I've seen many strange and terrible things in this world, but nothing could have prepared me for what happened today. What started as an ordinary day quickly turned into a nightmare...

I was gathering wood in the forest. Nothing unusual—just the daily necessity of chopping down trees to keep my supplies stocked. I've been more cautious lately, trying to keep track of everything I need as the air keeps getting colder which made me think that Winter is near.. The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon; dusk was settling in, casting the forest in long shadows. The trees were creaking in the breeze, their branches swaying slightly.

Then it happened.

As my axe split through the trunk of one of the larger evergreens, the ground shook beneath my feet. I froze. The tree—the tree itself—began to twist and groan in a way no tree should. It moved. The wood creaked like it was alive, and before my very eyes, it tore itself from the ground, roots and all, and stood up, towering over me. I didn't know what to do. Panic overtook me. My axe dropped from my hand as I stumbled backward. The creature—the Treeguard which I call it—let out a deep, rumbling growl, its massive limbs moving with purpose, eyes glowing with fury. It was alive, and it was angry.

The timing could not have been worse. It was dusk, the last moments of daylight, and I was running low on resources. I had only two torches left to last through the night. No armor, no proper weapon, nothing but an axe and a few meager supplies. The thing—this monstrous tree—began to advance toward me, its massive wooden feet crashing through the forest floor with every step.

I ran.

There was no way I could fight it. Its sheer size alone was enough to crush me with a single blow, and its speed—though slow—was relentless. I tried to think of something, anything that could stop it. But for the beard of Newton! How can I know what the hell am I supposed to do in this kind of stuation?! In my desperation, I lit one of my torches. Night had fallen. The darkness closed in around me, and the only thing that stood between me and a gruesome death was the small circle of light cast by the flickering flame.

And that's when I made a terrible mistake. In my panic, I must have gotten too close to the forest edge, or perhaps the torch flared brighter than I expected. Either way, the flame caught onto a low-hanging branch of one of the evergreens. Before I could react, the fire spread. It leaped from tree to tree, the dry wood igniting faster than I could comprehend. The entire forest began to burn. I backed away as fast as I could, the heat from the flames searing my skin, the smoke choking my lungs. The fire raged, consuming everything in its path. Trees fell in showers of sparks, crackling and popping as the blaze tore through the forest. The Treeguard stopped chasing me. It stood there, silhouetted against the roaring flames, like some ancient, vengeful deity. I didn't wait to see what it would do next. I ran—ran as far and as fast as my legs would carry me, away from the fire, away from the smoke, until the forest was nothing but a distant glow on the horizon.

I barely survived the night. My torch burned low, flickering out just before dawn broke. The fire may have saved me from the Treeguard, but it cost me dearly. Half the forest—along with all the resources I could have used—was gone, consumed by the flames. But I'm alive. Somehow, I'm still here...

This world... it doesn't care about luck or odds. It feels like fate itself is toying with me. I'll have to be more careful from now on. Every action has a consequence, and I can't afford any more mistakes.

Tomorrow, I'll have to see what remains of the forest. Perhaps something useful survived the fire. Perhaps not. Either way, I need to be prepared. This land is unforgiving, and I can feel the air growing colder with each passing day.