Chapter 1: The Rift

Ethan Chen never thought that a simple walk home after a late-night shift would turn his life upside down. It was a chilly evening; the streets were empty, and the street lamps above flickered, casting distorted shadows down onto the cracked pavement. He had just finished yet another grueling twelve-hour day at the tech firm and was already thinking about bed. The familiar city skyline stretched behind him, yet something didn't quite feel right.

A low humming buzzed in his ears, sharp enough that he winced. He rubbed at his temples and looked around but the street was silent. Then, without warning, the ground beneath his feet seemed to buckle-he felt as though he'd been plucked from the earth like a leaf caught in a sudden gust of wind.

In an instant, the world blurred around him into darkness, and Ethan was falling. There was no bottom, no sense of direction-just an endless, terrifying plunge into nothingness.

Thud!.

Ethan opened his eyes, gasping in air as he lay sprawled on unfamiliar ground. He heaved up and was hit by a grimy feeling clutching in his heart at the sight.

Gone were the familiar buildings and gray skies of the city; instead, he found himself on a great, open plain under a sky as blue as crystal, with strange trees bearing fruits he couldn't recognize. Everything smelled different, too-fresh, almost like morning dew. Afar, he could make out mountains so high they looked as though they scraped the heavens.

"This…isn't home," he muttered, shaking. He had stumbled forward, trying to make sense of it all. As he walked, a sharp pang of anxiety cut through him. He checked his phone-no signal, no Wi-Fi, just the blank screen staring back at him. A panic was inbreeding, but before he could process it, he felt something else-a warmth in his chest that spread like a wildfire through his veins.

It was an overwhelming feeling, a surge of energy through him bordering on the supernatural. His hands started to glow faintly, with an ethereal, silvery light that danced across the fingertips. He watched as, with a racing heart, it coalesced into one point in his palm. "What…what is this?" he asked, hardly able to breathe.

Approaching footsteps reached him before he could sort out his new reality. The instinctive clenching of his fist tugged the light down; Ethan turned toward the sound with taut nerves, as a figure emerged between the trees far away.

It was a young woman with an air of quiet authority, her armor shimmering like polished obsidian, with engravings he did not recognize. Her hair cascaded as dark waves that framed her piercing green eyes, which seemed to consider him with both caution and curiosity.

"You're not from here, are you?" she asked, cool, without shaking.

Ethan swallowed; his mouth was dry. "No. I don't even know where 'here' is."

She raised an eyebrow, eyes fluttering to his hands as if she saw the remaining streaks of light there. "I see, you have the Aura. That has never happened with one of them before.

"Aura?" he repeated, looking at his palms, the heat still pulsating in them.

"Yes. A force that connects you with the elements of this world," she explained, though guarded. "Most who come through the rifts are… ordinary. But you, you're different."

Ethan's mind reeled. "Through the rifts? You mean. this has happened before?

The woman nodded slowly. "Yes, but not often. People from your world show up here from time to time. Most don't last long without someone showing them the ropes, and those that do…" She trailed off, her eyes clouding. "They generally want to go back.

Ethan's heart had sunk, and his pulse hammered with facets of fear and desperation. "And can they… can they go back?

"Perhaps," she returned mysteriously. "But only those who learn to master their Aura have a chance."

Ethan took a shaky breath, a new resolve hardening inside him. If there was a way back, he would find it; and if mastering this strange power was the key, then he was ready to learn.

"What'm I s'pposed to do?" he asked well, his voice a lot steadier than he was. But the green of her eyes softened, a hint of a smile tugging the corner of her mouth upward, and she said, "First you would need a teacher. And I happen to know just the right one.". With that, she extended her hand. Ethan hesitated but reached out, grasping it firmly. As her fingers closed around his, he felt another surge of warmth, this one reassuring, grounding him in this new, foreign world. Welcome to Aetheria," she said with just a slight inclination of her head. "Let me see if you are really as strong as you appear.