Chapter 1 – The Necklace
March 23, 2025 – Terre Haute, Indiana
The weather in Indiana had always been unpredictable in March—caught somewhere between winter's reluctant retreat and spring's quiet promise. On this particular Thursday, the sky hung low, painted in thick sheets of gray like smudged ash across a blank canvas. The sun was nowhere to be seen. The clouds hadn't broken all day, and the air carried a weight that Jacob Renner couldn't name but could feel sinking into his skin.
Jacob's sneakers slapped against the sidewalk, the sound soft but persistent. His backpack was half-zipped, one strap digging uncomfortably into his shoulder. He'd gotten used to it. After all, comfort wasn't exactly a familiar friend.
The streets were quiet, eerily so. No cars. No distant lawnmowers or barking dogs. Just the echo of his own footsteps and the occasional rustle of wind weaving through leafless trees. He pulled his hoodie tighter around him and lowered his head as he walked, dark brown hair falling over his forehead. The cold gnawed at the exposed skin of his cheeks and the tip of his nose.
It was 3:17 PM. School had let out less than twenty minutes ago.
Another day survived.
Classes had been dull. Math was math. History was a long list of wars and dead people. He barely remembered what was said in biology. Something about cellular respiration? Didn't matter. No one had spoken to him all day except for Ms. Rowan, the English teacher, who had asked him—quietly, gently—if he was doing okay.
He'd nodded.
She didn't push.
Jacob appreciated that.
Jacob was the type of guy that didn't like attention.
Attention brought questions, and questions led to truths Jacob wasn't ready to say out loud. His mom worked the night shift at the hospital six days a week. He hadn't seen his dad since he was seven. And the house felt more like a resting place than a home.
He took the alleyway shortcut like always, ducking between two long rows of rust-stained buildings and narrow fencing.
It was known as Oakridge Alley.
Graffiti covered the brick walls in sharp bursts of color and chaotic symbols—some letters, some strange, abstract designs. There were tags in deep red, navy blue, and bright green. Some glistened fresh, others faded and cracked with age. The alley smelled faintly of oil, mold, and old piss, but Jacob had grown used to it over the years. It was just another part of the background of a town that never changed.
As he moved deeper into the alley, he slowed. Something—he couldn't quite name it—pressed into his chest. Not physical. Just… a sense. A wrongness.
His steps faltered.
The wind stopped.
Time seemed to hold its breath.
That's when he saw the man.
He was slumped against the far wall, half in shadow, legs stretched out awkwardly, as if he'd fallen there and never gotten back up. His clothes were torn and layered—an oversized brown coat with patches of what looked like dried blood, jeans with one knee completely shredded, and mismatched shoes. One boot. One slipper.
Jacob's stomach twisted.
The man reeked. A horrible, throat-burning stench—rotting meat, spoiled milk, and something metallic underneath. The kind of smell that made your primal instincts scream.
Jacob hesitated, glancing over his shoulder. No one else was around.
"Hey," he called, cautiously. "You good?"
No response.
The man's head lifted slowly—mechanically, like a puppet being tugged upright. His eyes met Jacob's.
Too wide. Too glossy. The whites were yellowed, and his pupils seemed… stretched, like they'd been dragged into slits and then forced open again.
Jacob took a step back.
The man stood—his movements stiff, jerky.
Jacob opened his mouth to say something else, but the man raised a hand before he could speak.
His fingers were long, thin, skeletal. In his palm was something small, swinging slightly from a chain. A necklace.
Jacob stared.
The pendant was a piece of jet-black crystal, jagged and sharp-edged, as if torn from something ancient. But what struck Jacob most wasn't its shape—it was its surface. The shard shimmered with swirling colors, but not like oil on water. This was deeper. The colors moved inside the blackness, churning like smoke caught in glass.
"What is that?" Jacob asked, not expecting an answer.
The man's voice came like wind through cracked windows—faint, trembling, but unmistakable.
