"..."

  Silence.

  "Mom?! Are you all right?”

  Albion got out of bed.

  He took a few quick steps toward his doorway.

  His chest tightened further with each second that passed in silence.

  He stumbled out into the hall to see his mother lying on the floor.

  She had knocked over a glass and it had broken. Its content’s spilled across the floor, seeping slowly into the cheap rug.

  Its shattered pieces scattered everywhere.

  Nothing looked wrong with her.

  She wasn't moving though.

  She wasn't breathing.

  "Mom!?"

  He propped her up onto his lap, cradling her head in his hands. She lay there, unresponsive, unmoving. If the circumstances were any different she may have looked peaceful.

  The shattered glass glittered in the moonlight that fell through the open window. Looking down at her she looked so happy.

  He could be thankful that in her last moments of life he was able to see a smile on her face.

  It looked like she had been bringing him something to drink before he fell asleep.

  She looked so happy.

  He would never forget that moment no matter how much time passed by.

  It was too sudden.

  The healers had no idea what could have happened.

  There was no sign of magic.

  No sign of sickness.

  No trace of anything at all.

  It was as if her life had simply left her.

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  That had been three years ago to date.

  The worst day of his life.

  He couldn't help but remember it clearly every year, it was always hanging over his head but on this day in particular. It ran through his mind on repeat he still wondered if there was something he could have done to help her.

  He now ran the shop on his own. It still sold books, but not as many as it once had. His mother had always been good at drawing in well-paying customers. It was a good thing he only needed to feed himself.

  He worked in silence each day. Talking only when spoken to by a customer, or when the situation required it.

  He was nearly a shut-in.

  "32 coppers."

  "Thank you sir have a good day."

  "...you as well!"

  “...”

  *sigh*

  As soon as the customer walked through the door he allowed his shoulders to relax.

  He hated having to put up a front but what could he do?

  No one wanted to come back to a store with a mopey cashier. So he forced a smile when they walked in. Made some kind of small talk. Helped them with what they needed and sent them on their way.

  He closed the door firmly, giving it a push to fully close it, and then turned the lock. It was dark, he didn't have it in him to take any more customers. So he began the closing routine.

  He made sure the books were all neatly placed on their shelves, and in the correct spot.

  He restocked what had been taken and he lightly dusted the surfaces of each book to ensure that they were presentable.

  Snap

  Thunk

  "Hmm?!"

  The sudden noise startled him a bit, but it was just his necklace. The chain had snapped while he was cleaning, it was just a cheap metal chain. It was a wonder that it had lasted this long.

  He bent over and picked it up. Picking up the ring that had once hung around his neck with it. His mother had given the ring to him when he was young. It was a family heirloom. Or at least that was what she told him.

  He was really young when she gave it to him, so he couldn't put it on. It wasn't made for a child, it would have fallen right off, so she put it on a necklace and hung it around his neck. He had never even taken it off. He supposed the ring might fit now. Buying a chain seemed like a waste if he could just wear the ring. He felt the engravings one more time before sliding it on. It was a gold ring, that had some sort of engraving. Intersecting lines of black creating unknown symbols. It was just a decorative heirloom.

  Or, at least it had been.

  When the ring was fully on, though, the gold faded into a deep black. It quickly became as pitch as a starless sky. Void of any light. The etchings slowly surfaced, glowing all sorts of colors, a kaleidoscope of every color that had ever existed flowing along its surface. They pushed against each other, back and forth, fighting for dominance before they entered a stalemate. They had reached, some sort of equilibrium. That was when a bright flash turned Albion’s world white, and white was all that remained until his world came back into focus

  "What. The. Hell."

  Creeeeeeaaaaakkkk

  There was a door. Directly in the middle of the store.

  A goddamn doorway.

  It was obvious that the ring had done this...somehow. It couldn't be harmful, right? He was wary to go through it. He studied it for a minute. Walked around it trying to see if he could figure out where it went.

  He was winding up to toss a book inside. Just to test the waters a bit. When all at once he was sucked straight on through.