I opened my eyes to chaos. The carriage was nothing but splintered wreckage, planks scattered across the ground, a few even embedded into a nearby tree. Every breath sent a spike of pain tearing through me. Moving felt impossible, as if my body had been shattered into pieces and forced back together wrong.
A voice cut through the haze. Distant, strained, but familiar. Ella.
"Matt! Matt, where are you? If you can hear me, say something!"
I tried to call back, but my throat betrayed me. The only sound I could make was a broken groan. It was pitiful, but it was all I had.
"Matt? Was that you?" Her voice grew louder, closer. Then I saw her, bloody, limping, but alive. Relief barely had time to settle before panic overtook her expression. "Oh my god… are you alright? I'm going to cast a healing spell; it's going to hurt."
I forced myself to brace. Healing magic saved lives, but it wasn't gentle. It realigned bone and muscle by force, a process as agonising as the injury itself.
Ella's voice sharpened into focus as she began the incantation.
"Sha, Mo, Est, Ra!"
Green light burst from her fingertips, spilling across my body. The instant it touched me, fire exploded through my veins. Not fire. Worse. Every nerve screamed as if being torn apart from the inside. I couldn't hold back the scream; it ripped out of me raw, echoing in the ruined forest. I saw her, tears flooding her eyes at the sight. My vision blurred. My muscles locked. It felt endless. And then, all at once, it stopped.
The agony bled away, replaced by a fragile calm. My limbs responded again, shaky but free of pain.
Ella collapsed to her knees beside me, her face pale with exhaustion and wet with tears. "Do you feel better? Can you move?"
I drew in a ragged breath. "I'm fine now."
She exhaled sharply, relief softening her features, and pulled me to my feet. We turned to the shattered carriage. Nothing was left of the horses, either fled or taken. That left us with one option. Walk.
The path stretched before us in silence. My pain was gone, but Ella was still limping. Healing magic didn't work on oneself. Every step cost her, and guilt gnawed at me with every laboured breath she took.
I tried to distract myself, scanning the forest, letting my mind wander. That's when I saw it.
A glow.
Faint at first, then stronger, pulsing deep in the woods, a rhythmic, otherworldly blue light, alive in a way fire or lanterns could never be.
I froze. Curiosity sank its hooks into me; impossible to ignore. What was it? I had never seen anything like it in all my life. Not that I'd gone outside much to begin with.
Ella noticed my stillness instantly. "Why'd you stop? We need to get back to the cabin."
I didn't answer. Slowly, I raised a hand and pointed toward the glow.
Her gaze followed mine. When she saw it, her eyes widened. "What in the hell is that?"
If even Ella, once part of an adventuring guild, didn't know, then it wasn't ordinary. And that only made the pull stronger.
The light pulled at me, stronger with every step, like an unseen hand tugging at my chest. I couldn't resist it. I didn't want to. I had to know what it was. I had to see it for myself.
"I'm going," I said.
"Wait, what?! You don't even know what's over there! It could be dangerous! I won't be able to heal you again!" Ella's voice cracked with alarm, but I didn't stop. My feet moved on their own. For my sake, and maybe her own, she followed.
The closer we drew, the worse the ground became, fractured, uneven, spiderwebbed with cracks that spread like veins across the earth. The glow throbbed from the centre of it all, and I knew in my gut this was what had triggered the earthquake.
Finally, the source revealed itself: a massive fissure, torn open in the ground, smaller cracks branching away like shattered glass. And there, at its heart, the blue glow pulsed with quiet, impossible life.
Ella caught up, breathless, her expression reflecting my own, a mixture of awe, fear, and bewilderment. For the first time in what felt like forever, I felt something stir in me. Excitement. It had been so long, I'd nearly forgotten what that word meant.
I clambered down into the fissure, carefully at first, then faster, driven by a hunger I couldn't explain. As I descended, the earth changed. The rough brown soil gave way to sleek, metallic walls etched with patterns too precise, too deliberate to be natural, lines and shapes gleaming faintly, like the edge of a masterfully forged blade.
When the ground finally levelled out, I turned back. Ella still lingered at the top, hesitation written across her face.
"Come on, don't tell me you're scared of a little glow!" I called, unable to keep the thrill from my voice.
Her expression shifted. She recognised it, the rare spark of excitement she hadn't seen in me for years. She sighed. "Alright. But if something looks off, we're leaving."
"Deal."
She climbed down, careful and deliberate, and together we pressed deeper into the fissure. What had once been raw earth soon narrowed into a tunnel, cold and claustrophobic. Its walls were stained, discoloured, scattered with clumps of dirt, but none of that mattered. My focus was on the end.
There, looming in the half-dark, stood a door. Metal. Imposing. Out of place in every sense.
"There's something good behind here," I whispered, adrenaline rushing through me. "I just know it." I moved before I could think, hurrying straight toward it.
"Hold your horses, Matt. You need to be careful," Ella warned sharply.
