— Friday, June 28, 2019, 2:07 PM — Bedroom, 2nd floor — Oppressive heat, cloudless blue sky — Afternoon
You are in your room, sitting in front of your screen. On the screen, a video is still playing — you know which one. Your heart is still beating a little too fast.
And then... you see it.
On your windowsill. This object. You don't know when it appeared. Not really a crystal ball — something else. A slightly irregular, translucent sphere with impossible depths, as if you were looking into a miniature ocean. Its surface is covered in engravings — symbols you don't recognize, curved glyphs, spirals, geometric shapes that seem to almost... move when you aren't looking directly at them. Some of these symbols pulse with their own light. In the center, you can make out a dense, blurry core, something warm and alive.
The object smells good. Tropical fruit? Ozone? You don't know.
And there, it glows. Pink. Intense. The symbols light up one by one, like a language waking up.
Outside the window... the neighbor's dog has stopped dead. Passersby in the street are statues. The whole world seems frozen. Your blood runs cold. What is happening?
Downstairs, you can still hear the steady sound of the washing machine. Mom is doing her laundry. How can she be doing her laundry when...
The artifact pulses harder. Pink. Warm. Alive. The glyphs dance. The heat it gives off sweeps through the room like a burning draft.
And there... a shape emerges from the light. A female silhouette. Slightly luminescent skin. Eyes that change color. Beautiful. Terribly beautiful. As if she knew exactly what you wanted to see.
She looks at you. And a voice resonates in your head — not in your ears, in your head:
"Finally. You felt me, didn't you? Those shadows at your window. That was me. I've been watching you for weeks. And now... time belongs to you."
She smiles. The artifact pulses.
The heat is unbearable. Your heart is pounding in your chest. Your bedroom door is behind you. The world outside is dead. And this... thing... is talking to you in your head.
Back away to the wall, hands trembling — "What the hell is this?!" ⵤ Stare at the silhouette without moving, throat dry, unable to speak ⵢ Raise your hands as if to protect yourself — "Mom...! Mom!!" Grab the first object within reach, trembling