The Fallen Night

The Book

Steren sighed as she stared at the towering bookshelves of the ancient library, their dusty spines hinting at the wealth of knowledge hidden within. Beside her, Gale shifted uncomfortably, clearly not as thrilled to be here as she was.

"Remind me again why we're spending our Saturday afternoon in this musty old place?" he grumbled, eyeing the librarian who was shooting them a disapproving glare.

Steren rolled her eyes. "Because, Gale, this is the only place we're going to find answers about what happened to the moon. Don't you want to know the truth?"

Ever since that fateful night when the sky had shattered and the moon came crashing down, the world had been plunged into chaos. Earthquakes, tidal waves, and strange supernatural occurrences had become the new normal. And Steren was determined to get to the bottom of it.

"I don't know, Ren. Isn't that the kind of thing that's probably best left to the 'chosen ones' or whatever?" Gale said, making exaggerated air quotes with his fingers.

Steren rolled her eyes and kept scanning the book. "Hey, look! It says that the Chosen One has to read this book to know who they are."

That caught Gale's attention. "Wait, really?"

Steren continued reading. "It says 'if you want to see if you're the Chosen One, read below.'"

Gale responded. "Should we read it?"

Steren thought for a moment. "Well, I guess it's worth a try."

She turned the book so they both could see, then together they read "'By the glory and grace of our beloved moon, we are the Chosen One's.'"

They instinctively braced for something to happen, but everything stayed exactly the same.

"Well, I guess it isn't us," Gale mumbled.

Steren sighed. "Yeah, I'm not surprised." 

***

Steren let out a frustrated sigh as she flopped down on the park bench next to Gale.

"Well, that was a total bust," she grumbled, running a hand through her tangled auburn hair.

Gale chuckled sympathetically. "Yeah, I guess we're not the chosen ones after all. I was really hoping this whole 'destined to save the world' thing would pan out, you know? At least it would've been exciting."

Steren nodded in agreement. "Tell me about it. I was kind of looking forward to unlocking some ancient magical powers or something." She paused, then added with a wry grin, "Though I'm not sure I'm cut out for the whole 'saving the world' bit. I can barely keep my room clean, let alone stop an impending apocalypse."

"Maybe we're just not special enough," Gale mused, nudging Steren's shoulder with his own. "Perhaps the universe has selected a more worthy trio to prevent the forces of darkness from destroying everything."

"Gee, thanks," Steren deadpanned, shoving him playfully. "Way to make a girl feel inadequate."

Gale laughed and slung an arm around her shoulders. "Aw, c'mon. You know I'm only teasing. You're the most special, chosen-one-worthy person I know."

Steren rolled her eyes, but she couldn't help the small smile that tugged at the corners of her lips. "Whatever. I guess we should just call it a day and go home. No point in sitting around waiting for some magical book to fall out of the sky and tell us our destinies, right?"

As if on cue, a heavy thud sounded from behind them, causing both Steren and Gale to jump in surprise. They whirled around to see an ornate, leather-bound book lying on the ground - seemingly having materialized out of thin air.

Steren stared at it, wide-eyed. "You've got to be kidding me..."

Gale's mouth hung open in a mixture of shock and excitement. "I... I think the universe is trying to tell us something."

The two friends exchanged a loaded glance, their hearts racing with the possibility that maybe, just maybe, they were the chosen ones after all.

Cautiously, he bent down and picked up the book, its worn leather cover and yellowed pages giving it an otherworldly aura. Steren peered over his shoulder as he carefully examined it, their hearts racing with excitement and a hint of trepidation.

"It's blank," Gale murmured, flipping through the pages. "There's nothing written in it."

Steren's brow furrowed, "That's strange. Why would a book just fall out of the sky like that?"

Gale shrugged "Well, whatever it's used for, I don't think we should mess with it."

Steren nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's just go home."

The two friends turned and continued their journey home. But little did they know, the book had already begun to work its magic, silently duplicating itself and following them, its true purpose yet to be revealed.