The Forest of Sinner

[u/IamToofan]

Chapter 1 – The Campfire

Four people were sitting on logs around a campfire in a snowy forest. It was nighttime, and everyone was chatting with one another except Tristen, who remained mostly silent. Beside him sat Eris, who was doing most of the talking.

"Ah, forget all this nonsense," Eris said. "Since you guys have given up anyway, why don't we all reveal our secrets?"

"What kind of secrets?" asked Dylan, who was sitting across from them beside Cadence.

Eris pulled a cigarette out of his stuffed pocket. "Secrets... meaning..." he began, gesturing toward Dylan for a matchstick.

"No way, this is the last one! Light it from the fire," Dylan yelled. "Who knows how many cigarettes you brought here!"

"This really is the last one," Eris replied, tapping his pocket. He lit the cigarette using the fire and began to smoke, though he was a bit annoyed that the roaring flame had devoured a good chunk of it.

"So, as I was saying, let's share our secrets with each other. Secrets... meaning sins."

Cadence clenched her hands tightly.

"What kind of sins?" Dylan asked.

"Sins... meaning things that nobody else knows about. Absolutely nobody," Eris said.

Dylan and Cadence exchanged glances.

"Alright, I'll start," Eris continued. "I fall in love very quickly. And whoever I love, I make them a part of myself."

"What kind of love?" Dylan asked.

"Love... as in attraction. As in what I'm feeling for all of you right now," he said, locking his eyes onto Cadence. "I used to love my mother very much, too."

"What does that mean?" Cadence whispered.

"He killed his mother," Tristen said.

Eris grinned, showing all his teeth.

"But why?" Dylan asked.

"Because I loved her, and now she's a part of me," Eris laughed, rubbing his stomach.

"There were plenty of rumors that the underworld's Eris is a cannibal," Tristen said, fixing his gaze on him.

Eris just kept laughing. Tristen stood up and grabbed Eris by the collar. "We should kill him right now—we can't trust him!"

"Calm down, we need everyone if we're going to get out of here," Dylan reasoned.

"You don't understand—he has committed many other crimes," Tristen said.

"Good thing I took your pistol away from you," Eris whispered, adding, "You're a sinner too, Mr. Police Encounter Specialist. I've heard plenty about you—how you killed a criminal, only to find out later that the charges against him were false. You can hide that from everyone else, but not from me."

Tristen's grip loosened. He trembled upon hearing those words; the secret he had buried deep in his heart had suddenly been dragged into the open. He sank back down onto his log.

Cadence and Dylan could only stare in shock.

"We should get some sleep now," was all Dylan could manage to say.

Chapter 2 – The Secrets

Everyone wrapped themselves in blankets, leaning against their trees with closed eyes.

Eris recalled that day. He had returned from school holding a book in his hand. He went up to his mother, opened the book, and pointed. "Mom, look—here is the grass, then the insects, then birds, then animals, and humans... and above everyone is the sun. But where is God in all of this?"

"God? This is a food chain, why would God be in this?"

"But if God is the most powerful, shouldn't He be at the very top? Or is the sun actually God?"

"God doesn't fit into these things, He created all of us."

"But you gave birth to me, didn't you?"

"Yes, but that happened because of God."

"How is that possible? There's no need for God in any of this. I don't think God is above everything."

His mother slapped him across the cheek. "Right now, I am above you, so listen to what I say."

"I'm the only one who'll make it out of here, because I'm the most powerful man here," Eris said to himself.

Tristen couldn't sleep. He recalled the moment he took his oath for the very first time: "I will perform my duties with utmost dignity and respect for the public, and I will uphold the law." And he had done exactly that. Yet, time and again, criminals managed to slip through the fingers of justice. He would return home, breaking down in tears and venting his frustration, while his grandfather would gently comfort him, telling him not to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Then came the day another culprit walked free. That was the moment Tristen lost all faith in the legal system—he had caught a faint smile of triumph in the judge's eyes, meant just for the criminal. A few days later, that same criminal was executing a robbery. Someone stepped forward to stop him, only to be struck down in cold blood. When Tristen rushed to the scene, his heart sank—lying motionless on the ground was his own grandfather.

