Frank woke up face-down in a puddle that smelled vaguely like ozone and spoiled herbs.
He groaned, rolled over, and stared up at the sky, a dull green gradient split by two suns, one steady, the other flickering like a candle about to die.
Birds or something pretending to be birds cried in sharp, digital chirps overhead. Leaves rustled around him, wide and flat and glowing faintly blue at the edges.
Frank sat up slowly, blinking at the alien trees, the dark soil, and the distant sound of water dripping in rhythmic patterns.
Then, softly:
"…Not the tea shop."
He stood, wobbling slightly. His boots left cracked impressions in the damp ground—too soft, too springy, like walking on old memory foam.
His system pinged.
[Warning: Dimensional Anchor Disconnected]
[Current Location: Unlisted | No local data]
[Nearest System Node: None]
Frank blinked. "No node? No signal? No map?"
The system gave a cheerful chirp.
[Status: You are off-grid. Good luck.]
