It's the apocalypse again

February, 3019

The late February chill seeped into Qianqian's bones as she sat in her rented warehouse, surrounded by rows of supplies she'd meticulously accumulated over the past three months. Despite her progress, anxiety gnawed at her. Her bank balance was steadily depleting, and the strain of dodging questions from her family and roommate was wearing her down. She needed something more—something solid, something she could call her own. But how?

As if sensing her desperation, her phone buzzed on the table, the sudden noise jolting her out of her thoughts. She glanced at the screen.

A notification flashed across the top, unfamiliar and stark against the usual clutter of messages:

"You've been chosen. Follow the path to unlock your future."

Her heart skipped a beat. Chosen? What was this? Her first thought was spam, but something about the phrasing felt different. Unsettling. She tapped on the notification, and the screen went dark for a moment before a single line of text appeared:

"In the shadow of the green giants, where echoes dwell,

Seek the heart of silence, where the sun's light fell."

Qianqian frowned, her fingers tightening around the phone. A riddle?

"Echo," she called softly, her voice tinged with confusion. "Did you see this?"

The familiar, smooth voice hummed to life in her mind. "I see everything, Qianqian. This... is interesting."

"Interesting? It's cryptic nonsense," she muttered, rereading the text. Her brow furrowed as she tried to make sense of it. "Green giants? Echoes? What is this even supposed to mean?"

"Perhaps it's an invitation," Echo suggested, his tone calm yet enigmatic. "Think about it. Why would someone send this to you, now of all times?"

She sighed, leaning back against the cool steel of the warehouse wall. "You're not helping. Do you know what it means?"

"I may have an idea, but it's not my place to solve this for you," he replied. There was a teasing lilt to his voice. "Consider it a test. After all, you've been preparing for something big, haven't you?"

Qianqian rolled her eyes but couldn't suppress the spark of curiosity beginning to bloom in her chest. She paced the length of the room, phone in hand, reading the riddle over and over.

"Green giants... forests?" she muttered. "Could it mean trees? And the 'heart of silence'—does that mean somewhere secluded?"

"It's possible," Echo replied. "But the last line is just as important. 'Where the sun's light fell.' What do you think it means?"

She stopped in her tracks, a faint memory stirring in the back of her mind. During one of her earlier trips to scout for a second warehouse, she had passed a dense forest about an hour and a half away from the city. The way the sunlight broke through the trees that day had been mesmerizing, almost otherworldly.

Her pulse quickened. "Do you think it could be the forest outside the city?"

"There's only one way to find out," Echo said simply. "But you should prepare yourself. You don't know what you'll find."

The next morning, Qianqian was up before dawn, her backpack packed with essentials: water, a flashlight, a sturdy knife, and a portable power bank. The air was cold and sharp as she loaded the supplies into her car.

She couldn't shake the feeling of apprehension as she set off, her phone balanced on the dashboard with the compass app open. The mysterious message had included a set of GPS coordinates when she tapped on it again that morning—coordinates that pointed directly to the forest she had been thinking about.

The drive was uneventful, the city's bustling streets giving way to quieter roads as she neared her destination. Soon, the towering silhouettes of trees came into view, their shadows stretching across the pavement like fingers.

She parked at the edge of the forest and stepped out, her breath visible in the crisp morning air. The forest loomed before her, dark and foreboding, its depths seeming to whisper secrets she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

"You're hesitating," Echo remarked, his voice breaking the silence. "Are you afraid?"

"I'm not afraid," she shot back, though her hands were trembling slightly as she gripped her backpack straps. "I'm just... cautious."

"Good. You should be."

The compass on her phone pointed straight into the heart of the forest. She took a deep breath and started walking, the crunch of leaves underfoot the only sound accompanying her.

The forest was dense, the canopy overhead blocking out much of the morning light. Shafts of sunlight broke through in places, illuminating patches of moss-covered ground. The deeper she went, the more disoriented she felt. The compass was her only guide, the arrow unwavering as it led her further into the unknown.

After what felt like an eternity, the trees began to thin. She emerged into a wide clearing, the sudden openness startling after the oppressive closeness of the forest. The clearing was eerily quiet, the only sound the faint rustling of leaves in the wind.

In the center of the clearing stood a single, ancient tree. Its trunk was massive, its gnarled roots spreading out like veins across the ground. Sunlight streamed down from above, bathing the tree in a golden glow.

Her phone buzzed in her hand, the sudden noise making her jump. She looked down to see a new message:

"You've arrived. The first step begins here."

A chill ran down her spine. She glanced around, half expecting someone—or something—to appear, but the clearing remained empty.

"What now?" she whispered.

"Touch the tree," Echo said softly. "This is your moment, Qianqian. Don't hesitate."

She approached the tree cautiously, her heart pounding in her chest. As her hand made contact with the rough bark, a surge of warmth spread through her, and her phone lit up once again.

This time, the message was clear:

"System Activated. Welcome to your new beginning."