Elias woke up on his couch with a headache that felt like it had been personally designed by something that hated him with creativity.
For a few seconds, he didn't move. He just lay there staring at the ceiling, waiting for the rest of it to arrive. A dragon through the window. A magical voice announcing his death. A portal opening under his floor again.
Something.
Anything.
But nothing happened.
His apartment was exactly the same as it always was. Small. Slightly messy. Quiet in a way that felt less like peace and more like neglect. Dust sat on the shelves like it had been there long enough to develop opinions. The faint smell of old cereal lingered in the air, mixed with something that could only be described as "yesterday's bad decisions."
Elias blinked slowly.
"…I'm home?"
A glowing blue screen appeared above his face.
Not dramatic. Not explosive. Just there, like it had always been there and he was the one who had failed to notice.
YOU WERE RETURNED TO YOUR HOME WORLD.
Elias groaned and covered his eyes with his arm.
"Why? I was literally in the middle of something important. I think."
YOU WERE NOT.
"I had a quest."
YOU PANICKED.
"I handled it."
YOU PANICKED SEVEN TIMES.
"That's an exaggeration."
IT IS NOT.
Elias sighed and sat up slowly. His body felt normal again, which somehow made everything feel less real than the forest had.
"Okay," he muttered. "Fine. I'm back. Let me just pretend this didn't happen and move on with my life."
A pause.
Then a knock hit the door so hard it made him flinch.
"Elias? Are you alive in there?"
He froze.
That voice.
Alice.
His neighbor.
The only person who treated his life like a constantly updating emergency report.
Before he could respond, the door opened.
Alice stepped inside without hesitation, like boundaries were a suggestion written in pencil.
She looked him up and down once.
"You disappeared for twelve hours," she said. "Where were you?"
Elias opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
His brain tried to assemble words and failed immediately.
WARNING: USER IS ABOUT TO LIE.
He hissed under his breath. "Don't you start."
Alice frowned. "What?"
"Nothing. I was… out."
"Out where?"
His mind flashed violently.
Glowing forest. Falling sky. Teeth. Too many teeth. A system floating beside him like it owned reality.
His chest tightened.
Then it happened.
A familiar presence stirred in the back of his mind.
Not just a screen.
Not just text.
Something watching him think.
NEW DESIRE ANALYSIS IN PROGRESS.
Elias stiffened.
"No. Don't you dare—"
DESIRE STABILITY CHECK FAILED.
"STOP DOING THAT."
Alice blinked. "Elias… who are you talking to?"
Elias pointed vaguely at the air. "Not you. It's the— it's the thing—"
The system interrupted immediately.
DESIRE DETECTED.
He froze.
"…I didn't even say anything."
YOU DID NOT NEED TO.
Alice narrowed her eyes. "Okay, I'm starting to get worried."
Elias turned slightly away from her, whispering through his teeth.
"Please don't make this worse."
I DO NOT MAKE THINGS WORSE. I MAKE THEM ACCURATE.
"That's worse."
NEW DESIRE CLASSIFIED.
Elias went pale.
"No— wait— I didn't even—"
DESIRE: "I WANT TO SOUND COOL."
His soul left his body for a fraction of a second.
"Oh no."
SYSTEM RESPONSE: THIS IS STATISTICALLY UNLIKELY TO SUCCEED.
"STOP COMMENTING ON IT!"
Alice folded her arms. "Elias. Just answer the question."
He straightened instantly, too fast, too confidently, like a broken puppet trying to imitate confidence.
"I was fighting a dragon."
Silence.
The system paused.
Even it seemed to consider this statement for a moment.
Alice blinked.
Slowly.
"A dragon."
"Yes."
"In Bavaria."
"Yes."
There was another pause.
Alice stared at him like she was trying to decide whether this was the worst lie she had ever heard or the most impressive mental breakdown she had witnessed.
Then she sighed.
"Okay. I'm calling Jack and Arthur."
Elias immediately panicked.
"No, no, no— that's not necessary—"
But she had already pulled out her phone.
"I think this is above my pay grade."
Elias dropped his head into his hands.
"…This is how I die socially."
Jack and Arthur arrived twenty minutes later.
They did not walk in like normal people.
Jack entered first, calm, controlled, looking like someone who had already mentally diagnosed the situation and was just waiting for confirmation.
Arthur followed behind him at full speed, holding an energy drink like it was part of his nervous system.
Arthur pointed at Elias immediately.
"WHERE WERE YOU?!"
Elias shrank into the couch. "I was—"
Jack raised a hand. "You disappeared. No messages. No phone. Nothing."
Arthur added, "I was preparing emotional speeches. I didn't get to use them."
Jack ignored him. "Elias. Talk."
Elias swallowed.
The system spoke before he could.
CURRENT SOCIAL PRESSURE DETECTED.
Elias whispered. "Please stop narrating my life."
CORRECTION: I AM NOT NARRATING. I AM REPORTING.
Jack stepped closer. "Where were you?"
Elias felt it again.
That pressure behind reality.
The memory of impossible grass under his hands. The sky breaking open. A beast roaring inside a wooden hall.
He exhaled.
"I was in another world."
Arthur nodded immediately. "Okay, he's doing the thing again."
Jack sighed. "Yeah."
"I'M NOT DOING A THING!"
Arthur leaned toward Jack. "He's definitely doing a thing."
Jack nodded again. "Confirmed."
Elias slammed his head back against the couch.
"Why does nobody believe me?!"
