The object felt heavier than it looked. Jake sat on the edge of his bed, the strange device turning slowly between his fingers. Cold to the touch but smooth as glass, it shimmered faintly under the bedroom light. Every so often, it pulsed — just enough for him to notice, like it was breathing.
He glanced toward the hall, where Anna's quiet voice floated from the living room. His mother's soft wheeze of sleep followed. They were okay. For now.
He looked back down at the object. "What are you?" he murmured.
As if in answer, the object pulsed again — stronger this time. Jake's eyes widened. The faint lines carved into the surface flared with a silvery-blue glow. Before he could react, it vibrated in his hands and then—
Everything shifted.
The room vanished in a blink. His breath caught in his throat. Light twisted around him, colors bleeding together. There was no sound. No floor. No air. Only pressure.
Then, just as quickly, impact.
Jake slammed into something cold and unforgiving. Snow.
He gasped, struggling to breathe, blinking up into a white sky blotted with grey clouds. His lungs burned as icy wind ripped across his face. For a few seconds, he couldn't even move — too shocked, too numb. Then his instincts kicked in.
He rolled over, coughing, and pushed himself to his feet. Snow clung to his jacket and hair, already soaking through his jeans. The world around him was nothing like home.
Mountains towered in every direction — massive, jagged peaks cloaked in ice and fog. He stood near the edge of a rocky cliffside, the wind howling like it had teeth. And just beyond him, built into the mountain itself, lay the ruins.
Pillars jutted from the snow like broken fingers. Cracked archways framed open air. Time and cold had stripped the stone bare, but faint carvings still whispered from the walls. Something ancient had lived here. And it hadn't lived quietly.
Jake spun in place, heart racing. "What is this? Where am I?"
No answer. Just the wind and the crunch of snow beneath his boots.
Panic clawed at him. He fumbled in his pockets — no phone. No signal. No way to call home. No home.
"Mom…" he breathed. "Anna…"
The cold bit deeper.
He gritted his teeth, forcing himself to breathe. Panicking wouldn't help. He'd learned that from his dad.
Assess the situation. Regroup. Survive.
Jake scanned the ruins. If there were answers, they were probably inside.
The outer ruins gave way to a narrow passage carved into the mountainside. He stepped inside, brushing frost from the symbols on the walls. The markings were like the ones he'd seen in his father's old journal — curved, elegant, alien.
The further he went, the warmer it got.
That should've been a warning.
The corridor opened into a vast underground chamber. His breath caught.
Gold.
Coins, relics, armor, and weaponry blanketed the stone floor like a dragon's daydream. Glittering trinkets and gemstones reflected the flickering torchlight from sconces that shouldn't have still been lit.
Jake stepped forward, eyes wide. It didn't even look real.
Then he froze.
Something shifted in the darkness at the far end of the room.
A massive shape — breathing.
Scales like tarnished obsidian gleamed between the coins. A curved horn. A claw flexed, curling around a shattered pillar. An eye — reptilian and deep as molten gold — snapped open and fixed on him.
Jake didn't move.
The dragon didn't roar. It didn't screech or charge.
It watched.
And that was worse.
Jake took one slow step back.
The dragon's nostrils flared.
Another step.
Its tail uncoiled.
Then Jake turned — and ran.
He sprinted through the corridor, heart hammering so hard it nearly drowned out the rumble behind him. He didn't look back. He didn't need to.
Light burst into view as he reached the exit — and then his feet hit a patch of ice.
He slipped.
Fell.
Tumbled down the slope in a blur of snow, rocks, and pain. His body crashed against frozen ridges and half-buried stones, and everything spun.
By the time he stopped, the world was sideways. Everything ached. His limbs didn't want to move.
The sky was getting darker.
Somewhere nearby, there was a crunch of boots in snow. A flicker of lantern light.
"Oi! Boy!" a voice called, rough and startled. "You alive down there?"
Jake couldn't answer. His eyes closed, breath shallow. The last thing he felt was strong arms lifting him from the snow.
Then, everything went black.