Oathscript

Calen Brooks used to stand tall-trophies on his shelf, fire in his fists, a future filled with promise. Now, at twenty-one, he's just another name in the office roster. The days blur: the same coffee, the same bagel, the same fake smiles, and a boss who doesn't even know his name. Every evening, he returns to an empty apartment, haunted by memories of who he used to be.

He doesn't talk much. He doesn't go out. And every time his co-worker Gary asks about his day, Calen offers the same cold, bitter response. He's tired-of pretending, of surviving, of a life that feels more like a shadow.

One quiet evening, drawn by impulse and boredom, Calen wanders into a strange little bookstore tucked between streets he thought he knew. The old man behind the counter offers him a single book-worn, faded, and completely blank inside.

Moments later, on a bridge overlooking the river, Calen flips through its empty pages and feels something stir. A gust of wind. A flash of light. Then silence.

And when he looks again, the world has changed.