Chapter 1
Steven was running through the woods for the first time in what seemed like months. For all he knew, it could have been. Or it could have just been weeks. It was hard to tell with his terrible sense of time. This time he had decided to go without his backpack so he could go at top speed. He had no idea how fast he really was, but he felt like the fastest thing on Earth. He was jumping through the tangled branches and over rivers without slowing his pace one bit. The whole time, he was smiling a genuine smile that could only be seen when he was alone.
Eventually, he reached an area he knew partially well. Just past those trees, there would be a deep, wide chasm. On the edge, there was a nearly-sideways tree, reaching about half way across. This was his favorite spot to traverse, for reasons he could not decipher.
As he reached the tree, he sped up, running along the extended trunk. A little bit before the tip, as the highest part was a bit flimsy, he made the jump. He never particularly liked dangerous stunts or large heights, but whenever he jumped across this chasm, he never felt any fear. Never any extra rush of adrenaline, never any apprehension, just pure elation in the physical exertion.
Just before he landed on the other side, something unexpected happened; a bright, glowing sphere seemed to grow out of thin air a few meters in front of where he was about to land. It grew rapidly, and in the span of about two seconds was about the size of the hight of a bus. Then it sat there, swirling with incomprehensible complexity.
Landing successfully before it grew to completion, Steven allowed the initial adrenaline from the start of his run to wear off and jogged to stand in front of the mysterious sphere. It wasn't a perfect sphere, as the light being emitted by it was rather irregular in pattern, much like one might imagine the solar flares on the sun, but much more numerous. The light itself was mostly white, tinged with a very feint, light blue.
Unlike most people would have been, Steven wasn't all that surprised by it. Now, that doesn't mean he expected it, no. It was still unexpected, and very strange, but he wasn't surprised per sé.
First, he took a moment to assess what it might be. There didn't seem to be anything holding the apparent energy together. There didn't seem to be any machinery nearby capable of doing this. It could be a portal. That was what first came to mind when he saw it. It could also be some sort of self-contained explosion. Whatever it was, it didn't seem very believable. Perhaps he had been in a computer-generated world his whole life, and things were just now starting to be messed with outside the set parameters of physics. Or maybe he was only just recently placed in the fake world. Either would work. Or perhaps it was simply an illusion. There could be laser beams hidden in trees, however unlikely. It could be a hologram from a satellite in space, despite the probable lack of reason for doing something like that.
His mind went on like that for about a second before he made a decision. He reached out a hand and carefully touched the sphere. After no immediately apparent side-effects, he slowly began to immerse his arm into it.
At this point, he was extremely exited, not that one could tell by his expression. This was the first time in a long while that adrenaline was activated without being forced. He hoped, or rather wished, that this was indeed his first guess; a portal.
By now, his shoulder was fully inside the sphere. After a moment of hesitation, he jumped fully into it.
———~§~———
The Everfree Forest was always wild. The plants grew on their own. The weather happened without any help, and was even difficult to manipulate. The wildlife was ferocious. Not to mention the plants. It's doubtful anyone even knows of all the different kinds in there, much less what they all do.
Today, though, something unusual even for this bizarre forest happened. Out of nowhere, a bright, glowing sphere appeared. It just sat there, swirling endlessly, with no rhyme or reason. It didn't last long though. As quickly as it appeared, the sphere Imploded on itself, leaving behind a curious creature.
To any onlookers, the event transpired so quickly it may have been missed if said observer would have look away for just a moment. It was completely silent, despite it's visible flair. But what was left behind was much more difficult to go unnoticed.
It was a little under two meters tall, and stood on two legs. It was wearing loose grey sweatpants, a grey shirt of a slightly darker shade, and had thick blonde hair that slightly drooped over the eyes. The creature (which you have likely identified as Steven by now) looked up and apparently neutrally assessed it's bearings. After a short second, the creature ran off, breaking into a massive grin.
———~§~———
This was exactly what Steven wanted. Something new. Who knew what this place was like. There was so much to do and so much time to do it. Only about a second after he started running, he heard something fall on the ground behind him. Turning around, he saw that his backpack was sitting where the portal had been.
Of course, he didn't have it with him when he got here, so that means someone intentionally placed it for him. And that would imply that he was being watched, used, or both. Of course there was a catch. Whatever the case, it significantly decreased his feeling of freedom, but he also knew that he probably couldn't do anything about it at the moment.
Knowing it would be useful, he quickly grabbed it and continued running. He didn't know where, but he wanted to find out. Finally, he could have an adventure. What he didn't realize was just how much more than a simple adventure it would turn out to be.