But caution had never been my strong suit. I wanted a glimpse. Just one.
Ella's tone hardened. "I can tell you're not listening, so let me open the door." She slipped in front of me, and though every part of me resisted, I forced myself to back off.
She approached the door with deliberate steps, resting her hand on the cold metal before nudging it open, just a crack. She peeked inside.
"What in the hell is that?" she whispered.
Her words only fueled my impatience. Without thinking, I shoved the door wide.
And what I saw stole the breath from my lungs.
The chamber stretched out before us, cylindrical, immense, humming with energy. At its heart floated a massive core of radiant blue light. Rings of metal spun around it in perfect synchronisation, suspended in midair as if gravity had forgotten them. Thick, flexible tubes sprouted from its base, snaking across the floor and into the walls like veins feeding a living heart. Rows of drawers lined the perimeter, but they barely registered. My attention belonged to the glow.
I took a step forward, transfixed.
"Matt!" Ella's hand shot out, gripping my arm tight. "Stay away from that thing! You don't know what it is, or what it could do to you!"
For once, I hesitated. The usual impulse to rush in faltered under her warning. Instead, I began circling it, my eyes tracing every curve, every detail, trying to understand. The glow pulsed rhythmically, almost alive. What was it for? Why was it here?
I was so lost in thought that I didn't see the pipe until it was too late.
My foot snagged against the loose metal, and I stumbled. The brittle tube cracked under my weight with a sickening snap, spilling that same unnatural blue glow across the floor. A deep, resonant hum thundered through the chamber, rattling the walls.
The core convulsed, expanding and contracting violently, its light flaring in jagged bursts.
Then it struck.
An unseen force slammed into us, hurling Ella and me against the wall. But instead of falling, we were pinned there, crushed by invisible weight. My chest heaved. My limbs shook violently. It felt like the air itself had turned solid, pressing down, refusing to let me go.
"Matt! Are you alright?!" Ella's voice was sharp, desperate. I tried to answer, but only a strangled sound left my throat. The pressure grew unbearable. My body screamed under the strain.
And then the glow came alive.
Tendrils of blue energy whipped through the chamber, snapping like whips, twisting like living threads of light. They slashed across the floor, the ceiling, the walls, wild, unpredictable, terrifying. Yet even in the chaos, I couldn't look away. It was mesmerising. Beautiful.
One of the tendrils lashed toward me.
I barely had time to see it. No time to move. No time to breathe.
It struck my chest.
Agony, unlike anything I'd ever known, exploded inside me. It wasn't heat. It wasn't fire. It was something far worse, like my very soul was being ripped apart. I screamed as the energy burrowed deep, flooding every vein, every nerve, consuming me from the inside out.
"MATTHEW!" Ella's voice was distant now, muffled, drowned beneath the roar of my own pain. She sounded terrified. I was terrified.
What was happening to me?
The chamber spun. My body grew impossibly heavy. My vision dimmed, collapsing inward until only the glow remained.
And then, everything went black.
I awoke, not in the bunker, but in the place of my recurring dream.
Only this time, something was different.
The festival stalls and stands remained, but they stood frozen in silence, abandoned. No voices, no laughter, no music. Not even the stray animals that usually darted between the crowds. The world was hollow, eerie, wrong.
I turned slowly, scanning every shadow, every corner. Nothing.
Then I saw it.
The figure. That same shadow I had glimpsed before, its shape blurred, its presence heavier than the emptiness around it.
My throat tightened, but I forced the words out. "What do you want?" My voice was steady, even though unease gnawed at me.
It answered with the same calm certainty as before. "To tell you that everything is going as planned."
My stomach twisted. Going as planned? What did that mean?
"You mean you knew this disaster was going to happen?" My voice cracked with fury. "I died! I hope you're happy." The anger surged before I could stop it. If they knew, if they just watched, then they were no different from murderers.
The figure's reply was sharp, unshaken. "You are not dead. Not yet. You still have more to accomplish."
Not dead? The words rattled in my head. I was sure I had died. Then… what was this place? Purgatory? Some twisted version of the afterlife?
And "more to accomplish"? How could that be me? I wasn't anyone. I wasn't some chosen hero or legendary mage. I was a shut-in, a boy who spent more time tinkering in a basement than living in the real world. Everyone else contributed something: discoveries, creations, victories. Me? I had nothing.
Before I could speak again, the figure dissolved into nothingness, as if it had never been there at all.
Suddenly, warmth bloomed in my left hand. Strange, unfamiliar, yet undeniably comforting. It pulsed softly, and for a moment, I thought it might anchor me. Then my vision blurred, the world folding in on itself.
Everything faded to black.
I woke to dizziness, my head heavy, thoughts slipping like water through my fingers. My memories came back in fragments. The bunker. The glow. It flooding into me. After that… nothing.
