I blinked, trying to get my bearings. I was standing in an unfamiliar room, but in a body that wasn't my own. I was Fourteen—again? I'd been Jack Johnson, but now... now I was.... who am I. My head felt like it was splitting, my mind grappling with memories that didn't belong to me. The disorientation was suffocating, but before I could fully process it, I felt warm arms wrap tightly around me.
"Welcome back, JJ," a soft voice whispered near my ear, trembling with affection. I froze. The voice was so full of love that it was overwhelming, and my body—no, this body—responded instinctively, relaxing into the embrace.
But then, just as quickly, the tone shifted. "Goodbye," she said, her voice fragile and broken. Confused, I looked up at the woman holding me. Cracks, like delicate spiderwebs, began to spread across her face, and in a heartbeat, she started to fade.
I couldn't breathe. I wanted to say something, ask her what was happening, but before I could speak, a tidal wave of memories slammed into me. Memories of her. Every moment—every precious memory the real Jack had with this woman—his mother. I saw them laughing, holding hands on the way to school, her teaching him how to ride a bike, her scolding him when he messed up, the way she forced him to stand on his own two feet even when he struggled. Each memory pierced through me, tearing at my heart. But it wasn't my heart, was it?
I tried to resist it, tried to hold back the tears, but it was like the body itself had a mind of its own. Hot tears spilled from my eyes, the grief too intense, too raw to control. I, who had survived wars, fought battles, lost comrades—I wasn't supposed to cry. I was hardened, a fighter. But now, I was helpless against the flood of emotions. The ache in this body was unbearable.
"I don't want to feel like this," I muttered, clutching at her fading form. My chest felt like it was being ripped apart. I didn't understand. Why was I so weak?
"Shhh..." she whispered softly, trying to comfort me, just as she had countless times before with the real Jack. Her voice was calming, almost hypnotic, but it did nothing to stop the tears. I couldn't help it. I held on tighter, but she kept disappearing, slipping through my fingers like sand. Until all that was left were the soft folds of her dress—and then... nothing. She was gone.
Suddenly, there was a dull thud. Something had fallen. I wiped my eyes, trying to focus, and saw a small object lying on the floor. A diary. I knelt down, picking it up. The leather was worn and familiar, like it had been touched a thousand times before. I opened it slowly, feeling a strange pull toward the pages.
Inside, there were notes, diagrams, formulas that I couldn't fully understand. Some were scientific, but others... they were something else entirely. Symbols, strange markings that felt alive, as if they were radiating energy. And then, there were photos—pictures of a life that wasn't mine but now belonged to me. Me—no, not me—the boy, the real Jack, with his mother. Laughing, smiling, their life together captured in still frames.
I turned the pages frantically, trying to piece together the fragments of this life I'd been thrust into. But then, halfway through the diary, I saw it. A circular seal, glowing faintly, almost beckoning me to touch it.
I hesitated, my hand hovering over the page, but curiosity—no, instinct—took over. I pressed my fingers against the seal. As soon as I did, light erupted from the page, wrapping around my arms like tendrils of energy, sinking into my skin and traveling up into my eyes.
My vision blurred, the light overwhelming. I stumbled back, gasping for breath. And then... I saw him.
I blinked, and standing right in front of me was a reflection of myself. A boy—no, the boy—staring back at me with the same wide eyes. "Are you... me?" I asked, my voice cracking with confusion.
"Are you... me?" he echoed, our voices overlapping in eerie unison.
Panic surged through me. What the hell was happening? Without thinking, I lunged at him, fists clenched. But the moment I reached him—nothing. My body phased right through his, as if he were nothing but air. I stumbled, heart racing, both of us staring at each other in shock.
Then, a sudden searing pain shot through my hands. I cried out, clutching them as the skin on my arms burned, glowing with the same light from the seal. I could feel something—something—being absorbed into me, and a voice, faint but undeniable, whispered in my head: Lost soul fragment absorbed.
My breaths came fast and ragged as I stared at the glowing marks etched into my skin. I dropped to my knees, scrambling for the diary, flipping through the pages desperately, trying to find answers. What was this? What was happening to me?
Before I could make sense of it, I heard it.
Ring Ring.
The sound jolted me from my frantic state. My heart pounded as I stared at the phone. Who could it be? Was it someone who knew what had just happened? Someone who had answers? Or was it something far more dangerous?
Ring Ring.
The phone again, somehow louder this time. My pulse quickened as I stood, the diary clutched tightly in my hands, still glowing faintly. I wasn't ready for whoever was on the other side of the call, but I had no choice.