Crimson Heart

1

The sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows over the suburban streets as William trudged home, shoulders slumped and head down. His schoolbag felt heavier today—not from the books inside, but from the weight of the words still ringing in his ears.

"Weird."

"Freak."

"Why do you act like that?"

The words were thrown at him all day by his classmates. William had learned to stay quiet, to keep to himself, but it didn't matter. He was different, and no matter how much he tried to hide it, they always seemed to notice.

He kicked a small rock down the sidewalk, watching it skitter and bounce in front of him. His breath came out in short, frustrated bursts. They didn't understand. They couldn't. The way his mind worked—the way he saw things—wasn't like theirs. And for that, he was constantly reminded that he didn't fit in.

As William rounded the corner to take the familiar path home, something unusual caught his attention. His footsteps slowed. Up ahead, near the edge of the park, stood a cave—a dark, gaping mouth in the earth that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.

He stopped, blinking in confusion. That spot had always been empty, hadn't it? He walked this way every day and never once had he seen a cave there.

The whispers came next.

As William ventured deeper into the cave, the whispers became more insistent, guiding him down a narrow passage that seemed to wind endlessly into the earth. The walls closed in around him, damp and cold, but his focus remained locked ahead. Something was calling him—something powerful.

The red glow from the markings on the cave walls intensified, illuminating the path before him. He rounded a corner and stepped into another chamber, larger than the last, and at its center, suspended in mid-air, was a crown.

It wasn't an ordinary crown. Made of swirling, wispy red energy, it hovered like a living entity, pulsating with raw, chaotic power. The shape resembled an intricate headpiece, sharp and elegant, with two peaks arching upward, much like the crown worn by the Scarlet Witch. William's breath hitched in his throat. He had never seen anything like it, yet the moment he laid eyes on it, he felt a deep, undeniable connection.

The whispers swarmed around him, filling his mind with a singular purpose: Take it.

Slowly, as if in a trance, William walked toward the floating crown. He could feel its energy reaching out to him, a tug at his very soul. His heart pounded, his fingers twitching with nervous energy as he raised his hand. The moment his fingertips brushed the crown, a sharp jolt of power shot through him. His eyes widened in shock.

Suddenly, without warning, the crown moved—shooting toward his head. He gasped as it embedded itself into his skull, the chaotic energy melding with his mind, his thoughts. His whole body convulsed as red wisps of energy erupted around him, swirling like a tempest.

Red chaos magic enveloped William, swirling faster and faster, forming tendrils of energy that lashed out in every direction. The ground beneath him began to tremble, and before he could react, his feet left the ground. He was levitating, suspended in mid-air by the raw, uncontrollable power coursing through him.

William's heart raced. Panic surged in his chest as the energy continued to surge uncontrollably around him.

William: Please, I can't control it—make it stop!

His voice echoed through the chamber, but the chaos magic only intensified, wrapping tighter around him. The power felt wild, like a storm he couldn't control, growing louder and more chaotic with every passing second. His body twitched as the magic pulsed through his veins, making him feel both powerful and terrified.

The whispers that had once guided him now grew fainter, leaving him alone with the frenzied energy surging through his body. William clenched his fists, his mind racing as he struggled to regain control, but the magic had taken hold. It was as if the crown had unlocked something deep within him—something primal and powerful.

The swirling energy continued to lift him higher into the air.

William's eyes snapped open, and he found himself lying on the cold concrete of a sidewalk. The sun had dipped lower in the sky, casting long shadows over the street. He blinked rapidly, his head spinning as the memory of the cave, the crown, and the swirling chaos magic rushed back into his mind. But the cave was gone. The dark chamber, the whispers, the red energy—it all seemed to have vanished, leaving only the faint buzz of traffic around him.

Stranger: "Hey, are you okay?"

A stranger was kneeling beside him, concern etched into their face. They reached out, gently shaking his shoulder to get his attention.

William: "Yeah... I think I'm fine."

His voice was hoarse, and he struggled to sit up, his entire body feeling heavy, like he had just run a marathon. He could still feel the faint tingling of energy in his fingertips, but the wild storm that had once surrounded him was gone. He glanced around, disoriented, trying to piece together what had just happened.

Stranger: "You sure? You just collapsed out of nowhere."

William: "I'm fine," he repeated, though his own words sounded unconvincing. His heart raced, but this wasn't the time to explain the impossible. He shakily got to his feet, brushing off his clothes. "I just—must have been too tired or something."

The stranger studied him for a moment, concern lingering in their eyes, but they nodded.

Stranger: "Alright, if you're sure. Just take care of yourself."

William nodded, thanking the stranger quietly before walking away, his legs unsteady beneath him. As he made his way home, William's mind was racing. Could it have all been a dream? The cave, the crown, the overwhelming power? The entire sequence of events seemed impossible, like something out of a nightmare conjured by stress and exhaustion. After all, he had had a rough day—maybe his mind had just cracked under the weight of it all. The bullying, the feeling of being constantly out of place—it had pushed him to his limits before, but never like this.

But still... he could feel it. The faint hum of something lingering beneath the surface, like a shadow of the pandemonium that had surged through him just moments ago. His fingers twitched as he thought about the crown, the way it had embedded itself into his head. The way he had levitated.

When he finally reached his house, William rushed to his room, shutting the door behind him. He took a deep breath and leaned against the wall, trying to steady himself. He glanced at the mirror across the room, half expecting to see the crown still etched into his forehead, glowing red.

Nothing. He was just... himself.

His eyes darted around the room, searching for any sign that what he had experienced had been real. But everything seemed normal. No glowing symbols, no red threads of energy—just the faint hum of everyday life around him.

He sat on the edge of his bed, running his hands through his hair. William: "Did that really happen... or was it all in my head?"

As he pondered the question, he felt a lingering energy at his fingertips, a soft reminder of the frenzy that had enveloped him. Maybe he had been imagining it all, or perhaps there was something more to it—a hidden power waiting for him to discover. The uncertainty left a knot in his stomach, but deep down, he couldn't shake the feeling that his life was about to change forever.