Lena had long since abandoned her evenings with fantasy books, but that day, walking back through the misty forest outside the city, she felt like a child again. For weeks she had dreamt of this place: an old oak tree with a split trunk hid something underneath that pulsed with light. Now she was really here. The watch showed 10:16 pm, and a soft luminescent glow penetrated from under the roots, and Lena knelt down, feeling a strange shiver on the back of her neck. In the city, life flowed according to a set rhythm. Work, studies, evenings out with friends - all within a predictable framework. But Lena had been catching herself more and more lately that she didn't fit into that framework. She felt as if an invisible boundary was stretching around her, squeezing her tighter and tighter. For as long as she could remember, she had been looking for 'something more'. This "more" appeared in the form of dreams: a forest, a tree and a luminous portal. She finally decided to come here, even if it sounded absurd. She found an oak tree at the edge of the clearing. The roots tangled into a peculiar tunnel, and Lena could almost hear a quiet whisper coming from them. She moved her hand over the moss and felt a pulsing - as if there was a heart hidden beneath the earth. When she suddenly moved a root, the ground beneath her opened up with a quiet crackle and a circle of light appeared. With her heart pounding, Lena stepped back, but something invisible stopped her hand. The light began to pour into her, and images appeared before her eyes: a city engulfed in silence, strange figures in masks made of leaves, whirling birds with metallic feathers. She heard her own name spoken in an unfamiliar language. She took a deep breath and hesitated for only a moment. She crossed the line between the roots.... and she felt everything around her spinning. Before she could scream, the light engulfed her completely. And then...