I could barely react.
I saw the air—no, the sky—break.
Or perhaps it was just my imagination.
Two stones were falling towards us.
I froze, unable to move, until—
"Algor!! WATCH OUT! MOVE!"
Elliot's scream jolted me awake.
I leapt aside just in time, but even so...
The stone cracked the ground beneath me.
A shockwave of strange energy rippled out, slamming into my body.
"We should check it out," Elliot said.
He had already recovered from the shock, his mind sharp and focused.
That could never be me.
"Are you sure? That surge of energy was crazy strong... what if we get hit by it again?" I protested.
"Fine, I'll go alone."
I sighed and followed the stubborn Elliot.
There were two stones.
I could have sworn it was fate.
Two friends.
Two stones.
We both reached for them.
They looked identical—yet the aura, the vibe, was completely different.
Elliot slipped his into his pocket, while I continued to admire mine.
And then—
A massive surge of energy surrounded us.
The stones dissolved into strange particles.
Particles that glowed like magic—beautiful, unreal.
Those particles sank into our bodies.
Elliot grinned. He thought it was the coolest thing ever.
I, on the other hand, was still too shocked to speak.
He went on and on, rambling about how maybe we had magical powers now.
His excitement wasn't the normal kind.
That smirk on his face... it was different somehow.
We returned home to discuss what had happened.
I suggested going to a doctor. Maybe even a scientist.
But Elliot shut down every idea immediately.
"No. We'll figure it out ourselves."
He waved his hands around as he spoke, grinning like an idiot.
"Imagine if I could shoot magic from my fingertips or something!"
I almost laughed at his ridiculous hand gestures, until—
BOOM!
A flash of light exploded from his fingertips.
Elliot's face lit up with pure joy.
"I knew it! Light powers! Hah, I'm amazing!"
I was speechless. Amazed.
And then, as if things couldn't get any crazier—
We noticed the TV in the background.
The news anchor's voice trembled.
"Thousands of stones have been reported falling from the sky all across the globe. The numbers keep increasing... in total, there may already be over a million."
Elliot and I looked at each other.
We didn't speak.
We didn't need to.
We both knew what it meant.
We were not the only ones.