The pale morning light squeezed its way through the grimy windows of Jarek's apartment. On the wobbly table in front of him, the shard sat quiet, its glow reduced to the faintest whisper, a glimmer so subtle Jarek thought it might've been a trick of the eye in daylight. Jarek slumped back in his chair, its creak adding to the silence, fingers tapping out a rhythm only his restless thoughts could follow.
He couldn't stop replaying it. That place, if you could even call it a place, was still burned into his mind. The shifting ground, the faceless figures, and that unbearable sense of... something. Was it confusion? Or amazement? And then there was that moment, when the shard had erupted with power like it had been lying in wait all along. Jarek realised this wasn't some fever dream. He was as sure of that as he was that the world outside his window was a mess.
Suddenly, his chair scraped loud against the floor as he stood, pacing the small room like a caged animal. His eyes landed on Lira, still sprawled out on the old couch, her breathing soft and steady. She looked peaceful, which made the idea of waking her up with his half-cooked explanations feel selfish. What was he even supposed to say? "Hey, so I might've accidentally tripped into another dimension last night. Cool, right?"
Instead, he muttered to himself, "Just some tech. That's all it is. Tek said as much." But the words felt hollow. A lie told to himself, because who else was buying it?
His comm unit buzzed sharply, pulling him from his spiraling thoughts. He jabbed at the device, Tek's voice cutting through the static like a knife.
"Still breathing, Vayne? Or did the shard eat you alive?"
Jarek rubbed a hand over his face. "What do you want, Tek?"
"Geez, someone woke up cranky. No good morning? No 'Tek, you genius, what news do you have for me today?' Fine, be boring." He paused just long enough to make Jarek's impatience spike. "I've got updates about the shard. My buyer's real interested and real twitchy. They say it's... 'odd'."
"Odd?" Jarek's gaze flicked back to the shard on the table. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"They wouldn't spill all the beans," Tek replied, and Jarek could hear him chewing on something crunchy, an apple, maybe? "They kept throwing around phrases like 'its potential is beyond comprehension, it could do some serious damage in the wrong hands.' You know, the kind of stuff that could get you killed in a spy movie."
"I don't care about its 'potential,' Tek," Jarek snapped, his voice sharper than intended. "I'm out. Done. Find a way to get rid of it!."
Tek chuckled, the dry sound carried a bit of disbelief. "Sure, Jarek. Keep telling yourself that. Just thought you'd want a heads-up. Whoever's sniffing around this thing? They're the kind of people who don't take no for an answer. Watch your back out there."
The line cut off with a sharp click, leaving Jarek staring at his comm like it had personally insulted him. His gaze drifted back to the shard. It seemed different now, not just sitting there, but... watching. Could it watch? That was crazy. And yet, there was something in its faint shimmer, almost like it was daring him to touch it again.
Against every ounce of better judgment he possessed, Jarek reached out, his fingers brushing the shard's surface. The instant his skin made contact, a jolt shot through him, a spark that wasn't quite pain but wasn't harmless either passed through his body.
The vision hit him like a punch to the gut. The Hollow Realm. Again. Its chaotic beauty unfolded around him, pulling him into its swirling madness. The voices returned, still fragmented but louder now, cutting through his confusion.
"Do you truly understand the burden you've accepted?" one asked, its tone equal parts curiosity and warning.
Figures began to take shape in the distance. This time, they weren't the faceless wraiths from before. These were human, or close enough to pass for it, draped in armor that gleamed unnaturally. Their movements were deliberate, calculated, like they'd been trained for a purpose far beyond Jarek's understanding.
One of them stepped forward, taller and more imposing than the rest. Their eyes burned with a faint, otherworldly glow that seemed to pierce straight through him. When they spoke, their voice carried the weight of something ancient.
"The shard is but the first step," they said, their words echoing as though the realm itself was repeating them. "Its power will demand more than you are prepared to give."
Jarek tried to answer, but his throat clenched shut. No words came. The figure raised a hand, and the world around him cracked and shattered like a pane of glass struck by a hammer.
He came to, with a gasp, back in his cramped apartment. The shard was still on the table, still glowing faintly, but now it seemed almost... smug. Like it knew something he didn't.
His hand hovered above it, trembling. Across the room, Lira shifted in her sleep, oblivious to the storm brewing in his chest. Jarek leaned back, closing his eyes as a single thought looped endlessly in his mind.
Whatever this shard was, it wasn't done with him.
And worse still, he wasn't sure he was done with it either.