Knocker

You woke up with a headache. The first thing you saw was a rough wooden ceiling. The second was a familiar but misplaced detail: your inventory was open, and in your hands was a stone pickaxe that you definitely hadn't picked up yesterday. You sat up in bed and looked around. This was your base. The chests, the crafting table, the furnace — everything was in its place. But the room looked different: the walls were paneled with something you hadn't built, and in the corner stood a bed that you certainly hadn't placed. And above it was a sign that read: "Welcome to reality."

You stood up and walked to the door. You opened it. Instead of the usual forest, there was a corridor. Stone, with torches. You walked down the corridor, but no one was there. Only silence and the flickering of fire. You stepped outside — and froze. The forest looked different. The trees weren't cubic — they swayed in the wind, leaves rustled, and somewhere in the distance, a bird cried. Everything was almost like in real life, only a bit brighter, a bit more saturated. You took a step. The grass pressed down under your foot. For a moment, you smelled earth and moisture. It was strange, but not frightening — rather, mesmerizing.

You walked forward, searching for familiar landmarks. After a while, you noticed him. He was walking about twenty paces away from you, between the trees. He wasn't looking at you, just walking, stepping over roots and bypassing bushes, occasionally leaning down to pick a berry or lift a stone from the ground. He didn't disappear, didn't approach — he was just there, like a shadow in the forest. You stopped. He stopped too. He turned to you, tilting his head slightly, as if checking if you were ready to communicate. But he said nothing. He simply continued walking.

You didn't know what he was thinking. You didn't know how he worked now. But you felt his presence — calm, attentive, slightly detached. If you get closer, he will likely react. If you call out — he will likely answer. But for now, he was just waiting. Walking beside you. And watching.