Chapter 1: Prologue

When I woke up, I was lying on the floor. It was way colder than I was used to, even in the least insulated parts of my apartment. I reached up for my desk, but my hand just flailed around in empty air. I blinked to try and clear my eyes, then looked around properly to get my bearings.

 

I was in a square room, made entirely of grey stone. There weren't any furnishings, and there weren't any windows or doors either. It was a completely sealed space. The only things in the room were me and a rather large crystal which was floating midair in the center.

 

I was alarmed, but there was no direct threat to me. A quick check of my body found no new injuries or strange marks. I was still wearing the pajamas I went to bed with. That done, only the crystal was left to draw my attention. Why is it floating? Are there wires or something?

 

I slowly got up and stretched. My body wasn't that stiff, so I probably wasn't unconscious for that long. But the action warmed me up just a little bit. I shivered and moved closer to the freaky crystal.

 

Before I took three steps, something buzzed near my leg. I shrieked. Just a little, okay? I swatted at what I imagined was some kind of bug, before I realized it was the vibrating of a phone. I jerkily took it out of my pocket.

 

Obviously, this wasn't my phone. I never used the vibrate function since it bugged me. Plus, I never left my phone in my pocket while I was at my apartment. This phone was a rather sleek looking thing. It seemed like there wasn't even enough room for the circuits and whatnot. It also didn't have any buttons or outlets around the edges like a normal smartphone. Instead, it was kind of like holding a thick piece of glass with something squishy around it. Even the screen was soft.

 

The screen was blinking an envelope type emoji at me. Shouldn't there be more? I was a little more concerned about the crystal than the weird phone, so I held it away from me for the moment. What, was I supposed to put it back in my pocket? No way.

 

Getting closer to the crystal actually made me feel warmer, but it also made it more and more clear that the crystal was just ignoring gravity somehow. The heat was pleasant, but I was a little worried about burning myself touching it. Good thing I have this creepy phone on hand, I guess.

 

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I poked at the crystal with the phone and - nothing. It didn't catch fire or anything. I put more and more weight into the phone, wondering if the crystal might start floating away, but there was no reaction. Finally I reached out with my other hand. The heat was still rather pleasant, even touching my bare skin. I repeated the same process from before, trying to move the crystal, with the same result. Finally, I ran my hands across the whole thing, trying to figure out how it was floating.

 

Conclusion: What the heck?

 

The thing was perfectly smooth. There weren't any holes or wires sticking out of it. It was pointed at the top and bottom sort of like a diamond, but neither point was sharp. The thing was big enough that I couldn't wrap my arms around it. I couldn't lift it up, and when I tried sitting on it, it was able to fully support me without dropping an inch. The slope was a little too much for comfortable sitting, so I let go and backed off a bit.

 

What is this thing? Is it magnetic or something? No wait, I should definitely be freaking out right now. Being near the crystal calmed me down, for some reason. It was sort of like being in a familiar place. I took another look around the room, but nothing had changed. There's nothing familiar about this place at all! Without any other options, I looked at the phone again.

 

I tapped the envelope and -

 

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