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The ruins stretched endlessly before them, a labyrinth of crumbling stone and broken columns that whispered of a world long forgotten. Noah, a man in his late twenties, ran his hand along the jagged edges of a shattered wall. The chill of the underground seeped through his jacket, carrying the scent of damp earth and decay.
"This place… it's incredible," one of his team members murmured, flashlight sweeping over intricate carvings etched into the walls.
Noah nodded, eyes scanning the darkness. Ancient castles buried beneath the surface weren't supposed to exist on Earth. Yet here they were, hidden beneath centuries of soil and time. Each step deeper felt heavier, as though the ruins themselves were aware of intruders.
The team spread out, methodically searching every hall, every room. Piles of dust-covered relics—golden chalices, rusted weapons, gemstones that seemed to shimmer even in the dim light—were scattered across the chambers. Excitement and greed painted their faces. Riches beyond imagination were within reach.
But Noah's gaze was drawn to a small, nondescript box tucked away in the shadow of a collapsed archway. It was simple, yet impossibly intricate: the surface was carved with symbols that seemed to writhe when he looked too long. He tried to open it. The team tried to open it. Nothing worked.
"This… I need to study this," he muttered, slipping it into his backpack. He could feel it pulsing faintly, almost like it had a heartbeat of its own.
Back at his apartment, the box sat on the desk like a silent challenge. He examined it from every angle, brushing dust from its carvings. Hours passed. Nothing made sense. The ancient script teased him, pulling at his curiosity, refusing to reveal its secrets.
Desperate, Noah began carefully cleaning the inscriptions. A tiny, almost invisible pin pricked his finger. He hissed in surprise, wiping the blood onto a tissue—and then froze.
The box flared with light, a brilliance so bright it forced him back. From the center of the carvings, a small, swirling object appeared, floating in the air like a fragment of the cosmos. It spun and glimmered, a miniature universe suspended in midair.
"Wait—" he whispered, reaching out.
The moment his fingers brushed it, the sphere surged forward, piercing his chest like liquid fire. Pain exploded in his mind, a searing agony that clawed at his senses. Noah dropped to his knees, gasping, every nerve screaming. Hours passed in this torment—or maybe only minutes. Time had no meaning. His mind fractured, memories spilling into consciousness: the laughter of his friends, the warmth of his parents, the ghost of his ex-girlfriend, regrets, unspoken words, and fleeting happiness.
Darkness swallowed him.
And then, impossibly, he could feel himself again. His body was whole. His mind, strangely calm. But something had changed. Something deep inside him thrummed with energy, with life.
A soft, childlike voice echoed in his mind, gentle but commanding:
"Welcome."
Noah's heart raced. "Who… who's there?" he whispered aloud, but the voice did not answer with words this time. Instead, it pulsed inside him, filling him with a mixture of wonder and fear.
He did not yet understand what had happened. But one thing was certain: nothing in his life would ever be the same again.
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