'So it's a puzzle,' I thought, crouching down to inspect one of the fragments.
The kind of setup you'd see in adventure games or those mystery novels where the protagonist has to solve a riddle to move forward.
If I solved it, there was probably something hidden behind that barrier. Maybe a secret chamber. Maybe treasure. Or maybe… something worse.
"Well," I murmured, rolling my shoulders. "Let's try to solve it."
I crouched lower, studying the pieces more closely, but before I could make sense of anything—
"Huh?"
My hand, which had been reaching toward the wall, slipped through it.
"…What?"
I froze.
The white membrane that Berno had called a barrier—my fingers had just passed through it like it wasn't even there.
For a second, I just stared, blinking dumbly. Then I pulled my hand back out. Solid. Normal.
Tentatively, I reached forward again.
It went through.
No resistance, no reaction. Like dipping my hand into water that wasn't wet.
