water would wash everything away, wash the sight itself away. My eyelids felt heavy, my legs wouldn't move. I laid down and closed my eyes, hoping someone would save me. I felt the heat start to wash away as I fell unconscious.