“The end of the world?” said Shawn. “How am I supposed to stop the end of the world? I’m not some ‘chosen one’ hero that you all seem to think I am. I’m just a normal guy, and I want to get home. I’m sorry, I really am, but I can’t. Help. You.” He enunciated each word, taking a step with each one before it occurred to him that he may be yelling at a group of people who could kill him in less time it took for him to draw a breath.

  His chest heaved, the exertion having taken a lot out of him. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. I just want to go home.”

  There was absolute silence in the council room. Finally, Master Wyrdstone broke it. “Shawn. Do you have the slightest idea of how you got here?”

  “Ah, no. I assume it was a function of that rune I drew?”

  The other man stood from his chair and walked towards him. “Worlds move, Mister Dennen. It just so happened that your world was fated to be almost touching ours at the precise moment you dropped your blood on that page. Like it or not, you are stuck here, at least for the time being.”

  Shawn’s breath left him. Stuck. Just like that. The Master continued. “I respect your self-doubt, as well as your wish to not be of service, though I had of course hoped. You are welcome to stay in Longstriden, and even to learn from us, but at least come speak to me at some point. There is one more thing you must know.”

  Shawn glanced at the other Masters. Sleric was resolute, but not smiling, the Duke, Ross, was openly frowning, and Rasha…where was she? Rasha had apparently left while Wyrdstone was talking, though Shawn hadn’t seen her go. “I…well, thank you?”

  Silence.

  Wyrdstone spoke again. “You may go now.”

  Shawn sat on the bed of the living space he’d been given, and wondered how this had happened. After leaving the council room, an attendant had taken him to this small space, which had a bed, a small wardrobe, a dresser with a small apple upon it, and a single oil lamp. If what they had told him was true, then he was truly stuck here. Perhaps for a year, perhaps even forever. And now everyone was expecting him to be some kind of chosen one of the people, to “save the realms” and all that.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  All that I’ve got going for me is these runes. Speaking of which… Shawn recalled the new rune he’d received mid fight, and curiosity compelled him to open the pouch. Hunger, Fire, Earth, Energy, Shadow, and…a curious figure consisting of a circle in the center, with vaguely swirling, spiked figures around it, reminding Shawn of an hourglass. Ah. Time.

  He supposed it made sense. He had, after all, overcasted his rune of Energy to a point that his own perception of the world had slowed, almost like time was bent to his whims. He picked up the Time rune and focused on its patterns. It was very…complicated. To say the least, he didn’t quite understand how its patterns functioned, and he wasn’t even close to understanding all of the possibilities. Remembering how he had identified his first rune of Fire, he sat on his bed and held the rune in the palm of his hand. Settling on a target, he narrowed his eyes, focused on the rune and the target, and pushed energy into the rune’s path. Suddenly, power flooded down his arm, and a pain, bright and sharp, bloomed in his mind.

  “Ah!” Shawn cried, pressing his free hand against his forehead. The power flowing through the rune of Time slowed, flickering. No! Shawn thought. He focused, shoving more power into the rune. The flow stabilized, forming into a corona of blue-green power around the apple. Shawn shaped the flow as best he could, wrapping it into a sphere around the fruit, before cutting off the flow, gently.

  The fruit felt almost…locked, in Shawn’s spiritual sense. He tapped a finger on it. It felt as hard as steel, but not nearly as…tangible. It felt like his fingers were simply reaching into a void, with no temperature, give, nor change. He grabbed the dresser, carefully sliding it to the side. The apple remained fixed in mid-air, hovering at the exact same height.

  “Woah…” Shawn said. If he focused, he could feel the coating around the apple, locking it in time, and he felt it slowly unraveling. It wouldn’t last more than a minute longer, but until then, nothing could affect this apple. Shawn held out his hand right below the static fruit, focusing on the structure of the rune’s effect. He carefully grabbed at the “seam” of the structure, tugging it, accelerating its unraveling. The sphere flickered, unspooled, and dissipated, the apple dropping neatly into his hand.

  Strangely, he was surprised. He’d thought for some reason that it would be different somehow. He tossed the fruit in the air, catching it and taking a bite. Still good. Glancing out the window, he looked at the moon, slowly rising above the ridgeline. He estimated it was about nine or ten at night. “I’ve got some time…” he said to himself. May as well go see Master Wyrdstone.

  Shawn pulled open the door, sliding his rune pouch into one pocket, and set off to find a Master.