The world was alive.
Calen stood still for a moment, letting it wash over him. The dome behind him: weathered, cracked, and overgrown, rose like a forgotten observatory, its glass glinting like broken stars in the morning light. Vines crawled its metal ribs. Nature had already started reclaiming it.
Birdsong warbled from the trees. Leaves danced in a gentle breeze. Beyond the clearing, the world unfolded it was wild, untamed, and quietly magical.
A field of violet grass rippled like an ocean. Towering trees with golden bark rose like watchful sentinels, their leaves shimmering in strange gradients. Teal, indigo, even a pale translucent white. Floating lantern-bugs drifted lazily through the air, their bodies pulsing with gentle light.
"Okay," Echo said, her voice now calmer, quieter, like she too was soaking it all in. "I take it back. If you did walk into the sun, it'd probably be scenic."
Calen adjusted the strap of his satchel and stepped off the cracked stone path that had once led carriages to the dome. His boots crunched against moss-laced gravel.
[Objective: Reach Ludan – 7 km Southwest]
[Estimated Travel Time: 2 Hours on Foot]
[Local Terrain: Moderate Risk – Unknown Fauna]
As he walked, the HUD flickered gently with each new biome...
[Identified: Dreamgrass Field]
[Identified: Glassroot Trees]
[Caution: Mana Pressure Detected, Low Tier Zone]
"Mana pressure?" he muttered aloud.
"Yup," Echo replied. "Magic's basically the world's mood swings. This area's in a good one. Try not to trip into a rift or get possessed by flower spirits. That'd be awkward."
Calen tilted his head.
"…That's a thing?"
"In some places? Yeah. Though flower spirits are usually more into poetry and unsolicited life advice."
They continued. The sun rose higher. Time passed in a dreamlike haze, broken only by the occasional rustle of wings or distant howls muffled by wind and terrain.
Suddenly, the terrain shifted.
A bridge.
Old. Stone. Half-collapsed, moss-eaten and tilted over a crystalline creek. Calen crossed it carefully. Beneath, fish with translucent bodies swam through water so clear it looked like liquid glass.
A noise, a sharp snap.
Calen stopped. Slowly turned.
From the underbrush emerged a creature. A fox. But no ordinary one. Its fur was snow-white, eyes glowing softly violet. Antlers curved from its head like crystal branches. It stood silent, watching him.
Calen blinked. His HUD flickered.
[Entity: Vulpinari - Tier 0.5]
[Status: Curious – Not Hostile]
"…Hello," he said.
The fox tilted its head, blinked slowly, then padded forward. It sniffed the edge of his coat, then… licked it. Just once.
"Apparently, you pass the vibe check," Echo whispered.
Then the fox turned and trotted into the trees, vanishing like a ghost.
Calen watched it go.
"…I liked that one."
"You're allowed to have a favorite magical forest creature. Just don't start naming them. That's how attachments happen."
By noon, the forest thinned. The sound of a river grew louder. A wooden post jutted from the earth, old and hand-carved. Letters worn but legible:
→ LUDAN — 1 km
← TWILIGHT EMPIRE BORDER – 35 km
Calen slowed. Something in his chest tightened, like the feeling from the lab, but sharper now. A soft pang of anticipation. Or was it fear?
[Emotional Regulation Fluctuation Detected]
[Logging Internal Response... Standby...]
Ludan awaited.
A medieval fantasy town nestled between river and forest, hidden by charm and time. Smoke curled lazily from chimneys in the distance. Bells chimed faintly on the wind.
Calen looked down at his gloved hands.
He wasn't sure what waited there.
But he would find out.
One foot in front of the other.
"…Let's see what the world makes of me."
The wind carried his words forward.
And somewhere, far behind, the dome let out one final creak… before collapsing in on itself like a tired memory.