And now, at minute 31, with 229 days of perfect simulation still humming in his neural pathways, Leo realized the truth: Home2Reality had never been the escape.

This was.

229 days. 31 minutes.

At minute 31, the blue-lit path flickered. A soft chime sounded from his wristband.

Reality sync complete. User offline.

At minute 22, he sat on a mossy log and tried to call his wife. No signal. Of course no signal. The Guide had warned him. "Real environments have dead zones," it had said cheerfully. "Enjoy the quiet."

Leo didn't move. He pressed his forehead against the cold glass. Inside the house, a shadow passed by—someone walking, living, breathing real air, touching real things, making real mistakes.

The first ten minutes were agony. His soles screamed against the gravel. A mosquito landed on his forearm—a real, bloodthirsty mosquito—and he nearly wept. The simulation had never included pain. Or insects. Or the way a real breeze can shift without warning, carrying cold and then warmth and then the sound of a distant highway.