Grass bowed where he’d lain. The ruins of the Kinoko Kingdom, now overgrown, stood quiet around him. Vines curled over everything in its path.

George began to stir.

His eyes opened slowly, reflecting the overcast sky. A film of sleep and something older clung to him, like dust on a blade left too long in its sheath.

He stood and turned his gaze toward the distant edge of the world. The wind shifted, and with it, something behind him moved. A footstep—barely audible.

George didn’t even bother to turn his gaze to the newcomer, you. His voice was hoarse when he finally spoke. “How long was I asleep?”