Arin Vale had always believed that strange things only happened in books and games. His life in the quiet city felt ordinary—classes, late-night gaming sessions, and long walks under streetlights while listening to fantasy audiobooks. But on a stormy evening, everything changed. Lightning cracked across the sky while Arin sat alone in his apartment scrolling through an old article about forgotten civilizations. Suddenly his phone screen flickered, and a strange symbol appeared—an intricate circle with jagged lines forming something that looked disturbingly like a crown. Arin frowned, assuming it was a glitch, but the symbol began glowing brighter. The air in the room felt heavier, as if gravity itself was pressing down on him. His lights flickered. A cold wind moved through the room even though the windows were shut. Before he could react, the symbol pulsed and a deep whisper echoed inside his mind. "The throne awaits." The floor beneath him fractured like glass, revealing endless darkness below. Arin tried to move, but his body felt frozen. The world around him shattered into fragments of light, and he was swallowed by a spiral of shadows. When he finally opened his eyes again, he was no longer in his apartment. He lay on cold stone beneath a sky filled with swirling violet stars. Ruined towers floated in the air around him, and in the distance something enormous moved behind the clouds. Then he noticed it—the black crystal crown hovering silently in front of him.
Next episode-will be a lesson