The storm had ended, but the winds had not yet stilled.
The flickering fire inside the farmhouse struggled to push warmth into the small farmhouse. Outside, torrential downpours battered the countryside. Assaulting the trees and nearby forests the last remnants of the mighty rainstorm that had nearly swallowed the boy whole by the riverbed started to subside.
Inside, Jeremy lay unconscious on the old cot near the hearth, his body wrapped in layers of linen and furs. He hadn't stirred since Talon had carried him back from the edge of the riverbed two days ago. But even in that comatose state, his fingers clung to the strange object he had arrived with — a stone smooth as glass, black as the void, yet veined with veins of living silver that pulsed like a heartbeat.
Talon sat nearby, still in his battered coat, sharpening his blade for the fifth time that evening though it had seen no use since the rescue. He watched the boy with a soldier's stillness. But it was Merina, sitting by the far wall with her knees drawn up and a book open across her lap, whose face bore the weight of deeper thoughts.
Her golden eyes, keen and weary, weren't on the ancient tome but fixed instead on the boy — and the stone he wouldn't let go.
She finally broke the silence.
"It's real."
Talon didn't stop sharpening. "You sound certain."
"I've only read about it once, buried in a forbidden collection at the Celestial Arcanum," she said softly. "I was still a student then, barely accepted into the Mage Circle's inner archives. I thought it a legend, like most of us did. The Eversoul Stone. The Key That Binds Worlds."
Talon looked over his shoulder. "So, this is the thing that brought him here?"
"I'd wager my life on it." Merina said
His whetstone paused mid-motion. "Then it's worse than we thought."
Merina stood and moved to the fire, kneeling beside the cot. She brushed a lock of hair from Jeremy's pale forehead. He didn't stir, but his grip tightened imperceptibly around the stone.
"Even unconscious, he holds it," she whispered. "It's chosen him, Talon. The legends said it only answers to one bearer at a time. The Eversoul chooses… and once it does, its bond is unbreakable."
"And yet he's just a boy."
"That's what frightens me," she said. "The world is cruel, Talon. You know that better than anyone. If the mages or the nobles or the sects catch wind of what he carries…"
"They'll take him."
"They'll use him. Or worse."
The logs in the fire popped loudly, sending up a flurry of sparks.
Talon sheathed his knife with finality and moved to kneel beside her. The lines on his face deepened — war lines, carved by years of battle, loss, and impossible choices.
"I saw the crater," he said. "The trees, flattened in a perfect circle. No burn marks. No magic residue like we know it. Just… impact. And him in the center of it. It's no coincidence he arrived with that thing."
"He isn't from this world," Merina said quietly. "The books say the Eversoul Stone is not of our realm. It slips between worlds. Between realities. And sometimes, it brings something back."
Talon looked at her, voice low. "You think it brought him?"
"I do. Not by accident, either. It chose him. And that makes him… dangerous. Precious. Vulnerable."
Merina stood slowly, wrapping her arms around herself. The snow outside drifted silently, brushing against the windows like ghostly fingers. "The texts said it was created in an age before recorded history — by hands no longer remembered. That it grants its bearer dominion over space and time, in fragments. That it holds the echoes of forgotten gods."
Talon gave a bitter chuckle. "A boy. With that kind of power."
"He doesn't know yet. And that's the only mercy we have."
They stood in silence for a long moment, listening to the wind howl beyond the walls.
Merina turned back to the cot. Jeremy's face was still pale, but his breathing had steadied. His fingers flexed faintly around the stone, even in sleep. She reached out to touch the gem's surface. It was warm. Almost… alive.
"When he wakes," she said, "we'll have to tell him."
Talon frowned. "Too soon and he'll panic. Too late and he might expose himself. We have to be careful. Deliberate."
Merina nodded. "He deserves to know the truth. But he also deserves the chance to be a child. To find strength on his own."
Talon stepped behind her, placing a hand gently on her shoulder. "Then we'll tell him only what he needs to know. That the stone is powerful. That it's his greatest secret. And that no one, no one, must ever learn he has it."