Then the dream. Was it even a dream? The warmth I felt still lingered faintly in my left hand, as real as the sheets beneath me.
I forced my eyes open. It was difficult, but I managed. The first thing I saw was an unfamiliar ceiling.
Panic clawed at me. Where was I? Whose house was this? Where was Ella?
I turned my head, and there she was. Sitting at my side, clutching my hand as if letting go meant losing me forever.
Her head jerked up as I stirred. Her eyes were red, swollen with tears, tears that could only have been for me. The moment she saw me awake, relief broke across her face, tangled with worry and sorrow.
"Where am I?" I rasped, my voice weak, foreign to my own ears.
"You're in the infirmary, Matt," she whispered, her voice cracking as fresh tears welled up.
"Why?" My words tumbled out raw, desperate. I couldn't just wake up here without knowing.
Her expression faltered. "You mean you don't remember? You should remember… don't you?"
I shook my head weakly. "No. The last thing I recall… was that blue glow entering my chest in the bunker."
I made sure she heard the truth in my voice. I remembered nothing else.
Ella drew a shaky breath before explaining. After the blue glow struck me, I collapsed. I didn't move, didn't breathe right. She had been frozen too, but the moment her body obeyed again, she carried me on foot back to town.
I blinked at her, stunned. She really did that? The crash site was far. Hours of walking, me, dead weight in her arms the entire way.
She had done more than I could have ever asked for. More than anyone else would. If she hadn't… I might not even be here right now.
I didn't know how long I had been unconscious, but it wasn't much longer before I was released from the infirmary.
Stepping outside was harder than I thought it would be. The infirmary sat near the town square, which meant eyes, too many of them. Stares prickled at my skin as I walked out with Ella. I had no hood to hide behind, no cloak to vanish into. What did they see when they looked at me? A spoiled kid who never left his cabin? A burden Ella kept dragging around? They wouldn't be wrong. But still… they didn't know. They couldn't know. Not what I'd lost. Not what I'd seen at such a young age.
Ella flagged down a carriage and paid for the ride back to the cabin.
But my thoughts refused to settle. That glow… had it done something to me? Changed me? Or was it nothing more than light and pain? I had to know.
The second we arrived, I bolted inside and straight into the basement. My workshop. My sanctuary. Questions stormed my head, sharper with every breath. I worked for hours, trying everything I could think of, checking my pulse, testing my strength, even running small magical readings through one of my inventions. Nothing. Every scrap of evidence screamed the same thing: I was normal.
The frustration gnawed at me. My skull throbbed with a dull ache, exhaustion pressing down until I couldn't take it anymore. With a heavy sigh, I shoved my tools aside, leaving the cluttered table behind.
Defeated, I dragged myself up the stairs and collapsed in the living room, thoughts still spinning in circles I couldn't escape.
As expected, Ella was there too, nose buried in a book like always. She looked up the moment I entered.
"What were you doin' down there? Hopefully, nothing too tiring. You need to rest, ya know."
The worry in her voice was impossible to miss.
I hesitated but forced myself to be honest. "I was… experimenting. On myself. To see if that glow affected me in any physical way."
Ella's face drained of colour. "You what?!" Her voice spiked with anger, then broke into raw fear. "Please… just… don't. I wouldn't be able to handle it if something happened to you again. I don't want to lose you"
I froze. What could I even say to that? My curiosity was the only thing that ever kept me going. But if chasing it meant hurting Ella… I wouldn't forgive myself.
"…Alright," I said softly. "I won't experiment on myself. I promise."
I meant it. And I intended to keep it.
Silence hung between us. I retreated to my room, leaving her with her book and myself with my thoughts.
The room greeted me with its usual chaos, scattered tools, failed inventions, twisted fragments of things that were supposed to be brilliant. I sat there, staring at the mess. Was any of this worth it? Was my tinkering worth Ella's sanity?
The questions circled in my head, relentless, until they boiled into anger.
Why me? Why was I the one stuck with choices I never asked for? Why not someone else?
My fists clenched. I needed something to release it on. My eyes fell on a broken piece of my latest invention.
And then it hit me. What if… what if this device caused the earthquake? The one that threw the carriage off the path? If that were true, then this, this scrap, was the reason for everything. The reason for the crash. The reason for the suffering.
The fury broke loose. I swung at the fragment, expecting the sharp pain of shattered knuckles.
But that's not what happened.
A jolt tore through my arm, hot, electric, alive. Blue light sparked from somewhere deep in my chest, racing down my veins like lightning, flooding into my hand.
In the next heartbeat, a bolt of pure energy erupted from my fist, striking the fragment and obliterating it in a burst of glowing shards.
I staggered back, breath caught in my throat.
What… was that?
I stared at my hands, veins faintly pulsing with blue. Where did it come from? Why could I do this?
Panic rushed in. This wasn't normal. This wasn't magic; I'd been told I had no magical talent at all. Had they lied to me? Or… was this something else entirely?