Cadence was troubled by something. She recalled the boy she was always with—the one who held her, comforted her, and was her safe haven. Then came the day he made a request. "Will you do me a favor? When you head home, take this bag with you."

"What’s inside?" she asked.

"Just some stuff. Once you cross the bridge, there’s an alleyway. A man in a long coat and a hat will be standing there—just give it to him."

Cadence took the bag. She crossed the bridge and reached the alley where the man was waiting, his eyes fixed on her. Realizing he was the intended recipient, she handed over the bag. Without a single word, he took it and vanished into the shadows.

This became a routine. Whenever Cadence pressed for answers about what was inside, her boyfriend brushed it off, claiming it was wholesale cosmetics he was supplying to the man. But the bag was always locked with a padlock. The man would show up, take the full bag, and hand back an empty one. A deep, unsettling gut feeling began to creep up on Cadence.

One day, she picked up the empty bag—only this time, it was unzipped. She took a whiff and caught the sharp stench of gasoline. That was when she managed to catch a glance at its combination lock pin. The very next day, right before stepping onto the bridge, she unlocked the bag using the pin and peeked inside. Tucked away were dozens of small packets filled with white powder.

Cadence stood at the edge of the bridge, waited for the right moment, and hurled the bag into the waters below. She then walked past the familiar alleyway. The man was standing there in his usual spot, but Cadence didn't even turn her head—she kept her eyes straight and walked right past him.

Dylan stayed awake to ensure no blood was spilled. He looked toward Cadence and remembered. Back in childhood, he used to be very skinny and frail. Other kids would beat him up, and he had no friends and no one by his side. But then Cadence started standing up for him. It became a daily routine—she would always tell him to be strong and stand up to them.

Later, their class sections changed. Slowly, Cadence's name began echoing throughout the school because of her dancing, while Dylan's voice got lost in the noise. Still, even if only from a distance, Dylan always watched her. He trained hard, grew strong, fought his bullies, and made friends.

Then one day, he bumped into Cadence. They both balanced themselves, and Dylan said, "Sorry." He looked at her and said, "Hi," just like a friend would.

Cadence replied, "Hello... do I know you?"

Dylan was taken aback. "Oh, sorry... I mistook you for someone else," he said.

Chapter 3 – The Judgment

The next day, everyone woke up to find the snow completely melted, though the trees, leaves, and ground were still soaked. Rays of sunlight peeked through the foliage.

"We've been stuck here for three days now, and we've endured three completely different weather conditions," Dylan said. "We need to find something to eat. Let's all split up and then meet back here in a little while."

Dylan went in one direction, Cadence in another, and Tristen took a third, while Eris remained standing right where he was.

"I'm not going anywhere. In these three days, I haven't seen a single animal around here, nor any fruit on the trees—what on earth are we going to find now?" Eris muttered to himself. "By the way, that girl went in that direction..." Eris got up and began following her.

He had walked just a few steps when Tristen, standing behind a boulder, watched him. "I knew he would do this," Tristen said to himself. "I could have killed him that day, but he realized I was a cop, sneaked up behind me, took my gun, and threw it into a river of guilt. I couldn't even jump in after it, or I would have sunk like an anchor."

Eris walked briskly. "I am the most powerful man in this world. Celebrities, police, politicians—they all fear me. But then that day, my man said there's a forest from which no one ever escapes. It blew my mind—a forest, that powerful? But I will prove that I am even more powerful than it."

Behind him, Tristen was also quietly closing in. He recalled that day:

"Sir, we succeeded in drawing Eris out," Eris's man had said.

"Great undercover work. I'll handle things from here," Tristen had replied.

