Rowan Ashcrow was late.
Again.
This was not unusual.
In fact, if there was one thing Rowan was exceptionally talented at, it was being late.
He was late for work.
Late for appointments.
Late for catching buses.
Late even when he woke up early.
His alarm clock had stopped being an alarm clock months ago.
It was now more of a motivational speaker that Rowan ignored.
7:00 AM.
Wake up.
7:15 AM.
Seriously, Rowan.
7:30 AM.
Your boss hates you.
8:00 AM.
At this point, we both know you're not getting up.
Rowan opened one eye.
He stared at the ceiling.
A normal person would have panicked.
His shift at Ash & Pages Bookstore started at eight.
It was currently eight fifteen.
But Rowan simply sighed.
"Five more minutes."
The universe trembled.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
Somewhere beyond human perception, an ancient star collapsed because the being who held its existence together had shifted slightly in his sleep.
Three million light-years away, a sleeping god opened his eyes.
"He's awake?"
Another ancient being shook in terror.
"No."
A pause.
"He sighed."
Silence.
Then:
"Prepare the extinction protocols."
Rowan knew none of this.
To him, his biggest problem was that he had no clean socks.
He eventually dragged himself out of bed, put on the least-wrinkled clothes he owned, grabbed his old backpack, and left his tiny apartment.
The moment he stepped outside...
The weather changed.
The dark clouds disappeared.
The rain stopped.
The temperature became perfect.
A woman walking nearby looked up.
"Wasn't it supposed to storm today?"
Rowan looked at the sky.
"Huh."
He shrugged.
"Guess I got lucky."
The universe quietly accepted responsibility for making sure its creator had a pleasant morning.
At Ash & Pages Bookstore, Rowan arrived forty-three minutes late.
His manager stared at him.
"Rowan."
"Yes?"
"You are aware your shift started almost an hour ago?"
"Yes."
"Do you have an explanation?"
Rowan thought about it.
"I slept."
The manager closed his eyes.
"Of course you did."
What nobody knew was that while Rowan slept, an ancient curse affecting the bookstore owner's family for twelve generations had vanished.
Because Rowan had rolled over in his sleep.
That same morning, in the hidden supernatural world...
Six women felt something impossible.
A power they had not felt in thousands of years.
A presence that should not exist.
The return of the one being every race had a different name for:
The End.
The Beginning.
The First Darkness.
The Sleeping Dragon.
One by one, they looked toward the human world.
And they all whispered the same words:
"He's awake."