The words lingered on the page. "Welcome, Liam."
The mist grew still. The faint glow from the book illuminated the table, casting light across the broken throne in the distance.
Liam didn't move. His eyes stayed fixed on the page, his chest tightening as he stood there in shock.
"…What is this place?"
No answer came. The book remained open, its pages unmoving.
He hesitated before stepping closer. The ground beneath his feet felt strange, solid yet unreal. He reached out, his fingers hovering above the page.
For a moment, nothing happened. Then the text shifted.
"Observer recognized."
"Authority: None."
"Control: Minimal."
Liam's breath caught.
"…Authority?" he muttered. "Control?"
"What is that suppose mean" He thought to himself.
The words felt unfamiliar, yet strangely fitting. He stared at the page, trying to understand.
"If this is some kind of system… then what am I observing?"
The book stayed silent. But the mist responded. It shifted slightly, as if reacting to him. Liam turned, scanning the endless white.
Nothing. At first as the white mist condense into a sphere... Then it slowly began to disperse revealing a rock a perfectly spherical rock
"A rock... Am i supposed to observe a rock?"
But as he looked closer he started to realize something, his chest tightening even more and his breath began to falter, turning into a sharp and unven hitches.
"that... looks more like a dead planet than a rock..." He hesitatingly said.
A faint unease settled in his chest. After calming himself. He looked towards the throne.
"…Is that important?"
He stepped forward. Then another. Each movement felt deliberate, as if the space was leading him towards it.
Then he noticed it. The mist near his feet stirred with each step.
He stopped.
"…Did I do that?"
He crouched and reached out. His fingers touched the mist.
It rippled. Then a faint glow flickered beneath the surface.
Liam quickly pulled back.
"…I can affect it."
His heartbeat quickened. Not from fear, but realization. He looked at his hand, then back at the mist.
"Control: Minimal…"
"So that means…"
His gaze sharpened.
"…I can do something here."
A quiet excitement rose within him. He reached out again, focusing this time.
The mist trembled slightly then nothing happened.
"…Come on…"
He closed his eyes and focused harder, imagining a small spark.
When he opened them—
Nothing.
The mist remained unchanged.
"…Seriously?"
He exhaled, frustrated.
"Of course it wouldn't be that easy."
He stood up and glanced toward the throne.
"…Maybe that thing has something to do with it."
He took a step forward.
Then the book suddenly flipped.
The sharp sound echoed in the misty world. Liam froze.
The pages turned rapidly before stopping.
New text appeared.
"Warning."
"Unstable influence detected."
Liam frowned.
"…What?"
The mist around him began to shift more violently. It twisted, contracted—
Then—
A faint flicker of light appeared where he had touched earlier.
Liam turned quickly.
"There…"
The light pulsed weakly, like a dying ember.
"…Did I... do that?"
He stepped closer, watching it carefully.
For a brief moment, he held it, then it vanished.
Gone without a trace, silence returned, Liam stood still.
"…It disappeared…"
Something tightened in his chest. From frustration.
He looked back at the book.
"Unstable influence…"
"…So I messed it up?"
The realization settled in he wasn't creating something. He was interfering with something he didn't understand yet.
Liam clenched his fist.
"…Then I just need to unravel how this world works."
His voice became more steadier and focused.
The hesitation from earlier faded only determination remain. He turned back to the mist.
"If it reacts to me then there has to be a pattern i can find."
The endless white stretched before him Liam exhaled slowly.
"…Let's try again."