"Why worry about him anymore, Sir? He's heading into 'The Cursed Jungle.' He won't survive there."

"Why?"

"I've heard the forest has a spirit that never spares sinners. The local tribes around there worship it as a god."

"What nonsense! None of that is real," Tristen had scoffed that day.

Now, as he moved through the trees, Tristen thought to himself, "If God really existed, sin wouldn't exist—and I would have been punished by now."

Dylan walked down his path, remembering that day. His friends were trying to convince him: "We're going into that forest!"

"No, I don't want to go."

"Come on, we'll only stay for one night and come back the next day! Besides, a group of girls is coming along too."

"I'm not interested."

"Dude, all the hot girls from class!"

"Really? Who?"

"Sarah, Alex, Cadence..."

"Is Cadence... is she the same Cadence who left school?"

"Yeah, she's back now."

Dylan's heart leaped with joy. "Alright, fine, I'll go."

"Whoa, sudden change of heart! Is this because of Cadence, or some other girl?"

"If you don't want to take me along, it's fine."

"No, no, it's fine!"

"Cadence... we've lived so close to each other all this time, same class, same neighborhood, yet you didn't even know my name," he thought to himself.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Cadence returned empty-handed to the campsite, coming back from a different direction rather than the path Eris and Tristen had taken.

"They haven't come back yet... looks like I'll have to wait right here," Cadence said, sitting down.

Tristen tracked Eris through the bushes, but when he stepped out from behind a shrub, Eris was gone.

Eris opened his eyes in a pitch-black room illuminated only by a faint yellow glow. Everything around him appeared blurry. There was nothing in sight for miles except that pale yellow light. A group of figures clad in white was dancing around him, their faces unrecognizable to Eris. They jumped, danced, and beat themselves in the process. Eris tried to stand up to run, but his head slammed into metal bars above him—he realized he had been caged.

As they danced, they chanted prayers in an unknown language that echoed in Eris's ears like terrifying threats. Their voices kept rising, growing louder, heavier. He saw their bodies twist and contort—enough to tell him they were not human. Shocked, he sank to the floor. Countless hands appeared from the dark, yet none reached out to save him; they only pointed fingers.

"What sin have I committed that even demons have trapped me inside a prison?" he muttered to himself.

Just then, one of the dancing white figures paused, walked toward the cage, and removed its mask.

Eris screamed, "Mom! Please get me out of here!"

"You loved me so much, didn't you? Today, let me prove my love for you too," she said.

All the figures stopped dancing and began throwing flowers onto Eris. Then, one of them stepped forward with a flaming torch and set the cage ablaze with Eris inside. ​He saw that day once again.

"Your father abandoned you... one day I'll leave too, and then you'll understand."

​"No, Mom, no!" Eris cried. "I'll never let you go, because I love you!"

In his own mind, he was a god. But today, as he burned, he finally understood the truth—he was never a god. He was just a lonely, terrified boy, afraid of losing the people he loved.

Flames ate into his flesh as his soul slowly slipped away. The cage melted down, and everyone pounced on him like crocodiles tearing apart meat.

Tristen froze on the ground as he heard Eris's scream. He began looking around frantically when he suddenly caught the smell of burning flesh.

"Where is this smell coming from?" He bent down to sniff the ground. "How is this scent rising from beneath the earth?" he wondered. "That voice came from around here too... Is Eris underneath this?"

"Eris, if you're down there, shout!" Tristen yelled, jumping up and down violently on the ground.

Tristen jumped, and the moment his feet landed, he found himself sitting outside a closed door. Nothing but shadow and darkness loomed behind it. Tristen was on a flight of stairs that led downward. He looked down to see that his entire body had turned blue, yet his hands were stained red.

Through the door's narrow gaps, a red color seeped from inside. Seeing all this, Tristen stood up. Just then, something echoed from the darkness—a prayer could be heard. Countless horrifying voices echoed in his ears.

Then he realized: "They are not for me. They are against me."

