The Aetherfang
It's 3am in the morning, The sea was calm, the moonlight painting silver lines across the waves. Will sat alone on the sand, letting the sound of water and it's peace within to drown out his thoughts.
And then suddenly the sky split opened.
A streak of light tore downward like a spear of fire, whistling through the night. For one breathless second, Will thought it was a falling star.
It was coming straight toward him.
"No, no, no!" His legs moved before his mind did, scrambling backward across the sand.
The impact shook the beach. Sand erupted into the air, raining back down as smoke curled from a deep, smoldering crater. Sparks of blue lightning arced inside it.
Will's chest heaved, but his eyes stayed locked on the crater. His body screamed to run, yet something stronger pulled him closer, not of will but that of curiosity.
He stepped forward. One step. Followed by Another.
Peering inside, he saw it.
An artifact carved in the shape of a lightening flash.
It shimmered with veins of blue light, runes etched across its surface. Electricity danced over it like living fire. Will's hand trembled as he reached down. Against all reason, his fingers closed around it.
The moment he touched it, his skin burned with strange markings. Black tattoo lines crawled across his arm, spreading fast, writing themselves into his flesh.
He yanked off his hoodie, horrified, watching as the markings etched across his chest, his neck, his entire body.
"What, what's happening to me?!" His voice cracked, fear choking him.
The air shifted.
He felt the presence of another pressed down on him, heavy and suffocating. Will stumbled back .
And then it appeared out of thin air.
A figure cloaked in black, its presence like a beast from ancient nightmares. Its face hidden, its eyes burning faintly beneath the hood.
Will's heart stopped.
The figure's voice rolled like thunder, deep and ancient.
"The Aetherfang."
Its gaze locked onto the glowing object in Will's shaking hands.
"Oh, you mea....you , you mean this?" Will struggled with words.
The figure responded with a heavy, fearful exhale. Instinctively, Will hurled the artifact toward it, but somehow the object found its way back into his grasp.
The being stepped closer to Will and once more uttered, "The Aetherfang."
Unsure of what to do next, Will immediately sprang to his feet and broke into a run, but he had barely covered any distance before the being appeared before him, swift as a flash of light, sending him crashing back to the ground.
"The Aetherfang it repeats"
"Oh my God, you can have it!" Will cried, hurling the artifact toward the being. Yet, as before, it found its way back into his hands.
After throwing the artifact for the fourth time, it became clear that it was now deeply bound to Will, for even the being itself could not hold it.
"Thou must yield it of thine own will," the being spake once more.
"How the hell am I supposed to do that? I don't even want it in the first place!" WILL yelled , his voice breaking under the weight of fear.
Will dropped the artifact to the ground and crawled backwards in terror. It lay motionless upon the sand, and then, without warning, the being vanished.
He froze on the spot, now consumed by even greater confusion as to what was happening.
Will rose to his feet and started moving slow toward the edge of the beach, glancing back every few steps to see if the artifact would follow, or the being would appear. When it did not, he broke into a sprint, running faster and faster until he reached the city road.
The city was quiet, as it should be in the early morning, with only a few cars driving by.
Even with no sign of the being or the artifact, Will did not stop running. His destination was clear, he was heading home.
He ran and ran until he reached a quiet street, where a nearby house came into view, one that appeared to be his.
He approached and pushed open its short wooden gate. Inside, the yard was lined with flowers that decorated the edges of the low fence all around.
He walked to the main door and slid the key into the lock, turning it until it clicked open. Quickly, he dashed inside and shut the door behind him, then drove the key back into the lock, securing it firmly from the inside.
It was a small house, and though the lights were turned off, Will managed to find his way to his room. Once inside, he collapsed onto his bed with a heavy exhale.
With everything that had just happened, Will's mind found no rest. He was even afraid to close his eyes, haunted by the fear that the beast would appear the moment he did. The thought clung to him, heavy and unrelenting.
He lay there, staring at the ceiling. His breathing slowly begin to steady, but the fragile peace he felt did not last.
Something crashed through his window, shattering the glass, and landed hard on the tiled floor.
"He pushed himself upright, every movement laced with the sting of glass biting into his flesh. The silence of the room pressed in on him as he edged toward the far wall, eyes fixed on the dark breach in the window, desperate to see what had forced its way inside."
"From the measured weight of his steps, it was clear he already anticipated what awaited him in the room."
"And there it lay, the Aetherfang. veined with a current of light that shimmered like living electricity."
"The moment his eyes fell upon it,Will dropped to the cold tiled floor of his own accord, his gaze fixed unblinkingly on the Aetherfang."
"And in that instant, a thought struck him., If it is here, then that means… His words died within as he slowly turned, only to find the very being from the beach standing behind him, its presence more dreadful than before."
"Will did not run. This time, he remained seated on the cold floor as the markings upon his skin began to glow, radiating sharp light brilliance so intense it spilled through his shattered window and lit the world beyond."
"What tha living hell is going on"