The abandoned gem : When it all begin.

CHAPTER 2

Tim gasped and closed his eyes, feeling a strange sensation of movement. He felt a cold breeze gushing past him but he waited with his eyes closed. When he opened them again, he was no longer in the attic. He was standing in a huge arena-like structure, surrounded by towering walls and doors. He looked down at himself and saw that he had changed too. He was no longer a skinny 13-year-old boy, but a muscular man in his 20s, wearing a leather tunic and boots.

"What is this place?" he muttered, feeling confused and scared. He scanned the surroundings for any signs of life but saw none. There was not a single bird in the sky or an animal on the ground. He gazed at the endless rows of doors that lined the walls of the arena. Each door had a golden sign with elegant letters carved on it. Two doors stood out from the rest, facing each other from opposite ends. One of them was shattered into pieces, while the other was intact and gleaming. Tim felt a strong curiosity to explore the unbroken door and discover what secrets it hid. Could it be a portal to his home or a clue to his father's mysterious disappearance? He started to walk towards it, but the sunlight was blinding him. He raised his hand to shield his eyes, but then a flash of light made him close them. He heard a scream that sounded like his own voice, followed by a thud. He blinked and realized that he was back in his bed, in the attic. The sight of the door was still in his mind.

Tim quickly took the gem and hid it in the chest. He wore the necklace and ran downstairs, hoping that no one had heard him scream. He wondered if what he had experienced was real or just a dream. It reminded him of his father, who had vanished from the attic two years ago. Tim missed him terribly and wished he knew what had happened to him. He decided to go to the basement, where he kept some of his father's old travel journals and gear. He hoped to find some clues or answers in them. He rummaged through an old carton and found some books, maps, compasses, and other items that he had never noticed before. 

He rummaged through the dusty crates, his curiosity growing with each discovery. A knife with a strange inscription, arrowheads that looked ancient, and a key that seemed to belong to a different era. What were these doing in his father's laboratory? He was a scientist, not an archaeologist. He was supposed to be studying minerals, not relics. He remembered his father's obsession with a mysterious mineral that he claimed had extraordinary properties. He wondered if it had anything to do with these artifacts.

He hid the key in his pocket and left the chest as he found it. He didn't want his mom to know he had snooped around. He had tried to ask her about his dad many times, but she always gave him the same vague answer: he had disappeared and she didn't know how or why. He sensed she was hiding something from him, but he couldn't figure out what. Maybe the key would lead him to the truth.

He tossed and turned in his bed that night, haunted by visions of his dad and the mineral. He felt a strange connection to them as if they were calling out to him. He couldn't sleep, no matter how hard he tried. The next morning, he dragged himself to the dining room, where his mom was waiting for his breakfast. She noticed his tired eyes and asked him, "What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?" Tim forced a smile and said, "No, I just couldn't sleep well.". 

He dashed to the attic as soon as he finished his breakfast, eager to find more clues about his dad. He pulled out one of his dad's journals from a pile of books and opened it carefully. He was amazed by what he saw. The pages were filled with sketches, diagrams, notes, and calculations. He recognized some of the symbols and formulas from his dad's mineral research. But there were also other things that he couldn't understand. Strange maps, ancient languages, mysterious codes. He felt like he was looking at a secret treasure map. He wondered if his dad had discovered something incredible. Something that could explain his disappearance.