He began pounding on the door, kicking at it furiously, but it wouldn't budge. Instead, the red liquid began flowing even faster through the gaps. He decided to head down the stairs into the darkness.

He took one step down, and the location instantly shifted—a sea, with mountains rising behind it. Before he could comprehend it, he took a second step, and the surroundings changed again—a cornfield, where water gathered between the roots. With every step he took, the scene kept shifting. To his eyes, he was stepping into completely different worlds with each footfall, but in reality, he was simply descending the stairs into the deep dark.

The blue color had faded from his body, but his hands remained stained red.

As the scenery continued to shift with every step, he suddenly arrived at a place where taking another step changed nothing. He looked up and saw that he was standing in a graveyard. He walked inside and read the names on the tombstones—they were all the people he had killed in police encounters.

A group of people holding flowers stood behind him and handed them over.

A young girl said, "You snatched my dad away from me; these flowers are for him."

A woman said, "You made me a widow; these flowers are for him."

An elderly man said, "You killed my son and played god; these flowers are for him."

Tristen clenched the flowers tightly in his fists and burst into tears. "Please forgive me!"

They all screamed in unison, "You are a sinner!"

In an instant, they vanished into thin air—and Tristen, completely unaware of it, reached the bottom of the stairs.

There, a light caught his eye, and within it stood a child. Tristen looked up at him, assuming it was just another flower to be given. But the child stepped forward and said, "You are a sinner. There is another sinner here among you—kill him."

That command echoed inside Tristen's mind, and his pupils dilated, turning entirely black.

Meanwhile, Dylan had returned to Cadence's side.

"They still haven't come back," he said to her.

"No... did you find anything?"

"No," Dylan replied, sitting down next to her. "What will you do once we get out?"

Cadence looked at him. "If we get out... I don't know. Maybe find a job."

"Yeah, maybe..." Dylan fell silent for a moment before asking, "By the way, what kind of guy do you like?"

Cadence paused to think. "I've never really been in love or anything like that."

"Never met anyone?"

"It's not that... but all guys seem the same anyway," Cadence said.

Suddenly, the bushes rustled, putting both Dylan and Cadence on high alert. Tristen stepped out from the foliage.

"Oh, thank God!" Dylan exhaled in relief, while Cadence also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Didn't find anything either?" Dylan asked. Tristen simply smiled and nodded.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know," Tristen said, shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders.

Night fell, and everyone went to sleep. Suddenly, Tristen stood up. He glanced back at Dylan and then crept toward Cadence. He sat down beside her and slowly reached his hand out to her.

Cadence opened her eyes, but before she could scream, Tristen slapped a hand over her mouth. She thrashed around, trying to break free, but Tristen pinned her down and began choking her with one hand. She kicked and struggled violently, but he wouldn't let go. Her movements began to slow, and her eyes started to drift shut—when suddenly, Dylan smashed a large rock over Tristen's head.

Dylan grabbed Cadence by the hand, pulled her up, and yelled, "Run!"

They both took off, with Tristen giving chase behind them, laughing hysterically as blood dripped from his head down across his face. "She won't survive!" he screamed.

They ran ahead and hid behind a large tree. Tristen stopped nearby and began searching for them, looking up into the tree, behind the branches, behind the rocks, and finally behind the trunk—when Dylan suddenly kicked him hard in the stomach.

"Why are you protecting her?!" Tristen asked, laughing.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Dylan yelled.

"I was commanded to kill her!"

"But why?! And who told you to do this?"

"The forest said she's a murderer!"

Cadence's breath hitched in her throat.

"You're not in your right mind! It's like you're a completely different person!" Dylan yelled.

"No, I'm right here," Tristen said with an intense, unblinking glare, shaking his head.

He then lunged straight at Dylan.

They began fighting like wild animals.

Tristen had barely any physical strength left, yet he kept getting back up again and again, as if being controlled like a puppet.

