The city never slept. It pulsed — loud, restless, alive — like it had a heartbeat of its own.
Thomas Blake moved through it like a ghost. His hoodie was pulled tight against the wind, his hands buried deep in his pockets, and his thoughts louder than the traffic around him.
Twenty-four years old. Degree in tech. No job. No prospects.
He'd stopped counting the rejection emails. They all sounded the same anyway — polite, distant, final. His cousin's spare room had become a cage, and every morning felt like waking up underwater. He told himself he was fine, but the truth gnawed at him: maybe he wasn't meant for more. Maybe he was just ordinary.
But tonight was different.
The streets felt heavier, as if the city itself was holding its breath. Neon signs flickered like dying stars, and the hum of generators seemed to fade into silence the deeper he walked. He didn't know why he turned down that alley — the one behind the old telecom building, half-swallowed by vines and shadows. He didn't know why he stepped over the broken fence or why his feet led him to the ruins of a collapsed structure that had been forgotten by everyone else.
The air was different there. Still. Heavy.
And then he saw it.
Half-buried in the rubble, glinting faintly under the moonlight — a relic. Not metal. Not stone. Something in between. Smooth, warm, humming like it had a heartbeat.
Thomas knelt, brushing away the dust. The moment his fingers touched it, the world went silent.
No traffic. No voices. Just a low vibration in his chest and a flood of images in his mind: towers bending, people floating, thoughts shaping reality.
And one phrase, clear and burning: "Your mind is the key."
He gasped, stumbling back. The relic pulsed once, then dimmed.
Thomas stood there, heart racing, breath shallow. He didn't know what had just happened. But he knew one thing — he wasn't the same.
The shadows around him seemed deeper now, alive, watching. Somewhere in the distance, a dog barked, then fell silent. The city felt different, as though it had shifted with him.
Thomas tightened his grip on the relic, its warmth seeping into his skin. He didn't understand it, but he couldn't let it go.
And somewhere, in the depths of the city, unseen eyes turned toward him.