He stared at the paper again. Then he typed in chat—a habit from years of servers.

On day three, he found the cave.

Leo stopped. His cursor hovered over the first block of gravel.

And for some reason, that made the silence under the hill feel closer than ever.

He walked across anyway. The bridge held. On the far side, carved into the stone, was a room. One torch sputtered in a wall socket. A crafting table sat in the center, and on it—a single piece of paper.

Leo turned. The tunnel behind him was dark. His second torch had burned out. He didn't remember placing a third.

> hello?

He saved and quit. Then he reloaded the world, just to be sure.