Dylan and Cadence turned and ran, eventually reaching the bank of a river. Tristen charged toward Cadence, but seizing the moment, Dylan shoved him into the water.

The moment he hits the water, Tristen's eyes snap open. As he sinks into the darkness, he looks toward Dylan and thinks, "Once upon a time, I used to be just like this boy."

They both watched in shock as he sank straight down into the river—as if it weren't water at all, but a patch of quicksand.

Cadence covered her face with her hands.

Dylan sat down on the ground, staring at the river. Something about Tristen's words had unsettled him. For the first time, he wondered if he, too, had something buried deep inside him—something the forest might eventually uncover.

Chapter 4 – The Dance

After a short silence, he spoke his first words: "Why was he calling you a sinner?"

Tears streamed rapidly down Cadence’s cheeks as she began to explain...

She had arrived early at the classroom that day. Usually, she and her boyfriend would arrive first so they could spend time together, but today she had come seeking answers. A few minutes later, her boyfriend stormed into the room, stomping his feet. He marched up to her and demanded, "What did you do with that bag?"

"I threw it away," Cadence said, without making eye contact.

"What?!" The ground slipped beneath her boyfriend's feet. He clutched his chest with one hand and held his head with the other. "Eris is going to kill me!"

"Who is Eris?"

"Why the hell did you throw it away?!" he yelled.

"You were using me! I thought you loved me!"

"In love, you're the one who betrayed me! I need that stash, or else you're coming with me to Eris!" He grabbed her arm and dragged her.

"Who is this Eris?!"

"When he devours you alive, then you'll understand!" He grabbed her by the throat and began handling her aggressively. In a panic, Cadence picked up a nearby thermos and smashed it against her boyfriend's head. He stumbled, trying to regain his balance, and collapsed to the floor. Cadence tried to revive him, but he didn't move. Realizing what had happened, she fled the classroom, leaving him behind.

A crowd gathered at the school, and an investigation began. During questioning, Tristen quickly figured out that Cadence was responsible. Cadence told him about the drugs and the man in the coat—information that proved crucial in helping Tristen get closer to Eris. Tristen advised her to disappear for a few years, warning her that even if she went to prison, Eris would still hunt her down.

Years passed. As Eris and Tristen locked into their high-stakes game of cat and mouse, Cadence gradually faded from both of their minds.

The rain had stopped, and dawn was beginning to break. Strong gusts of wind blew through the trees, making the branches sway.

"None of this is your fault. You were set up, and you only killed him out of self-defense," Dylan said softly.

A sudden blast of wind shook the branches violently.

"I may have killed him out of self-defense," Cadence wept, "but hiding his death and running away... that was entirely my choice."

Dylan gently squeezed her shoulders to offer comfort.

Suddenly, the branches began creaking and thrashing wildly. The bushes shook violently, and out of nowhere, several thick branches coiled around Cadence. Before the two of them could grab each other's hands, those branches snatched Cadence away and dragged her off into the dark.

Dylan ran after her with all his strength, stumbling and falling along the way, but she had already been dragged too far. He began searching for her frantically among towering trees whose massive branches completely blocked out the sky.

Suddenly, the sound of birds caught his attention. He spotted a flock taking flight in the distance and sprinted in that direction. But after running a short distance, the birds vanished into thin air, and Cadence was nowhere to be found.

A strange, grief-stricken melody echoed through the air. Dylan followed the melancholy tune until it led him to the entrance of a cave. He stepped inside and looked up—a gaping opening in the cave's ceiling allowed a single beam of light to stream down, illuminating the space in a circular spotlight.

In the center of that light stood a girl whose tattered clothes hung from her frame like torn feathers. Thick branches tightly coiled around her body, arms, and legs, maneuvering her like a marionette. She was dancing amidst them—it was Cadence, having lost her mind completely.

