Jeremy lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, though his thoughts were elsewhere. On him. On her. On them. He felt a strange weight deep in his bones. As if the world was slipping out of its frame.
Julie had fallen asleep beside him. Restlessly. Her leg twitched slightly, her forehead damp with sweat despite the chill in the room. Jeremy sensed it instantly.
He knelt beside her, gently touching her hand. At that very moment, he heard something crack. Not in reality—in something deeper. As if the world had trembled in a place he couldn't name.
Julie opened her eyes.
"Did you hear that?" she whispered.
"I don't know if it was a sound or a thought," he replied slowly. "But something moved. Someone's doing something. On the other side."
Julie fell silent, then uncertainly said:
"I felt... something familiar. Like the echo of a voice I've never heard, but somehow always knew was mine."
Jeremy leaned in closer.
"It might be their voice. My parents'."
"They're coming back?"
"They're trying. And whatever we just felt... might be their first step."
At that moment, the curtain in the room stirred without wind. The lamp beside the bed flickered out, even though no one touched it. And for a brief second, they both sensed a presence—warm, heavy, full of both shadow and light.
Julie gripped his hand.
"Don't let it swallow me, Jeremy."
"Never," he said. "You're not alone anymore. Even if this is just the beginning."
*
The silence was thick as fog when Julie found herself in a place she didn't recognize.
She stood in the middle of a vast, ruined garden. Dead trees loomed motionless, their leaves scattered like golden scars across the cracked earth. The air was heavy with memories she couldn't recall. But everything here whispered one thing: this place had been waiting for her for a long time.
"Julie..."
She turned. The voice was female. Warm. Wounded. Familiar.
A woman emerged from the shadows—black-haired, with eyes that sparkled like stars, yet carried the pain of centuries.
"Who... who are you?"
"Alison." She smiled sadly. "Your story... is entwined with mine."
Julie felt her body tremble. She wanted to ask more, but another figure appeared on the other side. A man. Tall, imposing, with a gaze that could stop time.
"Jack," he introduced himself, though he didn't need to.
There was no affection. No fear. Only the knowledge that they were part of her, though they had never met.
"Why me?"
"Because Jeremy chose you. And you chose him," Alison said. "Now, you're the anchor. For the world. For the return. For what should never have been forgotten."
Jack stepped closer.
"But everything has a price."
The ground began to crack. The sky above Julie exploded with fury. And in that instant, she woke with a scream, gasping for air as if she were drowning in her own heart.
Jeremy rushed to her.
"Julie! What's happening?!"
She grabbed his face in both hands, her eyes shining with tears—but also certainty.
"I saw them. Your parents. They said they're coming back... and that we're the key."
Something cracked inside his chest, like an old seal breaking from within. In the same moment, a surge of energy howled—ancient, primal, familiar. It knocked him off balance. He fell to his knees.
The journal.
It lay on the desk, closed. Yet one of its pages turned on its own.
Letters shifted before Julie's eyes, glowing red, pulsing as if written in Alison's own blood. Jeremy raised his head, his eyes glowing gold, as if, for a moment, he was no longer himself. He whispered without opening his mouth. Julie heard every word in her head—in the voice of a woman she had never met:
"If you're reading this, my son… it means Julie is already by your side. She holds something we awakened without knowing—blood, light, and shadow intertwined. I didn't know it then, but she will bring us back to you. You have a home. Me and Jack. Only together can you open the Gate. But Jeremy… remember, once opened… it will never close again."
Jeremy trembled. He looked at Julie, saying nothing for a long moment. Finally, he stood, walked to the journal, and touched the pages that had glowed only seconds ago. Now, they were ordinary ink.
"She foresaw this," he said softly. "She knew it was you. That I... couldn't do this alone."
Julie nodded, and something new sparkled in her eyes. Calm. Strength.
"Then we need to get ready. Because this is only the beginning, Jeremy."