Chapter 27 – A Box
Chapter 27 – A Box
Zane exhaled a long, tired breath as he stared down at the final potato in his hand. "Alright... last attempt of the day," he muttered, rubbing his temple. "Might as well make it count."
He knew that was easier said than done. Every possible method he could think of had already been exhausted over the past several hours. Tweaking the positions of the stars, trying to connect them, rotate them, break them, layer them—he had gone through it all. His well of creativity was running dry.
Still, Zane forced himself to stay optimistic. 'Repeating the same thing might just bring some kind of epiphany,' he thought. 'A breakthrough usually happens when you least expect it.' He took a deep breath, rolled his shoulders, and closed his eyes once more, preparing to activate his Core Stigma for what felt like the hundredth time.
As he channeled his energy toward the lonely vegetable, something changed.
His eyes snapped open.
"Huh?"
A jarring thud tore through his body like a sledgehammer, resonating through his bones and down to the very core of his being. His heart stuttered. Then—
Black.
He didn't even have time to speak. His vision blurred and then vanished entirely. His body went limp as he collapsed to the floor, completely unconscious, the potato slipping from his grasp and rolling into the mess surrounding him.
Darkness quickly swallowed Zane's mind, and he was unable to even resist it. In the dim room, a spark of purple flashed occasionally from the boy's body before disappearing completely.