I woke up inside my friend's video game

The wind whispered through the trees, carrying with it the faint scent of something unfamiliar, something just beyond reach. The world around me felt eerily still, as if it were holding its breath, waiting. Each step forward was slow, deliberate, my thoughts drifting like leaves caught in a current. I could feel it—the subtle shift in the air, the weight of an unseen moment drawing near. 

There was a serenity to the quiet, but it felt fragile, as if it could shatter at any second. The kind of calm that lingers before a storm breaks loose, when the sky darkens and the wind turns cold. The kind that makes you wonder whether to brace yourself or surrender to the fleeting peace while it lasts. 

I stopped, scanning the familiar landscape, yet something about it felt different. As though the world itself was teetering on the edge of something vast and unknowable, waiting for the inevitable push. 

"Things are changing," I murmured to no one in particular, the truth of the words settling deep in my bones. "Something is coming. Something big." 

The path ahead stretched endlessly, but now there was a pull, an invisible force guiding me forward. The wind stirred, swirling leaves at my feet as if the earth itself longed to reveal its secrets. 

Excitement hummed beneath my skin, quiet yet electric. The road behind me had been filled with unexpected turns, but I couldn't shake the feeling that the real journey was only just beginning. 

I smiled to myself, anticipation sparking in my chest. "It's going to be amazing," I whispered, sharing the thought like a secret with the world around me. "You won't want to miss what comes next." 

Overhead, the sky deepened, the first signs of the storm taking shape. But instead of fear, all I felt was exhilaration. There was a promise in the air—of change, of something extraordinary waiting just beyond the horizon. 

I inhaled deeply, steadying myself for what lay ahead. Because I knew, without a doubt, that this was the kind of journey that shapes everything, the kind you look back on and know was worth every uncertain step. 

With one last glance at the darkening sky, I pressed on, the wind at my back and the unknown calling me forward.