She turned her face slightly toward his, eyes glimmering in the firelight.
"Do you think we're making a mistake?"
Talon didn't hesitate. "No."
"But you're afraid."
"Yes," he admitted. "More than I ever was in war."
They both looked down at Jeremy again.
The boy stirred.
His lips moved faintly, whispering in a language neither of them understood — not quite the tongue of this world, but some echo of another.
And then silence again.
Talon's jaw clenched. "Whatever that stone brought with it, whatever fate he's tied to… we'll help him bear it. He's ours now."
Merina's voice trembled. "We wanted a child. We prayed for one. I just didn't think the gods would answer by dropping him from the sky with an ancient relic in his hand."
"Life's funny that way."
Merina smiled faintly. "He reminds me of you. That stubborn look he gave me even before passing out."
"I was unconscious for three days after you found me," Talon muttered. "He beat my record."
She reached down again and gently tucked the stone beneath Jeremy's tunic after tying it to a leather rope she charmed with magic for a makeshift necklace.
"We protect him."
Talon nodded. "No matter what."
The rain picked up again, rattling the windows. But inside, the cottage was quiet, wrapped in firelight and silent resolve.
Merina returned to her chair, the ancient tome still open, its pages etched in faded gold ink. She ran her finger down a passage.
Only the chosen may command the Eversoul.
Through time, through space, through soul's edge.
But to be chosen is to be hunted.
She closed the book.
Outside, the stars burned silently across the winter sky. Inside, the boy dreamed of a world long gone — and of the one he would now have to survive.
The next day Jeremy woke to the sound of birds he'd never heard before — sweet and layered, like flutes played by invisible hands. The smell of warm bread and fresh herbs drifted through the air. For a few blissful seconds, he forgot everything: the lake, the bullies, even the funeral.
Then memory hit him like a hammer.
The drowning.
The stone.
The fall into... wherever this was.
He sat up too quickly and immediately regretted it. His ribs ached, and a wave of dizziness blurred the room into streaks of color.
He frantically looked around like a cornered animal.
A woman who's warm presence enveloped the room must have sensed the battle within him because she offered a small smile and said, "Name's Merina. This is Talon, my husband. You're safe here. No one's going to hurt you."
Safe. She said that word so easily, but Jeremy didn't know if he believed in that word anymore.
Still, his body, too battered to argue, relaxed against the mattress. His eyelids drifted closed.
For the first time in what felt like forever, he slept without nightmares.
Over the next few days, Jeremy drifted between sleep and waking.
Merina brought him bowls of broth that smelled strange but tasted rich and hearty. Talon carved tools in the corner of the room, the steady scrape of his knife against wood a strangely soothing background music. They didn't push him for answers. They didn't ask questions he wasn't ready to face.
Instead, they simply were — steady presences, like anchors keeping him from drifting completely away.
One day Jermey felt he should finally leave the bed and room. He was able to take a few steps and stumbled. Resigned to his fate he made it back to the bed as Talon walked in witnessing the whole scene.
"Whoa there, lad," a voice rumbled.
Jeremy turned his head. Talon, the broad-shouldered man from before, stood in the doorway holding a steaming bowl. His short gray hair was mussed, and his face was weathered but not unkind.
"You've been through more than most men twice your size," Talon said, stepping inside. "You need to take it slow."
Jeremy tried to speak, but his throat was raw. Talon handed him a wooden cup. Jeremy drank gratefully — cool water tinged with something sweet.
"Where... where am I?" he managed.
Talon set the bowl down on a rough-hewn table. "You're in Erelin. In the Veiled Valley, to be precise."
Erelin.
The name meant nothing. Jeremy's chest tightened.
"I need to get home," he said, voice cracking.
Talon frowned slightly but said nothing for a moment. Then he pulled over a low stool and sat, hands resting on his knees.
"Son," he said gently, "I don't know where you came from. You had no gear, no coin, no travel papers. If you have family, we'll help you find them. But... you're not from anywhere I can place."
Jeremy gripped the blanket over his legs. Panic prickled at the edges of his mind.
