Jake woke up with a skull-splitting headache. He blinked a few times before sitting up, his whole body protesting the effort. Rubbing his temples, he recalled the events in the mist; his chest felt constricted, and he couldn't help sending darting glances around the broken room. Everything looked normal except for his cooking pot lying against the wall. The fear had subsided with the return of daylight, yet discomfort lingered. What the hell happened? The thief got up and started pacing the ruins, his face a mask of pensive determination. His steps echoed against the crumbling stones, each stride a battle against the creeping doubt. His worldview had been shattered in a way he never expected. Is magic real? Did the events really happen? Maybe it was just a hallucination, brought on by the excitement of the heist at the college. He knew the mages from the college were fake. Yet uncertainty gnawed at him. Was it all just a trick of his mind?
He glanced at the object in his hand. The faint, pulsing pink light inside made him question everything. This effect hadn't been there when he stole it. The slow rhythm, like a heartbeat, seemed unnatural. What worried him more was the tingling sensation in his fingers, as if his body was answering a call. Alright, this thing is way too dangerous. I need to take some distance from it. He laid the jewel in an alcove in a wall. As he let go and stepped away, the pink glow faded, and the stone soon took its clear, crystallized, colorless aspect.
Jake wanted to clear his mind and focus on something else. He set about his daily tasks: checking his inventory of tools and food, repairing some gear. Then he went outside to gather wood and lit a fire in his designated kitchen area; a few rocks were laid in a circle next to a blackened wall. His gaze was dreamy as he listened to the crackling sound of eggs cooking. He barely noticed his hands poking the fire and preparing the food.
Eating had helped him regain strength, and he felt more at ease. "Got to stay nimble to survive," Jake said out loud, lunging to his feet. He stretched and started his routine. Gradually, he pushed himself to execute more challenging exercises. When his body was warmed up, he started his parkour routine through the ruins: jumping onto a crumbled wall, then higher to grab an iron bar sticking out. He swung across, jumping to catch the next wall. Jake didn't notice that he was jumping directly over the alcove where the jewel rested.
But the jewel noticed him.
As Jake's body flew through the air, the stone pulsed with intense pink, misty energy radiating from it. Just as he reached for the top of the wall, he heard a deep humming sound. Before he could react, his vision was flooded with swirling streams of pink. Disoriented, he flailed his arms, unable to see the wall. The wall gently reminded Jake of its position as the acrobat's face slammed into the cold stone. He felt a sharp, white flash behind his eyes as pain bloomed across his face. "Aww…" Jake tried to say, but the impact had knocked the wind out of him. All he could do was painfully slide to the floor. As the last remnants of mist faded, Jake looked at the jewel and thought, You're an attention-seeking little bitch, aren't you? He sighed. Ignoring the stone wasn't working. It was time to face this mystery head-on. But not today. Checking his nose for damage and nursing his bruised ribs, he limped toward his makeshift bed.
The next day, his body was still sore from the jewel's stunt. Jake went to the alcove to retrieve it. As he approached, the faint, dim pink light shone brighter within the stone. Yeah, good morning to you too. He flicked a finger at the artefact, you little troublemaker. The glow shook slightly under his touch, like the stone was chuckling. After a deep breath, he grabbed the bauble in his hand, closed his eyes, and focused… nothing happened. He opened one eyelid and looked intriguingly at the jewel. "Are you broken now, or something? Or are you doing this just to piss me off?" The glow had faded to nothing. Jake sighed and tried again… with no better results. His anger started rising. "Enough with the silent treatment." He clenched his fist as if he was trying to choke the life out of the inanimate object. "Come on, you little piece of shit, why won't you wo…"
The thief stopped mid-sentence as the stone threw a burst of light. His stomach lurched as the ground dropped away beneath him. Huge swirls of mist had engulfed him, and he was propelled in the pink world again. The transition was so brutal that he felt his bones shaking. Sorry, sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you! Jake squinted, focused on his surroundings. Again, the outline of the room was blurry in this one-colored world. The airy silence engulfed him again, making it hard to breathe. The creeping cold stung his face, like on a sharp, frozen day. "Step one done… now step two." Jake closed his eyes again. He took a deep breath, anticipation rising. This is exciting! He let out a deep breath and tried to relax his body and calm his mind. Slowly, the mist seemed to react to his emotional shift; it began fading away. Yes! thought Jake in victory. The surge of joy pulled him back into the fog. One more time, slowly… control your emotions. The mist faded again.
Back in the real world, Jake took a deep breath and sighed. "I can do this, just a matter of training." He continued experimenting throughout the day, with varying degrees of success and failure, but he felt he was getting the hang of it.
Jake placed the artefact back in its alcove before going to bed. The night was uneventful, and the next morning, he thought he was ready for the next level. He put the jewel in his pocket and started his usual routine.
Sometimes, he would end up in the mist when he felt a stronger emotion. Each time, he managed to return to the real world more quickly. At the end of the day, there were barely any unwanted events happening. "Good," he said, "I'm in control now." By the evening, the jewel found its place in the alcove again.
Jake spent the next day the same way, with barely any incident occurring. That evening, Jake went to sleep with the stone in his pocket. "That's a win, now to the final level!" He fell asleep with a soft, content smile on his lips.
It was midnight when Jake, drenched in sweat, woke up with a silent scream. What?… a nightmare? His heart pounded, and his throat was dry. In his dream, a shadowy monster was hunting him, all made of dark, oily smoke that took horrifying shapes, its misty black tendrils creeping ever closer to him… There was nowhere to hide; the monster knew where he was…
Jake sat up, trying to calm his heart down. It was pounding so loudly he couldn't hear anything else. No sounds? It didn't feel like he was awake, threads from his nightmare lingered in the air. So cold… Taking in the scene around him, his eyes grew wide, and he understood. He was in the mist world, the air thicker than ever, swirling around him as if the nightmare itself had drawn the fog to him. All sounds were muffled into complete silence. A shiver ran down his spine as he felt the pressure stronger than ever before. Someone, or something, is searching for me. It felt like he was trapped in the nightmare. The threat was coming for him. A chill gnawed at his bones. It's getting closer. His skin prickled as his fear rose again. His mind clung to a single thread of thought, a lifeline in the dark: I'm not here, you can't see me, I'm not here, go away. He repeated it in his head over and over. But the sense of dread remained.
The rest of the night was long for the thief. All attempts to come back to the real world failed. All his efforts to calm his emotions were in vain. The terror had sunk its claws in deep and wouldn't let go. Jake felt utterly ensnared in this cold and soundless pink prison. He wrung his hands in despair, eyes wide, scanning the mist, expecting the black, oily tendrils to appear and claim him.
After hours of anguish, the light of dawn saved Jake. The fog grew thinner as the new day started. The rising sun heated the stones of the ruins, and Jake could feel its warmth spreading through the pink mist. Eventually, he calmed enough to break free from the cold and silent prison.
Jake took a moment to look at the sun rising higher in the sky, feeling relief flood over him. The birds singing and the sounds of the forest were a sweet melody to his ears. As his mind slowly settled, Jake started to analyze the situation. It's not working. Or at least his way was too dangerous. Jake took out the jewel and looked at the dormant stone. You planned this all along, didn't you? The thief couldn't stand anything coming in the way of his free will. His expression tensed, his brows furrowed, he got up and kicked a rock in frustration, then he winced at the pain. Damn it. He couldn't do it alone. How he hated that. There was only one place he could find answers: where he stole the jewel.
The College of Magic…