Adrian was dreaming.
He knew it was a dream, but it felt far too vivid.
He had already reached the two stages of the fifth thread—four attempts, four successes. The system had confirmed it. He'd grown used to the strange current that carried him to the distant shore known as the Gate.
But when he was finished and closed his eyes, there was no blankness. Instead, he found himself here.
'Where am I?'
The place felt familiar, like a memory tugging at the edges of his mind, yet he was certain he had never stood here before.
It looked like a village.
The houses weren't made of wood or stone but of mud and straw. Small, cramped dwellings, just large enough to shelter a family. They were scattered without order, built wherever space allowed.
But there was no one. Not a single soul.
"Hello?" he called. His voice echoed back to him, hollow, as though the entire world were empty.
"Hm…" he hummed to himself, and kept walking.
