Before him, a grandiose, natural landscape glimmered, etching its unforgettable image into Savo’s mind. It contained more than just nature, something only the beholder who witnesses the occurrence could possibly draw back upon. As Savo stood to gaze at the stampede of figures unknown to Man, he shivered. That same scenery echoed a memory within him of the day he stood above the spires of concrete and glass. At that time, Savo had finished modifying the transcripts which laid upon his desk and decided to survey the streets before him. Droplets began to form at the window in front, paired with the sound of light pattering. Dense, grey clouds hung aloft, shrouding the city below in their span.

The rain season must be beginning, Savo thought. He looked down at his wrist, eyeing his watch so intently that his vision began to shift to the intricacies of the small, reflective stones embedded in it. There would only be several more days until the city would reek of rainwater and mud. Savo slipped a hand into his pocket, grabbed his satchel with the other and exited the oval room. Walking past the divided cubicles and solitary rooms, he scanned the several open spaces between them for any employees who would be staying late, likely as any other day.

The previously gentle drizzle had escalated into a downpour. Savo drove slowly, carefully navigating the urban jungle. That day, the ferocious rain had muffled the usual roar of transit and crowds, which were now but augments to the pattering. As Savo neared the upward slopes, he gripped the wheel of the vehicle which slowly crept up the hill. Nearing the top of the mountain bench, Savo turned onto a winding road, eventually arriving at a large metal gate. He let his window down, initially receiving a gust of water and chilling wind which made him shiver. He extended his hand towards a steel box and pushed several numbers, which opened another smaller box where he then reached. Upon several moments of silence, he withdrew his arm, wiped his hand on his slacks, and reached out again. Finally, the gates slid open, and Savo drove into his residence.

After ending, Savo removed his suit and tie, hanging them on a rack placed just at the entrance. He wiped his shoes on the rug and continued in, stepping past a dark, near-empty room and a closed washroom. Savo set his satchel down on the tile and opened the refrigerator, surveying the contents carefully before pulling out two plastic bottles filled with brown liquid. He picked up his satchel and continued. The crashing sounds of rain had not yet ceased, and no matter where he was in his house, he could not escape the storm. Savo finally found himself before a large, steel door locked with a five-digit combination lock. He slid through the numbers until there was a click, then proceeded down a broad flight of stairs, shutting the door behind him before he did so. A vibrant, searing violet glow emitted as he neared the floor.

Hung and scattered about each wall of the room, what looked like disassembled firearms, wired devices, and other electronic contraptions presented a somewhat crowded space. Moreover, a solid, rectangular table which was fixed to the ground sat center in the room, leaving only several steps of space to walk. The source of the violet glow laid still upon the center table, where Savo paced about, grabbing tools from cabinets below the walls. Soon, after having assembled an armful of different tools both intricate and general, he settled himself before the table. The source, a crystal no larger than four inches in dimensions, emitted that violet light from its center. It seemed to nearly hum as Savo’s hand reached towards it.

The stone was something Savo had acquired on a leisure trip out of the country. He had found the stone in a tourist shop, purchasing it solely based on the shape, which was perfectly a cube. At that time, the stone had not glowed as it did now, and he had taken it back to his office as a decoration among many others. Only one day when a subordinate informed him of the strange glow did Savo become curious to its source, for from that day the stone glowed intensely without pause. Having studied science, he believed that there may be a new form of active matter or even an organism which resided in the stone. Yet it was strange, for any attempts to crack the stone proved futile. Savo tried with numerous tools: diamond tipped drills, steel saws, even intense heat didn’t cause a change in the stone’s structure. However, his curiosity forced his hand to keep trying, though he had not shared this particular element of the crystal with anyone else.

Savo began mixing liquids between several beakers and vials, eventually setting one beside the crystal. As he reached for the flask, the stone hummed again, only louder this time. Rather, the stone crescendoed, and the violet light began to radiate, becoming brighter. Then, there was a crack, like shattered glass, and the humming stopped. The violet glow which was previously being emitted had suddenly ceased. Savo scanned the surface of the crystal, discovering a fissure which ran around the entire cube. He reached a hand out to pick up the stone. A burst of shrill, foreign noise filled Savo’s ears. His skin began to vibrate violently without end. As his fingers grasped ahold of the crystal, his vision was filled with an intense violet. Before he could retract his arm, his body suddenly stopped rumbling, his hearing met silence, and his vision filled with pure darkness. The surface which was beneath him had also ceased to exist. His feet seemed to hover, or rather, his entire body had. His fingers no longer felt the touch of the crystal. The sounds of the beating rain and momentary thunder had disappeared along with the rest of his senses. He was, at that moment, nonexistent.