The forest. It sure is a place.
There's nothing wrong whatsoever with the great green plains; it's where the contestants have spent most of their lives, it's where the Battle for Dream Island occurred, and it's just a perfectly fine piece of land. The sort of land one could envision spending the rest of their life in. Some may wish that there was more to existence than just that, like some particularly smart and stubborn sports spheres, but most are just content in frolicking around in the fields and perhaps participating in a contest or two for the sake of winning some dumb prize. There's a life out there to enjoy, after all, so why not enjoy? Why spend so much time complaining about what you've got, when you can spend all that effort on having fun with it instead?
If one *does* really seek to be a downer, though, they can find plenty of issues with the plains. For one, it's rather flat. Maybe there's some hills here and there if you're lucky, but for the most part it's just a great big stretch of nothing. None exist other than green grass and the dirt underneath. Maybe a tree or two, perhaps a rock if you're so fortunate. That makes you visible for *miles*; anything and everything you do can easily be spotted by anyone that bothers to look in your general direction. And with everyone having some sort of dispute or grudge with someone else, that quickly develops into a *very* concerning situation. There's also the distinct lack of cover. For most months of the year, that's no problem at all; most living objects can withstand some pretty high temperatures, being built to last. But in the summer, things can get *really* hot. Say, for example, that a friendly cube of ice or a drop of fluid that emanated from one's eye was just happily going along with their existence. Then the sun comes up and starts chipping away at them, gradually shrinking them until they become nothing. That'd be rather unfortunate indeed. And there's probably 2,763 other issues with living out here, if one is so inclined to look for them.
But rarely is the question asked: what if that, but with more trees?
That is the forest. Sure, one has to sacrifice the glory of being able to run for miles without the fear of having to run into anything. But think of the *trees*. Think of the boundless opportunities they prevent. Their thick canopy prevents the harsh sunlight from breaking through, protecting you from high temperatures year-round. One can climb up them for shelter, to hide from one's enemies. They can also be used for leisure or recreation; if you *really* put your imagination at work, there's plenty of games to be made based on running around trees. If that isn't what one fancies, perhaps they can collect as many sticks or leaves as possible, maybe use them as tools or something. And if the trees really aren't what one wants, if they somehow loathe the idea of being able to rest one's back on it, they could always just chop them down. All parts of the tree can be used to make all sorts of things, if you're adept enough at the craft. Maybe one can make their own fun from there, the possibilities limitless and stretching far away. The forest is simply a *better* version of the plains. It's still vast and expansive, but it's just more comfortable.
So why don't people go there more often?
Anyone you ask regarding the matter immediately gives out the answer: this just isn't a mere forest. They'll tell stories of being forced to walk through it, confronting all sorts of horrors and terrors along the way. Just the very thought of walking into it makes them shiver. It's no regular, ordinary, run-of-the-mill, average forest. It's a bad forest. A cursed forest. An eerie forest. An *evil* forest.
But why call it evil? It's just... a bunch of trees. Not even living trees. They aren't actively out to get you, or anything. Even then, they probably wouldn't be any good at it; unlike a certain somebody, they're firmly rooted to the ground, unable to move just like those living objects should be. Just why on Earth were *some* objects cursed with the pain of living? Why do they get to roam the wastes in the constant presence of their still relatives and cousins? What cruelty up above would choose to sculpt a creature that can only feel pain?