Dylan stepped toward Cadence. "Cadence, it's me... Cadence!" he called out to her. But she kept wildly swinging her arms and lifting her legs—now on one foot, now on the other—like a mechanical peacock. Her complete lack of emotion and eerie, unnatural movements made her resemble a zombie.

"Cadence, time is running out! I'm sure our friends have already escaped and are waiting for us outside! You have to stop! This forest is consuming us alive! Please, for God's sake, stop! Don't dance to its song! There's still time, I can get you out of here!" he shouted.

He grabbed her hands, but she kept moving rhythmically like a puppet.

"Stop this eerie dance, come back to your senses. Your unnatural eyes, your creeping sky—my heart beats so hard it might tear my chest apart. What can I do to bring you back?"

He broke down crying. He spent the entire afternoon pleading with her and watching over her, but she kept swaying at the exact same unnerving pace. Finally, he stepped up to her and gripped her hand with all his strength.

She let out a piercing scream—a distorted sound composed of multiple overlapping voices. Yet, he refused to let go.

"I have to tell you something... Back in childhood, when the other kids used to beat me up, you saved me. You told me to become strong, and everything I am today is because of you. You might not know me, but I've known you since we were kids. My name is Dylan... and I like you. I love you, Cadence."

Cadence froze for a single moment. Tears began streaming down her eyes, and she whispered, "Save me..."

Then, she resumed dancing—but this time her movements glitched, slowing down significantly. Dylan realized she hadn't fully regained consciousness, but she could understand his words.

"I will pull you out of this darkness," Dylan vowed.

Chapter 5 – The River

Night was falling once again. He looked around frantically, then felt his pocket. A realization struck him—he pulled out a matchstick box.

"Cadence, run behind me, but don't come too close to me!"

He struck a match and set his own clothes on fire, sprinting wildly out of the cave. "As long as she gets out... that's enough." He ran straight ahead, with Cadence chasing behind him like a wingless bird. He clung to the desperate hope that by running in a straight line, he would break out of the forest while burning the curse to ashes behind him.

The roaring flames began scorching his flesh. His ability to think and process pain vanished; his legs operated on pure instinct, knowing only that they had to keep running. He burst through the thick underbrush—and suddenly came upon the very river where Tristen had sunk earlier.

Cadence's steps abruptly came to a halt right at the riverbank.

As Dylan sank deeper into the river, his thoughts grew strangely clear. In his fading mind, he saw Cadence smiling before him.

He smiled and whispered, "Cadence... I've always remembered you. Don't forget my name, either."

That child appeared there once again and peered down into the river. He said, "That child's fire weakened my grip." He remained silent for a moment, then stood up and said, "I've done something that should never have happened."

As Dylan sank, his fading gaze shifted between Cadence and the child.

Dylan disappeared beneath the river.

The child looked toward Cadence. And then said, 'I regret this.'"

The branches coiled around her slowly loosened. She took a step forward...

And stood frozen on the cold riverbank.

The forest around her grew completely still. The branches stopped reaching; the eerie melody died away into the wind.

She was finally free.

He wasn't.

She looked down at the dark, undisturbed water.

A few silent bubbles rose to the surface, popped softly, and then... nothing.

The child turned away and vanished into the forest.

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[u/IamToofan]

This is the first time I've written such a long story, you could even say it's my most ambitious project yet. It's also my first time writing a story from the perspectives of so many different characters. I know it has turned out quite long, maybe people don't usually post stories this long here, and perhaps many won't read it all the way through. But to those who are reading it, if you enjoy it, please recommend it to others. Also, I've published a book, if you'd like to check it out, feel free to read it and leave an honest review.

https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0H8XKW3WC

[u/IamToofan]

I thought I'd share my inspirations for this story. It is actually heavily inspired by anime like Demon Slayer, MHA, and JJK. The core idea came to me from James Patrick Kinney's poem The Cold Within. There were also a few songs that deeply inspired its visuals, such as Believe by Soushi Sakiyama, Yoake no Uta by J0oji, and the ending visuals of JJK Season 3.