"I'm from... Florida," he whispered. "America."
Talon's brow furrowed. "Is that in the Eastern Dominion?"
"No," Jeremy said helplessly. "It's... it's a different world. I think."
The words sounded insane even to him.
But Talon didn't laugh. He only studied Jeremy for a long time, then nodded once.
"Well," he said, standing, "you're here now. And you're welcome in our home for as long as you need."
He left the door open as he went, letting sunlight spill in and Jermery in his confusion fell into slumber once more. Three more days went by just like that.
One day Jermey finally woke for good. The sky he could see through the window was a deep, rich purple, threaded with streaks of silver-white clouds. It was beautiful and utterly alien.
Panic surged up, clawing at his chest. Where was he? Where was the lake? The bullies? His heart pounded.
A shadow moved at the edge of his vision, and a woman leaned over him. She had strong features — a sharp nose, a tight braid of iron-gray hair falling over one shoulder — but her eyes were soft and wet with relief.
"He's awake!" she called, voice hoarse but filled with hope. "Talon!"
Jeremy flinched as another figure entered — a man tall and broad, with weathered skin and gray streaking his temples. His hands, scarred and calloused, spoke of years of hard labor.
"Easy, lad," the man said, crouching beside the bed. "You're safe now. Breathe."
Safe. The word floated around Jeremy, foreign and heavy.
He tried to sit up. Pain lanced through his ribs, and he gasped, falling back onto the straw mattress.
"Careful," the woman said, pressing a cool cloth to his forehead. "You were half-drowned when we found you. Feverish too. We thought we might lose you."
Jeremy licked his cracked lips, his voice barely a whisper. "Where...?"
The man — Talon, the woman had called him — answered. "You're in Erelin Vale, lad. Small farming village, nothing fancy." His gaze sharpened slightly. "We found you by the river's bend six days ago. Looked like the gods themselves threw you onto our shores."
Jeremy stared at them, throat too tight to speak. He wasn't home. He wasn't anywhere near home.
He wasn't even on Earth anymore.
Tears burned behind his eyes, but he blinked them back. No. Not now. Not in front of strangers.
The woman must have sensed the battle within him because she offered a small smile and said, "Name's Merina. This is Talon, my husband. You're safe here. No one's going to hurt you."
Safe. They kept saying that word, but Jeremy didn't know if he believed it anymore.
Still, his body, too battered to argue, relaxed against the mattress. His eyelids drifted closed.
For the first time in what felt like forever, he slept without nightmares.
Over the next few days, Jeremy drifted between sleep and waking. But was no longer in a near dead comatose state. He even started to explore the small house.
Merina brought him bowls of broth that smelled strange but tasted rich and hearty. Talon carved tools in the corner of the room, the steady scrape of his knife against wood a strangely soothing background music. They didn't push him for answers. They didn't ask questions he wasn't ready to face.
Instead, they simply were — steady presences, like anchors keeping him from drifting completely away.
The Decision
That night, Talon lit a fire outside, and the three of them sat around it.
Following their conversation with him and them explaining what the Eversoul Stone is and why it must be kept secret, Talon broke the silence "You have a choice to make, lad," Talon said, staring into the flames. "Stay here. Live a quiet life. Grow strong, grow old."
He turned to face Jeremy fully.
"Or... you walk the path that stone offers. Face dangers. Find answers. Maybe change the world."
Jeremy looked down at the Eversoul Stone in his palm. It pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat.
Once, he would have chosen safety without hesitation.
But now...?
He thought of the bullies. The lake. His parents.
He thought of how powerless he had felt all his life.
"No one will walk it for you," Merina said gently. "But you won't walk it alone, either."
Jeremy looked up at the sky — at the twin moons spinning in their slow dance — and made his choice.
" I want to learn," he said. "I want to be strong."
Talon's mouth twitched into the barest hint of a smile.
"Good," he said. "Then your real training begins tomorrow."
And as the fire crackled and the stars wheeled above, Jeremy Gray — once "The Lonely One" — took his first true step into a larger world.