Chapter 15: Ch 15: Gray's worries and New companion

Gray froze mid-step. The weight of those words hit him like a punch to the gut. He stopped in his tracks, eyes wide as the fear slowly crept into his chest. Die? His real body… might die? He hadn't thought about it like that before. The idea of being trapped here had crossed his mind, but the reality of his body—his real, physical self—wasting away in another world filled him with sudden dread.

His hand instinctively went to the back of his neck, massaging it as a low worry settled in his gut. The system's words played over and over in his head. What if he couldn't get back? What if this really was his new reality?

"Gray?" Vanisa's soft voice pulled him from his spiraling thoughts. She had stopped too, her green eyes filled with concern as she tilted her head at him. "Are you okay?" she asked, her voice tender and sweet, her gaze searching his face as if trying to understand his sudden change in mood.