As i slowly made my way back home, the rain died down to a very soft drizzle. The smell of the rain was replaced by the smell of the sea, the slight salty scent made me smile a little as i took a detour down a side road.

It didn't take long before the scene of buildings was replaced by the scene of trees as i turned down the long narrow dirt path leading towards my house.

I lived just outside the town of Evestead inside a small forest adjacent to the local beach. It was a little isolated but it was where i had lived for the last four years since my parents had gone missing. I was fifteen now and currently living with my twenty three year old brother. It may be a little quiet out here but, i prefer it to the constant noise you find inside the city.

It took ten minutes before i finally reached the house and the clouds finally started to part and the sun began to peek out.

The house was an old two story building with a little moss growing in some places, with my bedroom being on the second floor just overlooking the beach that was three hundred meters past the house.

After going inside and up to my room i dropped my bag on the bed and flopped down with a thud.

With my brother at work and nothing to really do, i decided to just have a nap while i was there.

With the sun slowly sinking and the sunset filling the sky i slowly began to close my eyes.

BOOM

Immediately after i heard a large explosion, the house began to shake, causing me to open my eyes and shiver from fright.

"The fuck was that?"

I rolled off the bed to my feet and looked out the window towards the beach, squinting a little.

There was smoke rising from somewhere over there and i could see sand drifting around in the air like a sandstorm.

"...." I stared with my mouth wide open, unable to say anything from shock. When i finally snapped out of it, i smiled and opened the window, jumping out and landing on a thick tree branch next to my window. I made my way from tree to tree, jumping onto branches until i got close to the edge of the forest.

"Can't see anything with all this smoke and sand everywhere" I muttered as i tried to look out onto the beach, the smoke and sand causing me to cough a few times.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

I made my way down from the tree i was on and slowly walked forward into the smoke, holding my hand up to my mouth and nose to block some of the smoke.

When i got closer towards where i thought the explosion may have happened, the ground started to feel more solid.

Strange, i know sand isn't meant to feel this hard, I thought to myself.

The closer i got, the colder the air started to feel. I shook a little and stopped before looking around.

"...." I was speechless. And that was because all of a sudden everything was back to normal again.

The smoke and sand floating around were all gone and the moon was high in the sky.

"Just how long had i been walking just now? No way i was here for a few hours."

A chill crept up my spine as i looked around the beach, searching for anything out of the ordinary.

That's... I saw a pale light shining in the sand a few feet away from where i stood.

I walked towards the light and bent down, shifting the sand a little to see what was there.

A rock? No wait, is this a ruby? I saw a small ruby like stone emitting a pale light lodged in the sand.

I looked around again trying to see if anyone or anything was around. After finding nothing out of the ordinary again i slowly moved my hand in to grab it.

As soon as my fingers touched the stone, a huge heat assailed my hand and a feeling of burning immediately assailed me. It started in my hand and traveled up my arm, engulfing my whole body before an intense headache shook my vision.

"Ughhhh. My head, my body, FUCK! Make it stop! Make it stop," i screamed as a fell forward into the sand, the coolness of the sand doing nothing to cool me down.

Another sharp pain engulfed my right hand and i slowly raised my head, looking towards my hand.

The last thing i saw before i lost consciousness was a pattern slowly emerging on my palm. A sword.