Liam leaned back for only a second before immediately pulling the large map toward himself.

Business first.

The room faded into the background as his blue eyes swept across every marking on the parchment.

The map was surprisingly detailed. Rivers twisted through enormous forests, mountain ranges stretched across entire sections of the continent like scars, and dozens upon dozens of settlements had been carefully marked in ink. Some were tiny villages represented by simple circles while others were large cities illustrated with elaborate symbols.

Near one corner, a bold letter had been written in dark ink.

A.

Liam tapped it with his finger.

"This where we are?"

Mary nodded.

"Yes."

Liam hummed quietly before continuing his inspection.

His finger slowly traveled across the parchment until it reached another mark much farther away.

Unlike the first, this location wasn’t near any village or trade route.

There was only a large X drawn in the middle of an endless stretch of forest.

He frowned.

"And... you people are planning to go here?"

Mary followed his finger.

"Yes."

Liam looked between the map and Mary several times before raising an eyebrow.

"...Why?"

Nobody answered immediately.

He leaned closer over the table.

"There’s literally nothing here."

His finger traced circles around the X.

"No settlement."

"No roads."

"No landmarks."

"No rivers."

"No ruins."

"Just... trees."

He looked back at the group.

"Who wakes up and says, ’You know what sounds like a great idea? Walking into the middle of nowhere?’"

Irina shrugged.

"I was wondering the same thing."

Leonid nodded once.

"I still am."

Even Gregor gave a quiet grunt of agreement.

Mary smiled faintly before looking toward the elderly woman seated beside her.

"Because Agatha believes that’s where we need to go."

Liam’s eyes naturally shifted toward the silver-haired witch.

"The Seer?"

Mary looked at him with mild surprise.

"You already know?"

Liam nodded.

"Tatiana filled me in upstairs."

He glanced sideways toward Tatiana with a small smile.

"She talks a lot when she’s worried."

Tatiana immediately lowered her eyes.

"I was just explaining."

"I’m not complaining."

Her cheeks warmed slightly, though she said nothing more.

Liam returned his attention to Agatha.

For the first time since arriving in this world, he studied her carefully instead of merely acknowledging her presence. The elderly witch sat with remarkable composure despite her age, her long silver braid resting neatly over one shoulder while calm gray eyes observed the map with the patience of someone who had learned never to rush fate. Unlike Mary, who always carried herself like an experienced scholar, Agatha possessed an almost detached serenity, as though the things she witnessed in her visions had taught her to accept uncertainty rather than fear it.

"So," Liam said, resting one elbow on the table, "what’s special about this place?"

Agatha slowly raised her eyes to meet his.

"It appears."

Liam blinked.

"...Appears?"

"In my dreams."

Silence settled over the table.

"It began before we even left Earth," she continued quietly. "Every vision eventually leads me there. Sometimes I see nothing except trees. Sometimes I hear voices. Sometimes I only see a single path disappearing into the forest before I wake."

Her fingers gently rested atop the mark on the map.

"But every dream ends the same way."

She tapped the X once.

"Here."

Liam listened without interrupting.

"I don’t know what waits for us there," Agatha admitted honestly. "I don’t know whether we’ll find an object... a person... ruins... or simply another clue."

She looked directly into his eyes.

"But I know this much."

"It is the first place we must go."

"The visions have never stopped showing it to me."

"They repeat over and over."

"Night after night."

"As though something is calling us there."

Mary folded her hands together.

"Agatha has guided the coven through countless disasters over the years."

"When she says a vision refuses to leave her..."

"...we listen."

Liam lowered his gaze back to the map.

His finger rested quietly atop the lonely X surrounded by endless forest.

No cities.

No roads.

Nothing that suggested civilization.

Just wilderness.

Yet somehow...

That insignificant point in the middle of nowhere had become the destination that had brought seven people across two and a half million light-years.

After several quiet moments, Liam finally leaned back in his chair.

A slow smile spread across his face.

"So..."

He looked around the table at every single one of them.

"Our first destination in another galaxy..."

"...is a random forest because somebody keeps dreaming about it."

No one answered.

Liam chuckled to himself before tapping the map one last time.

"...You know what?"

"I’m in."

——

Liam rested both hands on the table as his eyes lingered on the map for a few more seconds before he finally looked back at Mary. The large forest marked with the bold X remained the center of everyone’s attention, yet despite all the discussion, there was still one glaring problem that nobody seemed capable of answering. He tapped the location lightly with his finger before raising an eyebrow.

"So we get here..." he said calmly. "Then what?"

The room became quiet.

Mary looked down at the map herself before slowly lifting her head.

"Then..." she admitted honestly, "we don’t know yet."

There wasn’t even the slightest embarrassment in her voice. She simply stated it as a fact.

"We only know that every prophecy leads there. Beyond that..." she shook her head. "We’re as blind as everyone else."

Liam stared at her for another moment before slowly nodding.

