Debugging the Multiverse

I crossed over.

That was the first thought that popped into my head when my cozy apartment turned into… well, this. A frozen tundra straight out of a survival horror game. The wind howled like it was auditioning for a role in a haunted house soundtrack, and it pierced my skin like a knife through tofu.

The grassy field—if you can call it that—was buried under winter's embrace. And let me tell you, it's not as magical as those aesthetic Instagram photos would have you believe when you're knee-deep in snow. Wait… knee-deep?

I looked down. Huh. Why are my hands so tiny? And why am I dressed like I lost a bet with a medieval blacksmith? I was wearing a ridiculous outfit made of barely strung-together leather and, to top it off, a flowing white cape.

sigh

Can I reroll? Seriously, if I freeze to death, do I get to respawn somewhere warmer? Maybe a nice tropical beach? With coconuts?

...

No answer, huh? Well, what did I expect? At this rate, my sanity points are probably in the negatives.

grrrr

Even my stomach was growling. What kind of spawn location is this!?

But mama didn't raise no quitter.

And so I persisted.

Dragging my tiny arms and feet forward, I stumbled through the snow, picking a direction at random. There was no objective marker, no tutorial, and no NPCs handing out quests. I was utterly, hopelessly lost.

The only thing I could see in this sea of white was a giant tree far off in the distance. And when I say giant, I mean GIANT. Triple the height and quadruple the width of any tree I've ever seen. Actually, scratch that—something about it felt off.

It wasn't just big. It was impossible.

But hey, better than standing here and waiting for the cold to turn me into a human popsicle, right?

"COUNTRY ROAAAAAAD"

I have been walking for… I don't even know how long. All I know is this tree refuses to get closer. Seriously, how does that work? Am I walking in place? Is this some kind of magic treadmill?

Oh, and the wind? Not helping. I definitely didn't fall backwards a few times because of it…

Definitely didn't.

"TAKE ME HOOOOOOME…"

I'd been singing for what felt like hours now. I cycled through all the classics. Oldies, rock ballads, whatever came to mind. It was the only thing keeping me sane in this endless white abyss.

"To the place… I BELOOOOOONG!"

Now, tiny body of mine! March forward!

At some point, I stopped feeling my legs. The snow just kept going, and so did I… sort of. I was trudging forward purely on spite and whatever scraps of sanity I still had left.

"I walked a lonely road…" I sang to the tundra, my voice hoarse and breath fogging up in front of me.

"The only one that I have ever known…"

Wait.

That's actually my life right now. I'm walking a lonely road to nowhere, and I have no idea where it leads.

"Don't know where it goes…"

Yeah. No kidding.

I glanced up at the BIG ASS Tree—or whatever it was. The closer I got, the bigger it looked. Like, planet-sized big. The branches reached into the clouds. What I'd thought were little trees at its base? Those were leaves. Leaves the size of skyscrapers.

"But it's home to me, and I…"

"Walked… Alone."

"...Together."

Wait. What?

The last word wasn't mine. It was like a second voice had layered itself over mine—soft, distant, and unsettling.

I stopped mid-step, my heart hammering.

Slowly, I turned my head.

And there it was. A massive talon, easily bigger than my entire body, planted firmly in the snow. Following the talon up, I saw pristine white feathers—so bright they practically glowed against the snow—and then… oh god.

A beak. Yellow and curved, looming over me like the barrel of a cannon twice my size. And above it, two golden eyes, unblinking and utterly focused on me.

I froze. My brain short-circuited.

Oh.

Oh no.

I'm screwed, aren't I?