The system responded calmly.
TRUTH DETECTED.
Elias froze.
"…Wait."
Alice blinked. "Did it just say—"
Jack frowned. "Say what?"
Arthur squinted. "Was that your phone?"
Elias slowly turned his head toward the empty air.
"…You believed me?"
YES.
Silence fell.
Even Arthur stopped moving.
Elias stared.
"…Why?"
BECAUSE YOUR STATEMENT MATCHES RECENT REALITY DATA.
Alice slowly looked at Elias. "Okay. That's new."
Jack narrowed his eyes. "Elias… what are you talking about?"
Elias swallowed.
"There's a system."
A pause.
A very specific pause.
Like the room itself had decided to listen more carefully.
The system spoke again.
CLARIFICATION: I AM HERE.
Elias pointed upward. "That."
Arthur blinked. "Is that… a voice?"
Jack looked uneasy now. "Elias. Are you sure you're okay?"
"I AM PERFECTLY—"
DESIRE FLUCTUATION DETECTED.
Elias groaned. "Oh no."
NEW DESIRE CLASSIFIED.
"I didn't even think anything!"
YOU DID.
DESIRE: "I WANT TO SOUND BELIEVABLE."
Elias buried his face in his hands. "This is bullying."
SYSTEM RESPONSE: CORRECT.
Alice slowly sat down beside him. "Okay… let's assume something weird is happening."
Arthur raised his hand. "I vote we assume it's drugs."
Jack ignored him. "Explain properly."
Elias exhaled.
"I got a system. It reads my desires. And then it… makes them real."
Arthur nodded slowly. "So like… wish app?"
"No."
Jack frowned. "Like a reality manipulation system."
"Yes."
Alice leaned back. "That sounds… dangerous."
"It is," Elias said immediately.
The system corrected him.
STATEMENT INCOMPLETE.
Elias frowned. "What?"
IT IS VERY DANGEROUS.
"Thanks."
YOU ARE CURRENTLY LOW SURVIVAL PROBABILITY.
"I KNOW!"
Jack rubbed his temples. "Okay. Hypothetically. If this is real—"
"It is real."
"—then why are you here?"
Elias hesitated.
The system spoke softly.
USER REQUESTED "HOME."
Elias looked down.
"…I did?"
YES.
A strange silence settled in the room.
Arthur softened slightly. "So… you wanted to come back?"
Elias nodded slowly.
"…I guess I did."
For the first time, the system didn't sound sarcastic.
JUSTIFICATION: USER WAS AFRAID.
Elias frowned. "That's not—"
CORRECTION: IT IS.
He didn't answer.
The room stayed quiet for a moment longer than usual.
Then Alice stood up.
"Okay," she said. "So you're either insane or this is real."
Arthur raised a finger. "Could be both."
Jack ignored him again. "What happens next?"
Elias didn't get to answer.
The air shifted.
Subtle.
Wrong.
Like reality had just remembered something it forgot to finish.
The system spoke immediately.
NEW QUEST GENERATED.
Elias went pale.
"…No."
QUEST: PREPARE FOR NEXT TRANSFER.
Reward: +1 Preparedness Penalty: Sudden relocation without warning
Arthur blinked. "That sounds bad."
"It is bad," Elias said.
Jack stepped forward. "When?"
UNCERTAIN.
Arthur frowned. "That's not helpful."
SYSTEM RESPONSE: IT IS ACCURATE.
Elias stood up suddenly.
"Okay. No. I'm done being surprised by my own existence."
He grabbed his backpack.
"What are you doing?" Alice asked.
"Preparing."
Arthur nodded. "That's actually smart."
Jack agreed. "Finally."
Elias dumped the contents onto the couch.
Dust exploded into the air like it had been personally offended by being disturbed.
"Okay. Essentials," Elias muttered. "Food. Water. Clothes. Survival stuff. Maybe something useful for once in my life."
USER IS INSUFFICIENTLY CAPABLE FOR COMBAT ITEMS.
"Unhelpful."
He packed anyway.
Hoodie.
Water bottle.
Granola bar.
Notebook.
Pen.
One sock he did not question.
Arthur watched. "That looks… tragic."
"It's survival," Elias said.
SYSTEM RESPONSE: IT IS POOR SURVIVAL.
"STOP COMMENTING ON MY LIFE."
Jack crossed his arms. "So you're just waiting to be pulled again?"
"Apparently."
Alice sighed. "That's terrifying."
"It's my life now."
The system spoke again, quieter.
CORRECTION: IT IS NOT "YOUR LIFE." IT IS "YOUR CURRENT INSTANCE."
Elias paused.
"…That sounds worse."
IT IS.
A silence fell again.
Then Elias felt it.
A shift.
Not physical.
Not emotional.
Structural.
Reality bending its attention toward him again.
He froze.
"…Oh no."
DESIRE DETECTED.
"I DIDN'T THINK ANYTHING!"
YOU DID.
DESIRE: "I WANT TO FIX MY REPUTATION."
Elias stared at the empty air.
"That's not even a desire. That's damage control!"
SYSTEM RESPONSE: SAME CATEGORY.
Jack stepped forward. "Elias—"
"I DIDN'T CHOOSE THIS!"
Alice grabbed his arm. "Wait—"
Arthur backed away. "I don't like this part—"
The room began to dissolve.
Edges first.
Then sound.
Then meaning.
Elias's voice cracked.
"I AM NOT READY—"
And the world pulled him away again.