Gray's Amulet

Chapter 1 : Inception

A gentle, rhythmic throb, like a heartbeat, emanated from within. She didn't know, that she held "Gray's Amulet" — a relic rumored to bend the very fabric of time, a treasure that had eluded seekers for millennia.

Unbeknownst to Ivy, her discovery would soon send ripples through the ages, stirring from their slumber truths best left untouched. But for now, she walked on, the amulet a mere whisper in the grand tapestry of Rome's eternity.

There is a relic that was captured by the Research team. For the examination it was given to a student. "The genius" of the University of Rome. She did many great works and won many awards.

To research the amulet she decided to take it to her house. After getting relieved as Ivy leaned in closer to examine the amulet, the tranquility of midnight was violently split by a clap of thunder. A stark bolt of lightning illuminated the room, casting long, eerie shadows that flickered across her crowded shelves of ancient relics. Caught off guard, Ivy's hand slipped, a sharp edge of her desk biting into her palm.

A single drop of blood welled up, stark against her skin. Before she could reach for a cloth, the drop fell, seemingly drawn by a force beyond gravity, directly onto the amulet's stone. The stone absorbed the blood, quivering momentarily, before beginning to emit a soft, pulsing glow. The light intensified, radiating from within, turning vibrant and almost sentient.

Transfixed by the sudden change, Ivy watched as the amulet's glow filled the room with a surreal, silver hue. The legends had never spoken of blood—they wove tales of time, history, and the cosmos. Yet now, with her own blood as a catalyst, the amulet revealed new, startling aspects of its power. The air thickened, charged with energy, as if the stone recognized her, connecting with her in a deep, unspoken acknowledgment of her role in its awakening.

With the remnants of the thunder echoing off the ancient walls of her home, Ivy felt a profound shift within her. The line between myth and reality blurred further, and she knew, without a doubt, that her life had taken an irrevocable turn toward the unknown.

She sat up, her head spinning slightly, her palm throbbing where the cut should have been. But when she looked, there was no wound, no scar—nothing to prove the reality of the blood or the amulet's eerie luminescence.

The brilliant glow from the amulet was the last thing Ivy remembered before darkness swept her away. When consciousness returned, it was to the familiar softness of her own bed, the tumultuous midnight storm reduced to a faint memory. The room was silent, bathed in the gentle light of dawn filtering through her curtains. Everything was exactly as it should be, as if the night's events were nothing more than a figment of her imagination.

Her eyes darted around the room, landing on her desk where the amulet lay innocuous and dull, just another relic among many.

"Had it all been a dream?"

The idea seemed logical, the only rational explanation. Yet, the depth of the experience, the vividness of the light and pain, felt far too real, more like a memory than a fabrication of sleep. Ivy swung her legs out of bed, her mind reeling with confusion and doubt. She approached the desk slowly, half in fear, half in hope, that touching the amulet might trigger the extraordinary events again.

But it lay there, passive and unremarkable, under the morning sun. Ivy touched it tentatively, then fully grasped it, turning it over in her hand. Nothing happened. A sigh escaped her, a mix of relief and disappointment. Was her mind playing tricks on her, crafting whole tales from the threads of her daily research? Or had something truly inexplicable occurred?