The room was silent, except for the faint hum of the ceiling fan spinning above his head. The blades cut through the air at a steady rhythm, their dull mechanical groan almost hypnotic. Lin Feng lay on his back, staring up into the dim ceiling, his mind refusing to quiet. The soft glow of the streetlights seeped through the thin curtains, casting pale orange streaks across his room. He could make out the silhouette of his desk, the half-open wardrobe, the familiar outline of his bookshelf — everything was where it had always been. Yet, the world outside had become unrecognizable.
His breathing was slow, controlled, as if he was afraid that even exhaling too hard might shatter whatever fragile normalcy remained in his life. The events from earlier today looped endlessly in his mind, each time twisting slightly, as though he was trying to extract some deeper meaning that kept slipping away.
The Tower. The Tree. The Voice. The Estra Roots.
It sounded absurd when he thought about it. Like a dream that had somehow attached itself to his reality. But it wasn't a dream. The massive black tower stood in the park, visible even from his bedroom window. Its unnatural presence loomed over the skyline, piercing into the night sky like a silent spear. It was real. They were real. All of it.
"You are in the Estra Roots."
The words of the tree echoed in his mind with eerie clarity. The voice had been calm, ancient, and yet… personal. Why had it spoken to him? Why him, out of all the people in the park? There were already people — a lot of people — in the park. So I suppose that while I was inside, hundreds must have been outside, watching the Tower, recording with their phones, taking pictures, shouting, panicking… whatever they were doing. But then, why didn't the Tower pull one of them inside? Or all of them? Why me? Or maybe… maybe there were others, pulled into different parts of the Tower that I never saw.
He rubbed his forehead, closing his eyes tightly as if to squeeze the answers out of his own skull.
Why?
The silence in his room only made the question louder.
Maybe he was chosen. But chosen for what? Was it a test? A warning? A message?
Maybe he stumbled into something he wasn't supposed to see.
Maybe others had seen it too, but weren't talking.
Or maybe he was losing his mind.
A dry laugh escaped his lips — humorless, nervous. If anyone had told him yesterday that giant towers would erupt from the earth, that a voice would speak to him from a colossal tree inside a world called the Estra Roots, he would have laughed in their face. Yet here he was, living the impossible.
His eyes drifted to his phone lying on the bedside table. He had been avoiding it, unwilling to break the fragile isolation of his thoughts. But the need for answers gnawed at him. Surely, someone else out there had seen something. Experienced something. He wasn't the only one. He couldn't be.
With a hesitant hand, he reached for his phone, unlocking it. The screen's harsh light stung his eyes, but he blinked through it. Notifications exploded across his screen — group chats, breaking news alerts, missed calls, panicked messages from classmates, memes, conspiracy theories. The world was trying to make sense of the chaos, each person spinning their own theory, their own narrative.
But none of them had spoken to the Tree.
He opened his usual forum — a gaming community he'd been part of for years. It wasn't the kind of place where serious discussions happened, but tonight, even this corner of the internet was infected by the Tower's arrival.
Dozens of new threads filled the screen:
"WTF IS THAT THING IN THE PARK?!"
"Is this some kind of government experiment?"
"Anyone else thinking dungeon vibes? Like, real-life RPG shit?"
"Did someone go inside? Anyone know what's inside??"
He scrolled through rapidly, searching for something that might resonate with his experience.
"Bro, I have friends who tried to get closer, but the army blocked them."
"My cousin was there when it appeared. She said she felt weird, like time stopped for a second."
"Heard the government's calling an emergency meeting at midnight. Some kind of joint world summit."
"Apparently, after midnight, around 3AM, the first special forces unit will enter one of the towers. Tomorrow, we should get some official news."
He stared at the screen, rereading the posts, feeling both relieved and uneasy.
Relieved, because clearly, everyone was as confused as he was.
Uneasy, because nobody mentioned speaking to a tree. Nobody mentioned Estra Roots.
"Am I really the only one?"
