Aelion didn't go to work that day. He wasn't sure his body could handle any kind of pressure after the strange dream that felt like reality. His small apartment room was filled with a heavy silence, as if even the air itself was waiting for something to happen.
He sat on the floor, his back pressed against the cold wall, his breathing steady yet restless. The shadow of the dream still clung to his mind—so vivid it made the back of his neck damp with sweat.
The fracture of light.
The empty space.
The rhythmic sound.
The warm touch that didn't belong to the real world.
Aelion stared at his hands. For a moment, he felt his fingers tremble. The subtle vibration appeared and vanished, like a flicker of instinct he couldn't grasp.
"I'm not crazy," he muttered softly. "This is real. All of it… real."
But what exactly?
He stood up slowly and walked to the small kitchen to get a glass of water. But before he touched the glass on the table, something happened.
The glass moved on its own.
Not far. It slid only about two centimeters. But that was enough to make Aelion freeze.
His hand stopped in midair. His breath halted.
"No…" he whispered. "Don't tell me this is… because of me."
He reached out again—carefully, very slowly. And as his fingers were about to touch the glass, the object quivered faintly.
Aelion jerked back.
Something was creeping along his spine—a gentle vibration like a tiny resonance living beneath his skin. He grabbed the wall for support, trying to steady his breathing.
The vibration intensified.
Dum… dum… dum…
The rhythm returned. Clearer than before, closer, as if the world was trying to synchronize something inside him.
Aelion fell to his knees, clutching his head.
"Stop… please…"
But the sound didn't stop. It grew deeper, more insistent, more synchronized with his heartbeat.
He closed his eyes.
And instantly, a flash of light burst behind his eyelids.
Not the room light.
Not sunlight.
But light coming from within him.
---
When he opened his eyes, small specks of light—like particles of energy—floated in the air. They swirled gently, like golden grains stirred by a soft breeze.
Aelion stared at them, trapped between awe, fear, and confusion.
"What… is this?"
The glowing dust moved around him as if responding to his presence. The faster he breathed, the faster they spun. When he tried to calm himself, the lights slowly dimmed and faded.
He collapsed onto the floor, his body weak as if he had just finished running. His chest rose and fell rapidly. Cold sweat dampened his temples.
"Whatever this is… it's not normal," he said, biting his lip. "I have to figure this out…"
But how? He had no one. No friends, no family, no one who understood this strange world. All he had were dreams that felt real and symptoms that were becoming harder to ignore.
Aelion stood with what little strength he had left and walked to the cracked mirror in the corner of the room. He looked at his reflection.
His face looked pale. But his eyes… there was something different. His irises seemed slightly brighter, as if something glowed behind them. Something not belonging to an ordinary human body.
He leaned closer. His hand touched the cold surface of the mirror.
"Who are you?" he whispered, as if speaking to his reflection rather than himself.
The mirror didn't answer.
But just as the words left his lips, a thin shimmer of light flickered inside Aelion's iris—like a glint of liquid metal. He blinked, and the light vanished.
"I can't stay like this," he said to himself. "I need to go out. Find answers."
He put on his worn-out jacket, his old shoes, and opened the room door. As he was closing it, the room light switched off by itself—even though the switch was still in the "on" position.
Aelion shuddered.
He quickly descended the stairs to the ground floor. But halfway down, he stopped abruptly.
An old woman stood at the end of the hallway, staring at Aelion with an expression hard to define. Her eyes weren't filled with hatred, but with… caution.
Aelion nodded politely. "Good morning."
She didn't reply. She only whispered:
"Unstable energy… awakens many things."
Aelion froze.
"What does that mean?" he asked quickly.
But the old woman was already walking away, disappearing into the dark hallway with a small basket in hand. She didn't look back. And Aelion knew—she wasn't speaking as an ordinary resident.
She spoke as someone who sensed something others couldn't.
Aelion swallowed hard and quickened his pace out of the building. The morning air greeted him, but it felt heavier than usual.
The city of Aerphine was busy as always. Yet Aelion's steps felt disconnected from the noise. He walked without a clear destination, only wanting to get away from the apartment overflowing with strange signs.
But the world didn't let him go easily.
As he passed an electronics kiosk, a holographic advertisement screen suddenly flickered, showing strange glitches. Geometric patterns appeared for a second—patterns similar to those he had seen in his dream.
Aelion stopped, eyes wide.
"No way…"
Before he could inspect it further, the screen returned to normal, showing the regular advertisement.
Aelion continued walking, now faster. He headed for the park where he met the officer named Renlor yesterday. Maybe that man had answers. Maybe he knew something. Maybe it was the only thing Aelion could cling to.
But when he arrived, Renlor wasn't there. The park was empty, only a few dry leaves swirling in the wind.
Aelion sat on the wooden bench, holding his head and taking a deep breath.
"Why does everything feel like it's chasing me?" His voice nearly broke.
No answer…
…but the wind suddenly stopped.
Everything fell silent.
Aelion straightened. He felt something in the air—a soft pressure, like the atmosphere shifting. The grass beneath his feet trembled. The leaves froze mid-motion.
And the sound returned.
Dum… dum… dum…
Closer.
Stronger.
Aelion closed his eyes—feeling something in his chest resonate. The rhythm felt like a magnet, pulling at his awareness, demanding to be recognized.
When he opened his eyes…
A fracture of light appeared on the ground.
Small. Thin. A glowing line that writhed like the world's breath.
Aelion stared.
"I… can't ignore this anymore."
He approached the fracture slowly. The light touched the tip of his shoe, moving like a living line. A faint tremor crawled up his leg and through his body.
And just before he reached it—
The fracture expanded briefly—flaring with intense light for a few seconds—then vanished completely.
Aelion collapsed to his knees.
The world returned to normal.
But he didn't.
"This isn't just a symptom," Aelion whispered, voice barely audible. "This… is something that chose me."
And deep within his body, the resonance continued to pulse:
Dum… dum… dum…
---