"...Good enough."

That answer seemed to surprise everyone around the table.

Irina folded her arms.

"Good enough?"

Liam shrugged.

"If someone who can literally see fragments of the future keeps pointing at one place, then that’s better than wandering this planet randomly hoping to trip over answers."

He pushed himself away from the table, placing both hands on the armrests of his chair before standing carefully. His legs still felt heavier than they normally should, and his body protested the movement with a dull ache that spread through his muscles, but unlike earlier upstairs, he managed to remain standing without losing his balance.

"Besides," he continued with a grin, "it’s not like sitting here staring at the map is going to magically make more information appear."

Irina rolled her eyes.

"Unfortunately."

Liam stretched his shoulders slowly before turning toward Tatiana.

"You guys keep planning."

His gaze settled on her.

"Help me walk around town, will you?"

Tatiana looked pleasantly surprised.

"Of course."

She stood immediately and stepped beside him before naturally lifting his arm toward her shoulder.

"You can lean on me."

Liam looked at the offered shoulder for a second.

It was...

Very tempting.

Ever since waking up, he’d noticed it again.

Her scent.

Warm.

Soft.

Comforting.

Standing this close to her, he could smell the faint sweetness clinging to her clothes beneath the crisp outdoor air that drifted through the inn. Somehow, simply being near her had an oddly calming effect on his exhausted body.

For one dangerous second...

He genuinely considered accepting.

Then he smiled and gently lowered his arm.

"I think..."

"I’ll try walking on my own."

Tatiana hesitated.

"Are you sure?"

"Not really."

That made her laugh.

"But if I don’t start now," Liam continued, "I’ll end up relying on you too much."

She looked at him for another moment before nodding.

"...Alright."

"But if you fall..."

"I know."

"You’ll laugh at me?"

She smiled innocently.

"I was going to say I’d catch you."

"Oh."

"...That works too."

The small exchange earned amused smiles from the others around the table.

None of them realized Liam had another reason for wanting to leave.

The instant he had regained consciousness earlier upstairs...

His system had spoken.

Not aloud.

Inside his mind.

A familiar blue notification had appeared before his eyes.

⸻

[New Mission!]

[Objective: Complete a mission in the town guild.]

[Reward: Instant Health Reboost.]

⸻

Even now, merely remembering it caused his heartbeat to quicken slightly.

It had been...

How long?

Months?

He honestly couldn’t remember the last time his system had issued such a direct mission.

Usually, it remained silent unless something significant happened.

Yet the moment he woke up in this strange world...

It immediately gave him a task.

Liam wasn’t particularly interested in the mission itself.

What truly caught his attention...

Was the reward.

Instant Health Reboost.

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

Five days.

That was Mary’s estimate.

Five whole days before his body naturally recovered from the strain of stabilizing the portal.

Normally he wouldn’t mind waiting.

But...

Five days in an unknown world where anything could attack them at any moment?

That was five days too long.

If completing one mission could restore him instantly...

Then he had absolutely no intention of wasting time.

The mission almost felt like his system was nudging him.

Go there.

Complete it.

Get stronger.

Simple.

Liam quietly followed Tatiana toward the entrance while the others resumed discussing supplies, routes and possible dangers they might encounter once they eventually left the town.

The innkeeper bowed politely as the pair stepped outside.

The afternoon air immediately greeted them.

The town was just as lively as before.

Merchants called customers toward their stalls, children ran through narrow streets laughing, strange carts pulled by creatures Liam still couldn’t identify rolled across stone roads, and unfamiliar scents drifted from nearby food vendors.

Everything felt...

Alive.

Tatiana glanced sideways at him.

"So..."

"Where are we going?"

Liam answered almost immediately.

"The town guild."

She blinked.

"The guild?"

"Yeah."

He scratched the back of his white hair awkwardly.

"...You don’t happen to know where that is, do you?"

Tatiana couldn’t help smiling.

It wasn’t a mocking smile.

It was simply... cute.

She had almost forgotten.

While everyone else had received the little boy’s memories...

Liam had still been unconscious.

To him...

This world was complete nonsense.

He couldn’t even understand the conversations happening around them.

Every voice passing by was nothing more than strange sounds and unfamiliar syllables.

He didn’t know the language.

He didn’t know the streets.

He didn’t know the customs.

As far as Liam was concerned...

He might as well have landed on another universe.

"I know where it is," Tatiana said softly.

Liam looked genuinely relieved.

"You do?"

She nodded.

"The memories showed us most of the town."

A teasing smile appeared on her face.

"So..."

"I guess today..."

"I’ll be your guide."

Liam chuckled.

"I appreciate it."

Tatiana stepped in front of him before turning around to face the street stretching through the town.

"This way."

Without another word, she began walking ahead at a comfortable pace, careful not to move so quickly that Liam would struggle to keep up.

Liam simply smiled and followed behind her.