The thought was chilling. Maybe others just hadn't said anything yet. Or maybe… they couldn't.
His mind spiraled further. What if the Tower was more than a structure? What if it was alive? The Tree certainly felt alive. Its voice had felt old, ancient, but aware. Was it watching him now? Was there some kind of connection between them? Was his mind still his own?
He sat up in bed, heart racing slightly. He ran both hands through his hair, gripping his scalp, grounding himself.
"Breathe, Lin Feng. Breathe."
He got up, pacing across his small room. The cold floor beneath his bare feet sent small shivers up his spine, grounding him further in reality. He glanced again at the window — at the Tower's silhouette.
It hadn't moved. It never moved. But somehow, it felt as though it was always watching.
The government meeting… The military entering the Tower at 3AM… That was only a few hours from now. Would they see the Tree too? Would they meet Estra? Or was his experience unique?
"Why me?"
The question circled back like a vulture. Always, why him? He was no one special.
He wasn't a soldier.
He wasn't a scientist.
He wasn't a spiritual guru.
He was just Lin Feng. A high school student. A gamer. Someone who occasionally skipped homework to grind levels on MMOs. Someone who stayed up late watching anime and reading web novels about dungeons and towers, but who never thought for a moment that life would throw him into one.
Maybe that was the cruel joke. Life imitates fiction. But unlike the protagonists in his stories, he didn't have a cheat skill. He didn't have secret knowledge. He didn't have a system interface.
He had only confusion and fear.
The weight of the unknown pressed heavily on his chest. He leaned against the wall, letting himself slide down slowly, sitting on the floor. The coolness of the wall was oddly comforting.
"What happens now?"
The governments would act. The soldiers would enter. Maybe they'd figure everything out. Or maybe they'd make things worse. Humanity wasn't exactly known for handling the unknown with grace.
"What if… what if this is just the beginning?"
What if the Towers were only the first step in something much larger? What if humanity was standing at the edge of something vast and dangerous?
His stomach turned.
"What if the Tree picked me because I wasn't ready? Because I was weak?"
Or maybe it was because of the opposite.
Maybe because he was still empty — unformed, untainted — easy to mold.
His mind offered no comfort, only more questions.
He thought of his family. His father, Zhao Wen, who had always carried the weight of responsibility like a silent badge. His mother, Mei Lin, with her brilliant mind, who always taught him to analyze before reacting. His little sister, Lin Xiu, who looked up to him with innocent, unwavering trust.
They were all still asleep, trusting that the adults, the governments, would fix this.
"I should protect them."
The thought came uninvited, but firm. If something bigger was coming, if these Towers were only a doorway to greater dangers, then he had to be ready. He had to find a way to understand. To prepare.
"But how?"
Again, no answers.
Frustrated, he stood up, pacing again. His heart beat faster now, not from fear but from the spiraling weight of responsibility settling on him.
His gaze fell back to the phone. The chaos online reflected the chaos inside him. Everyone was talking. No one knew anything.
"Maybe that's the point."
The Tree — Estra — had spoken to him. It hadn't given him information. It hadn't told him what to do. It simply acknowledged his presence.
"You are in the Estra Roots."
It sounded like an invitation. Or a warning. Or both.
He laid back down again, pulling the blanket over himself, though sleep was miles away.
Time passed slowly. He kept glancing at the clock. Midnight came and went. 12:30. 12:45. 1:10. Every minute felt like an hour.
"Tomorrow…I mean in a few hours…" he whispered to himself.
In a few hours, the first reports might come. Information would finally start to emerge — or more chaos would follow.
But even then, he knew that his own encounter would remain unique, locked within his chest like a secret he didn't fully understand.
His eyes began to grow heavy, exhaustion finally pulling at him. His mind continued to churn even as his body begged for rest. He pulled the blanket tighter around himself, listening to the distant hum of the city, the silent presence of the Tower looming far away.
Maybe something will be different when he wakes up.
But tonight, he could only wait.
And wonder.