"When the seas dry… and the trees burn… when oxygen fades from the air and minds fall into madness… then will the world remember the beginning."
Jacob blinked.
"What?"
The man stepped forward, slowly, deliberately. His hand extended the necklace toward Jacob.
"You were chosen," he whispered.
Jacob froze.
"No—no thanks," he said quickly. "I don't want it."
"You were chosen," the man repeated, firmer this time. "Take it. It is already yours."
And before Jacob could refuse again, the man placed the necklace in his hand.
The crystal was cold. But not like ice.
It was the kind of cold that felt like absence—a hollowness that sank into his bones, spreading upward into his wrist.
"Dude," Jacob muttered, stepping back, "you're seriously creeping me out."
The man smiled.
It was the kind of smile you saw in nightmares. Too many teeth. Too much gum.
And then—he was gone.
Just like that.
Jacob spun around. Looked down the alley. Back toward the buildings.
Nothing.
No footsteps. No trace. Just the wind picking up again, rustling through the garbage cans and leaves like nothing had happened.
He looked down at the necklace in his hand. The black shard pulsed once.
"The fuck was that about, I better get home fast I'm spooked the fuck out."
"And the hell is this necklace, I guess I keep is I wonder if I could sell it."
That night – 8:47 PM
The house was dark except for the blue light of the television. Jacob had microwaved something half an hour ago—he hadn't even touched it. The tray sat on the coffee table next to a bottle of Coke and a controller he hadn't used in two days.
He was curled up in the corner of the couch, hoodie still on, blanket wrapped around him. The necklace lay on the table in front of him, motionless but staring back at him in some impossible way.
His mom had texted a few minutes ago.
"Hey hun, stuck at the hospital late. Love you. Try to sleep early tonight, okay?"
Jacob didn't respond.
He picked up the necklace again.
It was heavier now.
He held it up to the light of the TV.
The shard moved.
"What the fuck!!"
It was like looking at something through water or a broken lens, the black crystal twisted slightly, not in shape but in presence.
Jacob squinted. "What are you?"
He leaned closer, eyes narrowing, breath shallow.
He didn't notice the lights dimming.
He didn't notice the TV begin to flicker.
The air around him stilled.
And then—the shard pulsed again. This time not like a heartbeat.
It was like it was watching him back.
Then the world bent.
Jacob screamed.
Pain ripped through his body—hot, violent, unnatural. He felt his skin peel open in a thousand places, though nothing was visible. His bones cracked, shattered, and reformed. His vision swirled as if sucked into a spiral—a vortex of black upon black.
He couldn't move.
Couldn't speak.
Couldn't breathe.
And then, he was gone.
???
He awoke to red.
A sky the color of fresh blood stretched endlessly above him. Twin moons hung low and wide like blind eyes, one cracked across its surface. The trees here were black and silver, tall and spindled, with leaves that shimmered like glass. The wind hissed—not like air, but like whispers.
He sat up.
Pain still clung to his limbs like a second skin.
In front of him, a figure stood on a rocky ridge.
It was made of shadow—pure, shifting shadow. Its shape was humanoid but unfinished, undefined. Its voice was neither male nor female, not loud, but it echoed inside Jacob's skull.
"You have crossed the veil."
Jacob tried to speak. His voice caught.
"W-what is this place?"
" w-cough, cough- were am I?"
The figure tilted its head.
"You do not yet understand. But you will."
"Why me?" Jacob demanded, his voice shaking. "What did I do?"
"You will understand in time."
The figure stepped closer.
"When you understand the meaning of life and death… I will return."
And then, the world blinked.
Eryndor – Year 194 A.B.B.
Jacob awoke in a forest.
The air was warm but strange. Birds sang notes he had never heard. Trees rose hundreds of feet above him. The dirt beneath him was soft and red, like iron-rich clay.
He looked down.
The necklace still hung from his neck.
He sat there for a long time, staring at the sky through the canopy, until the words finally left his mouth.
"I'm not on earth anymore."
"But we're am I?"
[End of Chapter 1]