CHAPTER-1
The world had always seemed simple to Haru. At 17, he was just another high school student, his life filled with the everyday humdrum of school, homework, and the occasional moment of daydreaming in class. It wasn't that his life was bad; it was just… ordinary. Predictable. But there was a nagging feeling he couldn't shake, a sense that something was waiting for him, just beyond the veil of his normal life.
The day started like any other. The teacher's voice was a blur of words, and the sound of pens scratching across paper filled the classroom. Outside the window, the sun hung lazily in the sky, casting long shadows over the schoolyard. Haru tried to focus on the lesson, but the feeling of anticipation, like a spark ready to ignite, was impossible to ignore.
Then, as the bell rang to signal the end of the school day, Haru stepped into the schoolyard, the cool breeze brushing against his skin. The usual crowd of students headed home, chattering among themselves, but Haru was alone. His footsteps echoed across the pavement, the noise oddly amplified in the stillness of the late afternoon.
It was then that he saw it—a small, glimmering fragment half-buried beneath the twisted roots of an ancient oak tree. At first glance, it looked like nothing more than a shard of broken glass, catching the light in an almost hypnotic way. But as Haru approached, something stirred inside him, a strange pull that he couldn't explain.
His fingers hovered over the shard for a moment, a sudden wave of unease washing over him. He should leave it. The voice in his head urged him to walk away, to ignore the odd feeling bubbling in his chest. But curiosity, ever the relentless force, took over.
He knelt down and picked it up. The moment his fingers made contact with the fragment, an electric jolt shot through his arm. His breath hitched as the world seemed to blur around him, his heart racing, his thoughts scattering like leaves in the wind.
And then, as if the universe itself was holding its breath, a voice echoed through his mind—clear and commanding.
"You are not what you think you are."
The words froze Haru in place, his hand trembling around the shard. His chest tightened as a cold sweat formed on his brow. The world around him seemed to warp, like a dream trying to break free from the edges of his consciousness. The air grew thick, dense with an energy he couldn't comprehend, yet it felt so familiar—like a part of him he hadn't known existed.
His vision swam. For a moment, Haru saw images—fragments of memories that weren't his own. Stars exploding in the vast expanse of space. Ancient gods, their faces shadowed by time, locked in an eternal struggle. The sound of a battle that shook the very foundation of existence. Power. Infinite, overwhelming power. And through it all, Haru felt it—the faintest touch of something beyond the world he knew.
It was like something had awakened deep within him, something ancient and powerful. And just as quickly as it had begun, the vision faded, leaving Haru gasping for air, his knees weak as he staggered back.
The world had returned to normal—or so it seemed.
Haru stood there, holding the shard in his trembling hand. The schoolyard was still, the usual sounds of life distant, muffled. But inside him, something had changed. A whisper of knowledge lingered in his mind, something that told him his life was no longer his own. That the ordinary world he had always known was a lie.
"What… was that?" he whispered to himself, the words barely escaping his lips. His chest felt heavy with the weight of something far greater than anything he could comprehend. The fragment pulsed once, as if in response, before fading into a dim glow. He dropped it, feeling an inexplicable loss.
Haru didn't know it yet, but the journey ahead of him would be nothing like the life he had once known. That shard was just the beginning, and whatever it was calling to him, it would change everything.