A full day at sea, yet there is not enough fish to trade for dinner. They say I bring bad luck. They want me dead. Sometimes I think maybe they are right.
I walk to the river. The water is clear, but it brings no comfort. My face appears in the reflection—dull, exhausted, barely human. A tear falls, forming a small circle on the surface. I bring my hands together, scoop up water, and drink it slowly.
As I pour the rest back out, a blinding light flashes into my eyes. I squint, lean closer, and see it—a necklace caught among the stones at the riverbed. At its center, a black crystal gleams like a night sky scattered with stars.
I lift the crystal necklace toward the sky before me, staring at it in awe, curious about the light shimmering from within.
I hesitate for a moment, but curiosity is stronger. My hand touches it.
ARRKKHH—Instantly, my vision is dragged out of my body—to a place I do not understand. The universe spins, light streaks all around me, and my body convulses violently.
I try to pull my hand back, but the grip will not release. I choke back the sound—I do not want to draw anyone's attention.
Then everything stops. The crystal falls. My breath comes in gasps, my body goes limp.
My hand burns and seals at the same time. The stone lies on the ground as if it did not just try to kill me. I am shaking so hard it is pathetic. Magic? A curse? I do not know.
The relic shop. Yes.
---
The bell detonates in my ears as I enter and place the necklace on the counter.
The old man looks at me as if I am already guilty. I look down. My fingers twitch without stopping.
"Where did you steal this, boy?"
Of course. That is the first thing he says.
"I did not steal it."
He slaps me hard; my ears ring before my mind even finishes forming a sentence.
"Did you steal it?" he says, his words sounding faint.
His breath is rotten.
He wants a different answer. He wants an excuse to throw me out harder.
"I SAID I FOUND IT!" I snap without thinking. My stomach growls loudly right after—perfect timing. Embarrassing, twice in a row.
He grabs my collar like I am a stray mutt and screams me out of the shop. Fine. I am already walking before his last "GET OUT!" stops echoing.
I climb the village hill. The same wind, the same sea, the same annoying trees. I sit. I wait. For what, I do not know. Hunger bites, but I have had worse.
DUAAR—An explosion. Smoke. Fire rising from—no way. The relic shop?
---
The place collapses in minutes. Charred wood, sparks, heat—then something glints in the ash.
The crystal.
I do not think. I tie it around my neck. I leave. I grab my cloak on the hill and go. No one is going to call my name anyway. It feels like I do not even have one anymore. At all.
Night comes quickly. Hunger, even faster. The water tastes strange, but I drink because I am too tired to choose. My body folds in on itself again. Pain everywhere.
I hit the ground.
Blur.
Light fades.
Sight fades.
Darkness takes everything.