Kael hated the rain. It soaked through his threadbare hoodie and turned the orphanage steps into a slippery mess. He hunched his shoulders, pulling the hood tighter as thunder grumbled above the gray rooftops of Ironvale. Most kids were inside by now, warm and dry. But Kael wasn't like most kids—he liked quiet, even if it came with cold fingers and wet shoes.
He kicked at a loose stone and watched it skid across the pavement. That's when he saw it.
A glint.
Faint, but definite.
Half-buried in the crack between two cobblestones.
Curious, he knelt and pried it free. It was a pendant, shaped like a teardrop, glowing faintly blue even under the cloud-covered sky. The silver chain was broken, but the gem itself pulsed gently in his palm like a heartbeat.
"What the...?" he murmured, standing up.
The world around him shifted—just slightly. The sound of the rain dulled, the streetlights flickered, and the air felt thick, almost like stepping into water. He looked around. Everything seemed the same… but wrong. Off. The pendant flashed once.
And then everything went black.